LEGO's First Dragon Ball Set Is a 1,764-Piece Shenron, With Kid Goku Riding Along

Dragon Ball is finally coming to LEGO. The LEGO Group and Toei Animation, the studio behind the anime of Akira Toriyama's series, announced their first partnership on September 29, and the first set from it is a big one: LEGO Icons Dragon Ball: Shenron & Goku (11390), a 1,764-piece model of the Eternal Dragon rising from the seven Dragon Balls, with Kid Goku flying alongside on his Kintoun.

It goes on sale Wednesday, November 4, at $179.99 (£129.99, €139.99), with LEGO Insiders members getting early access from Sunday, November 1. LEGO is selling it only through LEGO.com and its own LEGO Stores. Insiders can also trade 20 points for a digital poster of the set.

The finished model stands over 12.5 inches (32 cm) tall, 9.5 inches (24 cm) long and 10 inches (26 cm) wide. Shenron coils up from a black base, and the seven Dragon Balls are 2x2 bricks set into it. The Goku minifigure detaches from his cloud and can be moved around the scene, and the dragon's head and claws pose. LEGO says its designers studied animation frames and classic poses from the original series to get Shenron's long, looping shape right.

The LEGO Group

The choice of era is the interesting part. LEGO didn't open with Dragon Ball Z, a grown Goku or a Super Saiyan; it opened with Kid Goku and Shenron, from the first series. Toei's CEO, Masayuki Endo, said the first release "celebrates the original 'Dragon Ball' episodic series." That, the 18+ rating and the Icons price put it squarely at adults who grew up with the show, the same buyers LEGO courts with its other display sets.

The LEGO Group

It won't be the only one. LEGO says more Dragon Ball sets follow in 2027, and Federico Begher, the LEGO Group's senior vice president for product, marketing and development, called this set "just the beginning." LEGO hasn't said what's next.