Tenkaichi Budokai

This is a very special item for Dragon Ball fans and vintage collectors: the first playset ever created for Tenkaichi Budokai, the legendary martial arts tournament where some of the most epic battles in the series began to take shape.

This set was released in Japan by the Epoch company in 1986, at the beginning of the franchise, and became one of the first toys to physically represent a scene from the Dragon Ball universe.

The set includes 16 unpainted rubber figures, representing many of the fighters who participated in the 21st Martial Arts Tournament, the first to appear in both the manga and the anime.

These figures can be placed on the ring and moved thanks to mechanisms built into the base, allowing for interactive combat simulations, which was very original for the time.

Although the design of the stage is not an exact replica of what we saw on screen, it retains the essence of the tournament and remains a highly prized item among collectors. Not only because of its rarity, but also because it was the first time that the famous tournament tatami mat was brought into the physical world in the form of a toy.

Epoch understood the importance of this place in the history of Dragon Ball and created a playset that, although simple, offered a lot of playability and was visually appealing to children of the time... and, of course, to today's collectors.

Today, finding this playset complete, with all its figures and mechanisms in good condition, is quite a challenge. Over the years, it has become a very difficult item to find and, as is often the case with these types of treasures, its price has continued to rise.