Banpresto Figures: Prize Lines, Series and How to Choose

What Banpresto makes

Banpresto makes prize figures. A prize figure is a figure first made as a prize for arcade and crane games in Japan. They hold one pose, stand on a base, and are usually simpler and lower-cost than scale figures. On Amazon US you buy them boxed, no crane required.

Banpresto is a Bandai Spirits brand. The Bandai Spirits English site says Banpresto plans, develops and sells prizes made only for amusement facilities, the ones you win at crane games and other machines. The same company runs Bandai Hobby and Tamashii Nations, so Banpresto figures and Bandai figures often share the same series. They don't share the same price tier or the same level of detail.

In our data, Banpresto covers anime figures and a few statues. Almost every row is a licensed anime or manga character. When we pulled the data in October 2026, the grid held a little under 50 Banpresto listings, and the price tiers were tight: almost all sat in the two lowest tiers we use for figures. Banpresto is the entry-level end of anime figures by the numbers, and that's what most people come here for.

The closest I've come to winning a prize from a claw machine is a keychain at a pizza place in El Paso when I was nine. It took most of my allowance. My tía still has it on her keys, which tells you how rare it was.

Banpresto figures by line

Banpresto titles are built the same way: series, character, then a line name. The line name is the useful part. It tells you the style, the rough size class and which figures were made to stand together. Here are the lines in the grid and what the titles show about each.

Grandista

Grandista is the most common line in our grid. It covers many series: One Piece Trafalgar Law and Boa Hancock, Dragon Ball Super Gogeta and Gogeta II, Naruto Shippuden Naruto Uzumaki II, Naruto #45 Naruto Uzumaki (72 Series), Tokyo Ghoul Kaneki Ken, Bleach Ichigo Kurosaki, Frieren, DanDaDan Okarun (Transformed), My Hero Academia Bakugo Katsuki, Fist of the North Star Kenshiro, and Hunter x Hunter Killua and Kurapika (spelled Curarpikt on its listing).

That spread is the point. If you want figures from different series to share a shelf at a similar size, staying inside one line is the simplest way to get there. The listings don't state heights, so we can't promise the exact match. We can tell you the line was built as one family.

Match Makers

Match Makers titles name two characters. Dragon Ball Z Cooler (vs Super Saiyan Son Goku). Dragon Ball Z Majin Vegeta (vs Super Saiyan 2 Son Goku). Dragon Ball Super Son Goku (vs Goku Black -Super Saiyan Rose-).

Read the parentheses. The first name is the figure in the box. The name after "vs" is the opponent it's posed to face, and that opponent is a separate figure. If the pair is what you want, plan to buy two listings, and check that both are on Amazon US before you open the first box.

Gxmateria, Solid Edge Works and History Box

These three lines are Dragon Ball-heavy in our grid:

• Gxmateria: Majin Buu, Son Goku IV and Broly, all Dragon Ball Z.
• Solid Edge Works: Super Saiyan Trunks (Vol.9, filed by us as a statue) and Dragon Ball GT Super Saiyan 4 Gogeta.
• History Box: Dragon Ball Z Vegito and Dragon Ball Z Mr. Satan. Both sit in Banpresto's lowest tier.

The "Vol." number on a Solid Edge Works title is a series number. It tells you where the figure falls in the line, not how big it is.

One Piece lines: King of Artist, Battle Record Collection, Theorama Soul

One Piece is the second-largest series in the grid, and it's spread across lines:

• King of Artist: The Monkey D. Luffy Gear 5 II.
• Battle Record Collection: Borsalino, in the lowest tier.
• Theorama Soul: Shanks.
• Grandista: Trafalgar Law and Boa Hancock, as above.

Four lines, four styles. A row of One Piece figures from mixed lines will look mixed. That might be fine for you. Just know it before the third box arrives.

Relax Time, Glitter & Glamours and Espresto

These lines show characters in calmer poses or with styled finishes:

• Relax Time: Bleach Orihime Inoue (filed as a statue) and DanDaDan Momo.
• Glitter & Glamours: Alya Sometimes Hides Her Feelings in Russian, Alya (Bunny ver.).
• Espresto: My Dress-up Darling Marin Kitagawa (Kuroe Shizuku ver.), in the Detailed Elegance sub-line.

If you're looking for a figure that's seated, leaning or posed without a fight in it, these lines are where the titles point.

Maximatic, Memorable Saga, The Evil Villains DX and the rest

The remaining rows are smaller lines:

• Maximatic: Jujutsu Kaisen Satoru Gojo and Demon Slayer Doma.
• Memorable Saga: Naruto Uchiha Sasuke II.
• The Evil Villains DX: My Hero Academia Dabi.
• 72 Series: Naruto #45 (Grandista) and Naruto #53 Naruto, Minato and Kushina Uzumaki.
• Demon Slayer numbered volumes: vol.6 Tanjiro Kamado Black Outfit (Repeat), vol.13 Mitsuri Kanroji (ver. B) and Nezuko Kamado vol. 26 (ver. B).
• Hero's Brave Statue: Ultraman Mebius Burning Brave, filed by us as a statue.
• Naruto Shippuden Susano'O (ver. A).

Two words in those titles are worth knowing. "Repeat" means a rerelease of a figure that was made before. "Ver. A" and "ver. B" mean the same figure was released in more than one version. The title tells you which one is in the box. If you want the other one, it's a different listing.

How to pick a Banpresto figure

Most buyers come in with a character. Some come in with a series and want a row. Either way, these steps keep the order straight.

1. Character first, then line. Find every listing for your character, then compare the lines. Grandista and Maximatic of the same character are different figures.
2. Check the version letter and the "Repeat" tag. They decide which release you get.
3. Building a row? Stay in one line. Banpresto designs each line as a family. That's your best shot at matching sizes when the listings don't give heights.
4. Look up the height before you clear the shelf. Our data doesn't have stated heights for Banpresto rows. The maker or seller page usually does.
5. Read the seller and condition lines. Many listings are from importers, and a damaged box is often noted in the condition line, not the title.
6. Plan for the base. Prize figures stand on bases, and bases take shelf depth.

Buying one as a gift

If the figure is for someone else, ask two questions before you shop: which character, and which series it's from. Many characters appear in more than one Banpresto line, and Goku alone shows up in several rows here. Then send the listing link to someone who knows the person's shelf. A screenshot of the title, with the line name and version, settles more gift questions than a description ever will.

My take on a first anime figure

Here's my one opinion for this page. For somebody who hasn't bought an anime figure before, a prize figure is the right first one. The reason is in the data: Banpresto rows sit in the two lowest price tiers of the anime figures we track, and every title names a line you can come back to. You learn what you like — size, pose, series — before you spend on a scale figure. A first figure is a test drive. You don't test-drive the most expensive car on the lot.

Who should skip Banpresto

Skip Banpresto if you want a figure that moves. Every row here holds one pose. Skip it, too, if you're after a scale figure, the more detailed and higher-priced kind made at a stated ratio. That's what makers like Alter and Good Smile Company make.

And skip it for a small child. These are display figures. None of the Banpresto listings in our data give an age label.

Banpresto vs other prize-figure makers

Banpresto isn't the only prize maker on Amazon US. FuRyu, SEGA and Taito all make prize figures, and our anime figures page lists them side by side.

What the Banpresto grid shows that stands out is the range of series. Dragon Ball, One Piece, Naruto, Demon Slayer, Jujutsu Kaisen, My Hero Academia, Bleach, Hunter x Hunter, Frieren, DanDaDan and more, all in one maker's rows. If the character you want is from a big shonen series, Banpresto is the first grid to check.

FuRyu's grid, by comparison, leans toward lines like Noodle Stopper and BiCute Bunnies, with Hatsune Miku and Fate/Grand Order in many rows. Different makers, different shelves of characters. The prize-figure idea is the same.

Display and care

Prize figures are light and stand on small bases. A few habits keep them upright.

• Assemble on a towel. If the base, a hand or an effect part comes separate in the box, a towel stops a small part from bouncing under the couch, which in the casita is a one-way trip.
• Push the peg in straight. Bases attach with pegs in the feet. Wiggling them in at an angle is how they get loose.
• Keep spare parts in the box. If a figure came with an alternate part, bag it and leave it in the box.
• Shelf away from heat and direct sun. Painted PVC doesn't like a hot window, and the casita's west window gets the afternoon.

Prize figures have small parts: pegs, hands, effect pieces. Check the age label on the listing. Toys with small parts are a choking hazard for children under 3. Keep loose parts in a closed box, up high.

Banpresto and Bandai: same parent, different shelf

Because Banpresto and Bandai share a parent company, the same character can show up in both grids. The difference is the purpose. Banpresto makes prizes, one-pose and at the low end of the price tiers in our data. Bandai's Tamashii Nations makes posable figures with joints and extra parts, and Bandai Hobby makes kits you build.

So a Dragon Ball fan can choose: a Banpresto figure that stands on the shelf the day it arrives, a Tamashii Nations figure that moves, or a kit that takes an evening. Three ways in, one family name on the paperwork.

Pick the character, then the line, then the version letter. The box will tell you the rest.