LEGO 11390 Dragon Ball Shenron & Goku Investment
Published: 1 week ago
Last Updated: 1 week ago
One of the world's biggest anime franchises is finally becoming an official LEGO licence.
LEGO Icons 11390 Dragon Ball: Shenron & Goku launches for LEGO Insiders on 1 November 2026, followed by general availability on 4 November. The 1,764-piece adult display set costs £129.99 / $179.99 / €139.99 and recreates Shenron rising dramatically above the seven Dragon Balls, accompanied by Kid Goku riding his Kintoun, or Flying Nimbus.
For collectors, however, the significance extends beyond the model itself. This is officially the first LEGO Dragon Ball product, beginning a partnership between LEGO and Toei Animation that LEGO says will continue into 2027 and beyond.
That gives 11390 something future Dragon Ball releases can never replicate: it is the set that started the LEGO Dragon Ball collection.
LEGO 11390 Dragon Ball: Shenron & Goku – set details
The centrepiece is a brick-built Shenron displayed in a coiled pose above all seven Dragon Balls. Shenron's head and claws can be repositioned, while Kid Goku and his Kintoun can be detached and displayed in different positions.
The completed model measures more than 32cm high, 24cm long and 26cm wide, giving it substantial presence without requiring the enormous display space associated with some premium LEGO Icons releases.
The Kid Goku LEGO minifigure is particularly noteworthy. It is the first official Dragon Ball minifigure and includes a newly designed hair element. At present, it is also the only Dragon Ball minifigure LEGO has officially revealed.
That exclusivity may not last – and probably shouldn't be expected to – but being the first version could still give the figure historical significance to collectors.
Why collectors will care
Dragon Ball brings an unusually large potential audience into LEGO collecting.
The franchise has decades of history and an international following encompassing anime collectors, manga readers, gaming fans and buyers of character merchandise. LEGO therefore isn't relying solely on its established adult customer base to support 11390.
Shenron is also a particularly effective choice for the first set.
Rather than starting with a vehicle or location requiring familiarity with a particular story, LEGO has selected one of Dragon Ball's most visually recognisable subjects. The seven Dragon Balls themselves are fundamental to the franchise, while Kid Goku connects the model directly to the original Dragon Ball series.
LEGO says its designers studied animation frames and classic poses from the original series while developing the model.
That combination gives 11390 the characteristics of a display collectible rather than simply merchandise attached to a new licence.
The first-set advantage
From an investment perspective, the most interesting characteristic may be its place in LEGO history.
11390 is not merely the first set in a 2026 wave. It is the first LEGO Dragon Ball set ever released.
If LEGO Dragon Ball develops into a substantial theme during the coming years, collectors entering the range later may naturally look backwards towards its inaugural release.
There is an important qualification, however.
LEGO has already confirmed that more Dragon Ball products are coming in 2027 and beyond.
That is encouraging because it suggests LEGO views Dragon Ball as more than a one-off experiment. At the same time, future sets could introduce additional versions of Goku, Shenron and other major characters, reducing the scarcity of individual elements.
The strongest long-term scenario for 11390 would therefore be a successful Dragon Ball range that expands significantly while leaving this particular Shenron model sufficiently distinctive.
What the data tells us
There is currently no LEGO Dragon Ball investment history.
Any attempt to quote a Dragon Ball annualised growth rate or predict a five-year value would therefore be speculation rather than meaningful analysis.
The parent LEGO Icons theme provides more useful context. Investabrick's existing analysis has shown that Icons can produce strong retired-set performance, particularly where products combine recognisable subject matter, adult collector demand and a distinctive display proposition.
However, parent-theme performance should not simply be transferred to a completely new licence.
11390 needs to establish its own retail behaviour first.
The factors worth monitoring include launch demand, availability, discount frequency, production length, the speed at which LEGO expands Dragon Ball and whether Kid Goku remains unique to this set or quickly receives alternative minifigure versions.
Who is likely to want it later?
The potential post-retirement audience is unusually broad.
There will be LEGO Icons collectors, Dragon Ball fans, anime collectors, Goku character collectors and buyers who simply want Shenron as a display model.
There is another potentially important audience: future LEGO Dragon Ball completionists.
If the partnership develops into a sizeable range during 2027 and beyond, someone discovering LEGO Dragon Ball several years from now may want the first set that launched the collection. That type of retrospective demand can be valuable because the buyer is not simply comparing 11390 with whatever Dragon Ball set happens to be available at retail at the time.
Its first-set status cannot be reproduced.
The investment case
At £129.99 in the UK, 11390 is relatively accessible for a 1,764-piece LEGO Icons display model. The US RRP of $179.99 is noticeably higher, making acquisition price more important for American investors.
For collectors, buying during the launch period is easy to justify if Dragon Ball is personally important. This is the first official LEGO interpretation of the franchise, the first Goku minifigure and a substantial representation of Shenron.
For investors, patience is more appropriate.
There is no retirement timetable and no evidence yet concerning production volume or discounting. A strong launch could be encouraging, but an initial sell-out would not prove long-term scarcity.
The most attractive opportunity may emerge once we understand how LEGO intends to distribute the wider Dragon Ball range and how aggressively 11390 is produced.
What could go wrong?
The greatest investment risk may actually come from the success of LEGO Dragon Ball.
If the licence performs exceptionally well, LEGO has every incentive to produce numerous additional sets. More Goku minifigures are particularly likely, reducing the significance of character exclusivity.
Shenron could eventually be revisited too.
Production length is another unknown. A popular LEGO Icons set can remain available for several years, allowing significant quantities of sealed inventory to accumulate before retirement.
The set also contains only one minifigure. That makes 11390 less dependent on character scarcity than some licensed investments, but it means the quality and desirability of the Shenron display itself must carry much of the long-term value.
Finally, anime enthusiasm alone does not guarantee investment performance. Retail supply, discounting and retirement timing remain just as important here as they are with established LEGO licences.
Investabrick verdict
Strong Collector Buy – Positive Investment Interest, but Monitor the New Theme.
LEGO Icons 11390 Dragon Ball: Shenron & Goku has one advantage that no later Dragon Ball set can acquire: it is the first.
Shenron is an excellent inaugural subject, Kid Goku provides the first official Dragon Ball LEGO minifigure, and LEGO has already confirmed that the partnership will continue into 2027 and beyond. Those factors give the set a credible long-term collector story.
For collectors, the £129.99 / $179.99 launch price can be justified by the significance of the release.
For investors, we would monitor rather than accumulate heavily at launch. The strongest buying opportunity should become clearer once we know how widely 11390 is distributed, whether meaningful discounts develop and how aggressively LEGO expands Dragon Ball during 2027.
If Dragon Ball becomes an established LEGO collecting category, however, 11390 will permanently remain the set that started it.
Author: Tom Reynolds
Tom spent over a decade in logistics and supply chain management, giving him a natural interest in how products move through markets. His AFOL journey began when he bought a Star Wars set “for his nephew” and ended up building it himself. Hooked instantly, Tom now focuses on Star Wars, UCS models, and large-scale sci-fi builds. He loves the intersection of fandom and investment, analysing how licensing, nostalgia, and design complexity drive long-term value.
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