Dragon Ball Super, Whis, and the Prize That Stayed in Japan

Whis Earphone Jack Figure — Kirin Fire Dragon Ball Super Campaign Prize

Whis and the Mythology of Dragon Ball Super

Whis made his first appearance in the 2013 theatrical film Dragon Ball Z: Battle of Gods, introduced as the attendant and personal trainer of Beerus, the God of Destruction of Universe 7. Lean, pale-blue-skinned, with white hair and a distinctive ring ornament at his collar, he presented himself with a calm, unhurried demeanor — and then the series revealed that his fighting ability exceeded even a destroyer deity’s. That gap between his manner and his power made him an immediate fan favorite.

He became a series regular when Dragon Ball Super launched on Fuji TV in July 2015, running weekly through March 2018. The series was simulcast internationally via Funimation, Adult Swim, and Crunchyroll, giving Whis a global audience from the start. Dragon Ball itself needs little introduction: Akira Toriyama’s manga debuted in Weekly Shonen Jump in 1984, and by 2024 the franchise had exceeded 260 million volumes in print worldwide — one of the best-selling comics series in history.

A Canned Coffee Prize and Japan’s Promo Goods Tradition

This figure was not sold in stores. It was produced as a non-sale promotional item for a campaign run by Kirin Fire, the canned coffee brand of Kirin Beverage. In Japan, it has long been common practice for beverage manufacturers to collaborate with popular anime franchises, distributing exclusive goods to customers who purchase participating products or enter promotional campaigns. Kirin Beverage ran multiple Dragon Ball tie-ins during this period, and given that Whis is a Dragon Ball Super character, this figure most likely dates to the 2015–2018 broadcast window — though the exact campaign year cannot be confirmed from available records.

The format is an earphone jack figure, also called a dust plug figure — a miniature chibi (super-deformed, SD-style) character on a small rubber or resin plug designed to fit the 3.5mm headphone socket on a smartphone. Beyond protecting the port from dust, they functioned as a way to display a favorite character on the device. This was a distinctly Japanese gadget accessory genre that peaked roughly between 2012 and 2016, as anime-branded versions proliferated alongside rapid smartphone adoption. Because most current smartphone models have dropped the 3.5mm jack, the category has seen little new production in recent years.

Kinto’un, the Seven-Star Dragon Ball, and a Layered Design

The base of this figure combines two of the franchise’s most enduring symbols alongside Whis himself. Kinto’un — Goku’s golden Flying Nimbus cloud, a recurring companion since the original series and itself derived from the classical Chinese novel Journey to the West — forms the platform. Resting on it is a Seven-Star Dragon Ball, the orange sphere with seven red stars that gives the entire franchise its name and anchors its central premise.

Placing a Dragon Ball Super character on a base drawn from the 1980s original quietly connects the franchise’s newest mythology to its oldest iconography. For fans who have followed the series across both generations, that combination — one figure, three icons — captures something of Dragon Ball’s unusual continuity.