Piccolo’s Meditation and the Dragon Ball Ichiban Kuji Plate

Piccolo Sucker Plate — Ichiban Kuji Dragon Ball VS Omnibus CROSS, Prize G

What Ichiban Kuji Is and How This Plate Fits Into It

Ichiban Kuji is a lottery-style merchandise line operated by Bandai Spirits, the premium collectibles arm spun off from Bandai in 2018. Rather than a vending machine or a packaged food tie-in, it occupies its own category: tickets are sold at convenience stores such as Lawson and FamilyMart, as well as at anime specialty shops and toy retailers across Japan. Every ticket wins a prize — there are no blanks — but the tier you receive is random. Prizes descend from A through F and further, with the top tiers going to high-end figures and the lower tiers covering smaller goods.

This sucker plate is a Prize G item from the “Dragon Ball VS Omnibus CROSS” run, a chapter in Bandai Spirits’ ongoing VS Omnibus sub-series, which is built around the rivalry and confrontation themes at the heart of Dragon Ball. The exact release date of this particular run has not been confirmed, though it belongs to the broader 2020s rollout of the VS Omnibus line. Prize G here spans seven character variants; this is the Piccolo version.

The item itself is a flat decorative plate with a clear suction cup on the back, designed to adhere to any smooth surface — a window, a mirror, a refrigerator door. A small hole at the top allows it to be strung from a cord as wall art as well. It is a format that sees wide individual circulation among collectors, since single-character prizes trade freely through Japan’s resale channels once a lottery run concludes.

Piccolo and the Meaning Behind the Meditation Pose

Piccolo entered Dragon Ball Z as a villain — the reincarnation of the demon king Piccolo Daimao, positioned as Goku’s ultimate rival. The series gradually dismantled that framing. By the time the Z arc was in full swing, Piccolo had become the dedicated mentor and guardian of Goku’s son Gohan, a relationship that gave the character a depth rarely seen in rival-turned-ally arcs. He remains one of the franchise’s most emotionally layered figures.

As a Namekian — green skin, pointed ears, antennae — Piccolo draws power partly through meditation and concentrated mental discipline. The label on this plate, “Meditating,” is not decorative shorthand. It points directly to something the series treated seriously: that Piccolo’s strength comes as much from inner stillness as from combat. Framing a collectible piece around that quality rather than a battle scene is a deliberate character choice. The dark, purplish tones of the piece are consistent with the gi Piccolo wears throughout the series.

Why Piccolo Merchandise Draws Collectors Outside Japan

Dragon Ball Z reached North America, Europe, and Latin America during broadcast runs in the late 1990s and early 2000s, building a fanbase that has remained active for decades. Piccolo was central to that generation’s experience of the show, and the attachment has not dimmed. In 2022, the film Dragon Ball Super: Super Heroes placed Piccolo and Gohan at the front of the story for the first time since the original Z era. English-language fan communities responded with a measurable increase in discussion and demand for Piccolo merchandise specifically.

Ichiban Kuji runs are distributed through Japanese domestic retail and do not reach international buyers through any official channel. That makes items like this one of genuine interest to overseas collectors who follow the franchise — not only as Dragon Ball pieces, but as goods that reflect a distinctly Japanese approach to licensed merchandise, where a lottery format and a convenience-store context are part of the product’s identity. For anyone building a Piccolo-focused collection, the seven-variant Prize G tier also means there are companion pieces in the same format, each centered on a different character from the same run.