If you hadn’t caught wind of the Akko Dragon Ball Super Goku gaming keyboard yet, then you can count us among your counterparts. However, having got our hands on the unit at the IFA Berlin trade show, we’re now converts to this full-power gaming keyboard transformation.
With Akko being the developer of some of the best gaming keyboard designs around, including its excellent MOD007B Tokyo, we would always have expected the Akko Dragon Ball Super Goku to be a quality unit, but the sheer impact of this board can’t be overstated.
Let’s face facts, it’s the color of this keyboard that really sells it. That orange is just impossible to miss, but it’s then tempered and balanced just the right amount with the cream-colored central keys, as well as the handful of blue keys around the edges. It’s just the perfect Goku Super Saiyan color scheme.
The Saiyan himself is also pictured in the bottom left corner of the board, covering the Ctrl, Alt, Shift, Caps Lock, and Tab keys. This placing is subtlety smart as it gives you a prominent picture but doesn’t disrupt the usability of the board, as those are all keys that most people can essentially find and hit by feel alone.
Other artwork includes the Dragon Ball Z Shenron on the space bar, the Dragon Ball radar on the Del key, and a gold Dragon Ball Z logo volume knob in the top right.
The keyboard has a 75% layout – so you get cursor keys and some of the Home/End keys, but don’t get a numpad. It’s also a gasket-mounted construction with RGB backlit keys, and it supports wireless and Bluetooth connections. Under the keycaps you’ll also find Akko’s CS Crystal switches, which are clear-shelled and have a 45g linear action.
All in all, it’s just the perfect keyboard for any Dragon Ball Z fan, but with one major issue right now. Unfortunately, the board and matching mouse (above) is sold out and we’re not yet sure if and when stock might return – we’ve reached out to Akko for clarification. Given it’s reasonably priced at $129.99, it’s not like it’s a super niche premium option either.
Meanwhile, if your keyboard tastes are different altogether, you could always check out Akko’s hilariously cute MOG profile keycaps. These keycaps are super rounded to create some of the most fun keyboards we’ve ever encountered. Along with the bread-like Bun Wonderland set, we’re particularly fans of the Good Luck Charm set pictured below.
They’re positively awful to actually use, at least if you like to touch type, as the rounded-over edges make it difficult to strike the keys accurately. However, if you just want to make a cute keyboard for the fun of it, or you or someone you know is more of a visual typer, they’re a fun option, especially at only $46 a set. They’re also mounted on a particularly bouncy keyboard, where the whole array of keys bends as you press individual keys (as demonstrated by the image below), though it isn’t clear which of Akko’s keyboards do or don’t offer this bouncy option.
To see more of what we saw on the trade show floor of IFA 2024, check out our IFA story hub, including this new gaming keyboard with legs, from Gravastar.