This isn't really a surprise at all, is it? At least, I think that we are now in a culture where people want to hold onto their youth for longer, as well as one that wants something unique they can identify with. Something like a cute handmade plushie they can stick on a shelf, fits the bill.
When I was in school one classmate made this Son Goku for my birthday. It's been like a few decades since, we talk with that classmate maybe once or twice a year, DBZ is far from my favorite anime...And yet I still keep this for some reason. Human mind is strange. and perhaps my mind is stranger still...