When it comes to the biggest news for "One Piece" fans recently, it has to be the announcement late last year, coinciding with the series' 25th anniversary, that a remake anime series, "THE ONE PIECE," is in production. This work will take viewers back to the very beginning of the "One Piece" story, the "East Blue Saga," re-animating the tale of how Luffy met his crewmates—Zoro, Nami, Usopp, and Sanji—and formed the Straw Hat Pirates, all with modern animation techniques. The studio responsible for the animation is none other than WIT STUDIO, which has brought us outstanding manga-to-anime adaptations like "Attack on Titan" and "SPY x FAMILY." Although no footage has been released yet, the prowess of WIT STUDIO's animation team is plain to see, so we can certainly look forward to high quality.
However, the 25th anniversary's return to the series' roots isn't limited to the remake anime. The popular action figure line 'S.H.Figuarts,' from the TAMASHII NATIONS collectors' toy division of Japan's BANDAI SPIRITS, has also begun releasing its One Piece "The Dawn of Adventure" series this August, featuring characters in their "East Blue Saga" outfits. Compared to the old East Blue Saga costume versions released in 2010, these have been completely remade with the latest technology. The sculpting, joint design, and articulation have all been significantly improved. Today, we'll be unboxing the two already-released characters, "Luffy" and "Nami," to revisit that initial excitement and see the advancements in production technology over the past 14 years!
The product packaging, like other recent releases, features a window box design, allowing you to see the play features and actual contents at a glance. A notable change is that S.H.Figuarts products will gradually phase out paper instruction manuals, with simple instructions printed on the side flap of the box instead. This reduces the carbon footprint and means you won't have a piece of paper getting in the way every time you take the figure out to play. You can also access the digital instruction manual on the TAMASHII NATIONS official website via a QR code or URL.
▼ First up is the "S.H.Figuarts Monkey D. Luffy -The Dawn of Adventure-" set, which includes the Luffy main body, three interchangeable expression parts, three pairs of interchangeable hands, his signature straw hat with a corresponding hair part for wearing it, and a delicious-looking piece of bone-in manga meat.
▼ The sculpting and proportions of "The Dawn of Adventure" series are closer to the more recent character designs. It captures details like the wrinkles on his clothes and the texture of his straw hat and sandals, all while featuring an articulation design that integrates seamlessly without revealing unsightly gaps.
▼ The expressions include a cheerful "open-mouthed smile" that shows his optimistic personality.
▼ A "meat-eating face" for devouring his food.
▼ A "shouting face" for when he's giving his all in a fight.
▼ His signature "confident smile." Additionally, the expression parts are compatible with the separately sold "S.H.Figuarts Monkey D. Luffy -The Raid on Onigashima-," allowing for interchangeable faces.
▼ The neck features a double-jointed design, allowing the head to tilt forward, backward, and side-to-side naturally.
▼ The arms are completely unhindered by clothing parts, featuring a four-point articulation system with ball-jointed shoulders, bicep swivels, double-jointed elbows, and ball-jointed wrists, enabling a range of motion similar to the human body.
▼ The multi-axis joints in the chest and waist allow for significant torso twists.
▼ The hip joints are perfectly integrated with the sculpt of the pants, allowing for wide leg stances without breaking the overall look.
▼ In addition to the standard knee and ankle joints, the front part of the foot also has an articulation point, enhancing the detail of his poses. However, despite a cutout design behind the knee, the bending angle is still limited to about 90 degrees, making squatting poses a bit difficult.
▼ The bone-in meat even features a printed cross-section showing where Luffy has taken a bite.
▼ By utilizing the articulated design of S.H.Figuarts and the various interchangeable expressions and hands, you can recreate all sorts of dynamic scenes from the series, like him raising his hands and shouting "I'm gonna be King of the Pirates!", contentedly munching on meat, or unleashing a powerful "Gum-Gum Bazooka."
▼ The second box is "S.H.Figuarts Nami -The Dawn of Adventure-." The set includes the Nami main body, four interchangeable expression parts, six types of interchangeable hands, her early-series staff weapon, a treasure chest filled with gold and silver, and a bonus expression part for the "S.H.Figuarts Monkey D. Luffy -The Dawn of Adventure-."
▼ Her sculpting and proportions are also closer to recent designs, perfectly capturing Nami's youthful and cute charm from the early days. In addition to the seamless articulation design, her skirt is made of a soft material to increase the range of motion for her legs.
▼ The treasure chest lid can be opened and closed, and the treasure inside is painted with a brilliant metallic gold finish.
▼ The expression parts include a classic "angry face" for comedic scenes.
▼ A serious "clenched-teeth face" for battles.
▼ A cute and playful "tongue-out face."
▼ A joyful "closed-eyes smiling face."
▼ And her standard "smiling face" can be swapped in.
▼ The bonus expression part for the "S.H.Figuarts Monkey D. Luffy -The Dawn of Adventure-" is a comical "satisfied smile."
▼ The overall multi-axis joint design is fundamentally the same as Luffy's. A notable difference is the design from the hip joints to the thighs. While the hip joints within the soft-material skirt don't allow for as wide a stance as Luffy's, the skirt can flare out enough for most poses. Additionally, the upper thighs feature a horizontal swivel to supplement the legs' articulation.
▼ By combining her staff (which can be held in both hands), the treasure chest, and the separately sold Luffy figure, you can recreate Nami's money-loving personality from early "One Piece," her reactions to Luffy's strange antics, and the famous scene where he places his straw hat on her head!
In addition to the currently released Luffy and Nami, the 'S.H.Figuarts' series will continue to release other "East Blue Saga" characters like "Zoro" and "Shanks & Young Luffy." Furthermore, at the recent TAMASHII NATION 2024, "Sanji" and a never-before-produced "Usopp" were exhibited. We hope for an official sales announcement soon!
At the same time, Luffy's two brothers, "Sabo -Chief of Staff of the Revolutionary Army-" and "Portgas D. Ace -Fire Fist-," are confirmed for a January 2025 release. These characters not only share a deep bond with Luffy but will also include bonus expression parts compatible with both the "S.H.Figuarts Monkey D. Luffy -The Dawn of Adventure-" and "-The Raid on Onigashima-" figures, allowing you to recreate various interactive scenes between them and Luffy.
Additionally, in February 2025, TAMASHII NATIONS will release the "S.H.Figuarts Monkey D. Luffy -The Dawn of Adventure- Freely Stretchable Rubber Accessory Parts Set." This set includes dedicated parts to extend Luffy's arms and legs, as well as effect parts to recreate his "Gum-Gum Gatling" attack, greatly enhancing Luffy's playability. This set will also be available at general retail, so you might consider picking it up along with Luffy.
▼ S.H.Figuarts Monkey D. Luffy -The Dawn of Adventure- Freely Stretchable Rubber Accessory Parts Set
