Toybox REVIEW: S.H. Figuarts Monkey D. Luffy -The Raid on Onigashima-

Release Date: August 2023

RRP: 4400 yen

While 2022 marked the return of Super Sentai to the S.H. Figuarts line, 2023 heralded the return of a much bigger Toei property. After 13 years absence, One Piece finally came back to the fold. Although 2010 only saw a handful of releases from the series, this time around Bandai Tamashii Nations seemed to have much bigger plans in mind – kicking things off in a manner very similar to many of their other popular ranges. This new range of modern One Piece releases begins with S.H. Figuarts Monkey D. Luffy -The Raid on Onigashima- – based on the character's appearance in the recent Wano arc and a cheaper-than-usual retail release to entice collectors back into the fold.

Luffy comes in fairly standard S.H. Figuarts packaging, but the overall design of the box really makes it stand out. Though on first glance it might seem like a basic white background there is grey map print over the top of it, while the pictures of the figure in various poses work really well against the boxed-off red sections. The back of the box repeats a lot of these action poses dotted around, together with a few more that fully show off its articulation and accessories. Inside all of the parts are neatly laid out on the usual moulded plastic tray, with the instructions on how to swap the faces/hands around printed on an extended inside-flap piece.

As the name suggests, this version of Luffy is based on his appearance during the Raid on Onigashima – a section of the Wano arc that is chapters 978-1050 of the manga and episodes 983-1077 of the anime. But even though the colours are a little different it's a fairly standard look for the captain of the Straw Hat pirates – complete with the open shirt he adopted for his post time-skip look. As you'd expect it's a huge step up from the original S.H. Figuarts Luffy from 2010, which was released while the line was still in its early years. The sculpting is the usual high S.H. Figuarts quality, with billowing/folds on the clothing while the iconic hat has appropriate detail and texturing. The face sculpt is also top notch, capturing Luffy's look perfectly. While the shirt is fixed to the figure, it is made from a soft plastic that stretches away from the torso at the bottom, given it a baggy/windswept look that's so much more dynamic.

Given the 13 years that have passed since the last Luffy figure this one is also a huge step up in articulation, boasting a lot of the various improvements Bandai have made in that time. Altogether it features; 

- Ball jointed head, neck, torso, waist, wrists and legs 

- Swivel hinge shoulders, hips and ankles 

- Double hinge elbows and knees 

- Single hinge ab crunch and toe sections 

- Bicep swivels 

Additionally the purple sash piece is connected via a simple plug joint so can rotate if desired to give it a more windswept look. There are quite a few interesting points of discussion when it comes to the poseability on this figure, though admittedly not all of them are good. The way the legs have been connected via ball joints inside of the baggy shorts is very clever, but the fact said shorts then hang over the knee joints to prevent them from fully bending (less than 90 degrees!) is a rather frustrating flaw. The use of an ab crunch is also rather interesting given it's not something you see often on Figuarts, and it works really well with the usual torso and waist joints above and below it to make Luffy's upper body extra flexible. One touch I really like on the figure is how the sandals are only fixed to the toe sections of the feet, meaning they move with the hinge joint just as real sandals would. While it certainly has its flaws, it's still capable of some pretty great poses – the quality and range of the hip joints almost enough to make up for the limitations of the knees.

Luffy comes with a fairly basic set of accessories, consisting of alternate hair parts for displaying him with his hat removed (back piece, fringe and a neckline piece that fits under the head joint), three alternate faceplates and two additional sets of hands (open and knife-strike). There's a nice range of expressions among the faceplates, including both a teeth-bearing angry face and a determined smile to go along with the default serious face. Best of all though is the completely over the top shocked face, complete with eyes and tongue extending outward. It's a proper exaggerated anime style facial expression, and fits both the figure and character perfectly. But while the accessories here do give you a fair few options when it comes to posing, it's hard to deny that there are things missing here. As is the case with many S.H. Figuarts lines these days (but namely Ultraman and Kamen Rider) later One Piece releases included additional accessories for Luffy, but even then these were all faceplates. The glaring omission here is any sort of stretched limb part, which seems like a pretty big oversight for a Luffy figure. Third party companies have stepped in to fill the void, but with all their other anime properties doing so well when it comes to effect parts/accessories hopefully this is something Tamashii will cover themselves in a future release. An accessory set with various stretched limbs/gear parts could work REALLY well.

While I may not be anywhere near far enough in One Piece to appreciate this particular version of the character (at the time of writing I've just watched episode 242, so a long way to go yet), but I know a good figure when I see one – and S.H. Figuarts Monkey D. Luffy -The Raid on Onigashima- is definitely that. While there are some frustrations with the articulation and its entry price point means it's lacking in the accessories department, this is a really solid Luffy figure to just mess around and have fun with. The face plates it does come with give the figure plenty of character, and that cheaper price tag will definitely entice some new buyers to the line. While the forthcoming pre time-skip figures will likely be more my speed, this Luffy has definitely made me all the more excited for them.