Toybox REVIEW: S.H. Figuarts Nami -Romance Dawn-

Release Date: September 2024

RRP: 7150 yen

While the return of One Piece S.H. Figuarts seems to be something Bandai Tamashii Nations are taking quite seriously, it is somewhat surprising that despite all these releases that the main cast of characters doesn’t seem to be a priority. The franchise's 25th anniversary might have been just what was needed to change that though, as in addition to figures from the current era Tamashii Nations are also going back in time to it’s very beginning! S.H. Figuarts Nami -Romance Dawn- is the second character to be released from this sub-set of figures, as well as the second Nami figure in the S.H. Figuarts line – the original dating all the way back to 2010!

S.H. Figuarts Nami -Romance Dawn- comes in the familiar white box seen across all the more recent One Piece releases, only this time it's appropriately been given orange as a secondary colour. On the front of the box you'll find some posed images of the figure alongside the character name and usual brand logos, flanking a nice big window to show off the figure inside. The sides of the box are a little more varied, with one featuring the character name again alongside another posed image while the other shows off all the various faceplates included with this release (including one for Luffy). On the back of the box all these images are consolidated breakdown of what's included, but a better way to find out is to just open it up and see everything staring back at you neatly from a moulded plastic tray.

As the name suggests, this version of Nami is based on her appearance during the Romance Dawn arc of the manga/show, and as such her first appearance costume which consists of a blue and white striped shirt, yellow skirt and brown boots. This is also the same costume used for the live-action Nami S.H. Figuarts release, albeit with some altered detailing. It's a very simple design but Bandai have handled it with their usual level of high quality, and Nami looks like she's jumped straight out of the anime. The face sculpt(s) is particularly good at capturing the style of One Piece at the time, capturing Nami's personality well with sharp eye prints and a neatly painted mouth. The hair also has a beautiful orange gradient that gives it so much more depth and presence. Similarly to Luffy, the torso is covered with a soft plastic overlay to hide the inner works of the body, and even though there's a small cut visible at the back it does a good job of creating a relatively seamless sculpt.

While not quite as heavily articulated as her crewmate, Nami is certainly no slouch when it comes to poseability either. Altogether she features; 

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

- Swivel hinge shoulders, hips and ankles 

- Butterfly joint shoulders 

- Double hinge elbows 

- Single hinge knees and toe sections 

- Bicep and thigh swivels 

Single hinge knees come as a bit of a surprising as it isn't something typically in Bandai's wheelhouse – single hinge elbows can be quite common on human/untransformed figures, but Nami has the usual double joints there. That said, with the obvious restrictions in her legs thanks to the skirt (albeit soft plastic and segmented to allow the hips more movement) the effect isn't felt quite as much as you'd think, and Nami is still able to pull off a great range of poses suited to her character. The upper body movement is particularly good, so she definitely makes up for any supposed lack of expressiveness there instead. While Nami is perfectly capable of fighting she isn't a fighter per se, so what this figure does have on offer is enough for some decent combat poses that'll display comfortably alongside the rest of the Straw Hats.

If there's one thing that Nami likes it's "things", so it's rather fitting that this release also comes with a rather impressive selection of accessories! Altogether she comes with four additional faceplates, six additional hands, her staff and a full-sized treasure chest. The faceplates complimenting her standard smiling face are a cheeky winking expression with tongue poking out, closed eyes smile, a gritted teeth angry expression and a wonderfully over the top angry anime face expression complete with white eyes, extended jaw and pointed teeth. All of the faces are brilliant and add a lot more personality to the figure, but this one is particularly special. Swapping the faces simply involves the standard method of removing the fringe and pegging the desired face into place. The hand selection consists of three pairs (fists, open and weapon holding), together with a pointing right hand and one of the two clasped together. The staff itself is a simple brown pole as it's her original wooden staff rather than the Clima-tact she uses later on in the story, though basic as it may be it looks just as it should. Finally we have the treasure chest, an appropriate accessory for any good Nami figure! The outside of the chest is nicely detailed with wood panels and gold bordering, and then inside is a nice bounty of gold coins, bars and a crown for the treasure-hungry navigator to steal. Sadly none of it is removable, but it is very well moulded and a great accessory piece that could be used across a number of different figures.

On top of all that Nami also comes with an addition faceplate for Luffy, which seems to be a running trend with all the figures in the revived One Piece line. This one in particular is his familiar wide teeth-bearing grin, and is compatible with both the Romance Dawn and Raid on Onigashima versions of Luffy. While usually I'm against accessories for another character coming with a figure, in this case it works because it doesn't really feel like Nami has come with any less to make room for it. The Luffy figures come with enough of their own faceplates as it is, so anything additional really is just a bonus. And credit where's it's due, Bandai are doing a brilliant job of supplying him with some really expressive faces. Hopefully Nami will get a few more one day too – what we've got here is great, but she could really do with both a crying face and one with Berry sign eyes just to complete the set.

Favourite character bias more than likely comes into play a bit here but nevertheless S.H. Figuarts Nami -Romance Dawn- is an absolutely fantastic release, and really bodes well for the quality of these pre-time skip One Piece figures. Bandai really have come a long with their anime-styled figures, and what Nami lacks in the usual S.H. Figuarts articulation she more than makes up for with a great sculpt, impressive selection of accessories and just generally being an incredibly fun figure to pose and play around with. How can you not be in love with all those face sculpts? The perfect compliment to Luffy, as well as the start of what will hopefully FINALLY be a complete line-up of Straw Hats in the S.H. Figuarts line…from a certain point in the show's history anyway.