Toybox REVIEW: S.H. Figuarts Monkey D. Luffy -Romance Dawn- Gum Gum Option Parts Set

Release Date: February 2025

RRP: 4950 yen

As great as the recent string of One Piece S.H. Figuarts have been, there's been one complaint among them that just seems to persist - why don't any of the standard Luffy figures come with stretchy arm parts? After all, being a rubber man is the future Pirate King's entire gimmick! It seems Bandai Tamashii Nations were prepared for such a complaint though, and as such have released the S.H. Figuarts Monkey D. Luffy -Romance Dawn- Gum Gum Option Parts Set! This rather extensive accessory pack has been produced with the -Romance Dawn- version of Luffy in mind, but has some parts that are also compatible with the earlier -Raid on Onigashima- version.

The S.H. Figuarts Monkey D. Luffy -Romance Dawn- Gum Gum Option Parts Set (which is a hell of a long name, so just as well most of it is written in small text) comes in a box that matches up with the rest of the current One Piece Figuarts, using the same red secondary colour scheme as the Luffy figure did. The front of the box features a window section to give you a bit of a look at the parts, but without them all being assembled you're going to get a better idea of how they look from the myriad of pictures adorning each side of the packaging. The back especially does a good job of fully breaking down what's included and how it looks all assembled, as well as showing that some of these parts are also compatible with the Raid on Onigashima version of Luffy. Inside the various parts are stored across two plastic trays, and the instructions on how to use them are printed on the inside flaps on each side of the box. While I know this tends to be the norm for standard Figuarts now, an accessory set like this could have really benefitted from the instructions being on a loose paper pamphlet, not just so that they could be printed a little larger but also to make it much easier to have them to hand.

Splitting the various parts down into different sections for the sake of ease, first we have the "basic" accessories - a clear Tamashii stage with articulated arm, a teeth-gritted angry face (with the eyes pointed slightly to the side) and a loose version of Luffy's straw hat with the rope parts attached. The latter piece is probably going to be a huge draw for those who might not even be all that interested in the other parts included in the set, since it allows any version of Luffy to be displayed with his hat hanging on his back. Given that this is the way Luffy appears in a lot of the show (particularly when in combat situations), really there's no reason that this accessory shouldn't have come with Luffy in the first place. And Bandai didn't want to do it as a separate accessory, then they could have just made the rope pieces detachable like they did with Ace's hat. But then why would Bandai give you everything you want/need when they can just throw it in with an accessory pack and charge you more? It's a straightforward piece, but easily one of the highlights of the set for just how much more complete it makes the figure feel. Meanwhile a new faceplate was to be expected given that one has been included with every One Piece release since the range came back, and while this one works wonderfully with the set it doesn't feel essential so anyone skipping the set won't be missing much. Honestly it's not all that different to the teeth-gritted expression included with the Raid on Ongashima figure, other than the eyes looking in a different direction. Still, it's nice to see the collection of Luffy faces continue to grow with each and every One Piece release. Finally we have the Tamashii display stand, which despite being more of a given with accessory sets like these still feel like a bit of a novelty when the figures themselves rarely include them. It's also nice that the stand arm is the extra-jointed type rather than the standard version, giving it a little more movement and stability when it comes to posing.

Next up are bendable pairs of arms and legs, finally giving the figure the ability to show off Luffy's rubbery stretching powers. These limbs are constructed the same way they were on the Gear 5 Luffy figure, which utilised bendable wiring encased around rubbery material. However as these arms do not have thicker sleeves moulded onto them like the Gear 5 ones did, they are A LOT easier to bend in the upper arm area. The arms come with default closed fists but can be switched out with hands from any of the other Luffy releases, while the legs have the standard jointed feet attached so there's no need for parts-swapping there either. For the legs it's a simple case of just popping the jointed legs off at the ball joints where they attach to the shorts and attaching the extended ones, but for the arms the process is a lot more fiddly. Basically you need to remove both the standard arm and the bicep cover off of Luffy (taking care not to lose the latter part), and then plug the rubber arms directly onto the exposed shoulder joint. In theory this shouldn't be too hard, but the problem is the double ball jointed shoulders are quite small and thus easily prone to breakage. The sockets on the rubber arms are a lot tighter than the ones on the standard arms too, making it very easy for the joints to get stuck in there when switching between them. While heating the parts up to loosen them is an option, it's possible that the rubbery parts won't take to the heat quite as well as the plastic parts. Another issue is that, rather than outright breakage, the joint may split in half at the seam when trying to remove it - this is fixable as the joints just pop back together, but it's really difficult to do when half of a tiny joint is so embedded in the socket that it's difficult to get the purchase (with fingers or hobby pliers) to pull it out. This happened to me just as I was finishing up the review, and it took a lot of effort it get it out without completely breaking the joint. This could have been EASILY resolved if Bandai had simply included additional shoulder joints for the new arms rather than having to use the same ones, but it seems that just made too much sense for them. They don't seem to have learned their lesson with the forthcoming Egghead Island Gear 5 Luffy either, so I foresee that having similar issues when released.

That (fairly significant) gripe aside, the extended limbs are a lot of fun to mess about with and pose. As previously stated they are really easy to manipulate without any fear of breakage (or obvious signs of the rubber tearing), and both the figure and limbs are sturdy enough to hold any sort of pose you have in mind. It is a bit of a shame that, while the legs will work with both Romance Dawn and Raid on Onigashima Luffy, the arms are only compatible with the Romance Dawn version due to the lack of sleeves. While this was to be expected given the way they're constructed, I would have happily paid a bit extra for an accessory set that encompassed both versions of Luffy. All it would have taken was an extra pair of arms (which would in turn just be repaints of the Gear 5 arms). Still - only leg compatibility is better than no compatibility at all, and it's more than the Egghead Luffy will have unless there's a way to plug those big boots into the legs. Given that's it's Luffy's main ability much like the alternate hat there's an argument to be had that these things should have come with Luffy in the first place, but at least here they're being done in a way where you get everything at once - there's no way Bandai would have packed in alternate arms AND legs with a single figure (without making it a web exclusive like the Egghead Gear 5 is).

However the largest component of this set (and thus arguably the main draw) is the "Gum Gum Gatling" effects display, which consists of seven outstretched fists emerging from a cloud of smoke. These arms are static pieces which are transparent at the bottom before transitioning into skin tone along the arms, representing the rapid motion of Luffy's fists during the attack. Each arm has a slightly different shaped socket so fits into the cloud in a specific place - they are all numbered and the instructions outline where each of them are supposed to go. Finally the cloud piece plugs straight into the included Tamashii stage, with an additional adapter piece plugged in to support the weight. Once it's all set up all you need to do is pose Luffy in front of it, and you have a pretty great looking display piece that definitely justifies the cost of the set. Luffy might have a lot of attacks, but if any of them deserve effect parts as detailed as this it's Gum Gum Gatling.

Overlooking the fact that some of these accessories should have just been included with Luffy in the first place (despite Luffy always being an entry-level priced Figuarts, I doubt anyone would complain about paying more if it came with more stuff), the S.H. Figuarts Monkey D. Luffy -Romance Dawn- Gum Gum Options Part set is a great release that elevates Luffy to the level he always should have been. Stretchy limbs are a necessity for any good Luffy figure, with these one definitely feeling like an improvement over the Gear 5 ones. The Gum Gum Gatling effects are also superb - the kind of thing the line so rarely does any more so it always feel much more significant when they do. That said, it definitely loses points for the ill-thought-out arm swapping mechanism, especially when it could have easily been fixed by simply including an extra pair of shoulder joints. Even if you're careful enough to not encounter any problems immediately, repeated swapping feels like a ticking time bomb. Thankfully both Luffy and this set aren't too expensive to replace should the worst happen, but that's not really the point.