Series REVIEW: S.H. Figuarts Borsalino -Future Island Egghead-

Release Date: November 2025

RRP: 16,500 yen

One Piece S.H. Figuarts have been keeping up with current events in the anime through its "Future Island Egghead" range, but it (along with the line in general really) has been sorely lacking in antagonists. With Luffy getting a long awaited rematch against Admiral Kizaru (aka Borsalino) during this arc it's the perfect time for Bandai Tamashii Nations to add some Marines to the line with the release of S.H. Figuarts Borsalino -Future Island Egghead-! Borsalino is the first Marine Admiral to join the line, and while it shouldn't come as any surprise to hear the figure is a Tamashii Web exclusive (and a rather pricey one at that), hopefully it bodes well for the other Admirals joining him in due course.

Borsalino is a much larger character than your average One Piece figure (though still far from the largest character released in the line), so naturally the box is much larger than usual as well. Despite this it still retains the same design as all the other One Piece Figuarts, right down to being a normal window box despite being a Tamashii web exclusive release. The Borsalino packaging combines the usual white box with some secondary yellow colouring - a perfect fit for his light-based powers and outfit colours. On the front of the box is a nice big image of the admiral alongside his name and all the usual series/brand logos, as well as a big window section to show off the figure itself. One side of the box features a small image of the figure at the bottom with the character name up above it, whereas the other is a nice bookend-style display featuring close-up shots of all the different faceplates (including the bonus Luffy one) the set includes. On the back you’ll find a nice array of images showing the figure off in various poses, and then inside both the figure and accessories can be found on a moulded plastic tray. Instructions on how to use the accessories are printed on the inside flaps on each side of the box.

True to the "Future Island Egghead" subtitle the release has, S.H. Figuarts Borsalino is based on the admiral's appearance from that arc, where he sports a yellow and black pinstripe suit and orange shirt instead of his usual two-tone yellow suit and blue shirt combo. Though just a costume difference it's not necessarily one collectors may prefer, much like how Sabo wasn't released in his usual outfit colours. It does however give Bandai options if they ever want to re-release the figure with a different deco. Straight off the bat the size of the figure is fantastic - not only does he tower over the majority of the One Piece releases, but Bandai also nailed his slim-limbed character design as well. Overall the sculpt is really good, but does have a couple of notable flaws. The highlight here is definitely the face, which packs in all the detail of his overly detailed (at least by One Piece standards) face beautifully. The default face has that trademark sneer that's almost always on his face, and the sunglasses have transparent lenses so the eyes can be seen through them. The detailing on the suit is very nicely done, but the solid black elbow and knee joints do spoil things a bit. Thankfully the knee joints are only exposed from the front when the knees are bent, but it's a shame Bandai couldn't think of a way to do them without maintaining the suit stripes a little more. But the real elephant in the room here is that admiral's coat - moulded in solid (albeit segmented) plastic which clips onto the bag of the figure via a standard peg. I'll get into how bad it is functionally further down in the review, but even before that it's just plain ugly. Details like the epaulettes and the "Justice" kanji ("Seigi") on the back look great, but visually it's all just a bit underwhelming. The way the coat is split across three segments isn't very appealing (and can look really bad without careful posing, as I have tried to demonstrate in some of the photos), and seeing the joints holding it together from the front really spoils the look. Granted Sabo also came with a plastic coat of similar structure so it shouldn't be that much of a surprise, but Sabo was a considerably cheaper retail release while Borsalino was a web exclusive. Other web exclusives like Ace and Shanks had soft goods clothing, even if theirs was a little bit simpler than this. While the figure is passable with the default coat, if you've bought this figure or are planning to buy it I highly recommend picking up one of the third party alternatives out there (I personally picked up the one from Bel Workshop) because it really does make the world of difference. I haven't included pictures here as it only just arrived as I was finishing up the review, and I wanted to review the figure itself solely on what was included in the box. But look up pictures and you'll see exactly what I mean.

Unfortunately articulation is a bit of a mixed bag as well, the figure featuring;

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

- Butterfly joint shoulders

- Swivel hinge shoulders, hips and ankles

- Single hinge elbows, knees and toe sections

- Bicep and thigh swivels

The coat is split into three pieces, which feature swivel hinge joints at the top around the shoulder area and about halfway down. Really there's no getting around it, the coat is pretty damn awful. Not only does it look bad, but it's so heavy that it makes even the simplest poses a balancing nightmare. Even if they didn't go the soft goods route, surely that had to be a better way than this six-piece segmented nightmare? But even putting the coat aside for a moment, the figure itself has some notable flaws as well. The black elbow and knee joints already lose points for breaking up the overall look of the suit, but having thick single hinges in the place of the usual double joints is disappointing. While thankfully there isn't too much loss in motion (especially in the knees), they just aren't as functional or aesthetically pleasing. The waist joint is limited by the suit covering, and the shoulder joints on my copy were unusually stiff as well (although that might not be such a widespread issue). While there are still plenty of good poses you can get the figure into, he certainly feels more flawed/limited than a lot of the recent One Piece releases. That said, it again cannot be understated how much a third party soft goods coat improves the figure - while you shouldn't have to buy one in the first place, if you've gone so far as to buy the figure then it's definitely worth the extra investment to get the most out of him.

Despite the shortcomings of the figure itself, the set does try to win points back with a rather generous accessory count. Among the pieces included are two additional face sculpts, two additional pairs of standard hands, three hands with Pika Pika No Mi (Glint-Glint Fruit) light effect parts attached, alternate right lower leg and Ama no Murakumo (Light Sword) weapons. Much like the default face the quality of the alternate ones are excellent, even if there isn't a great deal of variation in the expressions. One has a closed mouth, slightly unimpressed look with the eyes looking to the side, whilst the other is a more shocked expression complete with sweat drops painted on. The glasses are removable, so can be attached to any of the faceplates with ease. The selection of basic hands on offer admittedly isn't great, only adding a pair of weapon holding and open curved hands to the default closed fists. The curved hands are meant to be used for a cross-armed pose, but with the joints being more limited on this release this isn't quite as easy to pull off well as it is on other releases (such as Usopp for example). The effect part selection included here however is wonderful. The hand pieces are a little frighting as the light effects are delicate and only held on by the tiniest bit of plastic, but look fantastic with their clear yellow plastic. The Ama no Murakumo is made of two separate pieces, with the hilt locking onto a small tab. It's a nice size, and a great representation of Borsalino's signature weapon. Finally there's the alternate lower leg, which has the foot transformed into yellow light to represent his various kicks. Surprisingly the legs switch quite easily, with the knee joint featuring long tabs which shouldn't suddenly break if you take care whilst swapping them. Posing the figure whilst using the leg part can be quite difficult, so Bandai have also kindly included a standard clear Tamashii Stage for additional support.

However Borsalino's accessory count is padded out by a number of accessories to use alongside Luffy - or more specifically Gear 5 Luffy. While technically intended for the shirtless Egghead version of Gear 5 that was released in 2025, the pieces are universal enough that they can work with the standard version as well. The first is an alternate head for Borsalino representing the moment during their battle where Luffy punched through him - complete with a fist-shaped bump on one side of the head and a ball joint socket on the other for Luffy's wrist joint to attach to. Again it's primarily meant to work with the Egghead Luffy as his outstretched limbs are haki-infused, but it works perfectly fine with the standard one. Credit where it's due it's a really creative accessory, and done in a way that works really well without posing any breakage risk to either figure. Borsalino's head pops off the neck easily for switching, and Luffy's wrist joint slots in and out of the head without any concerns. The second accessory is an alternate left hand for Luffy holding Kizaru, representing when a giant-sized Luffy grabs him during their fight. The minature Kizaru is quite nicely moulded but sadly unpainted, so looks a bit odd entirely cast in all-white plastic. While I wouldn't necessarily expect such a small piece to be painted in great detail, a little bit of colour would have definitely gone a long way here.

There is of course however the obligatory normal Luffy faceplate as well - this time an angry expression that isn't too dissimilar to the one included with the Romance Dawn release. The gritted teeth expression is pretty much exactly the same, with the main difference being that this one is looking straight on as opposed to slightly to the side. So while this one is perhaps slightly more versatile, if you own the Romance Dawn Luffy this one admittedly isn't adding much to the repertoire. If you don't own that version however, then it's a pretty great expression to include. The face is compatible with all the standard Luffy releases - Romance Dawn, Raid On Onigashima, Future Island Egghead and the forthcoming Marineford version.

The One Piece line has had its fair share of hits and misses since it relaunched, but in the last year it's really felt like the quality has stepped up. As such S.H. Figuarts Borsalino -Future Island Egghead- feels like the first disappointment in a while, with fans definitely deserving more from this fan-favourite character. Whilst the larger size, fantastic face sculpt and varied effect parts are certainly impressive, the below-average articulation and that godawful coat are pretty inexcusable for a 2025 release that costs this much. Even though the latter flaw can be salvaged with a third party replacement, Bandai could have just as easily got it right in the first place. Given the line is about to focus on Marineford there's every possibility Bandai could release a pre-timeskip version that fixes some of these issues, but at the same time Borsalino doesn't necessarily feel like a character they'd do multiples of. A fantastic addition to the One Piece line in terms of character, but definitely not representative of it quality-wise.