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

Release Date: December 2025

RRP: 7700 yen

Although the One Piece line continued to go from strength to strength in 2025, the year was actually rather quite as far as the "Romance Dawn"/pre-time skip characters were concerned. Following Zoro's release in February, the line largely decided to focus on the modern era and the Future Island Egghead arc instead. However fans longing to go back to the franchise's humble beginnings weren't kept waiting for too long, and the year ended with the fourth member of the Straw Hat crew - S.H. Figuarts Usopp -Romance Dawn-! The plucky sniper from Syrup Village was a retail release, ensuring that so far none of the main crew have been locked behind Tamashii Web exclusivity.

Usopp comes in that familiar white packaging we've seen with all of the relaunched One Piece S.H. Figuarts line, adding a relatively character-specific yellowy-green as the secondary colour. On the front of the box is a nice big image of Usopp alongside his name and all the usual series/brand logos, as well as a big window section to show off the figure inside. 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 included. 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 their moulded tray. Instructions on how to use the accessories are printed on the inside flaps on each side of the box.

Much like the other "Romance Dawn" figures this Usopp is directly based off his initial appearance in the anime, and in turn also what most would consider to be his default "pre-time skip" look. While all of the Straw Hat crew went through design and costume changes over the course of the series, most of Usopp's outfits usually featured the brown dungarees and khaki bandana. So really it's the ideal Usopp figure for anyone looking to collect the Straw Hats from this point in the timeline, and Bandai have done a brilliant job with the likeness on this release. Not only does it have the darker skin tone Usopp has/had, but the face sculpt is perfect with its long nose, thicker lips and thick black eyelashes. While the costume is relatively basic, little details like the gold buckles and the fabric moulding (both on the dungarees and belt) go a long way to make it look impressive. The blue and white striped wrist band adds a nice bit of colour to the ensemble, and then the boots are a nice olive green with nice thick ankle joints to maintain their size throughout. Credit where it's due, Bandai didn't get anything wrong here - though there are obvious joint cuts there aren't any that stand out as particularly noticeable like there are with some of the other releases. Just a really solid figure all round, and that's just looks alone.

Looks aren't everything though, and Usopp's got the articulation to back them up. The construction is the same as what's largely been seen across the whole One Piece range, and consists of;

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

- Butterfly joint shoulders

- Swivel hinge shoulders, hips and ankles

- Double hinge elbows and knees

- Single hinge toe sections

- Bicep and thigh swivels

The sash piece on the belt is also pegged on in a way that allows it to rotate, which is perfect for both getting it out of the way of the leg articulation and positioning it for specific poses. Despite the thick belt piece the ab crunch on the figure is reasonably good, as are the shoulder and hip joints. Special mention once again goes to the ankle joints, which aren't just really good in terms of sculpt but also provide a fantastic range of motion to the feet. Being unrestricted by any moulded clothing the elbow movement is as great as you'd expect it to be, and the knee joints provide a similarly good bend despite being integrated into thick baggy pants. Honestly it's hard to find a fault here - the figure doesn't really do anything new for the line, but instead pulls off everything it's known for without any issues whatsoever. Which in some ways is even more impressive.

Overall the One Piece line has been rather generous when it comes to accessories, and Bandai's good grace continues on with Usopp. Altogether he comes with ten additional hands, four additional face plates, two pairs of goggles (one for wearing over his eyes, and the other over the bandana), his bag, hammer, slingshot and rubber band. Once again the line continues to really deliver when it comes to faces, adding cheering, angry, shouting and panicked expressions to his default smile. The panicked expression is particularly good, featuring jagged teeth and cartoon-style eyes stretching out of the face. The goggles also feature clear lenses, so the eyes can be seen through them when worn. The wearable goggles simply slip over the eyes and slot into very subtle grooves on the sides of the head, and once on fit nicely and firmly so there's no worry of them suddenly popping off and getting lost. The hand selection is a bit of unusual one, mostly consisting of matching pairs but also a unique open left hand and a unique slingshot grabbing right hand. The weapons are all relatively simple in terms of design and paintwork but nevertheless look fantastic, with the slingshot featuring a rotating band piece so that you can angle Usopp's aim as you see fit. While it is a shame that it only includes an outstretched sling part, the figure more than makes up for it with just how good it looks. Usopp was a really expressive figure as it is, but the range of accessories on offer here elevate the figure up to near-perfection. With them you can strike the right balance of the cowardly Usopp from Syrup Village, and the great warrior of the sea God Usopp.

And finally no One Piece S.H. Figuarts release would be complete without an additional Luffy face, and this time around it's another one that feels particularly fitting to the character it's bundled with. Usopp's offering to the ever-growing collection of Luffy expressions is a wide-mouthed laughing face with closed eyes - the kind often seen on the show when he's palling around or singing with Usopp. It's not quite as versatile as some of the other faces Bandai have released, but the ones with the more exaggerated expressions always seem to stand out the most. The face is compatible with all the different (standard) Luffy releases - Romance Dawn, Raid On Onigashima, Future Island Egghead and the forthcoming Marineford version.

The revived One Piece line has both hits and misses over the last few years, with a lot of the hits being from the pre-time skip selection of figures. Portgas D. Ace definitely raised the bar at the beginning of 2025, and then the year ended with the only figure that may have surpassed it. S.H. Figuarts Usopp -Romance Dawn- may not do anything especially new or clever in terms of engineering, but it doesn't need to because it hits every single note perfectly. Beautifully sculpted, wonderfully expressive, a wide variety AND a reasonably priced retail release - Usopp is the kind of figure every One Piece release should strive to be. Sanji's release is imminent to complete the original Straw Hats line up and after Chopper isn't too far away, so now is a great time to get on these figures whilst they're still readily available.