Action Figure Review: Brook from Anime Heroes: One Piece by Bandai Namco

 

   No, I'm not going full on otaku or anything, but I do have another One Piece review for you today. This time it's Brook, the swordsman, musician, and senior officer of the Straw Hat Pirates. Having eaten the Revive-Revive Fruit, Brook came back from his death and is now Soul King Brook, a skeletal musician. I don't actually know as much about Brook as I do some of the other characters, but my wife thinks he's hilarious (though he's a bit of a perv, from what I hear), and he's a funky soul musician who dresses a bit like Jimmy Hendrix. This version is from after the time skip in the show, so he goes along with the other post-time skip pirates. I've never reviewed any figures from Bandai Namco's Anime Heroes line but I have seen them and admired them simply because they seem pretty affordable, I always see new characters from multiple different licenses, and they seem to actually get restocked at Walmart quite frequently. They're still available at retail for the $19.99 price point which is pretty darn impressive these days. It doesn't seem to me that Brook has been released in either the S.H. Figuarts or Megahouse Variable Action Heroes lines yet, so for $20 bucks I decided to snag him. Ready to see what this figure delivers? Then let's groove on in to this review after the break...

The Facts:

Height: 7 3/8ths inches (8 inches counting his crown)

Articulation: Balljointed ankle, swivel/hinge boot joint, double hinged knees, thigh swivels, balljointed drop down hips, balljointed waist, swivel/hinge shoulders, bicep swivels, double hinged elbows, balljointed wrists, swivel boa ends (x2), and a balljointed head.

Accessories: Guitar and 4 swappable hands.

Year of Release: 2023

Original Retail Price: $20 dollars

The Positives:

* This guy is just a really cool looking figure. Can you imagine how cool you have to be to rock this outfit? Brook could easily hang out with George Clinton and Bootsy Collins and no one would say a word. There's a smoothness and a simplicity to the sculpt that does capture the look of the animation well. Brook's incredibly tall in the show (apparently he's supposed to be 8' 8.5") so he definitely looks taller than any of the other figures I've seen on store shelves. He's super thin, too, with a build like Jack Skellington. The giant boa is not removable, though it does have articulation as the ends of it can rotate (there's a cut joint above his shoulders), allowing them to swing side to side.

* Brook's head is small compared to his body, but he makes up for it with some amazing hair and some funky heart shaped sunglasses. His skull is very caricatured and looks a bit like the Straw Hat Pirates logo. I guess that's just what skulls look like in the One Piece world. There aren't a ton of paint applications here, but everything that is here is neat and clean like the animation it's based on. 

* I just want to point out how amazing Brook's crown hat is. It's a huge brimmed hat with a crown on it. It's just a marvelous design and it's larger than his head. Incredible. 

* Here's a look at the articulated boa, just because it's rather unusual. See how it rotates up? It can pose along with Brook's arms for when he's on stage throwing out shapes, or just sway more naturally. I do kind of wish it were removable overall, just to give Brook some extra display options, but articulation it was a smart touch. 

* Brook's pants are pretty groovy as they're adorned with flowers all the way down.

* I do have a problem with some of the articulation being loose, but I'll get to that in a minute. Overall, though, Brook is a rather nicely articulated figure and the joints have a great range of motion most of the time. Tall, thin characters can be quite fragile, but Brook doesn't feel fragile at all. He's a solid figure and he is pretty fun to pose grooving on his guitar, doing yoga, or just looking hip. 

* Two pair of swappable hands are included: A pair of fists and two gripping hands. The right hand even looks like it could be strumming his guitar, so that's extra useful. They're true balljoints, so they just pop into the socket.

* I like this guitar! It's just a simple piece with no special frills or anything, but the design is neat. It's a fish or shark or something. The paintwork is neat and clean and definitely improves the look of the accessory.

The Negatives:

* Brook does have some really nice hip articulation with thigh swivels, true balljointed hips that sit on hinges that "drop down." Unfortunately, everything is a bit loose and getting him in some poses is pretty difficult as the joints will slide out of position. Boo. I know some folks coat the balljoint with something (nail polish, perhaps) to give it more friction, so you might have to do something like that or use a stand.

* Brook's hands and feet also tend to pop off fairly easy while posing him. Not just fall off on their own, but a bit of movement too far seems to cause the joints to pop out of place. It's just a bit annoying, though I guess far better than breaking. 

   Considering Brook is a mass market released figure with a fully unique sculpt who is still available at retail for under $20 bucks, there's a lot to like about him and it's tough to say you're not getting some value. His articulation model is quite impressive, though the things I mentioned like the loose hips and hands and feet that can pop off too easily are a bit of an annoyance for sure. He doesn't have foot pegs, so find a clip stand of some sort for him and he makes a really unique addition to your shelf, whether you're a One Piece fan or not. He's a Great figure and, so far, is the only true action figure that I'm aware of on the market.



This is my first review of Brook.