Come aboard and bring along
All your hopes and dreams!
Together we will find everything
That we're looking for!
One Piece!
Yup! It's time for another One Piece review and this time I'm checking out a fairly new figure from Megahouse's One Piece Variable Action Heroes line: Monkey D. Luffy (Ver. 1.5). Bandai/ Bandai Namco technically owns Megahouse now, but this line is much larger Bandai's other lines, so they are noticeably different in scale and style. With the renewed interest in One Piece and lots of new fans coming aboard, there's no shortage of One Piece collectibles available currently. I ordered this Luffy (and a couple others) from HobbyLink Japan back in March and have had him sitting here for well over a month now. I actually had this guy in hand before buying the S.H. Figuarts version of Luffy in this same outfit, but I think there will be room in my collection for a few different Luffys. Ready to check out Luffy in his post time skip outfit? Then join me after the break...
Yup! It's time for another One Piece review and this time I'm checking out a fairly new figure from Megahouse's One Piece Variable Action Heroes line: Monkey D. Luffy (Ver. 1.5). Bandai/ Bandai Namco technically owns Megahouse now, but this line is much larger Bandai's other lines, so they are noticeably different in scale and style. With the renewed interest in One Piece and lots of new fans coming aboard, there's no shortage of One Piece collectibles available currently. I ordered this Luffy (and a couple others) from HobbyLink Japan back in March and have had him sitting here for well over a month now. I actually had this guy in hand before buying the S.H. Figuarts version of Luffy in this same outfit, but I think there will be room in my collection for a few different Luffys. Ready to check out Luffy in his post time skip outfit? Then join me after the break...
The Facts:
Height: 6 5/8hs inches
Articulation: Toe hinge, double swivel/hinge ankles, double hinged knees, extending thighs, thigh swivels, swivel/hinge hips with lateral H-hinges, balljointed waist, balljointed mid-torso, swivel/hinge shoulders with inset balljoint, bicep swivels, double hinged elbows, double swivel/hinge wrists, balljointed neck, and a barbell jointed head w/hinge.
Accessories: 3 swappable faceplates, 6 swappable hands, regular hair (2 pieces), hat hair (2 pieces), cloak, straw hat, and straw hat with string.
Non-Scalper Price: $58-$93 (it's an import item, so the pricing really varies).
* Here's a quick look at Monkey D. Luffy *Ver. 1.5) from Megahouse (left) and the Monkey D. Luffy (The Raid on Onigashmia) from S.H. Figuarts (right). As you can see, they're definitely not in the same scale. S.H. Figuarts is in a true 1/12 scale while Megahouse's figures are more like 1/10th. S.H. Figuarts does seem to have more articulation and brighter colors while Megahouse feels a bit sturdier and has better paint applications on the outfit.
* Here's Monkey D. Luffy! For those of you who have been keeping track, in my One Piece watching I've just finished Foxy's Return arc ("Funky!), around episode 227 or 228, so Luffy's not wearing this outfit yet, but I've seen it plenty and I like the look off it. The Megahouse Variable Action Heroes have their own aesthetic, and I kind of like it. They look more like a hybrid of the anime aesthetic with a more real world appearance. It's a good look and Luffy's colorful, though slightly subdues. His shirt and sash are separate pieces and the figure does show off Luffy's wiry frame. He's strong, but she fairly skinny and stretchy.
* Luffy comes with 2 separate hairstyles (a front and back piece for each) as well as 3 faceplates. The first shows Luffy with a big grin. It's a grin, yeah, but it almost looks a bit devious. Maybe Luffy's grinning because he gearing up for a fight, and you know he loves that kind of stuff. The paint is nearly applied and there are some textures on the face; it's not just all painted on detail.
* The second portrait shows Luffy pretty angry. His mouth is open, his eyes look really cross, and you can even see little veins on his brow! That's a neat little detail you don't see every day.
* Last up is a more neutral face. You don't see Luffy looking down like this too much, so maybe Sanji just informed him all the meat is gone? Actually, looking at this one more, I think it's meant to be an intense stare. Like Luffy's really focusing on something and thinking about it rather than just springing into action like an out of control rubber man.
* Luffy comes with two straw hats, one of which has the string on it so you can out it around his neck. He often wears his hat like this when fighting, so it's a cool extra to have.
* Luffy's second hat doesn't have the string. It's a nice looking piece and you can put it on Luffy's head or pose him holding this one.
* There's a hole in inside of the hat that fits on a peg on the top of Luffy's second hair piece. To swap the hair you remove his front hair piece, pop off the face plate, and then remove the standard hair from the neck peg (there are little notches in the hair and faceplate which the hair pieces and face plates attach to.
* The paintwork is really nice on Luffy. His outfit has a bit of a darker wash to it, giving it a much more impressive appearance. I'm not going to call it cel-shaded, because it's definitely not that, but it does look much richer more.. textured, maybe? Hard to say, but it's a great look and shows a pretty solid attention to detail.
* Interestingly, Luffy's legs extend from beneath his shorts. I'm not sure if it's intended to slightly mimic his Gum-Gum Fruit power or if it's to help give him more movement in certain positions, but it's a neat feature.
* The articulation on the Variable Action Heroes figures is quite nice. It feels sturdier than most other import lines, though it's designed quite similarly. There might be some joints that this Luffy doesn't have versus the S.H. Figuarts Luffy, but it's minimal in my opinion. This guy is much larger and sturdier than his S.H. Figuarts counterparts, more of a 1/10th scaled figure than the 1/12th S.H. Figuarts.
* Luffy comes with six swappable hands and they're quite easy to swap. There's a pair of grappling hands, a pair of fists, and a pair of flat hands. Nothing too unusual, but a decent mix.
* Luffy also comes with this really cool coat which he wears over his shoulders like a cloak. It's a very nicely tailored garment with a purple lining and a large collar that can be worn up or town. The sleeves are permanently stitched into place at the sides so they don't flop around, ensuring that it fits better on the figure. Luffy wears it like a cloak or a cape, after all.
* Not only is Luffy's cloak stylish but it's also wired. There's a posing wire on the edges of the coat, allowing you to pose the edges around Luffy or have them flowing out dramatically. This is just a really neat look for Luffy that does stand out a bit.
This is a pretty nice version of Luffy in a more recent outfit and in a slightly larger scale than most other Bandai figures of the character. If you're comparing him to the S.H. Figuarts version of this costume, that figure is less expensive, brighter, and slightly more articulated. This one has nicer paintwork, is larger and sturdier, and comes with extras like the cloak and the straw hat with a cord on it. Importing right now is a tricky thing to calculate, so it may be tougher to get this guy at a goods price. He is a Great figure, though. Ultimately, he's definitely a figure you may want to shop around for if you're really interested, though he's not on a completely different level than the S.H. Figuarts version, even though their is a scale difference.
Looking for more of Monkey D. Luffy? Then check out my review of the S.H. Figuarts Monkey D. Luffy (The Raid on Onigashima) and the Monkey D. Luffy (Romance Dawn) Gum-Gum Option Parts Set.
* Luffy comes with 2 separate hairstyles (a front and back piece for each) as well as 3 faceplates. The first shows Luffy with a big grin. It's a grin, yeah, but it almost looks a bit devious. Maybe Luffy's grinning because he gearing up for a fight, and you know he loves that kind of stuff. The paint is nearly applied and there are some textures on the face; it's not just all painted on detail.
* The second portrait shows Luffy pretty angry. His mouth is open, his eyes look really cross, and you can even see little veins on his brow! That's a neat little detail you don't see every day.
* Last up is a more neutral face. You don't see Luffy looking down like this too much, so maybe Sanji just informed him all the meat is gone? Actually, looking at this one more, I think it's meant to be an intense stare. Like Luffy's really focusing on something and thinking about it rather than just springing into action like an out of control rubber man.
* Luffy comes with two straw hats, one of which has the string on it so you can out it around his neck. He often wears his hat like this when fighting, so it's a cool extra to have.
* Luffy's second hat doesn't have the string. It's a nice looking piece and you can put it on Luffy's head or pose him holding this one.
* There's a hole in inside of the hat that fits on a peg on the top of Luffy's second hair piece. To swap the hair you remove his front hair piece, pop off the face plate, and then remove the standard hair from the neck peg (there are little notches in the hair and faceplate which the hair pieces and face plates attach to.
* Megahouse's Luffy doesn't have the cool hinged feet with flat sandals that the S.H. Figuarts Luffy has, but the sandals still look pretty good with clean paint and a nice tread pattern sculpted on the bottom.
Looking for more of Monkey D. Luffy? Then check out my review of the S.H. Figuarts Monkey D. Luffy (The Raid on Onigashima) and the Monkey D. Luffy (Romance Dawn) Gum-Gum Option Parts Set.
For more One Piece Variable Action Heroes reviews, check out the following:
One Piece Variable Action Heroes by Megahouse
His smile will haunt my dreams.
ReplyDelete