S.H. Figuarts has really been pushing the One Piece line lately and they're doing a solid job of beginning to fill out some rosters/ teams/ storylines. I mean, One Piece has been going for decades and there are so many different characters and arcs, but it really feels like there's a renewed effort on Bandai's part this year. The main pre-time skip cast has been getting a lot of attention lately and now we have a "first appearance" version of Tony Tony Chopper, the doctor of the Straw Hat Pirates, from when the crew first meets him on Drum Island in the Grandline. Yes, Chopper is in fact a doctor. A reindeer doctor. A blue-nosed reindeer doctor. A blue-nosed reindeer doctor who ate the Human-Human Devil Fruit and can talk and transform into different forms. Wild stuff. Let's check out this cute little guy after the break...
The Facts:
Height: 2 and 3/8ths inches
Articulation: Swivel/hinge ankles, balljointed hips, balljointed waist, balljointed shoulder sockets w/ swivel/hinge shoulders, bicep swivels, hinged elbows, double swivel/hinge wrists, and balljointed neck.
Accessories: 3 swappable faceplates, 2 swappable head pieces, backpack, display stand with 2 different articulated arms, 2 antlers hat, 2 removable ears, and additional faceplate for Monkey D. Luffy.
Non-Scalper Price: $38 to $40 dollars
The Positives:
* Earlier this year I reviewed the
Future Island Egghead version of Tony Tony Chopper and in that review I mentioned how One Piece has a really wide variety of different body shapes and an array of characters of different heights. Bandai/ Tamashi Nations really goes all in to make each character as unique and accurate as possible, so Chopper is absolutely a short little guy. He's not as articulated as most S.H. Figuarts releases but his look is pretty accurate to the first appearance of Chopper. I do think they strayed quite a bit into his more recent looks, but overall I'm fairly pleased with him.
* Chopper has a pretty cute face and that's captured here. No, it's not quite a dead on match for his true first appearance (where he looks quite a bit more unusual) but this is largely how he's been portrayed for well over a decade now, if not longer. The face plates for Chopper attach to the back of his head and they're pretty large. There are two separate headpieces, and this one here shows Chopper without his treasured hat that he was given by Dr. Hiriluk.
* Chopper's antlers are removable so that you can put his hat on. They're fairly smooth with just a bit of detail, like the animation on the show, but you can see the brace where Chopper's broken antler was repaired.
* The second faceplate shows Chopper making his "aww, shucks" face. Whenever Chopper receives a compliment he tends to blush, twist a bit, and says something like "shut up you big jerks." Of course, it could also just be a happy, laughing Chopper face, too.
* The third faceplate shows Chopper either looking very frightened or very angry. Maybe a little bit of both? He's either afraid that he's going to be backup meet or he's upset that someone just called him a raccoon dog. S.H. Figuarts does a nice job of depicting the look of the characters in the anime with a mixture of printed features and sculpted features, creating something that's very authentic to the animation.
* Want Chopper to wear his classic hat that he prizes so highly? There's a separate head that you can pop on. Just pull the antlers off of the bare head and put them in here and you're complete. The hat is quite large and looks appropriately for more modern depictions of Chopper. It also looks textured nicely without being overly detailed in a way that doesn't match the animation.
* All of Chopper's hooves are nicely detailed. It's a little touch but it makes a difference.
* Chopper's medical bag is easily removable (you just slide his arms off at the biceps) so you can display him however you want. The color of the blue is just so bright and bold. I really like how it looks on him.
* Chopper has a small display stand that is pretty necessary for him in most poses, especially with his hat. The clear disc has two pots: One that fits in his back with a small hinge and one that plugs into the underside of the doctor's bag. Both have a balljoint at the base and insertion point, making it easier to pose Chopper on it with less fear of breakage.
* Chopper's body type isn't exactly styled for articulation but he still can be fun to pose. The balljointed waist, arms, and legs, do allow for some fun and recognizable poses. Reverse hide? Fawning over a compliment? Looking wildly alarmed? Yup, you can do them all.
* Like every S.H. Figuarts One Piece figure I can think of, Chopper also comes with an alternate faceplate for Luffy. This one features Luffy screaming and he looks really angry with a wide open mouth and arched eyebrows. It should fit on most of the Luffy figures released to date in the line.
The Negatives:
* Maybe calling this a negative is a bit of a misnomer but, if you go back and look at the first appearance of Chopper when the Straw Hats encounter him on Drum Island,
he looks quite different. While always adorable and lovable, Chopper has a more unusual look early on before becoming more traditionally cute and something of a mascot character later on. Since this is Drum Island Chopper, I kind of wish Bandai/ Tamashi Nations had leaned into the odder looking original character. This almost feels more like the post-time skip Chopper wearing the first appearance outfit.
Chopper's a tiny little guy, sure, but there really is a lot of cool stuff here. He's not wildly loaded down or anything but he is definitely equipped with enough stuff to strike multiple poses and to be displayed in multiple ways Really my only complaint is that he doesn't look more like the first appearance of Chopper in the anime; he's kind of a hybrid design. Still, that doesn't make him a bad figure at all. I still really quite like him and I can kind of understand why Toei might have requested that he look like the Chopper most people know and love. He's a Great and a 1/2 figure and a key part of the Straw Hat crew who you'll want for your collection.
For more S.H. Figuarts: One Piece reviews check out the following:
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