Hey, don't leave! You're in the right place. You're probably surprised by the fact that I'm reviewing something from One Piece or an anime in general. I'm really trying to think if I've reviewed anything else from an anime before as I don't really watch anime all that much. Maybe something from Pokemon? Well, on this one I'm going to have to blame my wife. Over the past couple years my wife has gotten really into One Piece, having watched through the anime series at least once and the live action Netflix show. Me? I'm just picking up pieces of the show as I go. So I know very little about it, but I do like the characters for how expressive they are and their designs. There are multiple companies who have put out One Piece merchandise, and it seems the presence of the Netflix live-action show really catapulted the popularity of the show even higher. My wife has quite a few little knickknacks that we've bought her as gifts or that she's picked up, but at some point in the last couple months I purchased a S.H. Figuarts Luffy at a GameStop sale and decided to add a few more characters to my shelf. I've seen the Bandai Anime Heroes Chopper a few times in Walmart's collectibles section but I ended up ordering this figure of Tony Tony Chopper from Megahouse's One Piece Variable Heroes line. This is actually a reissue figure, as the original version came out in 2016 while this one was released sometime in 2024. It seems like Megahouse (they're a company under Bandai) is really cranking out rereleases of this line due to the increased popularity of the show. So, who is Tony Tony Chopper? He's a reindeer who was rejected by his tribe because of his blue nose and is now the doctor for the Straw Hat Pirates. He's a humorous character (we like to reverse hide like Chopper at our house) and kind of a mascot for the series at this point. He's naturally a smaller character, too, so this figure is noticeable than the other One Piece Variable Action Heroes. Ready to check out the reissue of Tony Tony Chopper? Then join me after the break...
The Facts:
Height: 2 5/8ths inches
Articulation: Swivel/ hinge ankles, balljointed hips, balljointed waist, swivel/hinge shoulders, swivel/hinge wrists, and a barbelljointed head.
Accessories: 5 swappable heads, 4 swappable arms, backpack, helmet, 2 antlers, and display stand.
Year of Release: 2024
Original Retail Price: $34-$50 dollars
The Positives:
* Chopper is a cute little guy. He's just a little over 2 1/2 inches (these figures are more like 1/10th scale, around 7 inches to 7 1/2 inches on average) but there's a lot of detail. Besides being a doctor, Tony Tony Chopper is a human/ reindeer hybrid because he ate a Human-Human Fruit. This is his usual look, (sometimes he looks huge and buff while at other times he looks like a reindeer, running on all four legs) and he's sporting a nicely detailed outfit with clean paint lines on his striped shirt. It's simple and stylized, so his head is larger than his body. He's like a reindeer Funko POP! vinyl, I guess. Who is also an MD. Chew on that for a minute, why don't you.
* Like the rest of the Straw Hat Pirates crew (and pretty much everyone else in One Piece), Chopper is wonderfully expressive. Rather than just giving him swappable faceplates, Megahouse actually has given Chopper five swappable heads. That's pretty impressive! First up, here's what I tend to think of as Chopper's default head. He's got big eyes, a blue nose, and very happy look to him. He's a cute little fellow and the sculpt captures him perfectly.
* Chopper's antlers are removable. There's only one pair, so you have to swap them between his different heads. Taking them off also lets you put his hat on and keep it in place. There's a little metal bit on his ear which I thought was maybe a decoration, like an earring, but on an antler. My wife informed me that this is where Chopper's antler was reattached after having it broken off at some point in the past.
* The second portrait looks like it's pretty much the same as the first except now Chopper's eyes look like he's in awe of something. Maybe he's looking at a huge mountain of cotton candy?
* The third portrait (which, sculpt-wise, looks the same as the first two) has chopper with brosy red cheeks and yellow, star-like eyes. What's the expression here? I assume he's absolutely giddy about something. Like Luffy like looking at meat, Nami looking looking at treasure, or Sanji looking at Nami.
* This fourth head is quite charming. Chopper's mouth actually looks longer, like perhaps he is laughing? His eyes are closed (again, the eyes are printed on, but the mouth is definitely a different sculpt) and his eyebrows are tilted, so he seems to be really enjoying himself.
* The last portrait is quite unique as it depicts Chopper rather upset about something. Perhaps someone just referred to him as a tanuki, a Japanese racoon dog? The Japanese word for reindeer is tonakai, so there's a bit of a linguistic joke there, too, it seems. Also, it seems to be why his name is Tony Tony. Pretty funny stuff.
* I like Chopper's hat. It's a really neat design with a brim, and straps, like a pilot's cap. I'm not sure if there's any significance but the hat looks great, the details are sculpted, not just painted on, and there's a unique shading to it as it gets lighter in the back.
* The hat fits snugly over Chopper's head and, since you can remove the antlers and ears (they're attached), it's easy to put on. This was a smart way to make this work.
* While the standard figures in the series are very well articulated, Chopper is a bit less so. Part of that is just due to his build: A small body, large head, and thin arms doesn't leave a lot of room for functional joints. Part of this is made up for by including swappable arms, but part of it is just a more limited figure. Still, Chopper can move and is far from a statue. You'll really need the included stand to pose him, though, as most poses other than a straight standing pose will cause him to topple over.
* Here's a look at the swappable arms. There is a pair of arms with more bent elbows and a pair with straighter elbows. The hooves are articulated and there's a swivel/hinge joint at the shoulder, but the elbows are static. I imagine this was probably a smarter way to tackle this rather than having incredible fragile elbows.
* Chopper comes with his medical bag to complete his appearance and give him the tools he needs to keep the Straw Hat Pirates in fighting shape. The bag doesn't open but it is sculpted to look like it does. There's even a bit of shading here. To out it on Chopper you simply remove his arms and slide it around his torso. Put the arms back in through the loops and he's ready to save the day!
* Since it's tough for him to stand on his own, Megahouse has given Chopper a clear stand. The arm of the stand rotates at the base and there are three hinges which can be tightened using some very tiny tools (not included).
The Negatives:
* The stand itself is pretty nice but why oh why does it attach by clipping onto the back of Chopper's hat? First of all, using a clip like this just concerns me about long term durability as you'd think eventually the plastic might break. Second, You can't use the stand with Chopper without his hat. Third, the clip just doesn't seem to give him that tight of a grip. It's really an odd design and I'm just not a fan of it.
* I've got another complaint, unfortunately. The paint on Chopper's helmet rubs off on the portraits. Even right out of the box Chopper had so many errant marks of blue paint that you'd think Dr. Tobias Fünke was hanging out with the Straw Hat Pirates. It wouldn't be the first time Tobias was hanging out with a group of pirates. I'm also starting to find red paint from the brim of the cap on some portraits as well.
* Part of the difficult with this is that it's really tough to get Chopper's heads out of the hat. The head tends to pop off of the barbell joint easier than the hat comes off the head, so there's even more friction than you'd expect.
There's a lot that I really like about this figure. I like the portraits with different expressions, the overall appearance of the figure, and the clever inclusion of swappable arms. Tony Tony Chopper is a cute character, so there's a lot of fun to be had. Unfortunately, he really does need that stand and I think the one Megahouse included is next to useless due to the weird clip. Also, the way the portraits seem to be doomed to get more scuffed up every time you swap them is a real bummer. Ultimately, those things do add up and detract from what I like about the figure. Ultimately, it ends up making for a Good figure, but perhaps a few design decisions would have made something much more impression. Since this is an import piece (it is still available through many retailers), the price does tend to vary a bit, so shop around for a better deal if you need a Chopper in this scale right away. Otherwise, for the price you might want to look into the many other Tony Tony Chopper figures available.
This is the first figure of Tony Tony Chopper that I've reviewed.
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