The success of One Piece really is amazing. Not only does it remain a perpetual favorite among its target demographic of young boys, the manga and anime franchise has managed to retain a surprisingly large amount of its original fanbase some 18 years after its first issue was published.
Since One Piece has held the attention of fans for so long after drawing them in as children, there must be something to creator Eiichiro Oda’s pirate tale that appeals to adult men as strongly, or maybe even more strongly, than to children. Maybe it’s the series’ core theme of long-term friendship, which grown-ups can more acutely understand. Maybe the way the stakes keeps getting higher for Luffy and his crew strikes a chord with fans who see it as a parallel to the way life throws more responsibilities and pressures at you as you get older.
Or maybe guys just like Oda’s penchant for drawing ridiculously stacked female characters which are then immortalized in plastic, as with this new Boa Hancock figure.
While One Piece’s leading lady Nami is known for her own impressive proportions, Oda seems to have gradually pumped up the physiques in his character artwork as the story has gone on. So by the time Boa shows up, several hundred episodes into the TV series (or chapters into the manga, if you’re reading the comic), the bar of statuesqueness has been significantly raised in the One Piece world.
But while Oda’s drawing style can be called imaginative and eclectic, “restrained” isn’t usually a word that comes up in describing it. He rose to the challenge with an especially voluptuous design for Miss Hancock, which has been lovingly recreated in this newly unveiled figure.
Faithful interpretation of Boa’s 2-D artwork that it may be, it’s a little startling to see how narrow her ribcage is.
With such a top-heavy design, the possibility of the figure toppling over was no doubt a concern during the planning stages. The molders did a thorough job, though, and solved this potential problem by posing the figure in such a way that it has a wide, stable base.
▼ We can’t think of any other reason Boa’s legs are positioned like this.
The designers also did a great job on the face, although we’re doubtful that many people who buy the figure will actually spend much time looking at that part of it.
But while One Piece is ostensibly for kids, this scantily dressed Boa figure isn’t, which is why it’s being sold through merchandiser Bandai’s upscale Premium Bandai website. If both the kid and the adult in you love One Piece, you can place your preorder for the 9,288-yen (US$78) figure here. Delivery is scheduled for February of next year.
Source: Premium Bandai
images: Premium Bandai (edited by RocketNews24)