To be honest, other than Chopper, the rest of the One Piece characters aren't very "cute". But chibi-fy them and they become the most adorable things ever! Making something chibi is like rearranging their proportions to give an over-sized head and tiny limbs in proportion to the body.
If you didn't already know, One Piece is a hugely popular manga in Japan, it's been running for ~15 years now. The currently airing anime has over 500 episodes, 10 movies and has been on air for over a decade as well. One Piece is also the series where Chopper comes from! Anyway, it's about pirates travelling the oceans and the adventures they have. The variety of characters is awesome, and the storyline is interesting, amusing and has direction.
So there's a line of figures called chibi-arts, and they make One Piece characters. So far only 3 have been released, but at a recent convention they showcased prototypes of possible future releases. Super cute~!!
Perona and Zoro!
Two of my three favorite One Piece characters (the other is Chopper~)
Perona is slated for release in March 2012, Zoro is a prototype.
Close up of Zoro, holding a barbequed fish and a mug of beer.
Chibi-arts figures usually come with extra facial expressions and extra arms in different poses, but since this is still a prototype, not sure what the other arms will be holding. But at least one should have swords for sure!
Vivi, Nami, Sanji and Nico Robin.
Other than Nami, the rest are prototypes!
(Nami came out in Oct 2011)
Close-up of Vivi.
Close-up of Sanji, holding a cake with Nami's head :P
Close-up of Nico Robin
Another favorite character of mine, Chopper!
A prototype, looking adorable with the mushroom.
Close-up of Chopper.
The above pictures were taken during the Tamashii Nation 2011 event, where Tamashii Nation, the company (under Bandai, remember, almost all toys are made by Bandai!) that produces the toys, showcased future products. Photography was not allowed for the public, these pictures came from HobbyStock.
Anyway, onto the chibi-arts that have been released (and I got my hands on)! Nami, Luffy and Boa Hancock. (Ace comes out in Dec 2011 btw!)
First out was Boa Hancock in July 2011.
Then came Luffy in Aug 2011.
I should've given him a more greedy-looking pose by using the inflated stomach body :P
Nami came out end-Oct 2011.
As mentioned, they come with interchangeable faces, limbs, bodies and for Boa Hancock's case, interchangeable hair and legs as well. The limbs are rotatable, and a stand to prop up the figure comes along with the kit.
The "Looking down so much that she's looking up instead" pose. They even include a bunch of quotes in speech/effect bubbles that you can put on a stand and display together with the figure :D
I'm adoring their cuteness and can't wait for the rest to come get released! Hopefully they do get released and not remain as prototypes, and hopefully they get released regularly, and not like one every 2-3 months -.-
On another note, I've ordered a bunch of brushes from Sigma Beauty! Hoping they'll come soon, they've been shipped out! However my card was charged twice (no I did not click multiple times, the charges were 20min apart, their site was having huge traffic that day and oft crashed) and CS has been taking really long to reply...I just hope I can get my money back! :(
