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Post by mpchi on Jul 10, 2013 21:31:51 GMT -5
I've been reading One Piece for a few years now, and while I'm a fan of the series in general and Franky in particular, I probably won't be getting this. It's very expensive and doesn't really fit in well with the rest of my collection. I have never watched a single episode of One Piece, is it worth checking out? Really not liking most of the character designs. Also, there was that Chogokin Franky a while back, is it a good buy, you know, as sort of a companion for this upcoming release?  Gold One Piece is a good series. It's got a great sense of adventure and worldbuilding. The humor is distinctly Japanese, which may or may not be a turn off. Despite the comedic moments, it does its serious moments well. But it's a huge time investment. Even if you only read the manga, you still have years worth of material to catch up to. You can't really skip any of it either, since there are cases where background characters suddenly become important years later. The series isn't anywhere near an end, either. I easily see it continuing for another decade. The character designs seem to turn a lot of people off. Oda has a pretty unique art style, and I can understand why some people don't like it, but I've gotten used to it. Now that I look back, it was the Franky gokin that got me started with One Piece. Ordered it because it was quite a funky looking piece with lots of gimmicks. Then figured I should watch a little bit of the show just to know the characters a bit. And maybe get a couple of the main character statues that go in scale with Franky for display and call it done (not a fan of buying any figures with no articulations). Show turn out a bit juvenille and boring at first, and the drawings are quite strange too. But everything will eventually grow on you (and me), to a point that I found myself buying something like this and actually looking forward to it, just a month or so after I start watching. This is the power One Piece has. What you once thought was weird and ugly, would become something that hits your heart with a bang and shed manly tears watching it. Yup. Even for this 'dude'.  For people that like better pacing, the manga would be the way to go, since there is no filler and the story just goes from one arc to another. However, the TV series does have its charm for great music and voice acting. You get more emotional impact and visual enjoyment, in the exchange of slower pacing and fillers. If you want to give the show a try, go to Hulu.com and you can watch it for free (support the licensed venue). There are some 100+ episodes in the middle that are not licensed in US yet. You can find those here: onepiecebay.net/One Piece is very awesome. If I had not preordered that Franky gokin, I would have missed out BIG BIG time (the Franky toy is very fun too). So for those like Gold that are on the fence of the show, give it a shot. There got to be something about One Piece manga that it is the best selling book EVER in Japan, beneath all the silliness & comedy on the surface. |
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Post by gt3ian on Jul 11, 2013 9:22:23 GMT -5
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Post by twoducks on Jul 11, 2013 20:04:19 GMT -5
Those tank treads look awesome.
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Post by Gold on Jul 12, 2013 5:24:39 GMT -5
Thanks for the inputs guys. Guess I'll have to start watching One Piece. I recently picked up the Chogokin Going Merry (along with Franky), can anyone recommend figures that are in scale with it? Gold |
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Post by mpchi on Jul 12, 2013 15:02:41 GMT -5
Thanks for the inputs guys. Guess I'll have to start watching One Piece. I recently picked up the Chogokin Going Merry (along with Franky), can anyone recommend figures that are in scale with it? Gold I can most definitely do so, since I walked the same path last year. For Going Merry, the scale pretty much won't work with anything since the figure will be very tiny, but it already comes with a bunch of tiny figures for displaying a specific scene, so you kind of got that cover. As for the upcoming Franky Shogun/General, you pretty much have to find some really small candy toy figures to go with. Even the ones shown above in the show display appears too big, so you'll have to look around and research a little. The main one is to find statues that match Franky gokin. There are 2 main lines you can go for. Bandai Figuarts Zero is what Bandai made to Franky gokin to match with. The line is very big and it has many characters covered. Price range around $20 - $60 depends on size. They sold out pretty fast normally, but some got reissued. Figures also have some parts swap to change a pose or two or comes with effects parts. So whats the catch? The quality of the early figures are horribly painted, and sculpt is not very good. The more recent ones get quite a bit better (last year or 2), but often times you feel that the paint is still a bit sloppy, and you don't always get your money's worth. Banpresto Grandline Men & Grandline Lady is a line in more or less the same scale (sometimes a tad bit bigger than Bandai's Figuarts Zero, but close enough and match nicely with Franky). They are UFO catcher prizes, so they are not as regularly available at all online shops. (Anime-Export, Big-In-Japan, or shops on Amazon carries them, as well as ebay of course). This is the line I end up collecting, as they have nicer finish and sculpt in general. The paint is less saturated colored, but has more airbrush shading than Bandai's. If you preorder or buy early, you can usually get pretty good deal on them, $15-20 a piece, usually release as a set of two every few months. Whats the catch for this line? It is not as big as Bandai's, leaving out quite a number of secondary characters, especially someone that are quite big in size. Or if they do have the big characters, they look better than Bandai's, but are shrunk down somewhat. And they don't have part swap or action poses as options. Pretty static standing poses. If you see yourself expanding your collection (One Piece has gazillion likeable characters, once you get into it), Bandai's might be the way to go, but will cost more and expect less stella paintjob/sculpt. If you want more bang for the buck and don't mind a more limited collection, go with Banpresto's Grandline Men/Lady. Or you can mix it up, get what you like most from one line, and what is not available from the other, as long as you don't mind the small difference on the displace stand and sculpting style. Megahouse's Portrait Of Pirates (P.O.P.) line is the premium statue line of One Piece. They are the nicest in general, but cost about $100 a pop in most case, and are too big (1/7 scale) for Franky gokin. So probably a skip. Another thing to consider, the look of Franky gokin is after the 'time skip' or '2 years later' version. So if you want to get the main characters to match that look, look for the "time skip" versions of said characters to match, instead of the older version of the crew with older outfits/looks. Hope that helps, and good luck finding what you need. And watch out for bootlegs (look for the Toei gold or silver sticker on box). P.S. Here area few shots I took way back when I first started, my Grandline collection grew more than twice the size now...     |
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Post by fywdyl on Jul 12, 2013 20:56:53 GMT -5
Bandai is genius. Introduce a bunch of robot collectors to one piece and then eventually they'll get hooked on it too and make a crap ton of money.
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Post by Gold on Jul 12, 2013 21:25:18 GMT -5
Thanks for the inputs guys. Guess I'll have to start watching One Piece. I recently picked up the Chogokin Going Merry (along with Franky), can anyone recommend figures that are in scale with it? Gold I can most definitely do so, since I walked the same path last year. For Going Merry, the scale pretty much won't work with anything since the figure will be very tiny, but it already comes with a bunch of tiny figures for displaying a specific scene, so you kind of got that cover. As for the upcoming Franky Shogun/General, you pretty much have to find some really small candy toy figures to go with. Even the ones shown above in the show display appears too big, so you'll have to look around and research a little. The main one is to find statues that match Franky gokin. There are 2 main lines you can go for. Bandai Figuarts Zero is what Bandai made to Franky gokin to match with. The line is very big and it has many characters covered. Price range around $20 - $60 depends on size. They sold out pretty fast normally, but some got reissued. Figures also have some parts swap to change a pose or two or comes with effects parts. So whats the catch? The quality of the early figures are horribly painted, and sculpt is not very good. The more recent ones get quite a bit better (last year or 2), but often times you feel that the paint is still a bit sloppy, and you don't always get your money's worth. Banpresto Grandline Men & Grandline Lady is a line in more or less the same scale (sometimes a tad bit bigger than Bandai's Figuarts Zero, but close enough and match nicely with Franky). They are UFO catcher prizes, so they are not as regularly available at all online shops. (Anime-Export, Big-In-Japan, or shops on Amazon carries them, as well as ebay of course). This is the line I end up collecting, as they have nicer finish and sculpt in general. The paint is less saturated colored, but has more airbrush shading than Bandai's. If you preorder or buy early, you can usually get pretty good deal on them, $15-20 a piece, usually release as a set of two every few months. Whats the catch for this line? It is not as big as Bandai's, leaving out quite a number of secondary characters, especially someone that are quite big in size. Or if they do have the big characters, they look better than Bandai's, but are shrunk down somewhat. And they don't have part swap or action poses as options. Pretty static standing poses. If you see yourself expanding your collection (One Piece has gazillion likeable characters, once you get into it), Bandai's might be the way to go, but will cost more and expect less stella paintjob/sculpt. If you want more bang for the buck and don't mind a more limited collection, go with Banpresto's Grandline Men/Lady. Or you can mix it up, get what you like most from one line, and what is not available from the other, as long as you don't mind the small difference on the displace stand and sculpting style. Megahouse's Portrait Of Pirates (P.O.P.) line is the premium statue line of One Piece. They are the nicest in general, but cost about $100 a pop in most case, and are too big (1/7 scale) for Franky gokin. So probably a skip. Another thing to consider, the look of Franky gokin is after the 'time skip' or '2 years later' version. So if you want to get the main characters to match that look, look for the "time skip" versions of said characters to match, instead of the older version of the crew with older outfits/looks. Hope that helps, and good luck finding what you need. And watch out for bootlegs (look for the Toei gold or silver sticker on box). P.S. Here area few shots I took way back when I first started, my Grandline collection grew more than twice the size now... Oh wow! Thanks Mpchi for compiling such a detailed list, this will be of great help. Much appreciated  Gold |
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Post by erikla on Jul 13, 2013 12:18:54 GMT -5
Nami swaaaaaaan! <3
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Post by Lejam on Jul 15, 2013 4:03:41 GMT -5
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Post by Chen on Aug 7, 2013 5:10:08 GMT -5
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Post by twoducks on Aug 7, 2013 7:17:24 GMT -5
Man, those are fantastic looking hands!!
Really liking how he looks!
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Post by zman on Aug 7, 2013 10:22:16 GMT -5
I's still not feeling it BUT do let me know when it goes on clearance and I will most definitely pick it up |
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Post by erikla on Aug 7, 2013 11:16:54 GMT -5
Incredible articulation for such a strange design! Love how he can actually reach for the sword on his back. Getting this for sure!
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Post by actionawesome on Aug 7, 2013 12:14:22 GMT -5
Dang. That is looking way awesome. Not planning on getting but props.
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Post by mpchi on Aug 7, 2013 21:39:02 GMT -5
That is some pretty cool design in Franky Shogun. While the aesthetics is not everyone's cup of tea here, it sure tried something new in the SOC line. Fully articulated fingers, working segmented tank treads, articulated mouth...etc. The only thing I am not so fond of is the mini Chopper (the animal 2nd pilot) figure, with the eyes painted so high and look a bit wrong. Hope that is a misprint on this sample.
Very looking forward to this!
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Post by Lejam on Aug 20, 2013 6:31:41 GMT -5
From Tamashii FB :  Bot mode is gorgeous ! |
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Post by kingdom2000toys on Aug 20, 2013 22:38:54 GMT -5
Pretty Awesome shots.
I still think it's over priced - for a niche market.
But excellent job - looks like quality stuff.
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Post by KingboyD on Aug 21, 2013 10:59:33 GMT -5
OK, on the recommendation of those here, I started watching this series with my kids. I am about 15 episodes into the show. They love it and are bugging me to rent more. But personally, this show just irritates me. First of all, I can't stand the voices (watching the dubbed version because of the kids). But worst, each episode is only about 2 minutes of storyline. Everything is sooooooooooooooo dragged out. For example, an episode starts in the middle of a battle (which started 3 episodes earlier). Two characters talk for about 5 minutes, while I guess everyone else is just standing around? They charge past each other, delivering a few blows. Then another 5 minutes of chatting. Then they attack each other again. Then more chatting. Then a break. Then they come back and replay a few minutes of everything you just saw. By the end of the episode, maybe only a few minutes of actual happenings occurred. OMG - shoot me now! Sorry, I tried, but this is pretty much unwatchable. I will rent it for the kids, but I will use my time more wisely.
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Post by guanaco on Aug 21, 2013 14:06:28 GMT -5
A robot only a mother could love.Bit over prized for a plastic garbage can. But it will look nice with my bossborot when it goes on clearance.
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Post by erikla on Aug 21, 2013 14:52:03 GMT -5
A robot only a mother could love.Bit over prized for a plastic garbage can. But it will look nice with my bossborot when it goes on clearance. That's an ignorant comment to make. You have to know the show to understand Why it looks that way. That's the style franky builds things, so the look is related to the story line. The point isn't if it's ugly or not, but If its show accurate, and it is - incredible so, from the proportions, color and transforming ability. |
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