One Piece is, undeniably, one of the greatest shonen epics ever written. With its vast world and charming characters, the series has earned its status among the “Big 3”. With fame and a massive fandom, of course, brings about merchandise. Given One Piece‘s massive cast of characters and history, it should come as no surprise that there’s a figurine that exists for almost every single member of the cast, even if they only appear for a limited time in the main story. While many of these collectibles go relatively under the radar outside of diehard fans willing to spend the money to get their hands on them, a recent figure from MegaHouse/MegaHobby has been stirring up controversy.
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The figure, which is made to look like Jewelry Bonney in her Egghead arc design left a bitter taste with One Piece fans due to how the figure is sculpted compared to how old Bonney is during these events in the story – being, of course, only 12-years-old. The modeling for the figure gave her a very “pin-up girl” vibe as well, which made the situation even worse. Included in the “Evolutionary History” figure collection, MegaHouse describes the statue, “This figure captures her in a dynamic pose, emphasizing her wild charm, bold allure, and energetic personality.”
In a fan discussion surrounding the controversial figure on X (formerly Twitter) by sandman_AP, the popular One Piece news account expressed disappointment over the look of the figure. In the comment section, fans jumped to blame Oda for his track record of over-sexualizing the female characters in his work. It’s important to note that, as of writing, there’s no confirmation or details regarding whether or not Oda approved of the design used for the Bonney figure.
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One Piece’s Fan Service “Issue” Is Difficult To Navigate For Fans
While some One Piece fans are unbothered by the occasional fan service in the series, a vocal portion of the community surrounding the legendary manga has been discussing the ramifications of having sexualized character designs be the norm, especially with the release of the controversial Bonney figure. In the same thread created by Sandman, the user responded to another commenter with a translated excerpt from a Q&A with Oda where the artist went into very brief detail on how he draws his female characters’ hourglass figures. Oda told the fan asking for art advice to view the female figure as “three circles with an X shape”.
The mangaka even added a note in his answer stating that female readers will send disgruntled messages over the body type, but to “remain strong and stay dedicated”. While many readers state that the comment was intended as a joke and Oda does have variety in how he draws women, with fans currently trying to figure out if he had any say in Bonney’s depiction in MegaHouse’s latest figure, it’s been brought back up to portray the mangaka in a negative light.
Sources: MegaHouse Official, X (Formerly Twitter)
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Image Credit: Star Trek
