Tomopop Review: One Piece Excellent Model P.O.P Neo DX Hawkeye Mihawk

10:00 AM on 06.16.2009   |   Pedro Cortes

One Piece is a series that is known for it's over the top action and the camaraderie that the Straw Hat Pirates share. It's also home to some of the baddest mo' fo's that you'll ever meet.

Cue the entrance of Dracule Mihawk, the strongest swordsmen of the OP world and one of seven pirates so insanely powerful that the World Government enlisted them under a group called the Shichibukai, roughly translated as The Seven Warlords of the Sea.

Follow me after the jump to hear me rave about the latest bad-ass cast into PVC in the Portrait of Pirates series.

Manufactured by Megahouse

Released May 2009

Fans of previous P.O.P releases may notice the DX suffix added to the name. What separates previous statues from the DX line? Besides the extra $10 added to price, I have no clue, but it may have something to do with the size of the box, because this baby's box is HUGE.

So huge that my modestly-sized backdrop was ill-suited for the job, hence the lovely off-white walls and mahogany table. The other side of the box shows the other figure released in this set. Aokiji, a Marine admiral and an ice Devil Fruit user, was not purchased, so you'll have to make due with the sweet photo on the back of the box below.

So yes, the DX series keeps the tradition of the impressive display box, though somebody of Mihawk's caliber shouldn't stay in there very long. Out with him!

Out of the box you have Mihawk, his iridescent base and sword, an alternate hand to grip his blade with, and a small dagger tip. Why only the tip you ask? Well, if you take off Mihawk's head and remove the cross from his neck, you can remove the base of the cross and replace it with the provided blade like so!

This is a nice detail, since this little dagger literally appears for about five minutes in the OP story.

Back to Mihawk, I very much so dig the wonderful detail on his sleeves. The texture of the material really pops out, especially as it goes up his arm and reappears on the interior of his collar.

I love the intense expression they gave Mihawk. It shows you how he earned the nickname "Hawkeyes." Another nice detail is the plume on his hat, which is translucent and is seemingly made of a soft, plastic-like material.

The hat is also one of the few criticisms I have of the figure. Simply, it isn't removable. I would've liked to be able to take off the hat, but I guess Megahouse figured collectors weren't interested in male pattern baldness.

Moving on, if you turn Mihawk around, you'll notice how much detail was put into the 'flow' of his spiffy coat.

The back of the coat also has a set of braces for Mihawk's sword, Kokutou Yoru. This blade is over six feet tall in the show, taller than Mihawk himself. The sculptor scaled it wonderfully.

As you can see, the blade slides down the brace on his back quite nicely. It might also be the preferred way to display it, as the blade is massive and will take up a lot of space.

The blade looks glorious when unsheathed, but takes up A LOT of horizontal space. Depending on how you angle Mihawk's hand you can get the blade to angle upward and save some space, but it'll still take up a lot of room.

Seen here is a detailed shot of the hilt of the blade, including the gems that adorn it as well as the filigree that runs on both sides. What you can't see is the sheen the blade has. The iridescent paint (which is also on Mihawk's base) shimmers from green to purple to pitch black.

So to sum this review up, Mihawk must be part of your collection if you are a OP fan. Even if you're not a OP fan, the detail with his blade and coat should at least tempt you. The added $10 probably went into the irridescent paint and size of the blade, and while that may seem expensive for small details, those details pay off in a big way.