As well as being wanted by the Marines, Luffy and his reluctant crew are also on the radar of the Fish-Men. The sea-loving amphibious folk already have a bone to pick with the humans, but Luffy’s insistence on sticking up for those in need puts him directly in the path of the feared Fish-Men leader, Arlong. The Straw Hat Pirates soon find themselves at Nami’s home, Coco Village, which has been destroyed by Arlong. So Luffy and co head to Arlong Park to put an end to the Fish-Men’s reign, once and for all. The next ONE PIECE set I’ll be taking a look at is inspired by Luffy’s epic battle at Arlong Park. The set includes five unique minifigures and three random Wanted posters, plus play features inspired by Luffy’s battle with Arlong. Here’s a closer look at set 75638: Battle at Arlong Park.
Product Details
Set Name: Battle at Arlong Park | Set Number: 75638 | Pieces: 926 | Theme: ONE PIECE
Number of Bags: Bags x 9 | Stickers: sheet x 1 | Characters: Luffy, Nami, Usopp, Arlong & Chu
RRP: £74.99/$79.99/79.99€/129.99AUD/99.99CAD
Availability: LEGO Stores, LEGO Online and LEGO Retailers
ONE PIECE is known for its story arcs, many of which are focused around a particular character or location from across the East Blue. For the live-action Netflix series, these arcs have mostly been translated into single episodes. Arlong Park becomes the focus of Season One’s conclusion, where Nami’s true intentions are revealed and Luffy takes his fight to Arlong. The Fish-Men leader has set up home in a large pagoda-like building, which is surrounded by fairground-like stalls. Various elements of Arlong Park are featured in this set, with those stalls being where the build begins.
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You begin by building the four smaller aspects of the set, which include two fairground game stalls. The Shark Attack stall acts as Arlong’s throne and includes a small seat beneath a colourful facade. The second stall is the Shooting Gallery game, which is where Buggy’s body is displayed. Unfortunately, that’s not included on that stall’s stickered background, but it does include spots for two of the set’s three random Wanted poster tiles. Shooting Gallery also includes a colourful sign, with both stalls using green and white candlestick elements to create the stalls’ canopy struts.
The other buildable sections include the fallen tree truck, where Usopp reluctantly takes on Fish-Man Chu. The other is a simple table area, but it hides a fun nod to the ONE PIECE’s in-world communication devices, the Den Den Mushi or snail phone. Both sections help to flesh out the set’s connection to the wider ONE PIECE world and the particular episode of the Netflix series it’s based on.
The main focus of the set is the Arlong Park pagoda. This ornate structure is where Arlong keeps a young Nami captive and where he displays his beloved map collection. It’s built in sections, but not for ease of build, but in order to include a unique play feature.
The pagoda is nicely detailed across the exterior, thanks to the use of black grids in the window panels and the layer of different coloured elements to give the building both an ornate appearance, whilst also being a little worst for wear in places. Inside is a little more sparse, but the room in which Nami is kept imprisoned is shown through its barrels of maps, chains on the floor and maps displayed on the walls, which are better revealed once the building is collapsed.
The lower part of the building has collapsible side panels, which are kept in place by the upper section. This is created in two pieces which clip together. The whole thing is then topped with a small piece, which is held together with a hinge. Flipping down the very top of the pagoda exposes that hinge section, which can be pressed down to act as the catalyst of the building’s destruction. The force of pushing down the upper part causes the lower sections to split apart, just as it occurs in the final episode of ONE PIECE’s first season.
One of the most endearing aspects of the ONE PIECE sets has to be the minifigures, and this particular set includes five unique minifigures. Although three of the characters appear in other sets, the versions found in this set are unique. Nami is sporting a different coloured torso, which also includes her bandaged arm, covering her Swordfish tattoo. Although she is not wearing Luffy’s hat, it is connected to her back. Usopp is fairly similar to his other versions, but he is also using a different-coloured torso. Luffy’s minifigure is probably the most extreme in terms of how it differs from other versions. The base minifigure is the same as other sets, but the standard arms are replaced with a single long element to replicate Luffy’s Gum Gum Fruit stretching ability. The same element has been used for other stretchy characters such as the Incredibles’ Elastigirl and Ms Marvel. The long arm piece still includes hands, allowing Luffy to connect to and hold things.
The Fish-Men are a unique-looking bunch of characters; their translation from illustration to live-action was extremely well done, and their minifigures are just as impressive. Arlong is the most unique thanks to the new element used to create his hat and back fin. Chu reuses Nova’s hairpiece from the Friend sets. The print detail on both characters is great, particularly their faces. It’s a shame Arlong doesn’t include his unique shark tooth sword, but the piece created for his hat makes up for that.
Although the pagoda structure feels a little small, it’s perfectly suited for its unique destruction play feature. The additional pieces of scenery also add to the play factor of the set. I especially like how colourful the stalls are. But the highlight of the set is the minifigures. They are all unique and perfectly suited to the character’s appearance in the Arlong Park episodes of the Netflix series. I hope future sets expand the line-up with a few more of Luffy’s rival pirates. Hopefully, the random Wanted poster tiles are a hint as to what’s to come. Until then, this is another impressive ONE PIECE set. Battle at Arlong Park and the other LEGO ONE PIECE sets and BrickHeadz are available now.
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This set was provided to BricksFanz.com by the LEGO Group for review purposes. The thoughts within this review are those of BricksFanz.com and do not reflect those of the LEGO Group or Netflix. Providing the set for free does not guarantee a favourable opinion of the set.
