“These figures are more detailed than anything we’ve produced before”: Gurdeep Bains and Oliver Chang discuss YuMe’s new One Piece collection

One Piece is a key new brand in YuMe’s 2026 slate. What made this an attractive IP for you guys?
Gurdeep Bains, Global Creative Director, YuMe Toys: One Piece has a multi-generational audience and is the best-selling manga of all-time. Netflix jumped on board with the live-action version, and that’s brought new fans to the brand. Then there’s the popular themes – freedom and adventure, dreams and ambition, friendship and loyalty and pirates to name a few! With hundreds of islands and characters, there’s something in it for everyone. We had to be a part of it.

The brand is 25 years old, so I imagine there were plenty of different strings to pull on… What steered where you went with this first range?
Gurdeep: We started with storytelling and the world of One Piece. The characters here are so iconic and there was a lot of product potential to explore within the pirate theme. The other consideration was the fact there’s a lot of One Piece product out there… We wanted to see how we could create something special and put our own YuMe spin on it.

On that, can you talk us through the unboxing process behind these capsules?
Gurdeep: We wanted to introduce a water-based reveal mechanic to tie in with the world of pirates and ships. When fans pop open the barrel lid, they Toy Treasures find a clue card that reacts to water – slowly revealing the emblem of the character they’ve received. Each emblem is unique, something true fans recognise immediately… Next, they break the wax seal on a themed envelope to uncover a distinctive background. Finally, they open the mystery bag to reveal the figurine and its stand, letting fans see whether their guess was correct.

And some interesting design elements…
Gurdeep: Yes! We had a lot of fun designing the bags to feel like a ripped money pouch and a jute sack, keeping everything rooted in the One Piece universe. The figures themselves are more intricate and detailed than anything we’ve produced before. Each pose reflects the character’s personality, and the deco faithfully matches their appearance in both the manga and the anime. And because we’re always looking for ways to deliver even more to the fanbase, we’ve included a checklist that unfolds into the character’s Wanted poster – perfect for displaying. Fans can also find a sticker featuring the character’s personal skull symbol, which looks especially great on something like a laptop.

And the capsules resemble barrels?
Oliver Chang, Senior Art Director, YuMe Toys: Yes, Luffy is introduced from the barrel – he pops out of one after his escape from Alvita. It’s such an iconic symbol from the brand and fits with the pirate theme as well.

You mentioned these characters being known for their dynamic poses. Did any pose a particularly tricky design challenge?
Oliver: With One Piece, it’s all about the dynamism. If you look at the manga, it’s within its DNA… All these characters stretch into really crazy action poses. We wanted to capture that but still make it stable enough so it doesn’t topple over… That was a fun balance to strike! It was also important to keep a distinctive silhouette. If you block out these characters into their most basic shadows, you should still recognise who’s who. That’s always a priority and I think we nailed it with this collection.

Gurdeep: Yes, with Luffy, we had to keep his shape and form like in the anime and manga – and he’s very thin. We wanted to maintain that and keep the character’s integrity. The One Piece style guide was a huge help… With such a rich history behind the brand, many characters already have iconic looks, poses and standout moments – we pulled from those to shape this first wave, and there’s still so much more to explore. Working with the TOEI team was also fantastic; they were always ready with ideas and insights to help us deliver what fans would love most.

Amazing! Great work guys – good luck with the launch.