That is very unfortunate, but... well, as said, does it cause any real issue with the figure? Would it fall off, impede anything, even look bad? Genuine question as a potential buyer

From what I?ve seen of Japanese buyers on twitter, the strap seems to snap in the exact same place with everyone?s copy due to using the bicep swivel in any meaningful way. It?s not gonna fall off since the strap piece attach at two points on the shoulder itself (not the shoulder pad) so worse case scenario they break off completely but I haven?t seen anyone do that yet. And lastly it only looks as bad as what the post last page shows so it?s really not that big of a deal but the fact that you maybe have to break your toy to make it work right/better is really lame. I have no idea why Bandai didn?t make that piece out of a soft bendy plastic.

Yeah, that's about what I thought... very odd situation of a widespread issue that shouldn't have been a thing in the first place, but also just doesn't matter?

Well a lot of Japanese fans have been pointing this issue out, so best case scenario Bandai notices and hopefully they have enough time to fix the issue for the p-Bandai riders. If not maybeee shf upgrade can release something to fix the problem?

Aren't the pieces loose, to a degree? Would it maybe help raising the arms until the straps aren't under friction anymore and then use the swivels?

https://i.imgur.com/kcwgla1.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/6bHYKZb.jpg

No, not on the final release. They?re tucked as close as possible to the arm and there?s no hinge for them to swivel for clearance. I have no idea what happened between the promo shots and the final release.

Oh yeah, I just looked up a review gallery. Those pieces sit way too close to the swivel, using it puts constant wear on them.

What a dumb designed decision. Or was the intention for them to have more room and it was lost in production?

Anyhow, I’m gonna be careful with mine. Knowing what to look out for helps, and as Kurona said, breakage really isn’t the end of the world with those, you would barely notice in most poses. Or not at all even.

Good luck to you when you get yours, but the odds of it snapping are pretty high. I actually just snapped mine on accident a few minutes ago and I?m not exaggerating when I say that even the slightest amount of bicep swivel is enough to make it snap (that being said once it snaps the bicep swivel works like a dream and the snap isn?t noticeable unless you?re looking for it).
My only guess as to why they didn?t space out the straps from the arm like the promo pic is because then you wouldn?t be able to put the arms up against his sides all the way, but like I said in previous posts this wouldn?t be an issue if Bandai just used soft plastics for the straps.

I still can't believe SHF Grand Zi-O walked out of the factory missing a complete mold line.

This is another very strange defect; having no impact on functionality, but just the right amount of annoyance.

"Mold line"? Could you elaborate?