Jay's Toy Shelf : S.H. Figuarts

I just-just got this figure! Released earlier this month, he is probably the least desired figure by fans, but one of the best lower-body engineered Figuarts I have seen for this line! That may be weird praise, but it's a fantastic figure in many ways.

Boruto, as is implied by the last name, is the son of Naruto. He has his own show called Boruto: Naruto Next Generations. The writer of Naruto, Masashi Kishimoto, has ended his career writing Naruto and passed on the art and writing of the sequel series to Ukyo Kodachi, someone who worked with him creating some of the writing in Naruto and the Boruto movie that preceded the Boruto series.

The Boruto show is still young in anime terms, with the very first episode hinting at a pretty dark future, while the rest of the anime is super bright, colorful and generally optimistic. The show has the children of all the Naruto characters everyone loves, many easily identifiable by a mix of anime traits of their parents. I quite enjoy the show, even though it has a bit of a slow start. Boruto doesn't seem like a super likable character to me like Naruto was, but his personality is distinct from his father's, and the show actually tackles some fairly real-life issues (like a suicidal game designer...wow).

Boruto is a much quicker learner than his father was at the same age and has (mostly) mastered the Rasengan, shadow clones technique, and the ability to channel lightning into weapons he uses. There are hints he has a strange eye power, perhaps inherited from his mother, but maybe not quite the same? Who knows. He's got the same blue eyes and blond hair as his father, but the clothing choice is pretty interesting, with a mix of black and magenta accents to his clothes.

This figure is pretty great, mostly because of how incredibly poseable it is. His shirt and jacket are really soft material that allows lots of ab crunching. The hip engineering is really well done to allow a full thigh twist, tons of back and forth and pretty good splits. The head is a bit impeded by the collar, but what are you gonna do? The accessories are pretty good and I really enjoy the unique Rasengan effect that has a bit of a flexible swirl piece on it. Even though I'm not completely bought into Boruto's character, I think this one will quickly become a Top 5 for me!

Sculpt/Paint: 4/5: Really good paint applications. I really like how bright the magenta highlights are. They did a fairly good job with the hair and other little pieces, but the eyes on mine don't quite look like they are focused on a single thing. And no shades!

Articulation: 5/5 (32 points) He is pretty close to the same number of points as a typical SH Figuarts but has a TON more range in the shoulders, thighs and ab crunch. It makes him way easier to pose and more stable. His shoulders are connected on a longer double ball peg with a cap for the shoulders that allow him to raise his whole arm above 90 degrees. The shirt below the chest level is soft so you can crunch his whole upper body to 90 degrees as well. The hips are a crazy feat of engineering that seems like some of the marvel legends hips without sacrificing too much for looks (probably cause it's all black anyway).

Price/Availability: 4/5 He's pretty widely available online. I haven't checked any local shops but got this one through ToyKingsOnline where they had him at a pretty standard price for a Figuarts (70 CAD). Last I checked he was still about that price on Amazon and anywhere else.

Accessories 5/5: He comes with 7 hands, 3 other facial expressions, two kunai knives, and his slightly bendable Rasengan. It's pretty much what he uses! It would've been neat if they had included some shuriken with lightning effects on them, but since that was only used a few times in 57 episodes, maybe not quite an iconic attack as of yet.

Fun Factor: 5/5 I don't know if it's because I just got him and new toys are great, or the poseability or what, but he's great! He also looks good standing next to his family members and balances fairly well. Top 5, no question!

Verdict: 23/25 Great! Super recommend if you're into Naruto EVEN if you hate Boruto. The figure is so good, and if you're into any kind of action figure photography, there's lots of fun to be had if you own Minato, Kakashi and/or Naruto himself.