Jay's Toy Shelf : Bandai 2003 Kakashi Hatake

We're back with another figure of Kakashi Hatake, only this is an extremely rare one. If you hadn't seen my most viewed post ever, Bandai 2003 Sasuke, you may not know that this figure is part of the same limited line that was made in 2003 alongside Naruto, which for the life of me I can't find anywhere. At the time, these were the most poseable figures from the show released in Japan. The character of Kakashi I've gone over quickly here (SH Figuarts Kakashi) but in case you didn't know, he is the teacher and leader of Naruto Uzumaki, Sakura Haruno and Sasuke Uchiha from the anime Naruto. This is one of my favourite characters alongside Shikamaru and Naruto himself. He is a famous ninja in the world, using a wide array of techniques mastered over his years in the ninja wars.

Like the Sasuke figure, he is chock FULL of accessories including the art scroll which someday I will find a way to hang so that it doesn't get exposed too much to dust and light. He is shorter and less poseable than the SH figuarts Naruto line, but that doesn't stop this figure from being pretty great in its own rights.

IN OTHER exciting news, SH Figuarts is revisiting the Naruto line with exciting new face plates and advanced articulation. From the promotion pics I'm pretty excited. ESPECIALLY because they are finally making a female figure for the line, Sakura Haruno. You can be I've already preordered all three even though I have a few Naruto figures at this point and one teenage Sasuke. Visit Hobbylink or Tamashii nations directly to see promo pics and preorders!

Sculpt/Paint:2/3 The sculpt on the figure is pretty good and follows Kakashi's proportions fairly well. There are some details that aren't very sharp though, such as his Hatake red clan sign, hair and headband. The paint here is fairly clean and decent but no shading and the eye area and headband symbol aren't painted super detailed. Still very decent though, with nothing much to gripe about.

Articulation: 2/3 (25 points) He's got some articulation that I find very unique to this Bandai line shared with the Sasuke figure. His wrists and ankles are on ball joints that allow a little movement in all directions as well as swivel. He has a sandal band cut that allows the equivalent of ankle rocking. His arms and legs are single joint but also have a bicep and midthigh cut swivel to allow more posing. His head has two joints, one ball joint in the neck and one on the base of the head. Thigh and shoulder joints work well but have visible pints. The waist is one joint at the cut that is a ball that allows only a little tilting and some swivelling. For it's time, pretty good.

Accessories: 1/1 There's quite a bit here! The art scroll being included is just amazing. You don't get that in many figures especially for what they sold this for at the time. He comes with hands, alternate head, icha icha book, weapons and scrolls. I'm a little surprised there's no lightning effect, but Sasuke doesn't come with his either. Seems odd they never made elemental effects for the characters but what are you gonna do? They're all decently painted if a bit fuzzy on sculpt.

Fun Factor: 2/3 He's not as impressive up close as my regular SH Figuarts Kakashi, but he does really well on his own merits and has that super rare quality to him that I admire. He stands fairly well, is balanced, and is decently poseable and interesting despite the year he was made.

Verdict 7/10 Limited He's not really a necessary figure, and more important super difficult to find unless you get lucky ordering from the Mandarake store in Japan, finding it there in person or finding a collector who is willing to sell theirs. The SH Figuarts version is definitely better in most ways, but if you're into it, it's a nice add to the collection for hardcore Naruto fans.

Side view

Back view

Ready to Jutsu

Size comparison with the SH Figuarts. Definitely
meant for more of a 5" feel. The shoulders slope a lot
more naturally in this one at least. Plus no diaper crotch!