S.H. Figuarts Shikamaru Nara - Brilliant Strategist

 Shikamaru is easily one of my favourite characters in all of Naruto, Naruto Shippuden, Boruto, and Boruto: Blue Vortex. He's smart, kind and one of the best friends of those who are treated as less. It isn't specifically said, but it does seem like he's Naruto's best friend throughout several series. Aside from his unwavering loyalty, he has some unique abilities that he uses well throughout the series. He's by no means very powerful, but does well with what he has. I never imagined that he'd ever be on the list of figures SH Figuarts would make (though I did answer several polls with that answer, so maybe that had an impact??? who knows!). This is a pretty easy figure to pull off, but there are some issues with the faceplates I'll get into shortly. The accessories and poseability are up to a good standard! Now I just need them to make a Shippudden version of Ino and Choji to complete the team! And Asuma couldn't hurt either....

Tamashii Nations Effect Wind for S.H. Figuarts - Blue ver.

 

This is by far the largest effect in terms of size of the three! This very stylish effect set comes with a large, wide-diameter wind column piece that rests easily on flat surfaces. Two larger pieces feature a semi-circle design that is also meant to fit on a flat surface, creating a more powerful wind base aura. The last three wind effects are slight variations on a semi-circular wind slash. These have peg holes so you can plug in a choice of three plastic bars for characters to hold or to join two effects together. So nine pieces in all!

I love the look of the effects, although the joints and parts with holes break up the light slightly when posing. A minor nitpick, but It would also be fun in the two large base slashes were identical and could be joined on their flat side with a peg to form a really wide air slash. That might be cool to see! 

Tamashii Effects Series - Effect Thunder Green Ver. fir S.H. Figuarts

These have been sitting on the back burner for a while now, so this week will be all about the effects pieces! The Effect Thunder is a set of three clip-on lightning pieces, including a large base lightning piece, an attaching columnar lighting piece that plugs into the base, and a single straight lightning piece that plugs into the top of all three. They did a good job here, making the lightning erratic in direction. I love the clear green on it, though sometimes I feel the white translucent plastic highlighting might take away a little too much in some cases. The pieces are very pokey! The figure attachment pieces are a little more difficult to put on than the fire ones, but overall, this is very cool! If you have a Deku figure or anyone else with a greenish lightning effect, this is a solid must-have! It does work for some of my Blue Lightning users, but I will probably get that specific set in the future anyway.