S.H. Figuarts Itachi Uchiha - NARUTOP99 Edition

 I won't harp on too much again about Itachi Uchiha, I've already done one detailed SH Figuarts review from his older figure here. He is Sasuke's brother and a prominent drive for Sasuke's character throughout the two series. This particular figure is the result of re-releasing Itachi to celebrate the top 20 characters chosen in the Narutop99 poll taken a while back. As the 20th anniversary of the series, they took a fan poll of the top 99 most popular characters. Itachi came in 2nd (the first being Minato, who, as a result, got to have a one-shot manga written by the original writer). 

Anyway! This figure is a huge improvement on the previous figure in nearly every way. The secret here has been including not just a cloth goods Akatsuki cloak to allow fun poses with clothing Itachi normally wears, but having it bendy-wired. This allows so many good options. Typically at this scale cloth goods look bulky and a bit silly but despite the lower than Mezco price point, they've managed to do a good job here. Add that to the improved articulation scheme and some fun accessories make this a great release! 

The only thing the original takes from this one is having a couple of final battle face plates that allow a bit more dramatic expression for the character. Also technically I think the clothes under are supposed to be blue, not black, but that's more of a nitpicky thing. 

S.H. Figuarts Naruto Uzumaki - [Kurama Link Mode] Courageous Strength That Binds

The Naruto show goes through a ton of instances of power scaling, a term in anime (especially Shonen anime) that refers to determining a character's power by comparing them to other characters. Specifically, this is often a power race between Naruto and his rival, Sasuke. 

Near the end of the series, Naruto and Sasuke get a massive power boost. In this case, for Naruto is finally can win over the heart and the chakra Nine-Tailed beast imprisoned inside him by his father, and bond completely in a symbiotic synchronicity. The nine-tailed demon fox, Kurama, has learned over time the value, loyalty and determination of the human being he is locked inside and decides moving forward that Kurama is now on Naruto's side, creating a new power blend resulting in the Kurama Link Mode. Naruto is now surrounded by a yellow-orange chakra and black outlines surround him to show how completely enveloped by Kurama's chakra. In this mode, Naruto has incredible, previously unheard-of power. He can also create clones with insane power and throw on chakra cloaks to an entire army. It's a lot! 

This special figure release is amazing and a bit of a holy grail for me. It was NOT cheap to acquire and yet it's a pretty awesome version of Naruto while not being a repeat of previously produced Naruto versions in the line (I'm looking at you Sage mode!)

S.H. Figuarts Orochimaru - Seeker of Immortality

 Orochimaru is one of my favourite villains in the Naruto series. He has the mad scientist-type vibe and has no qualms about experimenting on people and killing those who stand in his way. He is based on a Japanese myth with a character of the same name, a robber who was blessed with snake magic that allowed him to spit venom at his victims. He is in love with Tsunade, the slug princess, who is Jiraiya's bride. A lot of names were taken in by the show! 

Orochimaru plays a fairly big part in part 1 of the show, being the main antagonist for a good chunk. He has acquired a ton of ninja techniques but is often seen using summons and powers involving snakes and poisons. Early on, he takes on Sasuke and Naruto in the Forest of Death and sinks his fangs into Sasuke, giving him the Curse Mark. This painful seal allows him to draw on power from outside his body but causes transformations of his physical body into something a bit more sinister. The sub title of the figure is Seeker of Immortality, but I'm not sure he isn't already. As long as he has access to a new body to inhabit, he continues living. Maybe it's a pseudo/viral type of immortality. 

Given that I didn't know this figure was coming (I was expecting maybe some of the other Konoha 12 from part 1), it's pretty cool that there's another villain! The figure is pretty great, and if you're waiting for me to put one of these figures on blast for something it's probably not going to happen. I love the accessories and completely forget it ALSO included another faceplate for Sasuke! A part of Sasuke's curse mark 1! The figure is very well articulated, and even the back of the hair flips up on a hinge to allow some movement. The only odd thing I could say here is there is some messy shading on the front and back of the bottom robe, but nowhere else. It's a little visually off. 

S.H. Figuarts Naruto Uzumaki - Naruto Shippuden

 Naruto is the title character, so here's the best for last! I love the character, and even though the latest show is about Boruto, his son, they put so much of him in it anyway cause they know what the fans want! If you don't know about Naruto, he had one of the most powerful chakra creatures in the world sealed inside of him as a baby, was ostracized by his village and yet kept under watch at the same time. Through trials and the irresistible power of his friendship, he managed to overcome and rise to become a hero of the village. 

 This version is the base form of the Shippudden character: the teenage, pre-Kurama and pre-Sage mode versions. Don't let that deter you though, this is my current favourite Naruto figure and the best engineered and proportioned in my collection! This one comes with a lot of great options and does so many things very well. Believe it! 

S.H. Figuarts Kakashi Hatake - Naruto Shippuden

 Kakashi is definitely one of my top 5 favourite Naruto characters. He's cool, extremely knowledgable, calm to the point of seeming catatonic, and has some interesting parts to his backstory. Add to that that he became Hokage, the leader of the Hidden Leaf Ninja village for a period of time. He's capable of taking down nearly any character in the Naruto universe with the exception of Moon people and Tailed beasts, though I reckon at the height of his power he could give them a pretty good run for their money solo. Here I though the previous SH Figuarts Kakashi was super well done, this one is better in most every way! 

He's got superior articulation and range as well as some more interesting face swaps. I have one minor issue with the articulation and one major one with the accessories. I love that they extended the shoulder pads out and gave you more posing options here. 

S.H. Figuarts Sasuke Uchiha - Naruto Shippuden

 I didn't love Sasuke's character in Shippuden. He seemed more irrational and less relatable than ever before. In Part 1 you could understand his motivation and really get it even though he wasn't particularly likeable. He had episodes where he showed a more childlike or human side to himself that made you understand, even in the battle at the end. 

Shippuden's writing needs to make more sense. That said, the character grows and he does get some pretty sweet lighting and doujutusu (eye) abilities that make him an intense force to be reconned with. This figure is of him post-Itachi fight, in his gray collared shirt, armbands, blue robe and purple obi rope belt. 

They did kind of an amazing job with all this clothing junk he has on his outfit. First of all, amazing range for the arms, neck, diaphragm and legs, especially when you consider how the robe restricts movement. The belt bows move independently which is nice! He has a very clean place to put his sheath, with or without the sword in it. His chidori effect is pretty good, though not any better or worse than the previous release. There's quite a few differences between this release and the last Sasuke release they had (Itachi Battle ver.). He comes with a lot more face options, and some nice sword options to go along with his chidori (lightning). I'll be comparing the other Sasuke by SHF which I'll refer to herein as SFB (Sasuke final battle). 

S.H. Figuarts Sakura Haruno - Naruto Shippuden

 

I'm super excited to reintroduce new figures for the Naruto line! I didn't know this would ever happen, so thanks to one of my readers for alerting me to this earlier last year. To be fair, most of them are figures we've seen before, but with entirely new engineering, facial expressions, and prices. They initially released Shippuden versions of Kakashi, Sasuke, Naruto, and FINALLY SAKURA. It only took forever to release female character. With this, I finally complete an original team 7. I don't know why it took so long to make a female figure, especially considering how easy it is for some of their builds and accessories, but here we are. SH Figuarts ALSO is making kid versions of Naruto and Sasuke, which I have preordered out of Japan. 

This is fantastic stuff, and the very first I want to go over is Sakura Haruno. Sakura's parents and origins aren't featured much in the original two parts, and this is mostly because Kishimoto is 1) Bad at writing female characters and 2) Thinks they are secondary to males, so they never get as much screen time or good fights. Sakura DOES get one or two good fights in Shippuden, but mostly she's around to beat up Naruto, have interrelational conflicts with Ino, and swoon over Sasuke. Gross! This is a shame because as one of the new Sanin, Sakura is absolutely a powerhouse. 

Early in the series, she is a genjutsu sensory expert and learns early on from Tsunade the art of healing and concentrating chakra so pointedly she can break through the earth with her punches and kicks. Later on, in the Boruto series and the light novels, it becomes clear Sakura is even stronger than that, and can completely regenerate using the same principles as Tsunade by banking chakra into a diamond seal on her forehead. They definitely do female characters dirty in Shippuden and Part 1, but at least Sakura is featured more than most, what with being a crush on Naruto and a main team member of Team 7. 

The figure is fairly simple, but very well done. The proportions are nice, and the articulation they've put on all these figures is also very well done. Sakura has some good engineering, and while she doesn't have a ton of accessories, it's enough for her character and what she does in the show. 

Bandai Figure Rise Model Kit - Naruto Uzumaki

So I saw this model kit advertisement last year and thought "What...a Naruto action figure from Bandai that I don't own?!" and rectified it immediately.  Now these Figure-rise model kits from Bandai cover a huge range of characters from Dragonball, a few Batman figures, and of course one hojillion Gundam figures. As far as I know, this is the only Naruto figure they have made.

I have to say the figure looks good in a stance, and I'm pleased with some aspects of the look, as well as the accessories. The most fun part of it was actually building it though! Cutting out the pieces and going along with instructions felt like lego assembly all over again...except with stickers...and adding some lining with a permanent marker.

It's definitely my least favourite Naruto Uzumaki figure but that at the price he was at(25 CAD before shipping), it was totally worth it!

2nd Annual Top 10 Most Viewed Action Figures!

It's the 2nd anniversary of the blog and we've been making a few steps since last year! More S.H. Figuarts, the discovery of the wonder that is Mafex and a guest blog on the Gemr.com website!

With that, here are the most viewed figures from April 23rd of 2018 to the same date as this year.

 10: S.H. Figuarts Rock Lee.

Such a zany character with crazy eyes and even crazier taijutsu skills, Rock Lee is a great support character in the Naruto universe and has had some of the best battles in Naruto show. Styled after the likes of Bruce Lee (sounds like "Blues Lee", so the writer made it "Rock Lee" to follow the unintentional musical genre theme). The fact he came with all the parts to change him into Gate released form is just all the better. 

His Konoha Senpuu is better than yours

Best Transformation award! Also, most involved
parts swapping

9. Hasbro Spiderman (Gameverse): One of my favourite games of this year, Hasbro did a pretty good job of using their spiderman parts and new paint to make this a pretty good copy of the game version. It may be the only spiderman figure I own, so I'm glad I own it! 

Easiest to Photograph in a Hanging Pose
Award! 

I was excited to find out that S.H. Figuarts is making this!
They're definitely getting more of my money.

8. S.H. Figuarts Kakashi Hatake: He is easily one of the most popular characters in Naruto. He's got a great story, awesome jutsu, and is just an all around great character. A few things I wished they had done was to make a better Chidori effect and make his crotch a lot less diaper-y! Other than that this is a great figure. 

Best Winky Face! Also, best
Protagonist award!

Had to add some lightning pieces, but it mostly works!

7. S.H. Figuarts Boruto Uzumaki: There are a lot of people who heavily criticize the Boruto show, but while I hear and understand that people don't like some of the departures from Naruto, I find it very entertaining and in many ways better written. This figure has one of the best leg joints made by S.H. figuarts and I think one of the best Rasengan effects. I only wish they had made Sarada and Mitsuki as well!

Best Articulation Award!

6. Mattel Multiverse Killer Croc: One of my wishes is to always get the rest of the Arkham big figures (Titan Joker, Clayface, Solomon Grundy, Killer Croc) but they are so expensive that it makes it nigh impossible to justify. This figure, however, is easily justifiable! It is meant for a 4" scale figure of Nightwing to see imposing and huge as he is in the game. However, his size matches him up as a man-sized version when compared to regular 7" scale Arkham figures. He's not perfect, but he's a good stand-in for now!

Best Alternative to a Very Expensive Figure Award!

He just wishes he had an ankle joint!

5. S.H. Figuarts Minato Namikaze: Naruto's father, 4th Hokage of the Village Hidden in the Leaves and inventor of the Rasengan makes Minato a force to be reckoned with. He sealed half of the Nine-tailed best in his son to protect his village and sacrificed his life but he does come back every once in a while for some great appearances and even a few fights! Super well designed even if the cloak isn't removable and can get in the way sometimes.

Best Ghost Father Award!

Flyin' Lightnin' Yellow Flash

4. S.H. Figuarts Itachi Uchiha: Only one of two major villains from the Naruto series made in action figure form, Itachi proved to be a complex character with many a mysterious motive. His mastery over his Uchiha bloodline and various jutsu made him a formidable antagonist. He is the main plot drive for Sasuke in the show. The figure is pretty good but would've been better with a cloth cloak in my opinion!

Most Tragic Backstory Award!

Also angriest yelly face!

3. Sasuke Uchiha (Bandai):  This was an amazing find and discovery. I had no idea a figure of that level of articulation and special accessories was made. He's not as well sculpted or painted as an S.H. Figuarts but he looks pretty great for a 2003 figure! I would love to get the Kakashi and Naruto ones as well.

Rarest and Most Surprising
Action Figure Find of the year!

Demon Wind Shuriken action!

2.Playmates Toys April O'Neil: This is easily the worst figure in my collection. Maybe the horrible bashing I gave it caused more of a crowd! Either way, the 2nd spot goes to the worst!

Worst Figure of All Time Award!

Whatever!

1. S.H. Figuarts Madara Uchiha: So glad they had finally made another villain in the show. Not the most impressive way to handle the ab crunch, but the accessories and the rest of the figure is solid!
He received the most views (135 and climbing) and although I've said this many times, I wish they had made Tobirama and more Akatsuki!

Best Hair Award!

Also Coolest in the Summertime Award

Well, there you have it folks, another year of the blog done. I don't know what the next year is going to hold, I have a few figures, and plans to get some anime themed ones as well as more Mafex.
Happy Collecting!

Uchiha family

In rank order 1 to 10, front to back!

Faceoff! I think the bad guys would win this one

Or maybe Madara just take them all out!

Dance off bros! Noe that young Sasuke is too "cool" to show appreciation of dance or music. 

S.H. Figuarts Naruto Vs. S.H. Figuarts Naruto (Sage Mode)

DING DING!

Although I was originally going to do the full comparison in the post, I realized there's enough to talk about that I'd make a separate post comparing these two figures. This may be a rare thing, but here are your categories to evaluate

Here are our categories!     Sculpt and Paint
                                            Overall Accuracy
                                            Accessories
                                            Articulation
                                            Price
                                   
I will credit this layout to ToyGalaxy's channel where he does Versus videos of two figures. Check him out here! Toy Galaxy's Youtube Channel

S.H. Figuarts - Naruto (Sage Mode)

If it hasn't been apparent from this blog yet, I am a Naruto fan in the same way I'm a Batman fan.
Love the franchise, am still watching the next generation show, Boruto, and love the figures that S.H. Figuarts has released. I wish they would release as many as they do Dragonball Z figures, but unfortunately, it seems it's not their priority right now since they haven't really released any since the Boruto figure (March 2018) and this figure (April 2018). That's nearly a full year now. Sorry if you're a fan of this line like I am, but I think the line is officially dead. They are still producing new statues, but that's just not my cup of tea!

Onto the fun stuff! This figure is great in so many ways. Earlier, they released an identical figure to this one without the robe, scroll or interchangeable arms (what were they thinking?). I held off on buying it, and am glad I did. Not only can you capture the scene where he fights Pain, but you can switch him to his regular figure as well as the face that shows the Sage mode (where he gets POWER MASCARA! Just kidding...)

His accessories also include a stand to hold up the large Rasen shuriken effect. So great!
And like the previously released figure, his colours are much brighter compared with the one originally released (which is still one of my favourites and have already reviewed here: Naruto Review

S.H. Figuarts - Gaara

Gaara's first appearance in Naruto is as a very disturbed kid who can manipulate sand imbued with his chakra. His character has many parallels to Naruto's if Naruto had never had friends, became a psychopath, and tried to destroy the Leaf village!

Gaara's tragic past includes having had the One-tailed Shukaku beast put into him, in the same way, that Naruto had the Nine-tailed fox sealed into himself. Upon being defeated by Naruto, he comes to realize a little about others and himself and basically becomes rehabilitated.

He is from the Hidden Sand Village and his father was also a pretty cold-hearted psycho himself. He has a brother and sister how also featured quite a bit in the show. He has the power to manipulate any sand around him, and so he also carries sand imbued with his chakra on his back that instantly protects him from harm. The only one who was able to beat the speed of his protective sand was Rock Lee (see the previous review!).  

S.H. Figuarts - Madara Uchiha

One of the prime big bad guys of the Naruto Shippuden series: Madara Uchiha, a former co-founder of the Ninja village Hidden in the Leaves. Like Sasuke in the first part, the history is a bit back and forth. At first, Madara and Hashirama, the first Hokage, are friends, then enemies, then they form a truce and bring an end to the violence from their respective clans. When they founded the village, Madara and Hashirama had very different visions of how this would work. Madara's version of peace between the ninja clans was to control others through laws and regulations, where Hashirama's was cooperation between the various nations and villages. Eventually, Madara left with an ominous promise.

Many years later, he later returns and brings the Nine-tail fox to destroy the village. Many die in the attack, including Naruto's mother (Kushina) and father (Minato - see the previous review!). However, his parents manage to seal half of the Nine-Tails inside Minato, and a half into their just-then-born son, Naruto. He possesses powers mostly from his eye, which allows all kinds of space and time manipulation, as well as being a super skilled martial artist and fire technique user.

It's a very long storyline and plot as to the why's and hows, but basically, Madara becomes resurrected into a somewhat obedient zombie form. SH Figuarts included both a cracked/reanimated face and a regular one though, so that's pretty nice!

Speaking of which, the figure is pretty amazing, with only one gripe. The sculpt is fantastic, and most all the armour pieces for the legs and shoulders move freely on their hinges and can detach without damaging parts. The scythe and giant fan connected by real chain pieces are fantastic. The weapons have a nice lightweight that doesn't turn his hand over and looks super impressive given their size.

S.H. Figuarts - Jiraiya

An old man mentor figure is exactly what the Naruto show needed, and he was brought in at just the right time. Every Shonen anime has several teachers that help the main character progress to their next level of power in order to overcome their obstacles in battle. Jiraiya is no different! By the time he meets Naruto, he is in his early 50s. He is funny, if a somewhat perverted character who travels the world doing research for his romantic novels, and spies for the Village Hidden in the Leaves to gather intel about threats. As an aside, his name translates to "Young Thunder".

He meets a young Naruto and teaches him how to summon battle toads, unlock Sage mode, and control the Nine-tailed fox inside. It is implied for a long while that he is a very powerful ninja, one of the legendary Sanin who defeated the warlord Hanzo. It is not until his final battle that you see how incredible his ability is using summons and Sage mode is. The character of Jiraiya is inspired by a Japanese tale called "The Tale of Jiraiya the Gallant". In the original tale, he is a shapeshifter who takes the form of a giant toad who falls in love with the Slug princess, Tsunade. He is rivalled by the snake shifter, Orochimaru, all of whom are powerful shinobi in the show. He was also the sensei to Naruto's father, Minato!

This figure does quite a few things very well. For one, likeness, paint and sculpt is totally spot on. Though it would've been cool to get a deluxe figure where he has the Sage mode face and his the two elder summon frogs on his shoulders, he's pretty great for his standard version. They used their formula in making baggy pant knee joints from the DB figures and it works well here. They include the vest and scroll at his back, and his hair does have some articulation at the ponytail, which is quite in keeping with how he'd toss his hair when going for a dramatic, over-the-top stance.
He's got the usual hands and faces as well as a few other nice accessories.

S.H. Figuarts - Itachi Uchiha

The dastardly, seemingly cold-hearted brother to Sasuke and S-Rank criminal of the Village Hidden in the Leaves is Itachi Uchiha. At the beginning of the show it is made clear he is the culprit in the mass murder of the entire Uchiha clan.

The Uchiha clan the Senju clan were long ago enemies that fought constantly, and eventually, the two leaders, Madara Uchiha and Hashirama Senju put aside their differences for the common good and built the first Ninja Village cooperatively. This became the Village Hidden in the Leaves, but not all sat well with all the Uchiha. As both a way of keeping them close and allowing them some power, the Senju appointed the Uchiha as the village police.

S.H. Figuarts - Kakashi Hatake

Kakashi Sensei. The copy cat ninja. Hero of the Sharingan and Sixth Hokage of the Village Hidden in the Leaves. He is the ultimate cool-headed teacher and team leader to a young Naruto Uzumaki and Team 7 before the time skip. He has a bit of a tragic past with his father having committed suicide, and both his teammates dying (at separate times) as a young Jonin (senior level ninja). As a side note, in the Ninja village system in the show, the rank of shinobi goes as follows:

Academy student (ninja-in-training)

Genin (Low ranking ninja, qualify for D level missions under a supervising ninja)

Chunin (Mid-ranking ninja, can guide genin and take on C or B level missions)

Jonin (High-level ninja, can lead a team, take on A and S rank missions)

Special Jonin (High-level ninja that Jonin-like specialty in a single field. ex: Info extraction)

Kage (an Exceptionally powerful ninja who is a leader of a given Ninja village)

There are other classes and specialty of Ninja, but in terms of official ranks, those are it. A side note to this side note is that Naruto and Sasuke, the most powerful Ninja in the show, were Genin rank for most of it due to circumstances not permitting testing. OK, back to the main post!

SH Figuarts- Sasuke Uchiha (Itachi Battle Version)

Sasuke has always been a cold-hearted rival to Naruto who hailed from the same Ninja village, the Village Hidden in the Leaves. At least, he started out that way, then became a deserter/traitor, full blown villain and then other things! His character is always portrayed as an angry, competitive and very powerful shinobi.

Unlike Naruto, whose powers mostly focus on the Rasengan, Shadow clones and Wind powers, Sasuke's are mostly those of fire, lightning and his eye-powers of the Sharingan, which can do a variety of things from creating illusions, summoning unquenchable black fire, and precognition of movements in battle. Pretty useful!

SH Figuarts - Naruto Uzumaki

I love anime. I don't love ALL anime, and certainly not all mainstream anime but I have invested a lot of time and money into the Naruto anime series. For those of you that don't know, that's 300 some episodes in the first series, and 500 episodes in the Shippuden series!

The thing I enjoy about Naruto is the show has some colorful characters, there are lots of great fights to watch, and the main character, Naruto Uzumaki, has a charm that really rubs off on you. You just want him to succeed! If you know nothing about Naruto, he starts out in the series as a young boy raised in a Ninja village. He has been given an unusual burden upon the death of his parents: his body holds part of a beast called the Nine-Tails, a massive and destructive chakra monster. He grows up over the course of the series, seeking to prove himself and make lasting bonds along the way.

This particular figure is the very first figure in the Naruto line released by SH Figuarts and was my first Japanese import figure. No matter how many newer versions SH Figuarts releases (they've already got another one plus another Sage Mode Naruto up for pre-order), this one will always hold a special place in my collection! As is the way with Japanese import figures of any kind, whether they be Figma, SH Figuarts or Revoltech, he comes with a LOT of accessories. His articulation is pretty great. There are complaints that his likeness isn't accurate to the show, but with the exception of one of the faces, it looks close enough to me! The paint and sculpt of the figure is pretty good, and unlike many other SH Figuarts, he actually does have some darker shading in the folds of his orange clothes. Ok, down to brass tacks!