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!

Update: New Set up and Return!

Sorry readers that it has been so long (months!) since my last post. I recently moved to a new house and have finally got a fully dedicated hobby room! With some new shelves and a new lighting set up, I give you the new and improved Jay's Toy Shelf (Shelves even!). Expect some more regular posts to follow! 

Not one, but two Detolf shelves! 

SH Figuarts Naruto Collection (Minus Naruto as he is under review!)

DC Icons Shelf

Arkham Rogues Gallery shelf!

All the Batmen..plus allies!

First figures I started collecting after a few Arkham ones! 

Some random DC Collectibles and DC SH Figuarts!

My tiny tiny weensy Marvel Legends shelf!

DC Collectibles - Azrael (Arkham Knight)

The first character to wear the mantle of Azrael was in 1992's Batman: Sword of Azrael.  He is a deeply psychologically conditioned assassin/hunter for the Order of St. Dumas. Jean Paul Valley slowly works his way up to becoming an ally and even replacement for Batman. In the Knightfall storyline, Batman has his back broken, and allows Valley to replace him as Batman. However, Jean-Paul's methods are more brutal than Batman's, and he even reinvents the Batman suit to include claws, lasers and other more deadly gadgets.

The second character to wear the mantle of Azrael was Michael Lane. He is introduced in 2009s Azrael: Death's Dark Knight. Equipped with the Lazarus pit dipped Suit of Sorrows and the Sword of Sin, he is the champion for a different order.

In the Arkham  games, Azrael is a mix of both character histories. He is Michael Lane, but works for the Order of St. Dumas. He sees himself as a prophet, and tells Batman he is seeking to observe if Batman will be the warrior who will save Gotham at the cost of his own life. In Arkham Knight he sees the prophecy is coming true, and asks to be trained by Batman to replace him as Gotham City's protector. Then, shenanigans ensue!

This figure is really well done. His articulation gets somewhat limited by the soft rubbery plastic of his clothes, but even with that said, it is very decent. The paint details are fantastic on this figure, and I can't really think of any other way it could be better. The sword accessory is great as well. Overall, a very solid figure. I wasn't explicitly looking for him, but seeing him at original prince to add to the nicely developed Arkham Knight line, I couldn't help myself!

DC Icons - Nightwing (Hush)

As I've said before, Nightwing is easily my favourite of the Bat-family. Where man of the other supporting protagonist characters in the Batman storylines are dour, moody, grim or have outright psychosis (Damian!). He's funny, charming and his fighting style and willpower is unique to his character.

This figure is based on Nightwing's appearance in Hush (2009), where Batman is fighting a mysterious stalker named Hush who is sabotaging him from afar. Nightwing returns to Gotham for a funeral, and gets drawn into the plot by helping Batman uncover a larger plot against him involving Ras Al'Ghul.

This figure features the most minimalist of a Nightwing design, and yet it is superbly done. The paint is clean, the sculpt is fantastic (especially the face) and it does have a mix of shiny gloss and matte paints through the figure. His batons are not detailed, but are sufficient. I like the wingding with rope accessory. The original photo releases featured 2 batarangs, but honestly we don't need any, especially since the DC Icons accessory pack and Batman already have some.

DC Icons - Batgirl (The Batgirl of Burnside)

This blog has already reviewed Batgirl previously, so if for some crazy reason this is your first time reading about Batgirl, go to this previous review of the Batman Unlimited Batgirl

This particular Batgirl deluxe figure is from the Batgirl of Burnside storyline (Oct 2014), in which all her previous gear burns up in a fire, forcing her to make her own DIY costume and continuing her fight against crime...in style! This Batgirl is an update to relate more to the modern age. Aside from being tech savvy, she's also on social media, takes Ph.D. courses and dates. The writing team on this one succeeded in making this version of Batgirl more fun and relate-able but she is still haunted by her previous trauma. 

At first I wasn't sold on the purple and yellow look, but now I'm really digging it. They also kept up this look a bit in the DC Rebirth. This figure is great, and unlike Cyborg, her Deluxe title is well worth it. I mean she comes with a whole freakin' bike! And it's huge! And it comes with a stand with kicked up dirt effects! She's a slender figure, so you have to watch moving her joints, but this one is so well done. She even comes with a regular and windblown cape as well as a regular head and a windblown hair head. 

DC Icons - Cyborg (Forever Evil)

He is Victor Stone, and as of 2011, is typically written as a football player who goes through a horrific accident involving a Motherbox obtained from the parademons of Apokolips. The obvious solution? Get his dad to keep him alive using alien cybernetic technology! Plus then he has some bad ass armor and guns!

Though not originally a founding member of the league, in the 2011 reboot of DC comics he was made to be. He's a somewhat tortured character and goes through a lot of deaths and rebirths, but such is the way of a person made of mostly alien hardware.

This figure is based on the Forever Evil crossover series from 2013 to 2014. As his part of the storyline, Cyborg fights the Grid, a being who takes over his body and temporarily disengages him from his life-sustaining alienware. Now in order to help his Justice Leaguers, he will become Cyborg again, of his own free will, with some upgrades!

This figure is an improvement in the DC icons line. He has greater back and forth diaphragm movement, and quite a few accessories. I'm not sure he needed the cybernetic block/(battery?) that plugs into his back, but what are you going to do? I also have issues with the fact they made him a deluxe instead of a regularly priced figure. Green Lantern came with just as many, if not more bulky parts, and was a regularly priced figure.

DC Icons - Aquaman (Legend of Aquaman)

He's the most ridiculed superhero and founding member of the DC Universe. I feel like I should mention to those that aren't familiar with Aquaman that this superhero has Super strength, Super hearing, Telepathy/Empath connections with sea life, Super durable skin/armor, among his other super powers. He definitely has more going for him than many Justice Leaguers. The negative press he's received maybe lessened somewhat now that he's being played by Game of  Thrones star Jason Mamoa. Though, one could argue his casting is in direct response to DC attempting to make Aquaman edgier and more intense.

Lucky for us, this one is a more classic comic book version. He's based on the Aquaman: The Legend of Aquaman #1 from 1989. This comic was a origin story for the character before he was the King of the Seven seas. The reader follows the meeting of his parents, the discovery of his powers and his time when he first enters the role of Aquaman.

This figure is decent, which impresses me since I have never had any interest in Aquaman except to complete my Justice League collection. His shirt has finely sculpted, shiny metallic orange and his face sculpt and paint is clean and well done. His accessories are great and his sea forker is an elegant weapon. His articulation could be a bit better though.

DC Icons - Flash (Chain Lightning)

The Scarlet speedster. The Crimson comet, The fastest man alive. Those are only some in the long list of names for The Flash. There are many speedster superheroes that take up the name The Flash depending on what age of comics you are reading or which Earth/reality is being read.

This particular Flash is Barry Allen from the comic series Chain Lightning, (though I'm told it could be from anyone really as his costume stayed mostly the same) a seven-issue story published in 1999. In this series, Wally West and Barry Allen must defeat Cobalt Blue, a villain who possesses a blue gemstone able to siphon the powers of a speedster.

This figure is a solid Flash with well-chosen bright reds, and cleanly painted yellows. The flash symbol on his chest is raised. He comes with another pair of hands and his cosmic treadmill.
As many have said before, the wingtips on his head are very delicate! I was careful when unpacking him, but 4 months later...he dropped and one of the tips snapped off. SIGH!

Overall very nice figure though, and an excellent compliment to the other DC icons. I'm pretty sure his boots are comically large for someone who is the Fastest man (or one of the men) alive though. Intentional?

DC Icons - Wonder Woman (Amazo Virus)

She's a demigod, nigh invincible and the top female superhero in DC!
First appearing in comics in 1941, her original concept was that she was sculpted from clay and infused with life by Aphrodite. The newer story is that she is the daughter of Zeus.
This

This figure takes its likeness from the Justice League: Amazo Virus story line of 5 comics. In it, Lex Luthor has created a virus that has the ability to copy the meta-human abilities of those it encounters.
She is somewhat different from other versions of the Amazon warrior in that she has silver rather than gold metal adornments. Also her sword is MASSIVE. We'll get into that.

I was really excited to find this figure at a local video game retailer. I was just a little bit disappointed in two features however:
1) The face is not the same as the promos. It's not awful, but the promo pictures are definitely better. See them here.
2) They painted..red polished nails on all the hands. I don't have a problem with beautification, but nowhere in the comics does Wonder woman have painted nails. I also feel that generally speaking Amazon warriors wouldn't paint their nails. Maybe that's just me.

Aside the paint applications on the face, this is an otherwise great figure. She's got tons of posability, a lot of good accessories, and is well sculpted.

DC Icons - Superman (Man of Steel)

Originally conceived in 1933 and first published in 1938, Superman has been an iconic character in both comics, movies and pop culture in general. He has undergone quite a few changes since his original concept, such as the addition of "heat vision" since 1949 and other powers. Writers ran into issues as they increased the scope of his powers, making it much more challenging to create a real obstacle for Kal-El. His origin story was given a six issue reboot in 1986 titled "Man of Steel". This became the modern reboot until the early 2000's.

All in all, this figure encapsulates the 1986 Man of Steel pretty well. He's got the basic facial features: the hair curly, high cheekbones and chin dimple. The costume is pretty spot on and he comes with Kelex, a robot who acts as caretaker for the Fortress of Solitude. There are some issues with the articulation compared to other figures released previously and after Superman's release.

I'm not usually a big superman fan but I think they did a fair job of this one. Not perfect, but decent. Too bad this one doesn't come with a smile! Issues of Man of Steel show him as a bit more...contented?