I was exposed to the world of Naruto when the anime came along. It was during my University years where my habits of sitting and watching anything more than episode in length basically dwindled down to nothing. Still, of the snippets I've seen, I've pieced together key characters and roles, and of course gained an appreciation for some members of the cast.
Well, it turns out that like with Dragonball, Tamashii Nations actually produced a line of Naruto figures. I'm not entirely certain how far along they got, but I do know that they started getting pretty expensive in the aftermarket.
Much to my surprise and delight, Tamashii announced a 2.0 series of Naruto figures.
Having missed out on the original figures, this was a good opportunity for me to perhaps jump into another rabbit hole of figure hoarding. The main trio - Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura - have arrived, and so far I've preordered Kakashi. There's just so many unique characters from the show worth having in figure form!
First up is Naruto himself. Pricing wasn't bad on this figure, coming in at 3,500 Yen - roughly what your entry level Goku figure would cost. Because of this, I'm predicting that there will be an incredible amount of reuse for the Naurto body, though I suspect there are people out there who have bought a few of these to begin with to replicate his Shadow on Jitsu effect:
- 1 x Main Figure.
- 5 x Face Plates (Grinning, Shouting, Neutral, Angry, Shocked).
- 1 x Crossed Arm effect.
- 9 x Gripping/Posing hands, including dedicated Rasangen right hand.
- 1 x Kunai
- 1 x Rasangen
For whatever reason (and much to my dismay), they didn't include a pair of dedicated "Thousand Years of Pain" hands. Beyond that, for a basic Naruto figure I think they got most of what I would expect to see.
The figure looks great. Like with pretty much every other Figuart out there, it's never going to look exactly like the on screen counterpart as the bodies always have really obvious jointed sections, but compared to the 1.0, the body proportions look more accurate. I'm not an expert, but I don't think they missed any major details on the outfit.
The face plates are very well done, and really do add to the over-the-top flavour of the character.
From an articulation perspective, the development team certainly applied any lessons learned from the Dragonball 2.0 line to this line. It's not a 100% match, but I think they used the bodies that the recent Android 17 and 18 as a base, which should give you a sense of just how poseable this thing is. Other smart things done to increase range of motion are that the lowest section of the tunic is actually a floating piece to allow for more leg motion, and the head joint is designed such that there is quite a bit of head tilt possible, allowing for natural looking poses in any running or other relevant poses. There's also a point of articulation for the ends of
Paint is up to the usual Figuarts standard, which is great. Having said that, like the typical Figuarts standard, it's also only used where needed. The predominate colour, orange, is base plastic, as are flesh tones for the hands and face. Some black sections are painted, along with pretty much every other non mentioned colour. Decal work on the face plates is fantastic. I think the only reasonable improvement, at this price range, would have been for some more panel lining, particularly on the emblem on his back, and perhaps a bit more care for the painted toes.
Build Quality wise, pretty solid stuff. No issues with joints, QC, or finishes. I mean, with tried and true manufacturing processes and designs, it's what you'd expect, anyway. The only questionable design choice I found is that the face plates tend to fall out because they attach at points along the top of the face plate, rather than at the back as with most figures.
All-in-all, an excellent start to the line, bringing with it all the expected features that are present on a modern day Figuart. The face plates and pretty good accessory kit round, along with the price point, make this a great choice for any Naruto fan - while it does cost more than the Bandai of America Anime Heroes offering, it's not the usual double price point and should be considered even if this line isn't something you normally would contemplate.
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