Bandai Spirit’s Ichibankuji is in collaboration with NARUTO to release a set of figures depicting the characters and events from the work’s nostalgic first arc in the Land of Waves. The figures include Naruto himself, Haku, Zabuza, and the fated first meeting of Naruto and Haku from Episode 12 of the anime. The figure set releases online on August 18, but can be pre-ordered starting on May 16 in Japan.
Ichibankuji features a lottery system that requires the purchase of a 790 yen ticket per draw. Photos of the figures were posted on Ichibankuji’s official X (formerly Twitter) account. Below are photos of the prize C and B figures.
Other goods available in the drawing include mini artboards, character acrylic stands, character towels, shinobi dog figures, and Haku’s mask. Each draw in the lottery is guaranteed to win a prize. The merchandise focuses on the earliest arc of the anime, which includes some of the most nostalgic episodes of the work. In the arc, Team 7, including Naruto Uzumaki, Sakura Haruno, Sasuke Uchiha, and Kakashi Hatake, set out on a seemingly simple escort mission that turns out to be a lot more dangerous than perceived.
The manga by Masashi Kishimoto debuted in Weekly Shonen Jump in September of 1999 and ended after 15 years in 2014. The anime adaptation exploded in popularity with its debut in 2002 and ran until 2017. Even over a decade after the original manga ended, merchandise often gets released depicting beloved NARUTO characters and scenes. Ichibankuji’s figure depicting young Naruto from the start of the series, prize A, is pictured below.
NARUTO continues to be loved worldwide with pop-up cafes in Japan, video game releases, and even a North American symphonic tour. NARUTO and its sequel anime, NARUTO Shippuden, can be streamed on Crunchyroll and Hulu. Hulu describes Shippuden as:
The Village Hidden in the Leaves is home to the stealthiest ninja in the land. But twelve years earlier, a fearsome Nine-tailed Fox terrorized the village before it was subdued and its spirit sealed within the body of a baby boy. Now that boy, Naruto, has grown up to become a hyperactive ninja-in-training who’s more interested in pranks than schoolwork…but Naruto is determined to become the greatest ninja ever!
Source: Ichibankuji
© Masashi Kishimoto Scott/Shueisha, TV Tokyo, Pierrot
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