Playmobil has launched its new collection of 20th-anniversary Naruto Shippuden figures.
The Playmobil toy company previously announced this commemorative Naruto figure collection in 2022, the first set of which contains twelve different figures inspired by the hit franchise. These figures are sold individually and come packaged with additional accessories -- the Naruto figure, for example, comes with a shuriken and a kunai knife that the character can hold. Each figure costs $7.99 and is intended for ages five and up.
This first batch of figures includes the main trio -- Naruto, Sasuke and Sakura -- as well as their mentor, Kakashi Hatake. Major supporting characters are also included, such as Iruka-sensei, Naruto's first teacher; Yamato, Team 7's temporary leader; Tsunade, the legendary Sannin who becomes the Fifth Hokage of the Village Hidden in the Leaves; and Shizune, her young assistant. The remaining figures are inspired by iconic Akatsuki members, which include the miserly Kakuzu, his partner Hidan, the comical Tobi and the shark-like swordsman, Kisame.
The wildly popular Naruto franchise began as a manga series. Created by Masashi Kishimoto, it was serialized in Weekly Shonen Jump from September 1999 to November 2014. Set in a world where humans wield fantastic powers through an inner force called chakra, the story centers on a parentless boy who dreams of becoming the Hokage of his home village, despite his initial struggles to perform simple jutsu. Naruto also must deal with having the spirit of the vicious Nine-Tail Fox sealed within his body, which ostracizes him from his fellow villagers. As things progress, Naruto joins forces with Sakura Haruno and Sasuke Uchiha to complete missions under the tutelage and oversight of the famous "Copy" ninja, Kakashi Hatake. Although Naruto forges close friendships with his teammates, Sasuke is burdened with a deep-seated desire for revenge against his elder brother, Itachi, who murdered the entire Uchiha clan, leaving his younger brother as the sole survivor.
Pierrot adapted the Naruto manga as a 220-episode anime series, which ran from October 2002 to February 2007. The same studio later released Naruto Shippuden, an adaptation of the manga's second half, which aired from February 2007 to March 2017. Kishimoto later teamed up with Ukyo Kodachi to create a manga follow-up about Naruto's son called Boruto: Naruto Next Generations, which debuted in Weekly Shonen Jump in May 2016. Initially written by Kodachi with Kishimoto serving as the Editorial Supervisor, Kishimoto took over as the series' primary writer in November 2020. Pierrot's anime adaptation of Boruto debuted in April 2017 and is currently ongoing.
Playmobil's Naruto Shippuden figures are available now. Naruto, Naruto Shippuden and Boruto are available to stream on Hulu.
Source: Playmobil