MERCH
11/21/2024
Ichiban Kuji NARUTO Shippuden Legendary Sannin Pre-Release Interview (Part 2)! Take a Look at the Making of This Figure Seeking to Tackle the Challenge of Portraying Orochimaru's True Face!
The long-awaited Ichiban Kuji NARUTO Shippuden Legendary Sannin prizes will be available starting 11/22 17:00 (JST)!
We interviewed the director of this project, who goes by the handle "Toothbrush"!
Part two of the interview features the Orochimaru figure and other related merch!
Check out part 1 here!
We interviewed the director of this project, who goes by the handle "Toothbrush"!
Part two of the interview features the Orochimaru figure and other related merch!
Check out part 1 here!
Agonizing Over Orochimaru's True Face
—Even among figure prizes, the Prize B Orochimaru one is pretty unique. I can see there must have been a lot of thought put into it, can you tell us about that?
Toothbrush: What makes this figure a bit different is the three exchangeable face parts it comes with in addition to what's usually considered Orochimaru's "normal" face.
Toothbrush: What makes this figure a bit different is the three exchangeable face parts it comes with in addition to what's usually considered Orochimaru's "normal" face.
Toothbrush: Leading up to production I was thinking to myself "Is the face that everyone associates with Orochimaru actually his real face?" and from there I started questioning a lot of things.
Orochimaru's immortality comes from him taking over the bodies of others, so I got to wondering things like "Isn't the face of his we're most familiar with really someone else's?" and "Maybe there's actually quite a discrepancy among different fans' mental images of Orochimaru's face?" and I went down quite the rabbit trail.
Orochimaru's immortality comes from him taking over the bodies of others, so I got to wondering things like "Isn't the face of his we're most familiar with really someone else's?" and "Maybe there's actually quite a discrepancy among different fans' mental images of Orochimaru's face?" and I went down quite the rabbit trail.
Toothbrush: In the end, we decided to solve this by taking on the daunting challenge of including most of the faces Orochimaru appears with in the series, which is why this figure alone ended up being part of the MASTERLISE EMOVING series.
In the beginning I'd intended for him to have just one face like the Jiraiya and Tsunade figures, but... (laughs)
In the beginning I'd intended for him to have just one face like the Jiraiya and Tsunade figures, but... (laughs)
—Aside from the face parts, is there anything else you'd like fans to take note of?
Toothbrush: The figure also includes a snake coiled around Orochimaru, which gives it quite a bit of volume compared to Jiraiya and Tsunade's figures. I was asking for something near-impossible from a cost standpoint with this, but I thought an Orochimaru figure without a snake would end up looking lonely, so I persevered!
Toothbrush: The figure also includes a snake coiled around Orochimaru, which gives it quite a bit of volume compared to Jiraiya and Tsunade's figures. I was asking for something near-impossible from a cost standpoint with this, but I thought an Orochimaru figure without a snake would end up looking lonely, so I persevered!
Among the Miscellaneous Merch Prizes, Orochimaru's Rashomon Posed the Greatest Difficulty
—Prizes D to G feature miscellaneous merch, but they're pretty impressive as well. Can we get your comments on those?
Toothbrush: We wanted to stick with the "Legendary Sannin" theme this time, so the prizes feature their motifs and jutsu as well as characters closely connected to them. We wanted to use designs tied to the three that fans would look at and immediately remember from the series.
—Are there any items you're particularly proud of?
Toothbrush: I'd have to say the Prize E Five-Layer Rashomon long towel, and the Prize G Rashomon rubber coaster.
There was a lot of back-and-forth over the details, with people pointing out inconsistencies between the designs and how the summon appears in the series until we got it right. We definitely spent the most time on these two.
Toothbrush: We wanted to stick with the "Legendary Sannin" theme this time, so the prizes feature their motifs and jutsu as well as characters closely connected to them. We wanted to use designs tied to the three that fans would look at and immediately remember from the series.
—Are there any items you're particularly proud of?
Toothbrush: I'd have to say the Prize E Five-Layer Rashomon long towel, and the Prize G Rashomon rubber coaster.
There was a lot of back-and-forth over the details, with people pointing out inconsistencies between the designs and how the summon appears in the series until we got it right. We definitely spent the most time on these two.
That's all for part two of the interview!
Part 3 is set to publish 11/22 12:00 (JST) and will feature Tsunade's figure plus merch with lots of summoned animals!
Part 3 is set to publish 11/22 12:00 (JST) and will feature Tsunade's figure plus merch with lots of summoned animals!
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