"Ichiban Kuji NARUTO Shippuden The Cycle of Sorrow and the Bridge to Peace" Pre-Sale Interview (Part 1)! Director Discusses Challenges of Adapting New Characters to the MASTERLISE Series!

On January 23rd (JST), the long-awaited Ichiban Kuji NARUTO Shippuden The Cycle of Sorrow and the Bridge to Peace line will finally be released!

We interviewed the director of this project, who goes by the handle Avocado!

Part one of this interview will focus on the figures obtainable from prizes A to E, along with the Final Prize!

—Let's start with a self-introduction from Avocado!

Avocado: Hello, I'm Avocado, the director of this project.
I've been working as a director for Ichiban Kuji projects for five years now, but this is my first time leading a Naruto project. I have lots of memories of watching Naruto with my brother as a kid, so being able to manage this project really means a lot to me!

—That's wonderful! Can you give us a peek behind the curtain and tell us about the groundwork that needed to be laid before you could start the production phase of these products?

Avocado: Though our latest two series were both focused on pre-Shippuden characters, we've been in the planning phase for the next Shippuden line for quite some time now. As we were brainstorming we came up with the idea of trying new characters that we hadn't made figures of yet and Hinata, the Six Paths of Pain, and Killer Bee were suggested as likely candidates. This led us to choose the Pain's Assault arc as our focus, since it features characters we haven't released figures of yet who are popular with fans!

—Were there any difficulties that came with adapting so many new characters to 3D for the first time?

Avocado: Indeed there were... From the moment we proposed the project, there were concerns that we might be trying to add too many newcomers to the MASTERLISE series at once. However, those characters were vital to maintaining the integrity of our theme. So at the end of the day, we decided to go forward with an extravagant lineup that introduces many new characters to the MASTERLISE series.
The number of things to check increased in proportion with the number of new characters, and the road to production was a bumpy one, but the thought of getting our completed products to fans kept us motivated throughout the process.

—Can you tell us about anything you paid particular attention to for Prize A, Sage Mode Naruto?

Avocado: This is the first time the Sage Mode version of Naruto makes an appearance in the MASTERLISE series, so we paid special attention to his characteristic Sage Mode eyes. Balancing out his face was tricky due to the vermillion around his eyes, and we spent a lot of time working with the prototype modeler to ensure we got as close to the original character design as possible.

—Prize B, Hinata, is also a newcomer to the MASTERLISE series, right?

Avocado: Correct. As we moved into the production phase, we wanted to meet fans' expectations and emphasize Hinata's image as a woman with a strong backbone.
We took her famous scene from the manga and brought it to life in 3D, naturally making sure that it maintained its impact and mirrored the panel it was inspired by when viewed from the same angle. We also paid attention to how the figure appeared from other perspectives and did our best to maintain its wow factor while avoiding anything that might look unnatural from a different angle.

—The facial details of Prize C, Pain (Tendo), really stand out!! He commands attention even with his neutral expression!

Avocado: Thank you very much. Yahiko, whose body has been turned into a puppet, and Nagato, who pulls the strings, are two characters that share a profound backstory. With that in mind, we wanted to do more than just make a cool-looking figure when starting production.

Avocado: To be specific, we paid close attention to detailing his eyes and mouth to convey deep despair and loneliness.
Pain (Tendo) is making his first appearance in the MASTERLISE series as well, so keep an eye out for him!

—Prize D, Killer Bee, is also a new entry to the MASTERLISE series, isn't he?

Avocado: He is! Personally, I'm a huge Killer Bee fan, so I wanted to share my appreciation for him with others by crafting a high quality, finely detailed and painted figure that everyone can enjoy.

Avocado: Because he wears sunglasses it might seem like we didn't have to work on his eyes, but the truth is we spent a lot of time making adjustments to his face during production. We also thought about how to implement Killer Bee's muscles in a balanced way, how to depict his white clothes without making them seem shabby, and how to best convey the strength that comes from truly knowing and believing in oneself.

—I see that for Prize E, Jiraiya has been brought to life in his extremely rare Sage Mode form!

Avocado: Our goal here was to convey Jiraiya's attitude towards life while weaving in the sculptor's creative spirit so that fans could take one look at him and think, "Ah, now this is Jiraiya..."
We spent a lot of effort focusing on the wrinkles of the scroll on his back and the details of the lettering, so get your hands on this figure to check it out for yourself!

—Finally, can you tell us about your choice for the Final Prize? Why did you decide on Naruto after he loses control and allows the Nine Tails' chakra to run wild?

Avocado: One of the main reasons we went with the rampaging Naruto is because it was such a memorable transformation from the Pain's Assault arc. When this form first appeared, I know it left a huge impression on fans. I was one of them, after all...

—Compared to when he lost control during the Tenchi Bridge reconnaissance mission, the sense of despair was overwhelming, wasn't it?

Avocado: Aside from the emotional impact, this was also an opportunity to create a seldom-seen monster-type figure, which would add a novelty factor as those are vanishingly rare in Naruto lineups.

—Was there anything particularly challenging about working on his rampaging form?

Avocado: Definitely the protruding skeleton. The bones aren't simply resting on top of his body, they're connected to it via tendrils from the chakra cloak. We had a really hard time detailing those tendrils so they appeared flexible rather than fixed in a rigid position...

Avocado: We wanted to accurately recreate the scene, so instead of making the bones straight and orderly, we adjusted the angles of the joints to realistically bring his rampage to 3D.
We also had difficulties replicating the color of his chakra. On top of maintaining the balance between red and black, we had to come up with a way to mix the two so that they blended instead of appearing as separate colors.

—It sure sounds like there were a lot more details that needed to be ironed out compared to a figure of a regular human being...

Avocado: Looking back, the difficulty was simply monstrous (laughs).

This concludes part 1 of the interview!
Part 2, where we'll be going over the other various products available from Prize F and onward, is scheduled to go up tomorrow, 1/22, at 12:00 PM (JST)!
https://naruto-official.com/en/news/01_2477