Toynami Naruto Line: Kakashi and Itachi
Got these figures at 20sgd each.. a little steep for 4" western figures, but well worth it.
Itachi I suppose is the weakest of all the figures from the wave 1 release of toynami's naruto 4" line. Because of its lack of accessories and minimal play value. Although he does indeed feature 25points of articulation as advertised by toynami, most of the articulation from the waist down is hampered in terms of range movement by the akatsuki coat.
Itachi close up.
For a 4" figure, you just have to admire how toynami executed making Itachi into an action figure. The Sharingan eyes are very well detailed even for a figure this small. Very well painted and not a paint bleed noticeable, very odd for a western mass produced action figure. The forehead protector is also very accurate with the konoha/leaf logo and the slash across the crest indicating the bearer as a missing nin/rogue ninja.
As mentioned, Itachi has limited articulation from the waist down, toynami didn't even bother sculpting hips for itachi, from what I can see, the legs and torso are connected by just a "T-bar" shaped crotch!:lol: Although this is a limitation to the figure per se, it only highlights how good Itachi is as a character. Even by just a simple standing position, Itachi can very well stay true to his anime personality. Specifically a Genjutsu master, Itachi rarely does intense moves. He just simply stands there and kills you with his stare, literally! :shock: However, what bothers me is his facial expression, although the eyes look good, I hate how he seems to be smiling a little bit. I think I could count the times I remember itachi smiling, and he rarely smiles, so I find it a bit odd that toynami designed his expression that way, anyways they could've easily remedied it with an extra "mangekyou sharingan" head but opted not to, oh well.. 
The only accessorie(s) that came with him is a pair of jutsu/seal forming hands. That's it, I can't help but feel a little shortchanged, they could've at least thrown an extra pair of kunai wielding hands, if not the extra head.. I had thoughts of cutting the robe so as to get a more range of leg movement, but after seeing that he has no sculpted hips, I'm glad I didn't. 
Like I said, no overly acrobatic poses for Itachi, but cool nonetheless, for this pic, I borrowed naruto's kunai wielding left hand as they are interchangeable and uses the same sized pegs/peg holes. I don't know how they could've gone any other way in terms of sculpting the akatsuki robes but I think it would've been more awesome if they made the robes semi opened on the waist down so as to accomodate the wasted articulation for the hips and legs..
As seen on Itachi's return to Konoha (with Hoshigake Kisame)
Customized straw hat borrowed from my "love hina" figure.
You just gotta admire the extra details for the figure, the akatsuki ring is also evident on both the open and jutsu hands, sculpted and painted. Even the details on the nail paints for Itachi's hands and feet are there. I was expecting sloppy paints for the akatsuki clouds on the robes, but I was surprised that they were expertly painted. Very good indeed.
"What could a missing nin like you want from Konoha?"-Kakashi
Naruto and Itachi forest encounter
"I've given you some of my power, I hope the day never comes when you have to use it..."-Itachi
Overall I think this is the best Itachi action figure release. While there are more bigger figs of itachi out there, I think the additional articulation as well as the prospect of putting him alongside additional akatsuki members is a big draw for this figure. Unlike with bandai or other japanese toy companies, who would only release and re-release main characters to death, western companies like toynami, are more concerned with releasing secondary characters and a chance to complete the cast. This is how it was with Irwin and Jakks for Dragonball Z, I hope this also holds true for Toynami. Wave 2 consists of Gaara, Sasuke and Deidara. hopefully somebody brings these in locally at a more affordable and friendly price.
Thanks for looking, Will give my thoughts on Kakashi next (the gem of the line imo).
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