Shikamaru has ranked highly in the Weekly Shōnen Jump popularity polls for the series , continuously placing in the top ten and reaching fourth place in one poll . The last such poll was in 2011 , in which Shikamaru was in ninth place , behind Sasori and ahead of Hinata . Merchandise based on Shikamaru has also been released , including action figures , key chains , and patches in both his Part I and Part II appearance . NTT customers voted him as their sixteenth favorite black haired male anime character . CyberConnect2 CEO Hiroshi Matsuyama referred to Shikamaru as one of his favorite characters from Naruto .