Before venturing into full-sized action figures, All Japan Pro-Wrestling decided to step
in the ring on the late 1990's gashapon craze.
In Blog #181, we'll be looking at a handful of figures from Yujin's Royal Road Main
Event Figure series.
A late 1990's promotional piece advertising figures of the Tiger Mask anime and All Japan
Pro-Wrestling figures that were released by Yujin as part of the company's "SR Series"
(SR stands for "Super Real"; which may be a response to Banpresto's "Real Figures" line
of Gashapon capsule figures from the 1990's).
At the time, the initial sales price was 200 yen (just under $2 USD) per capsule figure.
In Japan, this line of figures is known as "全日本プロレス王道メインイベンター
フィギュア" (All Japan Pro-Wrestling Royal Road Main Event Figure).
The complete figure assortment from the first wave of Royal Road figures.
From left to right: Akira Taue, Kenta Kobashi, Giant Baba, Mitsuharu Misawa, Toshiaki
Kawada and Jun Akiyama.
booklet, I believe the odds of finding the gold Baba were 1 in 20.
An original Yujin figure with capsule and booklet.
The highlight of the set are the "four pillars of heaven". The Royal Road series is also the
firs time any of these legends were crafted into build-able gashapon capsule figures.
Mitsuharu Misawa's tights contain a green and silver foil effect. I always felt the
foil was too blue for my liking.
For size reference, the Royal Road line stands just under 4 inches in height (or 10cm).
The back of the figure is stamped "All Japan Pro-Wrestling CHINA".
Kenta Kobashi contains a grimace on his face. The man is ready for some chops and
lariats.
There is also a noticeable scar on Kobashi's left bicep.
As the case with many of these old capsule toys, scuff marks and discoloration are quite
common.
One half of the famous Holy Demon Army tag team. Even in capsule figure
form, Toshiaki Kawada does not look too pleased.
The other half of the Holy Demon Army Tag Team: Akira Taue.
"Blue Thunder" Jun Akiyama letting you know you made the right gashapon choice.
Part 2
The second wave of Yujin All Japan figures is known as the unnecessarily-long
"全日本プロレス ファンが選んだ人気レスラー＋馬場さんビクトリーバージョン"
(which translates to "All Japan Pro-Wrestling: Popular wrestlers selected by fans + Baba
-san Victory Version").
talent All Japan had working for them at the time.
The tallest of the second set is Giant Baba in what is referred to as the "Victory Version".
The big difference between the version of Baba from Part 1 and 2 is Baba's head tilted to
the side (signifying that he won the match) and an open mouth facial expression.
Next up from Part 2 is Stan Hansen.
Hansen is sculpted performing his signature Texas Longhorns pose. You can almost hear
him scream "YOOOOOOUTH!".
More detail was definitely added to Part 2 judging by Hansen's boots and cowboy hat.
Likewise, Stan Hansen is one the most desired figures from the Yujin All Japan sets.
Ever wondered what Hansen looks like from under his cowboy hat? Now you know...
Another popular inclusion is Big Van Vader.
I've always found Vader's facial sculpt here rather comical.
Other than the questionable facial sculpt, the rest of the Vader figure (especially for
capsule figure standards) is passable.
The second Japanese figure from wave #2 is "The Demon of the mic" Rusher Kimura.
Rusher's forehead is etched with gig marks and Rusher is holding a microphone ...ready
to verbally (and comically) eviscerate everyone and anyone.
"The Suplex Machine" Gary Albright is the next figure from part 3.
Gary Albright's facial scar on left check is present along with the University of
Nebraska logo on the front of Albright's top.
You might recognize this next figure as WWE's John Laurinaitis, but in Japan,
Johnny Ace was pushed as a big deal for years as a Pro-Wrestler.
Ace is wearing his late 1990's ring attire.
Other than a keychain figure and a plush or two, Johnny Ace never received a full-sized
action figure during his tenure in All Japan. The same fate has also befallen Gary Albright,
and Rusher Kimura from this set.
The last figure from part 2 is Naoya Ogawa who is dressed in his late 1990's Zebra-print
ring attire.
Ogawa would continue adopting this look as he made his way to Pro-Wrestling NOAH
with the other All Japan exiles after Giant Baba's passing.
The third and final wave of Yujin All Japan figures is known as "全日本プロレスリア ル
フィギュアコレクションパート3" (which translates to "All Japan Pro-Wrestling Real
Figure Collection Part 3).
There are six figures to collect (the smallest number out of all three Yujin sets). Each figure
contains the Wrestler's name and nickname. The nicknames for each figure is as follows:
"World's Strongest Giant" Giant Baba,
"Ace of All Japan" Toshiaki Kawada,
"Mister Puroresu" Genichiro Tenryu,
"The Murder Torpedo" Steve Williams
"Spectre" Masanobu Fuchi
"The Shining Star of Hawaii" Taiyo Kea
The one legend to appear in all three Yujin All Japan sets (and rightfully so) is
Giant Baba. This is sadly one of the first posthumous figures made after Baba's
passing a year prior in 1999.
This version is listed as the "NEW VERSION"; which contains a sculpt of Baba
with arms at side.
Personally, I think this figure looks more like Vince McMahon than "The World's
Strongest Giant".
The second figure is Genichiro Tenryu. One man Giant Baba vowed would never
set foot in an All Japan ring again after Tenryu left to form the SWS and later WAR
promotions.
Genichiro Tenryu would rejoin All Japan in 2000 (indicating the year of Yujin's
third wave of All Japan figures) after Giant Baba's passing.
One disappointing aspect of the Tenryu and Baba figures is the lack of articulation
or movable joints when compared to parts 1 and 2.
"Dr. Death" Steve Williams on the otherhand does contain some articulation in his
right arm and left forearm.
There are skull and crossbones decals on Williams' boots and trunks along
with a fire design. Easily the absolute highlight of Series 3 detail-wise, in
my opinion.
Going back to the statue-esque problem of previous figure mentions, Toshiaki
Kawada is sculpted in a post-victory pose.
As to my knowledge, this is also the only known figure to feature Kawada
showing off his missing front teeth (which, as legend has it, were knocked out
by a Lariat from Stan Hansen).
Next up is Taiyo Kea. Also known as Manukea Mossman.
Taiyo is another figure that comes without articulation. But a cool pose nonetheless.
The last figure in the set is Masanobu Fuchi. One of only three figure examples of the legend.
The dip in Wrestler selection was most-likely due to the formation of Pro-Wrestling NOAH
where Mitsuharu Misawa and other promotion mainstays left All Japan Pro-Wrestling in 2000.
Closing thoughts:
Before Character Product gained the rights to produce All Japan Pro-Wrestling figures
in standard 5" figure scale, the Yujin Capsule figures were the closest thing to action
figures All Japan Wrestling fans could get their hands on at the time.
Small in scale with removable pieces and some of the most well known Wrestlers
of the 1990's AJPW era, the Yujin figures offer an an inexpensive option for
Wrestling fans to collect some of their favourite Wrestlers.
Yujin figures posed with original All Japan Pro-Wrestling event tickets.
Part of the charm with these capsule figures was the task of hunting each figure down
every time you went to a Yujin vending machine. You never knew which figure you
were going to get next (could it be a Stan Hansen ...or the coveted gold chase Giant Baba
figure?!!). And, when you did open the capsule, you had the privilege of assembling
each figure together by hand akin to a mini model kit.
Most Yujin figures these days can be acquired for under a few dollars on the Japanese
market. Just be sure you pay close attention to the condition of each figure as it's quite
common for many examples to contain scuff marks and discoloration from years of
shelfware being outside their capsules.
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