Antonio Inoki Sound Bank 2001 Millennium Model

Very few Wrestlers in Japan could touch the level of product that has featured Inoki's image over the last 60 years. A number of figures that is easy to lose track of.

Here's another Japanese figure some of you may have never seen before.

Blog #289 Antonio Inoki Sound Bank 2001 Millennium Model
Known in Japan as:アントニオ猪木 サウンドバンク


The closest thing to having the real Antonio Inoki shouting his famous catchphrases in your home. This sound bank was released in 2001.



The packaging mentions that this is the 2001 millennium model.

As for advertising, the box also displays two soundbites 'arigato' and '1-2-3-Daaa!'. The top left corner states that inserting a coin will play Inoki's Inoki Bom-Ba-Ye theme song, too.






The packaging can be broken up into a shelve display and a regular box. Extra steps were certainly taken to make sure this bank wasn't broken in transit.

The back of the box provides a brief bio on Inoki's Wrestling career. Even mentioning Rikidozan discovering a young Inoki while on a Wrestling excursion in Brazil.

Coins are placed into the back of the bank, which then activates a sound clip of one of Inoki's catchphrases.



It's quite common to find these obscurities still polybagged.



To give you an idea on scale, the Inoki sound bank placed next to the HAO Collection Inoki statue and Sound Money Bank figures.



Like the HAO Collection Inoki polystone statue, the Inoki sound bank also includes a fabric fight towel stitched with Inoki's 'Fighting Spirit' signature in gold, along with Inoki's name in white directly underneath.





The Inoki Sound Bank was made by Iwaya in Japan. The same manufacturer that released Inoki keychains with sound clips as well.



The Inoki Sound Bank is mentioned on the back of the keychain figures' packaging.

Antonio Inoki Air Salonpas Ex Bottlecaps

 

Blog #288 Antonio Inoki Air Salonpas Ex Bottlecaps


Air Salonpas is a spray-on pain reliever. In the early 2000's, Antonio Inoki was a spokesman for Salonpas. As such, five bottlecaps were created in Inoki's likeness.


From left to right:

Salonpas spray bottle with Inoki's 'Fighting Spirit' signature.

Inoki performing his '1.2.3...DAAaaa!' pose.

Inoki bust.

Full body Inoki.

Inoki holding a Salonpas spray bottle.




The grey shirt Inoki figures are based on Inoki's promo photo endorsing Salonpas.

Inoki can be seen in the same red tracksuit with the following commercial from 2002.






The original bottlecap package. The blindbag packaging mentions that there are five figures to collect.

So, if you're looking for a product targeted towards adult sports fans, with kid-friendly anime-styled cuteness and a pain reliever tie-in, the Inoki Air Salonpas figures are for you.

Antonio Inoki Bottlecap Figure Keyholder review

For generations, one of the most common practices among toy companies is recycling figure molds. Instead of designing an entirely new figure from scratch, toy manufacturers will reuse preexisting figures and convert them into new products.

In the 90's and 2000's, Character Product shrunk down figure releases from their Super Star Figure Collection line and converted them into keychains. In 2003, Character Product would then go on to recycle figures in another format by creating the Pro-Kaku Heroes; a popular line of Mini Big Heads that lasted for five years and spanning 8 volumes in the process.

Recently, I discovered a figure that wasn't featured in the original Pro-Kaku line.


Blog #287 Antonio Inoki Bottlecap Figure Keyholder

Known in Japan as:
アントニオ猪木 ボトルキャップフィギュアキーホルダー


This figure was released in 2003.




The Inoki bottlecap figure looks nearly-identical to Character Product (back when they were known as Toukon Shop)'s Antonio Inoki figure (1970's version) that was released several years prior in 1999.



The surface of the red base reads February 20th, 2003 (Antonio Inoki's 60th birthday).



There is also a variant with a gold base. I would imagine this is the rarer version of an already rare figure.



Around the same time, Inoki international re-released the Inoki 70's figure to also commemorate the legend's birthday; bundling Inoki with a commemorative display base, NWF Heavyweight Championship belt, and collector-friendly packaging.

Inoki International licensed Antonio Inoki's image to Character Product going back to the 90's. Though, this partnership wasn't an exclusive one, as Inoki continued to have figures made in his likeness by other toy manufacturers and through brand endorsement deals themselves.

Judging by these two releases, it seems Antonio Inoki was able to legally release his own modifications of Character Product/Toukon Shop figures. Much the same as The Ultimate Warrior was able to strike up a deal with Jakks Pacific to produce exclusive figure variants of his likeness from Jakks' Classic Superstars and Ring Giants toy lines.

Nostalgic Showa Pro-Wrestling figure collection review

Blog #284 Nostalgic Showa Pro-Wrestling figure collection review.

While browsing for content on the Nendo Pro-Wrestling figure exhibition, I came across two listings on Amazon Japan which caught my attention.



These figures are made of clay ceramic; which was a common trend for collectibles in Japan during the 1980's. In fact, famous Japanese Wrestler Riki Choshu had a collection of them officially made under his Riki Pro banner during the era.

The first figure is the Fighting Spirit Enzuigiri figure. The figure is based off of Antonio Inoki performing his signature Enzuigiri finisher.

With attached stand, I was reminded of the fantastic Antonio Inoki Enzuigiri figure by Charapro. 




At first, I thought this next figure was a poorly sculpted Stan Hansen or Karl Gotch. Alas, it's officially listed as 'Superman Hulk Hogan'. This is, without a shadow of a doubt, the worst Hulk Hogan figure ever created. Even in ceramic form, it takes an extra special level of talent to mess up the Hulkster this badly.

There is no brand behind these figures. They were listed to Amazon in 2022 and are essentially bootleg
figures. You can find the listings by typing:

Hogan:
懐かしの昭和プロレス超人ハルクホーガンフィギュア

Inoki:
懐かしの昭和プロレス鎮魂闘魂延髄斬りフィギュア 

Antonio Inoki 60th Anniversary Pure Gold Figure review

For our next figure review, we'll be looking at a figure that is out of reach from all but the most affluent of Wrestling collectors. Get ready to enter high-end territory and jaw-dropping prices with blog #142: the Antonio Inoki 60th Anniversary figure.

On February 19th, 2021, Japanese Pro-Wrestling legend Antonio Inoki made an announcement over his official facebook page regarding the pre-order of a pure gold figure:

In Japanese the name of the figure is アントニオ猪木 初”の純金フィギュア化
(Antonio Inoki First Pure Gold Figure)

In the the above picture, the three golden circles state that the figure weighs 23 grams, is 1/48 scale (about 1.5 inches or 40 millilitres) and is limited to just 60 pieces; making this figure one of (if not the rarest) Inoki figures ever made.

The poster also mentions that five customers will be chosen at random in a special lottery to win a card signed by Antonio Inoki himself.

                                        

With hands raised, Antonio Inoki is ready to test his fighting spirit.

Inoki is no stranger to lavish figures made in his image. In the 1990's for example, statue maker MAN SPORT also released several bronze figures of Inoki (you can google them yourself with these keywords アントニオ猪木 MANSPORT).

The Antonio Inoki pure gold figure is just one of several pieces of merchandise created to celebrate the 60th anniversary of Antonio Inoki's debut as a Pro-Wrestler.

While there are no watermarks or logos of any kind on the front or back of the figure, a serial number is said to be engraved on the back of one of the Inoki figure's boots.
.

The official item description mentions that the pure gold Inoki figure is 24 karats and is solid (not hollow).

Included with the figure is a stylish display case and base. The plaque on the base reads:

アントニオ猪木   (Antonio Inoki)
デビュー60周年  (60th Anniversary Debut)

You can check out the official video promo here:

Expensive golden figures are nothing new to Japanese collectors. Similar pricing and scales can also be found for Godzilla and the Gundam Wing series, too.

And if you're wondering how much this luxurious figure costs: 660,000 円 ($6,000 USD).

The official store selling the Pure Gold Inoki figure can be found HERE

Antonio Inoki HAO Collection Retirement Statue review

Today, we'll be looking at an extra special figure released by HAO
back in 2006. The Antonio Inoki "Fighting Spirit Legend" HAO
Collection Statue.

                       
Unlike most HAO figures which come in see-through clamshell packaging,
the Antonio Inoki Fighting Spirit Legend statue comes packaged in a black
cardboard box complete with a stylish photo of Inoki on the front.

The left corner of the packaging features Antonio Inoki's signature with the
inscription "闘魂" (Fighting Spirit) along with Inoki's ring name  "アントニ
オ猪木"" (Antonio Inoki). The bottom of the package reads "闘魂伝説"
(Fighting Spirit Legend) in red lettering.


                                   


HAO Collection's logo is prominently displayed at the top right corner.

The back of the package contains a latch at the top of the box to remove
the Inoki statue.

The writing on the back of the package reads "GSP" (Global Standard
Products) and "IMA Corporation" along with a website for the latter.

The packaging opens from the front to reveal the Inoki statue. Inoki's
"Fighting Spirit" signature (left) is also accompanied by "燃える闘魂" on
the right which reads "Burning Fighting Spirit" in Japanese.

Although it's hard to pick out, below the Inoki statue is a gold foil sticker which
reads "INOKI INC (C) 2006". This seal is found on all of Inoki's officially
endorsed products from the era.

The inside of the packaging contains a message from Antonio Inoki

that includes a printed graphic of a "Hanko" stamp with Inoki's
namesake.

Next to the message is a picture of Inoki from his retirement match

against Don Frye and a mini bio which reads:

ANTONIO INOKI

KANJI INOKI (Inoki's birth name)
190cm/102kg
1943 2 20 (February 20th, 1943)

Yokohoma, Kanagawa Prefecture

The inside of the packaging also mentions Inoki's Championship victories

from 1964 to 1987 as well as the dates the championships were won

and the opponents Inoki defeated.

                            

Unlike the majority of HAO figures which are made of soft vinyl, the
Fighting Spirit Inoki statue is made of Polystone.

                              

Inoki's signature fight towel is also included as a removable accessory (a
feature that is very rare for HAO figures and statues). The fabric fight towel
contains Inoki's Fighting Spirit signature in gold and white stitching; adding
a nice touch to this collectible.

Like other statues released by HAO, the Inoki statue contains an
attached black base.

HAO Collection also created similar Polystone statues for their "K-1
FIGHTER FIGURES" line banner with matching black bases.

Being both an iconic Pro-Wrestler and a notable Martial Artist, Inoki
is the only Pro-Wrestler from the HAO Collection to receive a 6 inch
K-1-esque statue treatment.

The Inoki statue features Inoki ready to fight with a clenched fist.

   

The intense look on Inoki's face is fully captured here. The design of
this statue itself is based on Inoki's final years as an active Pro-Wrestler.

HAO's distinctive art style is faithfully adapted into this medium as well.

The polystone material contains a glossy finish that helps the Inoki
statue stand out easily.


                             

The bottom of the statue's base contains the HAO Collection
logo and Inoki's Copyright.

Scale: when stood next to HAO Collection's VOL. 002 Stan Hansen figure.

                               
From the base, the Inoki statue stands 16.5cm tall (about 6.5" inches)
(half an inch higher than most figures from the line).


Closing thoughts:
From the stylish box to the sculpt of the state itself, I've always
loved this statue. Inoki's likeness is instantly recognizable and
the cloth fight towel is a splendid addition to this retirement
match commemorative.

Sadly, the Fighting Spirit Legend Antonio Inoki figure was the
only Pro-Wrestler given the 6" K-1 style statue treatment in
the HAO Collection; making this collectible a truly stand-alone
piece.

One can only imagine how other famous Wrestlers would have
looked like given HAO's statue treatment.

For those of you looking to purchase your own Antonio Inoki
HAO Collection statue on the secondhand market, I strongly
suggest looking over the condition of the statue itself (front,
back and bottom of the base) before making a purchase. Due to
the statue being fragile, there are many examples out there
with cracks, chips and staining on the polystone.