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.

Pro-Kaku Heroes - Rare Antonio Inoki variants

Taking a minor detour from the planned coverage of the entire Pro-Kaku
Heroes Vol. 7. series review (which is now near completion), today's blog
post is all about the two rarest Antonio Inoki Mini Big Head figures:


Antonio Inoki (Blue Towel Version)

In 2004, New Japan Pro-Wrestling would release a special re-paint
of their Pro Kaku Heroes Antonio Inoki [B] figure.

The repainted version features Inoki's iconic "Fight Towel" painted
blue instead of red.

The blue towel version was only available for sale at New Japan's
Toukon Shop in very limited numbers.

Another minor difference between the regular and repaint variants is
the lighter skin color used on the repaint version (a trait that is
common with other Mini Big Head pre-release figures).

While I'm not entirely sure how in fact the Inoki blue towel version
was sold within the Toukon Shop, based on the figure being poly-
bagged, like every other regular figure, I think it's safe to assume that
the blue towel Inoki was sold in typical Blind Box fashion along with
the rest of Vol. 4.

Antonio Inoki "Jungle Fight" Mini Big Head Strap.


On September 13th 2003, Antonio Inoki and New Japan Pro-Wrestling
hosted a special, mixed martial arts event called "Jungle Fight 1" at the
Ariau Amazon Towers Convention Cente in Manaus, Brazil.

The even's name "Jungle Fight" and theme were inspired by Manaus'
situation along the Amazon Rainforest and Amazon River.    

"Welcome to the jungle". Literally!

Coinciding with Jungle Fight's official release on DVD in 2004,
Character Product would also include a special Mini Big Head
of Antonio Inoki exclusive to the Jungle Fight DVD!

                             

Packaged in cardboard casing, the Jungle Fight Inoki Mini Big
Head sticks out from a small window in the bottom left corner
of the box.

                                 

The Jungle Fight 1 event contains 11 matches packaged in a 2 disc DVD set.
The main event was a match between Jorge Patino VS Ronaldo Souza who
fought for the first time ever on Brazilian soil.

You can check out Jungle Fight's full match listing HERE

                            

The Inoki Mini Big Head in it's removable cardboard sleeve and window
packaging.

Polybagged and ready to open!

                            
The most obscure types of Mini Big Heads are what's known as the
"strap" figures; which are basically redesigned (and previously
 released) Mini Big Head sculpts recreated as keychains.

Besides the adorable baby Monkey, the most noticeable feature
with Character Product's Strap figures is their lack of the typical
red display bases.
                            

Surprisingly, even without a base, the Jungle Fight Inoki Mini Big
Head is able to stand up relatively well on it's own.
                        
                                    
The Strap contains the typical copyrighted information as found on
most Inoki products of the era.

The strap gets bonus points for being removable (just in case you
want to display the Jungle Fight Inoki along with your other Mini
Big Head figures).
                    

The Jungle Fight Inoki strap figure uses the same head sculpt as the
Vol. 1. Antonio Inoki Mini Big Heads, while the body mold was
clearly lifted from the very rare Vol. 1. "secret" variant.

The entire Antonio Inoki Mini Big Head collection.

                   
Closing thoughts:

When I first laid eyes on the Jungle Fight Inoki Mini Big Head figure
several years ago on eBay, I originally shrugged the figure off as an
unofficial, fan-made item.

It was only after a ton of research (in Japanese, mind you) did I
discover that there are, in fact, quite a number of official Character
Product Strap figures in existence that were released alongside the
original Pro-Kaku heroes line from 2004 to 2007!

The Jungle Fight Inoki Mini Big Head stands apart from the other
strap figures as it was the only strap to be included as a DVD
item exclusive (the only other DVD exclusive is the super-rare
"clear black" Masahiro Cbono Mini Big Head that was given
out as a not-for-sale prize item during the release of Chono's
25th Anniversary DVD set).

Just like the Blue Towel Inoki exclusive, New Japan's Toukon
Shop would release 8 more exclusive Mini Big Head figures.
All of which will be featured in the next blog post!

Stay tuned!