Blog #282 A BATHING APE x All Japan Pro-Wrestling figure set review:
Figures from Japan with little-to-no coverage have always been my
niche. Such is the case with the A BATHING APE X AJPW figure set.
The four figure lineup.
Each figure comes in a plastic drawstring bag that looks better-suited for some oranges at a grocery store. Despite being an officially-licensed product line, nicknames are included for each Wrestler on their respective bags. The figures are:
'KAZ' (Kaz Hayashi)
'Mr. 610' (Keiji Mutoh. The '610' in Japanese numbering translates to 'Mutoh', which has been a nickname of Mutoh's over the years; even naming his restaurant 'Dining 610' after it).
'KOJI' (Satoshi Kojima).
And the most obscure figure of them all 'THE APE MAN' (Apeman - a masked gimmick played by WWE's Jimmy Wang Yang)
The figures themselves are modeled after the minimalist approach of modern designer art figures. Specifically, figures made by Bearbrick.
Bathing Ape, Apeman and the All Japan Pro-Wrestling roster in 2002 when both parties began collaborating.
Additional photos.
Keiji Mutoh owns his Bathing Ape figure; which can be seen at the back end to the right.
Scale-wise, these figures look to stand about 7 to 9 inches tall; when compared standing next to the HAO Collection Mech and Spider Muta figures.
Outside of All Japan Pro-Wrestling, Bathing Ape also joined forces with Kinnikuman years before New Japan could ever strike a licensing deal.
In the realm of Japanese Wrestling merchandise, few competitors have received as many figures as The Great Muta. With striking facepaint, intricately-detailed ring masks, an endless variety of phantasmagorical entrance attires, along with a penchant for influencing countless Wrestlers with his innovative in-ring techniques, it's no wonder that the 'Pearl of The Orient' continues to remains an indelible icon in the world of professional Wrestling.
Our next batch of figures pay homage to Muta's early years, with a crossover project sure to turn heads. Blog #236 summons Grape Brain's Great Muta sofubi figures.
Enter the Grape Brain Genius Grape Brain is a Japanese artist who is best known for his characters Origiri and Norikun. Known as the "2 mouth genius boy doctor", Norikun casts a sinister presence with bangs obscuring one of Nori's eyes. Norikun also includes a second face - a monstrous, alter-ego that is located at the back of Nori's head.
By turning Norikun's head, collectors can display either one of Nori's personalities.
Visually, Norikun's appearance reminds me of the mid 90's early 2000's cartoon animation found on Nickelodeon or Cartoon Network. Cartoons like Dexter's Lab and, later, Teen Titans comes to mind.
Enter the Grape Brain Great Muta crossover
Capitalizing on The Great Muta's 2023 retirement run, Grape Brain, in conjunction with Pro-Wrestling NOAH, created a series of soft vinyl figures inspired by the Wrestling legend.
Following the trend of other designer toy brands such as BearBrick, KAWS, Kidrobot and, in extension, even Funko POPS!, Grape Brain has redesigned Norikun to resemble The Great Muta, as he appeared in the late 80's to early 90's.
Each Norikun figure stands 14cm or 5.5 inches tall and is made of soft vinyl.
In the traditional style of sofubi figure packaging from the 1960's and 1970's, the Grape Brain Great Muta figures come in simple shrinkwrap packaging with attached cardboard backings.
In terms of articulation, only the arms and head can be rotated.
I love how the Norikun figures ever have green lips, a nod to Muta's poison mist attack.
From Pro-Wrestling NOAH's official shop, the following text reads "Great Muta X Norikun Sofubi NEW colour ver."
The text also mentions the website price of 11,000 yen (roughly $80 USD) per figure. With five colour variants available (Black, Blue, Green, White and Red), acquiring each variant would cost collector's over five hundred dollars.
Since the Norikun Great Muta figures were made in very limited numbers, each edition sold out rather quickly. The few examples of Grape Brain's work that have made it to the secondary market now fetch upwards of five hundred dollars per figure!
My theory is that the monstrous head at the back of Norikun's skull is a reference to the Japanese yokai legend of Futakuchi Onna; an early example of a split personality imbued with supernatural powers.
The Japanese Kanji on the front of Norikun's shirt reads '伊賀流', which translates to Iga-Ryu. One of two historically significant ninja clans in Japan.The text alludes to the Great Muta's early entrance attires, which were based on classical Ninja hoods.
The writing on the back of the Norikun figure's shirt reads '忍' (Ninja).
When displayed next to 16d Collection's Great Muta (white paint ver.) sofubi figure.
Closing thoughts:
Only the most hardcore of Great Muta fans will consider purchasing the Grape Brain Norikun Great Muta figures. As renown as Grape Brain's work may be in the art community, their merchandise isn't as recognizable as designer art toys made by more recognizable brands. The rather steep base price of 11,000 yen per figure is also a hard bargain to reason with as well.
Should the Grape Brain Muta variants ever made it to the secondhand market, collectors can expect paying at least double to triple the original retail price; making these soft vinyl oddities even more costly in the long run.
When it comes to Pro-Wrestling collectibles in Japan, one trend that shows no signs of slowing down is Japan's love of keychains.
Whether adding a bit of flair to an old set of keys, connecting a stylish accessory to your mobile device or hanging a show souvenir below your rear view mirror, keychains are a cheap and inexpensive item to make that Wrestling fans in the East just can't seem to get enough of.
Just about every Pro-Wrestling promotion in Japan has released at least one keychain product over the years. Some in lavish packaging. Others as unique twists to other items released by the manufacturer. Some promotions (like NJPW and AJPW) are still releasing keychains to this day.
For Blog #208, we'll be walking the plank for the Asunarosya Great Muta Squeeze Toy
Released by the Japanese company Asunarosya in 2009, this keychain depicts Great Muta in his late 2000's All Japan Pro-Wrestling Crab attire.
Some stores also refer to this as Muta's "Pirate" attire.
The tag reads The Great Muta's name in Kanji (black letters) along with "グレート・ムタ スクイーズ" (Great Muta Squeeze). As the name implies, the Great Muta figure is a squeeze toy.
The dimensions are 60 x 50 x 50mm (about 2.3 inches).
For a size comparison next to a Toukon Shop Great Muta figure.
Other than Muta looking a little confused, it's a fun, little collectible that reminds me of the Madballs toy line from the mid-1980's.
Today, we're returning back to a familiar destination with 16d's soft vinyl series. Blog #203 applies the Muta Lock on the 16d Collection Great Muta figures. On October 13th, 2020 Japanese toymaker 16 Directions announced the upcoming release of The Great Muta as part of the company's soft vinyl figure collection.
A video of the 16d Great Muta figure prototype that was uploaded on October 19th, 2020.
Great Muta would be officially released three months later in January of 2021; becoming the 16th Wrestler overall to be featured in the 16d Collection.
I like how both figure variants come in different packages while mentioning the specific figure variant in Japanese.
The front of the packaging for both variants translates to: グレート・ムタ (Great Muta 90年代赤ペイント Ver. 90's Red Paint Ver.)
グレート・ムタ (Great Muta 90年代白ペイント Ver. 90's White Paint Ver.)
The left side of each variant's respective packaging. Again featuring different shots of both figures.
The right side of the packaging contains Muta's stats and a brief dossier.
The text reads:
"PROFILE ................................. Date of birth: Unknown Birthplace: Louisiana, United States Height/Weight: 188cm (6'2") / 110kg (242lbs) Debut: April 2nd, 1989 (As The Great Muta) Signature moves: Poison Mist, Muta Lock, Muta Chop"
In actuality, Great Muta's "birthplace" and debut happened a month prior on March 12th 1989 against Cougar Jay in Atlanta, Georgia.
The backs of both packages.
I'm pretty sure the sculpt for the 16d Great Muta figures were heavily inspired by this photo.
The tops of both packages. Unlike the Abdullah The Butcher or Jushin Thunder Liger 16d figures, there are no coloured stickers placed on the top of the boxes to help differentiate figure variants.
The bottom of both boxes contains the standard safety precautions, 16d's parent company, the material of the vinyl figures and a copyright licensing from Keiji Mutoh's new merchandising company and online store MUTO OFFICE.
Now, on to the figures themselves:
The Great Muta 16d figures are based on The Great Muta's early 1990's New Japan Pro-Wrestling appearance and were created by renown figure sculptor HAO (Keiichi Hao).
The white paint variant is listed as an online exclusive.
I especially love Muta's sculpted pose here. With the green teeth and tongue, Muta is ready to spray his patented Poison Mist!
The white paint variant contains the following text on the figure's right pant leg:
"愚 Gu 零 Rei 闘 Tou 武 Mu 多 Ta
Put all the Japanese kanji together and you have "Great Muta".
The Kanji on Muta's right cheek reads "忍" (Shinobi); a reference to Muta's Ninja characteristics.
The white paint variant has a noticeably larger version of the Kanji scrawled across Muta's cheek.
While the red paint version has a ninja star on both wristbands, the white paint variant has the kanji "Shinobi" repeated once again on Muta's right wristband.
The Kanji on the left side of Muta's cheek reads "炎" (fire, flames).
Along the red variant's pants, the same text (Great Muta) has been written in black.
Both variants contain finger tape. The white variant also contains the kanji "Fire/Flames" on the figure's right wristband (parallel to the same kanji on the white version's face).
If you look closely, you may notice Muta's bicep scar, too!
The Great Muta 16d figures stand approximately 12.5 cm (4.9 inches) tall.
The sole of both figures contains Keiji Mutoh's MUTO OFFICE stamp.
Both figure variants are articulated at the left arm, neck and waist. The right arm (while still slightly poseable) is pretty much fixed in place.
In Super Fire Pro Wrestling III Final Bout/Easy Type (1993) on the Super Famicom, Blade Musha (Great Muta)'s white and red attire is featured as the 2nd player costume. The same costume is also available as Muta's fourth attire in the follow up title Super Fire Pro Wrestling Special (1994).
Using the Edit mode, it is also possible to recreate Muta's white and red attire in Super Fire Pro Wrestling X/X Premium (1996).
Other than a few unofficial video game appearances, this is the first time the Great Muta received a figure in his white and red ring attire colours.
The last time Great Muta's classic facepaint look was sculpted by HAO was in the mid 2000's as part of HAO's black card series.
Scale-wise, the HAO Great Muta figure stands noticeably taller at about 6 to 7 inches in height when compared to it's 16d counterparts.
The HAO version (while removing articulation in Muta's neck) offers two extra points of articulation from the wrists.
Closing thoughts:
When I first began collecting Wrestling figures from Japan, the two brands that I started with were Character Product's Mini Big Heads and Toukon Shop's action figures. Then I purchased my first HAO figure (The Great Muta classic facepaint black card series ver.) and was blown away.
Whereas most Japanese action figures stand about 5 inches tall, I wasn't prepared for the HAO figures which regularly stand between 6 to 8 inches in height. The attention to detail, figures available and resealable packaging instantly converted me into a fan of HAO's work.
While the 16d figures aren't as tall as the original HAO ones from nearly 20 years ago, they still contain the same charm and attitude of their taller counterparts. The same can be said for the 16d Great Muta figures. A cooler pose, better facial expression and two variants to collect. What's not to like?
When I reviewed the Genichiro Tenryu retirement figure back in 2017, I praised the overall design of HAO's work and welcomed the idea of more figures being produced in this style. Ten days later, Tetsuya Naito was announced as the first official figure in the 16d lineup and the 16d Collection line has continued to gain momentum ever since.
At one point in time, the Triple Crown Championship belts were considered by many to be the absolute pinnacle of Pro-Wrestling. An opinion that was substantiated by the near-flawless craftsmanship and high-caliber work rate of the All Japan Pro- Wrestling roster. The arduous task of unifying all three championships during the peak of All Japan's relevance in the 1990's made for many historic fights for the Triple Crown.
Legends like Mitsuharu Misawa, Toshiaki Kawada, Kenta Kobashi, Stan Hansen, Big Van Vader and Dr. Death Steve Williams all come to mind instantly when most Puroresu fans think of the Triple Crown belts. The figureheads and stars of All Japan that set a new standard of excellence for the Pro-Wrestling industry in the 1990's.
Epic stories of strength and determination, the act of overcoming insurmountable obstacles and the resonating aura of those who managed to rise above the competition. The ring served as the canvas and the Triple Crown Belts were the greatest Tri-fecta of Championship titles to hold in all of Pro-Wrestling.
Today we'll be taking a look at three very popular figures that contain the prestigious Triple Crown belts. Blog #171 covers the Character Product Keiji Mutoh DX Figures.
The first deluxe figure variant we'll be looking depicts Keiji Mutoh in his entrance attire.
Keiji Mutoh is sculpted in his iconic "Pro-Wrest LOVE" pose. The overcoat Keiji Mutoh contains "Cross Wizard" era decals (a series of designs Mutoh would start wearing around 2001).
The first Triple Crown belt is the NWA United National Championship.
Fellow legends who held the NWA United Championship before being unified into the Triple Crowns includes: Antonio Inoki, Genichiro Tenryu, Harley Race, Billy Robinson, The Sheik, Abdullah The Butcher and Stan Hansen.
All three variants contain the same packaging front and back.
Keiji Mutoh's profile stats read:
"Height: 188cm (6'2) Weight: 110kg Signature moves: Shining Wizard Moonsault Press Titles: Triple Crown Belt NWA World's Strongest belt IWGP Belt World's Strongest Tag IWGP Tag"
The second figure variant depicts Keiji Mutoh-sans overcoat. The sculpted of this variant shows Keiji Mutoh about to perform his Pro-Wrest LOVE pose (by kissing his hands).
Some Japanese stores refer to this variant as the "KISS Pose".
The same "KISS" pose Keiji Mutoh figure was also packaged with Mitsuharu Misawa in a limited edition deluxe double pack (which you can read my review on here).
As you can see from the above picture, (even though Keiji Mutoh is performing a kiss), Mutoh contains the same head sculpt as his entrance attire variant.
The second Triple Crown belt is the PWF World Heavyweight Championship.
In the 16 year time-span that the PWF Championship existed before unification, legends like Giant Baba, Jumbo Tsuruta, Stan Hansen, Abdullah The Butcher and Riki Choshu all held the PWF Championship.
Keiji Mutoh's right kneepad reads "HOLD OUT", a nod to Mutoh's old New Japan Pro -Wrestling theme song. Mutoh's left kneepad contains 61 and 0. 610 in a certain Japanese numerical system spells out "MUTOH".
Mutoh's tights contain more decals of the Cross Wizard design.
The third and final deluxe variant features Keiji Mutoh performing the Pro-Wrest LOVE pose without his overcoat.
The third Triple Crown belt is the NWA International Heavyweight Championship belt. The most prestigious and oldest of the three belts going back to 1957.
The NWA International belt was brought to Japan by "The Undefeated Iron Man" Lou Thesz. Rikidozan's defeat of Thesz during this era helped establish Japan's credibility in the Wrestling world.
Other legends who held the NWA International belt include: Gene Kiniski, Bobo Brazil, Dory Funk Jr., Stan Hansen, Bruiser Brody, Giant Baba and Kintaro Oki (who single- handedly held the NWA International title for a combined total of 3,052 days!)
All three versions contain the same face sculpt and identical upper/lower torso.
Mini Big Heads Vol. 4. Keiji Mutoh (Entrance ver.) and Great Muta (Devil ver.) figures.
The same Keiji Mutoh head sculpt and pose were shrunken down into minifigure form as part of the fourth volume of Character Product's Pro-Kaku Heroes Mini Big Head Figures line in 2004.
I find the paint job on the Triple Crown belts to be shoddy at best. Especially since Character Product had been producing Pro-Wrestling action figures for 7 years by this point in the company's existence.
As deluxe figures, each variant comes with an acrylic display base, name plate and figure holders that attach to the base.
Closing thoughts:
Released in 2004, the deluxe Keiji Mutoh set would be the first action figures made in Mutoh's likeness under the Character Product banner.
While it's nice having three different variants to collect, Character Product could have realistically bundled all three belts and alterations into one package (or two packages at tops) if they felt inclined enough to do so.
Take for example Character Product's Kokushi Muso DX figure - which contained about 10 different accessories including a bonus pair of removable arms and entrance attire (which was also released one year earlier in 2003) or Toukon Shop's Kazuyuki Fujita DX figure which came bundled with two IWGP Heavyweight Championships back in 2001.
Technically speaking, Toshiaki Kawada was the actual reigning Triple Crown champion at the time of the DX Keiji Mutoh figure's release. Though (with all due respect to Kawada) I can see why Character Product decided to place the Triple Crown belts with three Keiji Mutoh figures instead. After all, Mutoh was All Japan's president at the time and already a two time Triple Crown champion. Not to mention, a major star in New Japan Pro- Wrestling for well over a decade.
For collectors who don't feel like pursuing the Keiji Mutoh DX figure variants, Character Product also released the Triple Crown belts separately as a special three pack the same year; using the same belts bundled with the Mutoh figures. The only difference is the added keychain rings on the tips of each belt.
Though, with the soaring costs of Japanese figures on the secondhand market, I don't recommend purchasing the three belt set for the $200 average they currently go for.
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