Mogura House Mitsuharu Misawa (Entrance attire) figure review

As the main star and founder of Pro-Wrestling NOAH, the legendary

Mitsuharu Misawa has his fair share of action figures released by
Mogura House.

Blog #89 takes a look at another Championship belt variant. The
Mitsuharu Misawa (entrance attire) figure.

                             

Mitsuharu Misawa comes in Mogura House's deluxe style packaging.


                              

From head to toe, Mitsuharu Misawa has received a brand new figure sculpt
complete with entrance robe.

The Pro-Wrestling NOAH GHC Heavyweight Championship is also included
with this figure variant (which, again, cannot be removed from the Misawa
figure's waist).

                           

This particular version is a factory error with the GHC Championship belt
discoloured to black from inside the packaging (the result of using low-
quality paint that darkens over time).

The green substance above the belt is the result of plasticizer which has leaked
from the figure (used for figure articulation during production). While harmless
to the figure cosmetically (and easy to clean off once removed from the packaging),
this chemical reaction is common among older figures (especially those made by
Character Product).

For more information on reversing the effects of plasticizer with your boxed
figures, check out this forum post

The deluxe single-packed Mitsuharu Misawa figure is the only Mogura House
figure to feature Misawa in his entrance robe and a GHC Heavyweight Champ
-ionship belt.

The back of the packaging features an updated graphic of Misawa in
his Pro-Wrestling NOAH entrance robe along with his stats and a brief
bio.

                                                                      

Mogura House Akitoshi Saitoh & Jun Akiyama GHC Tag Team figure review

Our 86th figure review focuses on another Pro-Wrestling NOAH tag team
figure set: Mogura House's Akitoshi Saito & Jun Akiyama GHC Tag
Team two-pack.

                          

The top of the packaging contains the text "THE 5TH GHC TAG TEAM
CHAMPIONS" which is a reference to Saito and Akiyama's Pro-Wrestling
NOAH GHC Tag Team Championship victory on September 23rd, 2002
in Tokyo, Japan.

The first of two versions of this set features Saito with a blue flame design.

The back of the packaging lists the stats and individual bios of both Wrestlers.
I always felt Mogura House had the best graphics in terms of packaging art.

Collectors should also look for the alternate colour variant which features a
white flame design on Saito's pants.


Let's take a look at the figures themselves:

Akitoshi Saito comes sculpted in a pointing pose and includes a Pro-
Wrestling NOAH GHC Tag Team Championship belt.

Next to Big Van Vader, Saito is the second stockiest figure from Mogura
House.

                             

All Japan Pro-Wrestling star "Blue Thunder" Jun Akiyama comes dressed
in his Pro-Wrestling NOAH era white and silver entrance attire.

One of my favorite features of Akiyama's entrance attire is the translucent
portions on the sides of Akiyama's gown.

                            

Like Saito, Akiyama is also sculpted in a pointing pose.


                              


The back of Akiyama's gown continues the awesomeness with an eye decal,
"A" (for Akiyama), the word "STERNESS" (Akiyama's theme at the time)
and a small bit of Engrish.


                                   

Hands down, the coolest feature of the Jun Akiyama figure is the ability to
take off Akiyama's entrance gown to reveal a removable GHC Tag Team
belt!

                       

The alternate colour set contains Akitoshi Saito with a white flame design
on his pants.

                          

Both Saito variants include various text and tattoos.

                                     

The tattoo on Saito's back contains a skeletal hand performing Saito's point
pose. The text "Death" is a reference to Saito's nickname "King of Death"
(which was coined many years before Saito's unfortunate involvement
with Mitsuharu Misawa's tragic passing).


                             

Akitoshi's left bicep contains a tattoo which reads "AKITOSHI".

It is worth noting that the only Mogura House figure to include a tatoo
is 2 Cold Scorpio

Since having a tattoo is looked at as a symbol of crime involvement in
Japan, there aren't too many Japanese Wrestler figures that feature tattoos
in general (sorry Hakushi - body paint doesn't count).

                         

The left side of Saito's pants contains Saito's nickname "KING OF DEATH".

                       

The right side of Saito's pants contains the text "NAUGHTY" and "I.V.Y.
GEAR" (which tag partner Jun Akiyama had on his attire at the time as
well).

Kenta Kobashi (Orange Trunks Ver.) HAO Collection figure review

Our soft vinyl coverage continues today with another figure from
the "Absolute Champion": 2007's HAO Collection Kenta Kobashi
orange trunks variant figure.


                               


This limited edition, alternate colour variant is a throwback to
Kobashi's classic All Japan Pro-Wrestling attire from the early
1990's.

Kobashi would also resurrect this look in the mid 2000's at
Japan'sYoyogi Stadium while competing for Pro-Wrestling
NOAH.

                              

Japanese toy maker Mogura House also released a special
repaint in honor of Kobashi's Yoyogi stadium appearance
also suited in his classic AJPW attire.
                                

The HAO Collection Kobashi figure is sculpted in a pre-Knife
Edge Chop pose.

The soft vinyl material used to make this figure add a nice
touch to it's simple design.

Kobashi's boots also contain lots of detail and colouring.

The Kobashi HAO Collection figure features articulation at the
waist, arms and neck; just in case you want to hoist an opponent
up or seek approval from the audience.

In terms of scale, Kobashi stands about 6 inches tall, making this
figure one of the largest and most detailed ever released for the
legend.

Read my review of the HAO Collection Kenta Kobashi (NOAH
Ver.) HERE

 

Kenta Kobashi HAO Figure Review

Following their New Japan and All Japan Pro-Wrestling licenses,
HAO Arts Office would add a series of figures based on Wrestlers
from the Pro-Wrestling NOAH promotion.

This blog is about the Kenta Kobashi HAO figure that was

released in 2007.

The Kenta Kobashi HAO figure features Kobashi in his modern

Pro-Wrestling NOAH attire.

                         
Kobashi is depicted in his signature Knife Edge Chop pose
(the first and only Kobashi figure to do so).

Kobashi's black trunks include a purple and white flame design.

                    
The Kobashi HAO figure includes articulation at the arms, waist
and head.

Kobashi stands about 2 inches taller than the Mogura House Kenta
Kobashi figure.

HAO would also release a limited edition, orange variant based
on Kobashi's classic AJPW attire.



Closing thoughts:If realistic head sculpts are your thing, there's nothing better
than the HAO Kenta Kobashi figure.

At roughly 6 inches (15cm) in height, the HAO version is quite
easily the tallest Kobashi figure released to date (the only figure
that comes close is Mogura House's line of Sofubi-styled figures)!