16d Jushin Thunder Liger figure review

In the realm of Japanese Wrestling figures, there are few Wrestlers who can match the popularity
and merchandising appeal of Jushin Thunder Liger.

The Beast God returns once again for Blog #217 which covers the 16d Jushin Thunder Liger
figure.

Announced on September 6th 2019 (for pre-order) and officially released on December
of the same year, Jushin Thunder Liger is the 9th figure in the 16d collection.

Today, we'll be looking at the standard colour variant.

The right side of the packaging reads:

"Jushin Thunder Liger

Profile
...................................................................................................................................
Date of Birth: April 24th, 1989 (the birth of the Liger character in Wrestling form)
Birthplace: Go Nagai's house (the creator of the Manga/Anime Jushin Liger character)
Debut: April 24th, 1989
Signature Moves: Vertical Drop Brainbuster, Liger Bomb, Palm Bottom"

The very bottom of the box also contains the text

"(C) Go Nagai / Dynamic Planning". Dynamic Planning being the company Go Nagai
operates in association with the Jushin Liger namesake.



           

The opposite side of the packaging displays high quality photos of Liger.

The back of the box has one close-up shot of the Beast God.


                        
The only difference in packaging between the two Liger variants is the coloured sticker at
the top of the box. In this case, the standard colour contains a gold sticker.


             

The second variant (referred to as the "limited edition color") contains a blue sticker at the
top of the packaging.

The bottom of the box contains Dynamic Planning, 16d's parent company and mention
of the Liger figure being made of soft vinyl (PVC).

Ever the character, the soft vinyl Jushin Thunder Liger figure is sculpted in a flexing pose.

Jushin Thunder Liger was sculpted by renown figure maker HAO. This would be the third
figure sculpted by HAO (the last being released in two variants back in the mid 2000's as
part of the HAO Collection).

The detailing with Liger's mask is well painted and accurate.

            

Even the grainy glitter-like effect is present in Liger's chest plate.

Liger stands 13.5cm in height (5.3 inches).

The intricacies of Liger's instantly-recognizable ring attire continues onto the back of
the Liger figure.

Go Nagai and Dynamic Planning are once again referenced on the bottom of the 16d
Liger figure.

In terms of movable pieces, Jushin Liger contains articulation at the shoulders and waist.


Closing thoughts:

Jushin Thunder Liger combines the colourful attire of a modern day superhero with the
allure of a Wrestling legend. A figure, in my humble estimation, that could even appeal to
toy collectors who aren't fans of Pro-Wrestling or Go Nagai's work.


              


While smaller in scale compared to HAO Collection's Jushin Liger figure from about 14
years ago (which are taller at 6 inches in height for comparison's sake), the detail for the
16d figure equivalents I personally feel are superior.

Collectors should keep an eye out for the limited edition 16d Liger variant which features
blue highlights on Liger's mask and ring attire. Though, as a scarce piece, the limited edition
usually sells for double the price of the standard variant from what I seen in the past.

Less than a month later, Jushin Liger would retire from being an active Pro-Wrestler on
January 5th, 2020; ultimately following Genichiro Tenryu, Riki Choshu and Abdullah
The Butcher in regards to figures made by 16d around the time of each legend's
retirement.

Deluxe Figure Collection Great Muta (Cyber Muta) figure review

Back in 2016, the very first figure that was reviewed in this blog was the Deluxe Figure
Collection 1 Great Muta (Dragon ver.) figure.

A lot of figures and other assorted Puroresu collectibles have been reviewed since then.
But, there's no time like the present to dig back into the photo archive and take a look
at another bizarre and wonderful figure from Toukon Shop's deluxe line.

Blog #167 gets misted by the Deluxe Figure Collection Great Muta (Cyber Muta)
figure.

Released in 2000 as the third figure in Toukon Shop's Deluxe Figure Collection line,
this is Great Muta's second deluxe figure - complete with iconic entrance attire and
helmet accessory.

Muta is dressed in his ring attire from the infamous "No Rope Current Blast Deathmatch"
against the Great Nita (Atsushi Onita) on August 28th, 1999 in Tokyo's Jingu Stadium.

The entrance helmet accessory is made to resemble Megatron from the Transformers
Series (some argue that there's some Terminator inspiration behind the mask, too.
I like to think otherwise).

The komodo dragon that was present on Muta's previous deluxe figure has morphed
into something more fitting of a Sci-Fi movie.

Pictured above is the common silver facepaint variant of the Cyber Muta figure.

The back of the packaging lists Muta's stats in English and Japanese along with a brief
bio and a facsimile of Muta's Autograph.

The bottom right corner of the packaging can be cut out to form a collector's trading card.
The front of the card (and packaging) contains the cartoonish art design New Japan was
synonymous for in the 1990's.

Typical with many Japanese figure makers, there's two colour variants to collect of the
Cyber Muta figure.

The more valuable and harder to find version is the white paint Great Muta. Said to be
a Toukon Shop store exclusive.


Closing thoughts:

For decades, Great Muta has been synonymous with crazy figure designs. The Cyber and
Dragon designs took Muta's pageantry and dream-like appearances to a whole new level.
With every appearance, Muta was always trying to top the previous event's design.

These days, the deluxe Muta figures continue to appreciate in value. With Keiji Mutoh's
recent Pro-Wrestling NOAH championship run and the overall sense of nostalgia shared
between fans of 1990's Puroresu.

Even without being able to remove Muta's entrance attire, the Cyber figure variants are
still must-haves based on their sheer absurdity alone.

Super Star Figure Collection Great Muta (White Facepaint) figure review

In the past few days, we've covered a lot of figures produced by Toukon Shop; New
Japan Pro-Wrestling's long-time, in-house figure maker.

Perhaps one of Toukon Shop's most familiar figure to western Wrestling fans,
Blog #164 covers the Great Muta Super Star Figure Collection (white paint
variant) figure.

Great Muta was the third figure added to Toukon Shop's Super Star Figure Collection line
back in 1997. It's also the second figure in the line to contain the "Hyper Heroes" logo.

Great Muta comes dressed in his recognizable white and black facepaint. Muta's lips
are painted - a nod to Muta's signature Poison Mist attack.

The back of the packaging lists Great Muta's name in Japanese Katakana as well as
Muta's physical stats along with an intimidating portrait.

The figure's parted hairstyle and ring attire are a reflection of Great Muta's mid 1990's
New Japan Pro-Wrestling look.

The left side of Muta's ring attire (not shown) contain's Great Muta's name. The right side of
Muta's ring pants contains a komodo dragon motif.


Closing thoughts:

Perhaps one of the most popular figures from the Toukon Shop line with western audiences is
the white paint Great Muta figure ...and for good reason! Great paint job, recognizable sculpt
and plenty of era-accurate details.

The white paint Great Muta variant would be the first-ever action figure made of either Keiji
Mutoh or The Great Muta. Interestingly, Great Muta's red facepaint variant wouldn't be released
until a year later (as Super Star Figure Collection #7) in 1998, Muta's NWO variant (Super
Star Figure Collection #8) the same year and Keiji Mutoh wouldn't get his first action figure
until 1999 (Super Star Figure Collection #21) through Toukon Shop.

Generally speaking, the red facepaint version, despite being released a year later, is considered
slightly more collectible with Japanese collectors; seeing as Muta's red design is the first thing
most fans think of when they imagine the Pearl from the Orient.

Toukon Shop Super Star Figure Collection List

Welcome back to the largest online database of Japanese Pro-Wrestling collectibles on the
web. Here you will find thousands of product photos, stories and the historical significance
behind the items posted here.

Whenever possible, I try to provide entire figure lists from just about every series I cover
in this blog. Though, it's not always easy.

Unlike your typical Classic Superstars or Bone Crushing Action figure lines, Japanese figures,
for the most part, don't include lists of figures to collect on the back of most packaging.

Today's blog covers one of Japan's most common figure series. Blog #163 glosses over
Toukon Shop's Super Star Figure Collection line.

                         A majority of boxed examples from the Super Star Figure Collection Line.


The Toukon Shop Super Star Figure Collection (I wonder if NJPW was inspired by the WWF's
use of the term "Superstars" at the time?) line originally ran from 1997 to 2002 with deluxe figures being produced into 2004.


              

Typically, the packaging for every figure in Toukon Shop's Super Star Figure Collection
line contains a photo of the Wrestler depicted along with the Wrestler's stats in-ring
accomplishments.

Features like group photos of the figures to collect from a particular line aren't present
in Toukon Shop's figures making it harder to keep track of them.




Though, one helpful feature Toukon Shop did include is a numbering system included
on every figure after Riki Choshu.

In the above example, Great Muta is #3; being the third figure created in the Super Star
Figure Collection line.

In the below list, I've broken down the entire line by year (to give some semblance of
a series). I've also included Toukon Shop's various subsets including the Official Bronze
Figures, Deluxe line and special two packs.


Super Star Figure Collection

Known in Japan as "スーパースター・フィギュア ・コレクション".

1997

1. Riki Choshu
2. Masahiro Chono        - The first figure in the line to contain the "Hyper Heroes"
                                          logo on the packaging.
3. Great Muta (White Paint)

_________________________________

1998

4. Kensuke Sasaki
5. Shinya Hashimoto
6. Antonio Inoki (Red Towel)
6. Antonio Inoki (Blue Towel)
7. Great Muta (Red Paint)
8. Great Muta (NWO)
9. Hiroyoshi Tenzan
10. Jushin Thunder Liger
10. Jushin Thunder Liger (Clear Red)
10. Jushin Thunder Liger (Clear White)
11. Tatsumi Fujinami
12. Koji Kanemoto
13. Shinjiro Ohtani

_________________________________

1999

14. Kendo Kashin
15. Kazuo Yamazaki
16. El Samurai
17. Manabu Nakanishi
18. Satoshi Kojima
19. Masa Saitoh
20. Yuji Nagata
21. Keiji Mutoh
22. Hiro Saitoh
23. Antonio Inoki (NWF Belt)
24. Antonio Inoki (Red gown)
25. Seiji Sakaguchi
26. Akira      - This would be the last figure in the line to contain the "Hyper Heroes"
                        on the packaging.
_________________________________

2000

27. Jushin Thunder Liger (Black)
28. Shiro Koshinaka (White Pants)
28. Shiro Koshinaka (Black Pants)
29. Riki Choshu (Black Shirt)
30. Antonio Inoki (White Gown)
31. Junji Hirata
32. Tatsuhito Taikawa
33. Tatsumi Fujinami (Belt)
34. Kazuyuki Fujita
35. Tadao Yasuda
36. Masahiro Chono (Tracksuit)
37. Takashi Iizuka
38. Osamu Kido
39. Hidekazu Tanaka

_________________________________

2001

40. Tatsutoshi Gotoh
41. Michiyoshi Ohara
42. Osamu Nishimura
43. Minoru Tanaka
44. Yuji Nagata (Blue Trunks)
44. Yuji Nagata (Blue and White "Ambitious" Trunks)
45. Keiji Mutoh (Bald with shirt)
46. Antonio Inoki (Homeless)
47. Kokushi Muso

_________________________________

2002

48. Antonio Inoki (Red Towel - 30th Anniversary Packaging)
48. Antonio Inoki (Blue Towel - 30th Anniversary Packaging)
49. Jushin Thunder Liger (Silver and White)
49. Jushin Thunder Liger (Clear Blue)

50. Masahiro Chono (Overcoat - Re-Release)
51. Antonio Inoki (Orange Gown)
52. Antonio Inoki (Yellow Tights)
53. Antonio Inoki (Announcer)
54. Kensuke Sasaki (Shaved Head)
55. Masahiro Chono (Short Top)
55. Hiroshi Tanahashi (Both Chono and Tanahashi have the same volume number.
I assume it was a typo.)


_____________________________________________________


Official Bronze Type Figure

Known in Japan as "オフィシャル・ブロンズ・タイプ・フィギア".


1998

Antonio Inoki (Gown)
Antonio Inoki (with NWF Belt)
Keiji Mutoh
Masahiro Chono
Jushin Thunder Liger
Masa Saitoh
Kensuke Sasaki
Shinya Hashimoto

_____________________________________________________

Deluxe Figure Collection (DX) Series

Known in Japan as "新日・デラックス・フィギュア・コレクション"

1999

1. Great Muta (Dragon)
2. Power Warrior

_____________________________________________________

2000

3. Great Muta (Cyber - Silver Paint)
3. Great Muta (Cyber - White paint)
4. Kendo Kashin (With Belt)

_____________________________________________________

2001

5. Satoshi Kojima (Entrance Vest)
6. Hiroyoshi Tenzan (Purple Entrance attire)
7. Don Frye
8. Kazuyuki Fujita (With IWGP Belts)



_____________________________________________________

2002

9. Jushin Thunder Liger (With Entrance Cape)


Great Khali vs Giant Silva
Keiji Mutoh & Masahiro Chono

_____________________________________________________

2003

10. Antonio Inoki (Enzuigiri)
11. Yoshihiro Takayama
12. Kantaro Hoshino
13. Hiroyoshi Tenzan (Mecha Tenzan)
14. Manabu Nakanishi (MMA Attire)
15. Tiger Mask IV

_____________________________________________________

2004

16. Shinsuke Nakamura
17. Josh Barnett

_____________________________________________________


Special Figure Two packs

1998

Keiji Mutoh & Masahiro Chono


_____________________________________________________

2000

Great Muta vs Great Nita
Break Bunny Figure set with Junior IWGP Belts

_____________________________________________________

2001

Antonio Inoki vs Masa Saitoh


_____________________________________________________

2002

Antonio Inoki vs Karl Gotch - the only two pack with the 30th anniversary logo.


Around 1999, Toukon Shop began creating figures for Wrestling promotions other
than New Japan Pro-Wrestling. Since Toukon Shop is also the name of New Japan's
official merchandise stores, Toukon Shop decided to create a separate figure manufacturer
name as "Charapro" (later "Character Product").

Character Product would begin making licensed figures for Wrestlers such as:

Genichiro Tenryu (who was competing under the WAR promotion at the time),
Atsushi Onita (who was working special matches for NJPW),
The Great Sasuke (Michinoku Pro-Wrestling),
Masakatsu Funaki (PANCRASE),
Tiger Mask (Freelance)
and Akira Maeda (RINGS) among other notable Japanese talent.

By 2003, Character Product had made an exclusive deal to produce figures for
All Japan Pro-Wrestling. A deal that lasted until 2007 with the last official wave
of Pro-Kaku Heroes Mini Big Head figures.

Since then, with All Japan Pro-Wrestling long past it's former glory, and with
licensed Wrestlers from other promotions splintering off, it is believed that
Character Product morphed back into Toukon Shop, New Japan Pro-Wrestling's
in-house figure maker by 2008.

Strong Style Mascot Sets

Many collectors have lambasted the small scale of Character Product's Mini Big Heads
line. The 2 inch minifigures on a fixed base with head sculpts lifted directly from
Toukon Shop/Charapro's action figures.
 
Blog #158 focuses on minifigure bundles with an even smaller scale. Today, we'll be
looking at Toukon Shop's NJPW Strong Style Mascot Sets.


                            


Starting in 2000, Toukon Shop would begin releasing several sets of minifigures
with stationary items such as pencils, clips and key straps. The sets were officially
called "STRONG STYLE マスコットセット" (Strong Style Mascot Set).

The above set featured Masahiro Chono, Kendo Kashin, Jushin Thunder Liger
and Great Muta.



I always found Great Muta's depiction here to be a bit outdated; seeing as Keiji
Mutoh had already shaved his head one year prior to the start of the Mascot Sets
and had temporarily abandoned the Muta gimmick during this time (only to
resurrect the character again a year later when Mutoh jumped to AJPW in 2002).

The Liger from the set with his thumb down. Pretty "evil" if I might add!



The back of the packaging with instructions on how to attach the minifigures.

Dubbed the "STRONG STYLE Mascot Set 2", this set features Yuji Nagata,
Keiji Mutoh, Hiroyoshi Tenzan and Riki Choshu.

Also included are a black NJPW strap and a miniature NJPW ring!

The miniature ring looks like an early version of the NJPW ring featured in the
Pro-Kaku Heroes Mini Big Head figures Strong Style sets.



One of Keiji Mutoh's earliest post-head shave figure depictions.



The back of the packaging shows great portraits of all four Wrestlers.

The next Mascot set features (clockwise) Masahiro Chono, Yuji Nagata, Hiroyoshi
Tenzan and Manabu Nakanishi.

A miniature NJPW ring and strap are also included.

                            

Again, a miniature ring playset is bundled with the mascot set.

                          



This particular set was released in 2002.

Closing thoughts:

Mascot figures have been a staple of New Japan Pro-Wrestling's wheelhouse since
the early 1990's. Pencil toppers, keychains, clothing, posters, and even replica
ring wear and masks.

It's worth noting that the Strong Style Mascot series contains some of the very last
figures to feature of Keiji Mutoh/Great Muta before Mutoh jumped to rival promotion
All Japan Pro-Wrestling in 2002. The Mascot Series are also some of the smallest
minifigures ever produced for Toukon Shop/Character Product as each figure stands
no bigger than 1 inch in height.

In 2003, Toukon Shop/Character Product would re-imagine their approach to
minifigures with the popular Pro-Kaku Heroes Mini Big Head figures line. A
line, just like the Mascot series, would come bundled with a Mini NJPW-themed
ring playset to jumpstart the series.

Who wouldn't want to take Great Muta or Jushin Thunder Liger with them wherever
they go? How about rocking out in the office with the most stylish pen imaginable
that is topped off with a Masahiro Chono figure strap?

With the Strong Style Mascot sets, these dreams can become a reality.

Stay tuned for more figure reviews!

Super Star Figure Collection Deluxe Jushin Thunder Liger figure review

This next review will be focusing on another spectacular figure from the world of Puroresu.
A masked legend that has shown up many times in this blog already, without further adieu,
Blog #157 is all about Toukon Shop's Deluxe Jushin Liger figure.

Released in 2002, Jushin Thunder Liger is the ninth figure in Toukon Shop's Deluxe
Figure line.

After four years of using the same figure sculpt, seeing a brand new Liger action
figure created from scratch is a welcomed change.

While the sculpt is phenomenal, I feel the paint job here is a bit sloppy around
Liger's mask.The intricacies and complex features of Liger's mask are marred
by a paint job that bleeds into other areas.

Scuff marks aside, Jushin Liger's deluxe accessory is his chest armour and cape.

The cape and chest armour are split into two separate accessories which connect together
once attached to the Liger figure.

Maybe it was just the example that I had or the effects of almost 20 years of ware, but
I encountered considerable difficulty trying to keep Liger's cape accessory attached
connected (similar instance to some Ultimo Dragon Charapro figures).

The deluxe Liger figure comes with a new sculpt intended to replicate Liger's entrance.

Around the same time, Character Product would release a special two pack featuring the
deluxe Liger in two separate variants (regular and repainted into his Black Liger persona).

While the two-packs do contain a humorous Ebessan dressed as Liger, Liger comes bundled
without his entrance cape accessory.

In terms of production, the Deluxe Liger would be the last single-packed action figure
released of the Hyper Beast God before Toukon Shop/Character Product's closure.

All-in-all, a decent Liger figure that makes a cool display piece. If you do plan to purchase
this figure in the wild, I advise making sure the figure comes with both portions of it's cape
(and is hopefully not superglued together).

Deluxe Figure Collection Kazuyuki Fujita figure review

Welcome back to the largest online database for Japanese Pro-Wrestling figures and collectibles.
Here you will find thousands of figure photos, product information and Puroresu trivia.

Hot on the tail of our last deluxe figure coverage, Blog #154 covers the Deluxe Figure Collection
Kazuyuki Fujita figure.

Released in 2001, Kazuki Fujita is the 8th figure in Toukon Shop's Deluxe Figure line.

Instead of removable entrance accessories or ring pieces, the deluxe Fujita figure comes
with two (2) NJPW IWGP championship belts.

The first belt being the original IWGP Heavyweight Championship that was first introduced
in 1987.

The second belt is another incarnation of the IWGP Championship that was issued in the
1990's.

And, if you were wondering, there was indeed a point in Fujita's career where he held
two IWGP Championships at the same time!

The back of the packaging contains Fujita's stats and a bio.


               


A loose example. The deluxe Kazuyuki Fujita figure would be Toukon Shop's second
Fujita figure (the first being released one year prior as part of the Super Star Figure
Collection - 34 back in 2000).






         



A zoomed-in view of the 2nd IWGP belt design.

From Youtube belt expert Wick's IWGP belt video CLICK HERE, Wick states that finding
replicas of the second IWGP belt design is nearly impossible on the market these days.








Unlike Fujita's first Toukon Shop figure, Fujita comes dressed in black trunks with black
and silver sneakers and added kneepads. Fujita is also sporting a shaved head this time
around as well.


  


The front and back of Fujita's trunks contains the word "SOUL". The back of
Fujita's trunks contain the caption "SOUL AEC TRADEMARK".

With a quick google search online, I found two shirt designs featuring Fujita
with the SOUL logo. I'm assuming it's some kind of clothing brand sponsorship
that Fujita was endorsing at the time.










Fujita's sneakers look like Nike or Addidas branded. Though (for legal reasons)
no such logo is present on the Fujita figure.


Closing thoughts:

In Japan, there was high expectations and plenty of fanfare for Kazuyuki Fujita.
Antonio Inoki himself treated Fujita as a protege in an ill-fated attempt at bringing
MMA into New Japan Pro-Wrestling in the early 2000's.

After Rickson Gracie brutally defeated Yoji Anjoh in the infamous Gracie dojo fight,
Antonio Inoki offered $5 Million dollars to Gracie to take on Kazuyuki Fujita in a
match on Japanese soil. For whatever reason, Rickson turned down the offer.

Outside of Japan, Kazuyuki Fujita is only revered by the most hardcore of MMA and
Japanese Pro-Wrestling fans. Even worse, Kazuyuki Fujita's popularity among
Puroresu figure collectors mostly comes down to the fact that the deluxe Fujita
figures comes bundled with two official NJPW Championship belts.

I've even had potential buyers ask me to open the packaging and sell the belts by
themselves without the Fujita figure!

Whether you appreciate the man's in-ring exploits or not, the Deluxe Figure
Collection Kazuyuki Fujita figure set was one of the very first examples of
a Japanese Pro-Wrestling figure packaged with two Championship belts.

A package that still entices collectors to this day.