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.

16d Great Muta figures review

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.

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.

Banpresto Keiji Mutoh figure review

Let's keep the Japanese figure reviews moving forward with another obscure figure
many collectors may not be aware of.

Blog #161 laces up with the Banpresto Real Figure in Battledome Keiji Mutoh.


Real Figure In Battledome

In 1996, Japanese toy maker Banpresto created a special line of 3 inch gashapon
(Japanese capsule toys that come in vending machines) model kit figures.
The line was called "Real Figure In Battledome".

I believe "Battledome" is a reference to Japan's famous Tokyo Dome arena.


                       

Included with every figure is a small pamphlet showcasing the entire five figure set. From
left to right:

Keji Mutoh,
Masakatsu Funaki,
Yoji Anjo,
Koji Kitao and
Jushin Thunder Liger.

Breaking away from the cute and cartoony chibi-fied merchandise New Japan had been
releasing for years, the "Real Figure" line was Banpresto's attempt at providing Wrestling
collectors with figures that featured realistic body proportions. A feat that was rarely done
with Japanese Wrestling figures by this point.

Keiji Mutoh is pictured in his mid 1990's ring attire. Most likely inspired by the highly-
publicized fight against UWF star Nobuhiko Takada who had "invaded" the New Japan
Pro-Wrestling promotion.

Mutoh is sculpted in his pre-Pro Wrest LOVE pose. Instead, Mutoh is posed
scanning the crowd.

There are very few figure examples of Keiji Mutoh wearing ring trunks.






The back of the Mutoh figure reads "(C) NJPW" and "96 CHINA" since the Real Figure
line was produced in 1996.

The Battledome figures offered limited articulation and removable pieces that acted
as the very first (and, for some Wrestlers, the only) model kits.

The only downside (beyond their simple design) is the overall size of these figures.
Standing no taller than 3 inches at most.

Closing thoughts:

The Real Figure line was one of the earliest examples of a Japanese toy manufacturer
attempting to create realistic-looking figures of Pro-Wrestlers.

In one year's time, New Japan Pro-Wrestling would begin working with Toukon Shop to
create the long-running Super Star Figure Collection (Japan's first major action figure line
based on real-life Pro-Wrestlers since 1981).

Shortly after, gashapon maker Yujin would begin making their own model kit figures of
the NJPW, AJPW and later Pro-Wrestling NOAH promotions in the years to follow.

In our next figure instalment, we'll be taking a look at another icon from the Real Figure
set. Stay tuned!

POPY Abdullah The Butcher figure review

Welcome back to the largest online database of Japanese Pro-Wrestling figures and collectibles
on the web. Here you will find thousands of product photos, trivia and a wealth of information
behind the items themselves.

Often considered one of the holy grails of the Pro-Wrestling community, Blog #159 reviews
the Popy Super Pro Wrestling Series Abdullah The Butcher figure.


Super Pro-Wrestling Series

Hot off the success of their Kamen Rider, Chogokin and Thunderbirds figures, Japanese toy manufacturer Popy (run by Bandai) decided to expand their portfolio by creating an officially
-licensed line of action figures based on Professional Wrestling.

Released in 1981, Popy would name the line "スーパープロレスラ シレス" (Super Pro-
Wrestling Series), a ten figure set that highlighted some of the biggest stars in the Pro-
Wrestling world at the time.

You can't mention successful gaijin talent without bringing Abdullah The Butcher.

The world's first Abdullah The Butcher figure! Complete with era-accurate
goatee and white Taekwondo pants.

In terms of head sculpt, Abdullah's likeness is spot-on.

Abdullah's signature head scars are faithfully recreated in Abdullah's first figure outing.

Abdullah is sporting his late 1970's All Japan Pro-Wrestling ring attire.

The back of Abdullah's Taekwondo pants contains the Popy logo as well as
Abdullah's name written in Japanese Katakana.

Personally, I wish more effort was put into Abdullah's ring pants. They look more like
ring tights/spandex than baggy Taekwondo gear.

Abdullah's recognizable Arabian boots are also represented. If you look closely, you'll
see a drawing of a Cobra near the top of the boots!

Scale-wise, the Popy Wrestling figures stand around 5 inches tall when compared to Toukon
Shop's Keiji Mutoh figure.


Closing thoughts:

Popy's Super Pro-Wrestling Series is often considered one of the most desired and sought
after figure sets in all of Pro-Wrestling ...and it's easy to see why.

While Wrestling toys existed in Japan going back to the early 1970's, no action figure line
beforehand captured the star power and intrigue with collectors across the globe as much
as the Super Pro-Wrestling Series did.

Terry Funk, Dory Funk Jr., Harley Race, Stan Hansen, Bob Backlund, Abdullah The Butcher,
Mil Mascaras, Antonio Inoki, Hulk Hogan and even Andre The Giant - all made up 1981's
Super Pro Wrestling Series figure line. A star-studded roster if there ever was one for the
era.

It's no surprise that figures from Super Pro Wrestling Series can go for hundreds, if not
thousands of dollars if preserved in their unopened packaging.

Abdullah's Popy figure, understandably so, is one of the most expensive figures you can
buy of the hardcore legend. Only rivalled in price by one of the unopened Abdullah The
Butcher DX figure variants from Character Product's legends line