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.
