In 1985, while the anime was airing on Fuji TV, Bandai released through its Popy division an articulated Kenshiro figure sold for 1,980 yen under the name Zenshin Kadō Kenshiro (全身可動ケンシロー, ‘fully articulated Kenshiro’). The spelling is the box’s own, consistent across the front, the back and the catalogue, with romaji printed by Bandai itself: ZENSHIN KADŌ KENSHIRŌ. The month of release, on the other hand, is not established by any source.
Details
Recreating the techniques of Hokuto Shinken
The toy’s concept comes down to two slogans printed on the box. On the front, ケンシローの必殺奥技を、きみの手中で、完璧再現しよう, ‘recreate Kenshiro’s deadly techniques perfectly in your own hands’, with furigana over every kanji, the mark of a product aimed at children. On the front and back, 全身可動で無限の奥技を極めろ！, ‘master endless techniques through full articulation’. Translations are ours.
The back of the box stages the figure in five captioned techniques, laid out like a martial arts manual, each with its furigana: 北斗柔破斬 (Hokuto Jūha Zan), a kick that scatters the opponent’s fat before striking the abdominal pressure point; 岩山両斬波 (Ganzan Ryōzan Ha), which splits the midline of the face, the weakest spot on the human body; 北斗残悔拳 (Hokuto Zankai Ken), both thumbs on the temples; 交首破顔拳 (Kōshu Hagan Ken), both hands on the tendons of the neck; and of course 北斗百裂拳 (Hokuto Hyakuretsu Ken), a flurry of blows in an instant. Full articulation is not a technical selling point, it is the whole game: letting a child in 1985 replay Thursday night’s kills.
Details
| Manufacturer | Bandai, Popy division (ポピー事業部) |
|---|---|
| Year | 1985, month not established |
| Type | articulated figure |
| Material | plastic |
| Price | 1,980 yen, period Bandai catalogue |
| JAN code | 4902425030135 |
| ST approval | T1319273 |
| Made in | Japan (MADE IN JAPAN) |
| Copyright | Buronson, Tetsuo Hara, Shueisha, Fuji TV, Toei Doga |
| Printed romaji | ZENSHIN KADŌ KENSHIRŌ |
| Sculptor | not credited |
The Popy legacy
The back of the box carries the full publisher panel: 発売元 株式会社バンダイ ポピー事業部, Bandai Co., Popy division, with the Komagata address in Tokyo’s Taitō ward and the words MADE IN JAPAN. Popy, the Chogokin brand, had been absorbed by Bandai in 1983 and still operated as an in-house division. The ST seal bears the number T1319273, the barcode the JAN 4902425030135. The copyright line, ©武論尊・原哲夫・集英社・フジテレビ・東映動画, joins Fuji TV and Tōei Dōga to the authors: the licence ran through the anime, as it did for the Battle Model sets released the same year.
No sculptor is credited, on the box or anywhere else. The piece turns up sporadically on Mercari and Yahoo! Auctions, bearing the marks of four decades. Together with the large soft vinyl figure of the same period, which has its own entry, it bears witness to the very first steps of Hokuto no Ken merchandising, when the Popy division was turning the Fuji TV phenomenon into children’s toys.
The catalogue that dates the price
The 1,980 yen price comes from a period Bandai catalogue, where the 北斗の拳 block sits next to Macross. Three products are listed: the 炸裂奥技シリーズ at 1,600 yen, the 全身可動ケンシロー at 1,980 yen and the 地獄の拳士 at 1,200 yen. The other two lines have their own entries, Sakuretsu Ōgi Series and Jigoku no Kenshi. The catalogue notes that the photographs show painted samples, ※写真は実際の商品に着色したものです, the same caveat printed on the Battle Model boxes.
Sources
- Zenshin Kadō Kenshiro box: front, back with publisher panel, ST seal, barcode, five captioned techniques.
- Period Bandai catalogue, toy pages, 北斗の拳 block: prices of the three lines.