In 1985, with the Hokuto no Ken anime riding high on Fuji TV, Bandai released a large soft vinyl figure of Kenshiro, about 32 cm tall. Forty years on, this piece from the first broadcast is among the very first figures of the licence, and among the most sought after by vintage collectors.
Details
A toy of its time
The object has to be placed in its era. In 1985 the adult collector figure did not yet exist, and this Kenshiro is a toy in the fullest sense: a hollow soft vinyl of around 250 grams made in Japan, in the great tradition of the television-hero sofubi that Bandai was then turning out by the thousand. The sculpt, naive by today’s standards, has the raw charm of first-generation merchandise. Bandai was selling an articulated figure at the same time, the Zenshin Kadō Kenshiro, which has its own entry.
Details
| Manufacturer | Bandai, Popy division (ポピー事業部) |
|---|---|
| Year | 1985 |
| Type | sofubi, hollow soft vinyl |
| Height | approx. 32 cm |
| Weight | approx. 250 g |
| Moulded marking | B・H / S・F・T (Buronson, Hara, Shueisha, Fuji TV, Toei), Bandai logo |
| Licence seal | 東映動画 版権許諾証 no. 18, sticker under the foot |
| Made in | Japan (MADE IN JAPAN) |
| JAN code | 4902425031897 |
| ST approval | P1800110 |
| Price | not established |
| Sculptor | not credited |
At the origins of the licence’s merchandising
The vinyl bears the moulded licence marking ‘B・H / S・F・T’, for Buronson and Hara, Shueisha, Fuji TV and Toei, the period credit of the anime then on the air. It is the same set of rights holders as on Bandai’s six other 1985 lines: the licence ran through the animated series. Under the right foot, next to the moulded Bandai logo, a 東映動画・版権許諾証 sticker, Tōei Dōga’s licence approval seal, bears the number 18; the Zenshin Kadō Kenshiro box carries the same seal, numbered 16. The underside of the box settles the question of the publisher: 発売元 株式会社バンダイ ポピー事業部, the Popy division, at the Komagata address, with the words MADE IN JAPAN, the JAN code 4902425031897 and the ST seal P1800110. The price remains unknown: no 定価 is printed.
Complete pieces with their original box are described as rare by Japanese vintage toy specialists. The figure surfaces in dribs and drabs at Japanese toy dealers and on Yahoo! Auctions, most often without its box and showing its age, yellowing and scuffs included. For anyone who wants a piece of the origins of Hokuto no Ken merchandising, this figure is where it all begins.
It belongs to an exceptionally busy year for Bandai on the licence, seven lines in all: on the Popy side, the Zenshin Kadō Kenshiro, the Sakuretsu Ōgi dioramas, the Jigoku no Kenshi sets and the Saikyō Higi Set; on the Hobby side, the Real Scale Model kits and the snap-fit Battle Model figures.
Sources
- Underside of the box: publisher panel, JAN, ST seal, MADE IN JAPAN.
- Soles of the figure: moulded marking, Bandai logo, Tōei Dōga licence seal.