Alongside the figures based on the films, manufacturer Kaiyodo devoted another capsule series to Hokuto no Ken, the Capsule Eiyuroku, literally the chronicle of heroes, subtitled Fighting Chronicle Vol.1. Each figure comes with an encyclopaedia-style text about the character.
Details
A gallery of portraits
This first volume brings together five figures of around ten centimetres at three hundred yen each, with no base, standing on their own. Alongside Kenshiro, marked by grief, and Shin, the man who lived and died for love, we find Jagi, the vilest of the four brothers, fitted with a removable helmet that earns him a dual presentation, helmeted and then bare-faced.
The last two entries draw from a rarer register. The Colonel, a former red beret and founder of God’s Army, guerrilla veteran in green uniform, swagger stick in hand and patch over one eye, stands alongside a rare piece: the disguised old woman of the Fist King’s reconnaissance squad, stooped, glasses and apron. A casting choice that reveals a producer eager to venture off the beaten path, and the most expressive pose of the lot.
Details
| Box title | successor to Hokuto Shinken, fourth son, the strongest man marked by grief |
|---|---|
| Sculptor | Enoki Tomohide, eyewater |
| Height | approx. 10 cm |
| Price | 300 yen incl. tax |
Details
| Box title | Nanto Koshū Ken, the star of martyrdom, who lived and died for love |
|---|---|
| Sculptor | Matsuura Ken |
| Height | approx. 10 cm |
| Price | 300 yen incl. tax |
Details
| Box title | Hokuto Shinken, third son, the vile and cruel man |
|---|---|
| Sculptor | Matsuura Ken |
| Detail | removable helmet, separate shoulder and leg spikes |
| Height | approx. 10 cm |
| Price | 300 yen incl. tax |
Details
| Box title | former red beret, founder of God’s Land, master of guerrilla warfare |
|---|---|
| Sculptor | Matsuura Ken |
| Accessory | swagger stick |
| Height | approx. 10 cm |
| Price | 300 yen incl. tax |
Details
| Box title | the Kenoh’s direct subordinate, who blocks the way |
|---|---|
| Sculptor | Ōshima Yūki |
| Height | approx. 10 cm |
| Price | 300 yen incl. tax |
Three sculptors at work
Notably, this small series involves three different sculptors, and the back of the box credits them line by line. The Kenshiro is sculpted by Enoki Tomohide of the eyewater studio, who also worked on the Violence Vignette line. Shin, Jagi and the Colonel were handled by Matsuura Ken, while the fake old spy woman is by Ōshima Yūki, who would meet Matsuura again two years later on the Revoltech Revolution. A fine gathering of talents for a line distributed in capsules, in boxes of twelve, and the first time these three names shared a single series.
The series also circulated in blind boxes, one figure per box, whose back carries the line’s sales pitch: in 199X the world was engulfed in nuclear flames, and the world of Hokuto no Ken is brought back to life here at one hundred millimetres. Designed and manufactured by Kaiyodo, ages fifteen and up.
Finding them today
Released in 2006, the Capsule Eiyuroku regularly resurfaces on Yahoo! Auctions, Mercari and Suruga-ya. A line best suited to fans of supporting characters, who will appreciate meeting figures other collections have overlooked. Its twin from the same year, the Movie Figure Collection, draws on the film instead.
Sources
- Box and leaflet of the Capsule Eiyuroku Fighting Chronicle Vol.1, Kaiyodo, 2006: line-by-line sculptor credits, character texts, sales copy.