Gegege No Kitarō Figure Foto

Toy Line: Gegege No Kitarō

Sculpt Name: Nurikabe (ぬりかべ)

Color: Yellow

Collector's Note: This sculpt was featured by nano Fotato in a previous Figure Foto. However, I love the sculpt so much, I wanted to give it some more love. Here's what nano had to say about this character:

The Nurikabe (white wall) is a spirit who appears at night to footpath travelers and the victim suddenly can't walk forward nor backwards or any other directions. If you shake your walking stick on the ground it disappears, but not if you shake it up in the air.

Gegege No Kitarō Figabulary

Toy Line: Gegege No Kitarō (various series)

Sculpt Name: Nurikabe (ぬりかべ)

Color: Yellow, Green, Flesh

Collector's Note: The Nurikabe (white wall) is a spirit who appears at night to footpath travelers and the victim suddenly can't walk forward nor backwards or any other directions. If you shake your walking stick on the ground it disappears, but not if you shake it up in the air.

Lucky Yuckies Figabulary

Toy Line: Lucky Yuckie [Gegege No Kitaro bootleg]

Sculpt Name: Kitaro

Color: Tan

Figabulary

Toy Line: Gegege No Kitarō

Sculpt Name: コウリュウ

Color: Red, Blue

Figabulary

Toy Line: Gegege No Kitaro & Bad Bad Ball

Sculpt Names: Gegege: Abura Sumashi & Bad Bad Ball: Pain Toad (?)

Color: Gray, white, and Light Purple

Collector's Note: The Gegege No Kitaro figure definitely has a name, I just don't know it. Thanks to nanoFatato for info regarding the Gegege No Kitaro figure. Check out the comments below for more info about this character.

As for the Triple B, it doesn't have an official name so far as I know, but I affectionately call this particular sculpt Toadeye. As you can see in the Toypedia BBB entry, Toadeye seems to be based on the Sad Ball Pain Toad.

And special thanks to occasional Toypedia contributor Eric Nilla for hooking me up with a set of Bad Bad, er, Balls! Thanks mate!

Figabulary

Toy Line: Gegege No Kitarō

Sculpt Name: Kasabake

Color: Green

Collector's Note: One of my favourite Yōkai, Kasabake (Umbrella ghost) is an old umbrella that wanders in the middle of the night with only one eye and one leg, always with his tongue out making faces. There has been sightings of Kasabake with two eyes and hair too.

Figabulary

Toy Lines: Gegege No Kitaro, Gogos, & MWIMP

Sculpt Name: MWIMP: Bulldog Bash

Color: Light Blue, Brown with paint apps, and Pale Yellow with paint apps

Collector's Note: I realize after taking this picture that what I love best about the MWIMP besides the great sculpts are the base colors, under the paint apps. They all have pretty unique colors not often seen on minifigures.

Figabulary

Toy Line: Gegege No Kitarō

Sculpt Name: Unknown

Color: Peach/Flesh

Figabulary

Toy Line: Gegege No Kitarō Bootleg

Sculpt Name: Unknown

Color: Tan

Collector's Note: This Gegege bootleg belongs to a line sold in vending machines in the USA as Lucky Yuckies. (See previous Figabulary post featuring a Lucky Yuckie.) Looks like I was promising to make a Lucky Yuckie entry way back then, so there's no point in saying it again. Sigh. So many great mini-figure toy lines, so little time.

Figabulary

Toy Line: Gegege No Kitaro and Lucky Yuckies

Sculpt Name(s): Unknown

Color: Slate Grey and Peach

Collector's Note: Like many other Japanese keshi lines, Gegege No Kitaro could be found in the West as bootleg vending machine toys known as Lucky Yuckies. Look for a Lucky Yuckies entry on Toypedia in the near future! Also, these sculpts most certainly have a name, we just don't know it. Furthermore, does it appear that these two figures share the same sculpt, or are they slightly different? Does the difference stem from the bootlegging process, or are they two unique sculpts?

Gegege No Kitarō

Name of Toy Line: Gegege No Kitarō
Production Companies: Bandai & Marukoshi
Distributor: Bandai
Years of Production: 1985-1986, 1996
Countries/Regions Available: Japan
Size/Scale: 1.5"
Figure Trade Markings: Japanese Kanji / © / Circled capital letter B
Approximate # of Figures: 100+

Details: Like many Japanese keshi toy lines, Gegege No Kitaro began as a manga. It told the story of a spirit (Japanese Yōkai) named Kitaro and his family. Unlike other Yōkai, Kitaro sought to befriend the nature-destroying humans in an effort to make peace. The pages are filled with a number of quirky and interesting characters that translate beautifully into keshigomu figures. Let's have a look!





Figures released by Bandai and Marukoshi in the 80's were available in a nice assortment of colors such as peach, pink, yellow, dark blue, light blue, green, grey and orange. In the 90's, Bandai released them in semi-translucent glow-in-the-dark material. These figures were available in yellow, pink, and aqua blue/green (and possibly more colors).

The plastic is pretty much standard keshi material: flexible and squishy yet solid and firm. Let's look at some more figures.




The Lorax





Gegege No Kitaro were available via capsules containing three figures and a pamphlet, boxes containing 20 figures, and carded bags. The glow-in-the-dark, 1996 release figures were also available in 25-pack boxes. Marukoshi also released special sets packaged in clear plastic cylinders.










Marukoshi


Marukoshi


Marukoshi



Here's a look at some highly sought after Gegege No Kitaro figures as seen in an issue of Comp-REX, a magazine published by Mandarake, a large vendor in Japan dealing in all things manga, anime, and keshigomu related!

First, the Yokai Daimakyo set released in 1986. (Click on the image to enlarge.)


Yokai Daimakyo

And some truly interesting, extremely expensive pieces: The Tomb, Yokai Castle, Yokai Gate (all $600+) and the House of Sunakakebabaa ($1200). Hwhat!?



The Morinaga candy company also released a multi-part, multi-color collection of figures in the 80's. They look pretty nice. Check 'em out:







We'll have to beg forgiveness as we don't know the characters names. However, if you read Kanji, a number of characters and their names appear to be listed on the following Gegege No Kitaro toy line packaging.


Click to enlarge


Famicom!

Be sure to check back from time-to-time as we will surely update this entry as we learn more.

Related Web sites:

Gegege No Kitaro @ Wikipedia


Anime

Special thanks to rubbersamurai for supplying information and images!