Tag: Custom Figures

Much like TMNT, the world of Usagi Yojimbo is also celebrating their 25th Anniversary. Not completely familar with the UY universe, I decided to do a little research on these animal warriors. And what a great story…!

Paraphrasing from the official site, Miyamoto Usagi is a rabbit samurai that lives in the world of 17 century Feudal Japan. He was a student of the lion Katsuichi, an unorthodox but formidable warrior. He wanders the countryside, getting into countless adventures with the Rhinoceros bounty hunter Gennosuke. He also works from time to time as a bodyguard, or Yojimbo. The character of Usagi was also inspired by the famous Japanese swordsman Miyamoto Musashi, and many other characters come from Japanese folklore and some history.

To celebrate the 25th year of Usagi, the company Roku Toys were bestowed with the license to create some commemorative figures. And they pulled out all the stops…

The sculptor was none other than Star Wars’ own Tony McVey, and were painted by Lauren Vogt, who’s resume included titles such as Nightmare  Before Christmas, Coraline and Star Wars. Sometimes when you get figurines like this, they look a little off from the original character design. But Lauren and Tony really bring the 2-D world of Usagi into the Third dimension. The attention to minor details is really nice, whether it’s the texture and folds of the clothing, or even Gennosuke’s five O’clock shadow. I’ve seen nothing but positive comments on many sites, and definitely believe this will be a popular collection. They’re only available for pre-order right now, but if all goes well, they’ll be available later this fall.

So be sure to check out The Usagi Yojimbo official site and Roku Toys for more details.

UPDATE: Directly from the horses mouth!

“They will be definitely out in the fall and will be carried by other online stores. The only place that you can get the exclusive figures is at {RokuToys} website though. If you buy a set of either the regular or exclusive edition you get $10 off plus a free bonus figure worth $29.99. This is Series one and Series 2 should be out fall 2010.”

Thanks for reading!

Machias