Just what on earth will toy manufacturers think of next? Sure, we can understand the charm behind cat sushi figures, but really now, are swimsuit-wearing, anthropomorphized figurines of famous kaijū (monsters) designed to look like beautiful girls completely necessary?
Yet oddly, we find ourselves wanting to decorate our office with them…
The new line of figurines are based on the original kaijū that appeared to wreak havoc in Ultraman, the campy Japanese tokusatsu television series which first aired in 1966 and spawned an ‘Ultra legacy’ to this day. The show was produced by Tsuburaya Productions, a Japanese special effects studio which had been founded only three years earlier.
The whole notion for anthropomorphized kaijū figurines came about as a result of the recent Ultra Anthropomorphized Kaijū Project [Urutora Kaijū Gijinka Keikaku; ウルトラ怪獣擬人化計画], which is a comic that’s currently being serialized in Dengeki G’s Magazine. As you can probably guess from the title, the comic follows the personified versions of kaijū that originally appeared in the Ultraman television series.
First up in the new series of figurines is Gomora (ゴモラ), or Gomora-chan, if you’d prefer to go by the comic’s cutesy name for the character. Gomora-chan is one of the main characters of the series, so what better way to kick off the figure collection than with her? According to the Ultraman Wiki, the original (ferocious) Gomora is “an ancient kaijū species from Earth. They are immensely powerful, and few have naturally appeared. They are of the few natural monsters to stand up against an Ultra in power.”
▼Here’s the original design of Gomora (minus the swimsuit).
▼And now, introducing the moe version!
▼Whatever inspired the creators to dress her in a swimsuit that you’d typically find at a Japanese school is beyond us.
▼And yet, her cute features seem to blend seamlessly with her more monster-like ones.
If you’ve now fallen in love, Surprise Next‘s official online shop is currently taking preorders for Gomora-chan until November 15. The 21-cm tall figurine costs 9,800 yen (US$91.38) and will be shipped towards the end of February 2015.
But hang on, because another kaijū has also been given the beautiful girl makeover…and this time, she’s taken a turn for the sexy.
Eleking (エレキング) is a space kaijū which resembles an electric eel and first appeared in the Ultraseven television series, the follow-up to Ultraman. Plex‘s 23-cm tall version of Eleking takes on the form of an apathetic-looking, sexy woman.
▼Hmm, I think ‘she’s’ seen some better skin days.
▼(Eleking: Not be confused with this trio of similarly named Ele-Pokémon)
▼Now compare the original with this!
▼She’s the only kaijū that we’ve ever seen walking around in heels.
That total kaijū babe will go on sale on February 28, 2015 for 9,450 yen ($88.10).
Surprise Next has already announced plans for a second and third series of Ultra Anthropomorphized Kaijū Project figurines, so let’s hang tight until the next monster-chick to be made into a collectible is revealed!
Source: IT Media Inc.
Images: Ultraman Wiki (1, 2), Surprise Next, Amazon Japan, Niconico Seiga (Shabu Shabu)