I'm told it's Ni-O-Ho-Ne, Niohone. Ni means nothing or maybe #2. O means King. Ho-Ne means Bone. So literally translate maybe King Bone #2? And yes, I quoted myself and answered my own question.
The characters 仁王 [Niou] refer, I believe, to the guardian figures placed at Buddhist temple gates. It means "two kings," since they are usually (but not always) found in pairs. In this case, I don't think it necessarily implies that there are two figures (although maybe in the dual nature of the design) but notes the influence of the original statues. What would be a good translation of Niouhone? Maybe "Bone Guardian"? More info on Niou: http://www.aisf.or.jp/~jaanus/deta/n/niou.htm http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Niō
just a little FYI, i noticed that the first character (in chinese) means "benevolent". these sound like good guys since they fight off evil spirits.
Any of you guys going to Comic Con you can check out Abe (ah bay) 1pm WOLVERINE SCULPTURE OFFICIAL UNVEILING Special Guest: Kotobukiya’s Master Sculptor Junnosuke Abe will be sculpting a new work of art every day of the show, with this being the official unveiling of the finished piece!
So what is the opinion on the yamazakura sculp after seeing it in hand? I have the painted lime green vinyl one and it seems like a rip of OG RxH. Similar lime green vinyl (like the slime set) Red painted left hand (like the Jarinko Evil) Roughly the same size as the OG (but a bit smaller) Different ears (like the OG MH)
I think this company is an offshoot of RxH , or at least RxH had a had in getting them sculpted. I'm eagerly awaiting the new head sculpt that was shown not to long back. Honestly this sculpt and the paint apps are awesome to me. It has the older look of RxH with the older style paint apps. This is actually where I would have thought the RxH direction of figures would have gone. I only have the 2 tone split, half pink half green and love it. I haven't seen any so far that I dont like. This is a company I will be following for sure.
The sprays definitely evoke OG RxH, but I think that's ok since Yamazaki and Mori-san are close.... Really digging the Yamazakura releases with and without paint....and as LASH said...eagerly awaiting more!
I think it has a very similar vibe to the Rxh stuff but it definitely has a less polished look. A very creepy aesthetic too. The paint apps are really sharp. I'm loving this figure alot reminds me alot of the late 80's TMNT Playmate toys.
The newest purple/silver is pretty awesome. Check out the pics on Baikin's Flickr from Wonder Fest....even better! I hope those are released.
I really wish I found a way to obtain the rest of this collection. Selling them as a set would have been an awesome move ^_^
Definitely wonderin' if the upcoming Yamazakura release is actually base gold vinyl, and not paint.....