M.U.S.C.L.E. Figure #82 (Ramenman)
by Professor Terry
Ramenman, M.U.S.C.L.E. figure #82, is my favorite of what I call the “Skinny” figures. The Skinny figures includes those figures that are thinner than most and appeared in 4- and 10-packs, such as #31, #33, #35, #36, #44, and #46. Ramenman #82 is also one of those figures that is easily damaged due to his hair piece being thin and in a loop that can easily snap.
What attracted me to Ramenman was the awesome Karate pose he seems to be in and the outfit he wears. Once I saw what it looked like in full color, I made a point of trying to track down as many of that colored version I could find. The problem is I haven’t tracked down many at all! I had to have my spare Great Kinkeshi custom painted so I could have another colored Ramenman in my collection.
Therefore the collection is small which is a shame compared to some of the other favorites in the collection which I have many more.
Ramenman must be quite popular in Japan too. He is one of Kinnikuman’s main comrades in the series and his story is so popular he has a spin-off series in Japan and a bunch of spin off Kinkeshi figures to match. These were covered in MMMM #17.
Coincidence or not, I don’t know, but practically all the Skinny figures have a Light Blue Class A figure. This would stem from them all being in the same Japanese Kinkeshi part. I always found that to be an interesting side note, similar figures being bunched together like that, the Part 11 Japanese part seems to be the opposite with all “Chunky” figures like #68 and most of the #130’s.
One day I would like to own every single Light Blue figure. That’s actually my M.U.S.C.L.E. collecting goal; all figures of my favorite color. However, the combination of the price point of those Skinny ones coupled with I’m not a massive fan of them will probably lead to it never happening. 🙁
