Kinkeshi Premium Set Vol. 7
By Professor Terry
It’s been a couple of months since the highlight of the Kinkeshi Premium series was released – Vol. 6 and now we have Vol. 7
In my mind I knew Vol. 6 would be hard to top and so Vol. 7 for me has been a bit of a letdown. Really it’s for no other reason than the fact that Vol. 6 was so bloody good.
So lets examine the figures!
Firstly we have Mairudoman, Goremuman & Woolman. All 3 of these are quite good figures.
Mairudoman is very similar to the M.U.S.C.L.E. figure but the major difference is that he doesn’t spin on his head. I love how the symmetry of the #73 allows that to happen so a re-release of the figure, although well done, isn’t as good as the original.
Goremuman again is similar to M.U.S.C.L.E. figure 42 and well done though the 1991 version of him is far better in my opinion/ Look it up, it’s an awesome figure!
Woolman is a really nice addition to the series and although may not be well known to M.U.S.C.L.E. collectors (unless you follow the Super Rare threads) Woolman is one of my favorite Kinkeshi figures and has been featured in MMMM #88 if you want to read why I like the figure
Next we have Mayumi – soon to be a MMMM post due to my daughter taking a liking to him (I need to ask why first) Mayumi here has a cape like the Anime and 1991 figures. It’s a good representation and I’m surprised it took 7 volumes before his inclusion. I like this version a lot.
Sunshine Arch. Not nearly as robust as M.U.S.C.L.E. figure #15 with what looks like skinny legs/supports. This is the third Sunshine in the Kinkeshi Premium series and although not perfect, is my favorite one so far. Of note here is that the bottom of this figure shows the brickwork unlike the M.U.S.C.L.E. That is a nice touch
Pinchman, another that is eerily similar to his M.U.S.C.L.E. counterpart. This one has a chunkier head for lack of a better term. A figure I like but doesn’t blow me away. Still, it’s a figure that needs to be included in a larger figure series which is exactly what Kinkeshi Premium is turning out to be.
When will it stop? Will there be 418 figures like the original or somewhere in the neighborhood of 236? Okay, next figure
Mixer Titan. This should say “see Pinchman” I have the exact same feelings about it.
Onto the 3 new sculpts in this series. I’m going to say here that I’m really REALLY starting to like the new sculpts. At first I’ll admit I wasn’t a big fan but as the series has gone on, they have improved and therefore grown on me. 2 of the 3 in this series might be the best yet! I wish there was an easy place to find out their names. Nonetheless I absolutely love the 2 new characters and they are the highlight of this set.
The one that is a disappointment is the trophy. I understand why it’s included. To me the trophy isn’t a character like every other figure. It’s an object. I don’t like it
The last picture of figures goes back to the familiar figures we know in M.U.S.C.L.E. Warsman with mask removed is another version of #218, slightly better I guess. Yes we have another Kinnikuman – The Kinnikuman figure for this series is basically M.U.S.C.L.E. figure #110 but nowhere near as well done. We also have our 2nd Meat figure, this one eerily similar to the 1991 series 2 version. He has some kind of headphones on. It’s okay and another Meat somewhere has to be expected.
The last 2 figures in the series are also a 2nd version of each character. Benkiman is the first. Here you can see the 2 different versions side by side. Again I understand the 2 different ones.
M.U.S.C.L.E. has the same 2 figures although there they are very obviously different. Here not so much. This new one has the poo on his head instead of the tap and is marginally different. I don’t know why I like to poo version better, some weird toilet humor perhaps?
Finally our 2nd Canadianman.
Having a 2nd one is kind of ridiculous. It’s barely different. Again see the picture here. He has a different expression and his hair/headgear is longer. That’s it. I hate this figure, what a waste to add that into the set
I do like Vol. 7 and have been waiting excitedly for a while. I think the lack of imagination in the set has let it down. 9 of the 15 figures are a blatant copy of the original figures with some minor tweaks. Yes some of those are good figures and somewhat popular amongst the collecting family. I just have been left feeling flat and hope Vol. 8 is better. The 2 new sculpts however are fantastically brilliant.
