Mizuki’s “Spirit” Toys

Shigeru Mizuki is undoubtedly among the most popular — and certainly one of the longest-standing — cartoon artists in Japan. He is a master of
Japanese horror stories of Yokai, which loosely translated means "spirits" or "demons".  Since the 1960s he popularized many types of Yokai in his works, with the manga Ge Ge Ge no Kitaro (one-eyed Yokai superhero) being the most famous . From his stories come drawings of evil demons, mischievous spirits and lonely ghosts. From the
drawings come toys. Among my favorites are the Cave Man (原始さん means "Beginning"), the おばけのムーラちゃん(no English name…but look at the pics and you get the idea) and finally Dead God and Raccoon Dog (死神&狸 セット). If you find them to be  must haves, check out this site for more information. The Cave Man and おばけのムーラちゃん comes
in GID versions which were available at the recent World Hobby Festival in Kobe, Japan. All these toys cost approximately $38US each. Oddly, it is somewhat comforting to see Mizuki’s spirits "come to life" after so many years of seeing them as 2d art. Hopefully,more of his creatures will continue to make that transition from 2d to 3d, there are just never enough "spirits" to go around.
 


Cave Man


おばけのムーラちゃん


Dead God and Raccoon Dog


GID Cave Man


GID おばけのムーラちゃん

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