Retro M.U.S.C.L.E. Men Toys Celebrate 29 Years of Kinnikuman

I came across a Japanese language news article on Oricon today announcing the return of Kinkeshi figures in celebration of the 29th anniversary of the Kinnikuman manga series. I didn’t really think much of the news until I saw the following photo of the figures:

Kinkeshi = MUSCLE

It turns out that the Kinkeshi toys had been released in the United States under the name M.U.S.C.L.E. Men, and I had actually played with some of them as a child. Until I saw that photo today, I had not known they were Japanese!

Have you ever owned Kinkeshi/M.U.S.C.L.E. Men figures?

7 comments - What do you think? Posted by James - January 19, 2008 at 10:10 pm

Categories: Otaku & Anime Tags: culture, japan, news, retro, toys

http://jp.bantus.org Marcz

I used to love those little figures when I was a kid. They weren’t hugely popular in Australia, but they had their 5 minutes. I always had a sneaking suspicion they were Kinnikuman in disguise. I remember the semiopaque garbage can 10-packs!
Brandon

I still have mine! I used to love them as a kid…the pink ones were the best. When they started coming out with all of the other colors, I started losing interest. I didn’t realize they were that old…I guess I’m getting old…
http://randomurl.com LondonGaijin

seeing this article has made me depressed. I had an original box set of these guys back in the early 90′s, but they got thrown out with all my He-man/M.A.S.K toys …Argh!!!

I could be rich right now…
:p
http://www.victorymanual.com Alex

I completely forgot about these little guys! And M.A.S.K.! Pretty nostalgic. Who could forget He-Man and Skeletor, though.
http://fifthdreamtoday.110mb.com/ FifthDream

I still have a ton of these. I loved them as a kid, even had the little wrestling ring for them. I didn’t know what they were at the time, but i found out later. Weird, some of the repackaged toys they sell in the U.S. and they completley ignore the original Japanese source…
jonmon

anamantium-clad-nuklear-warheada-armed-zodiak_wariar
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Retro M.U.S.C.L.E. Men Toys Celebrate 29 Years of Kinnikuman

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