Monster Hunter Cats
You might have heard of one of the most popular video games in recent Japanese history, Monster Hunter? I see this game played on PSP devices on trains and cafes almost daily, it even got to the point where a friend lent me her game so that I could try it out. I soon rediscovered my general disinterest in games but I must say it’s a beautiful game, and very detailed. One of the most popular characters, obviously, is a cat, called Airu (アイルー). Originally a sidekick to the main hero, he/she soon developed a solid fan base and now there’s games devoted just to this lovable cat (see for example Capcom’s Pokapoka Airu no Mura).
This being Japan there’s also several figures, toys and other kinds of goods available with this character, and not to mention a thriving fan-based maker communtiy. One maker of Airu figures that I discovered in this year’s Wonder Festival is Mimishiki (耳式) who created some excellent and very cute posable Airu figures, as you can see in the first three photos of this post.
The last photo is figures from the Pokapoka game, Airu and his friends. If you claim an interest in Japan or all things Japanese, Airu is a character you should now about!
@ All images copyrighted. Please use only with permission.
*______*I want one of these, as one of the cat-addicts 8) but the other parts of the decoration also looks pretty nice, too bad I never heard of the game before=/
Hi Timi! You’re in luck, this character (and the other cats in the game) are some of the most popular for small scale figure makers so there’s plenty of them! Let me know when you’re in Tokyo next and I can point you in the right directions. I for one, would not say no to a cat in an over-sized medieval armor! (^-^)
I will let you know, but first I want to finish my studies here, no Tokyo before that:D:/but I will make sure to get a nice job that pays lots so I can go see everything you made/make photos of:D
Haha… a nice job that pays a lot would be fantastic!