Hong Kong soft vinyl toy manufacturer Unbox Industries, after creating the "Strange Box" and "Strange Box Color" blind box figures based on the works of Japanese horror manga artist "Junji Ito," is finally opening pre-orders on March 18th for the highly anticipated soft vinyl busts of "Kirie Goshima" and "Azami Kurotani," which are based on the manga masterpiece "Uzumaki" and garnered enthusiastic responses when first exhibited at Wonder Festival 2022 [Summer]. Shipping is expected in July 2023.
"Uzumaki," serialized from 1998 to 1999 in Shogakukan's manga magazine "Big Comic Spirits" and collected into 3 volumes, centers on high school students "Kirie Goshima" and "Shuichi Saito." The story begins with strange phenomena they encounter, and their hometown, "Kurouzu-cho," appears to be cursed by "spirals." Various supernatural occurrences, human mutations, and natural disasters related to spirals happen consecutively, becoming increasingly out of control.
Both 3D busts this time stand at 16 cm tall, with Japanese special effects sculptor "Manrin" once again handling the sculpting. Let's start with the short-haired girl, "Azami Kurotani" – not only is her right forehead, consumed by a spiral, deeply reproduced, but the internal spiral patterns, as if devouring flesh, combined with delicate brushwork, convey a strong sense of unsettling grotesqueness. The stark contrast between her still-intact left eye and her exposed, bloodshot right eyeball, paired with a somewhat enigmatic photographic style similar to UNBOX's official images, will undoubtedly showcase Azami Kurotani's charm to the fullest!
Next is "Kirie," sculpted according to her "Curly Hair Arc" design. Her long hair, seemingly gaining a life of its own, curls into one spiral after another. The rounded lines and hair strands are meticulously sculpted, conveying the smoothness of Kirie's beautiful hair. Her slight head turn and gaze towards the back also perfectly reflect the story's detail where Kirie only realizes her hair is curling after being questioned by her classmate "Sekino." Both figures are incredibly captivating!
Azama, Kirie by Junji Ito 16cm soft vinyl bust
Approximately 19 cm tall, pre-orders open on March 18, 2023
Expected to ship in July 2023