Famed for his unique sneaker wearing customs, Spainish based designer and illustrator Javier Jimenez has revealed an all-new original figure that will be making an appearance in resin soon, the wily Wananeko! Designed by Javier, sculpted by Cristina Ravenna and hand cast by Rafael Rodriguez Santos, the stunning mace-handed figure stands at just under 5″ of solid resin. Making its debut at Max Toy’s “Tokyo Cat Fight” show on 5th-6th July at the Design Fiesta Gallery in Harajuku, Tokyo, a very limited run in the original colourway (pictured above), as well as a number of illustrations and one-offs will be available, all hand painted by the artist himself… Here’s hoping for a Western release soon!
Jimenez kindly shares some background info on Wananeko… “This cat isn’t your ordinary cat; he’s had an incredibly sad and hard life. Upon birth, he was abandoned and forced to live alone as a street cat facing peril and danger. Despite growing incredibly strong due to his rough upbringing on the streets of Japan, he still ended up dying, and out of his hate for humans, became a Yokai. He now takes vengeance by shape-shifting into a basket of meowing kittens on porches of the unsuspecting – only to transform back into a Yokai cat when the door is answered. He attacks whoever opens the door, and wreaks havoc on the inside of their home, delivering revenge to those who turned their eye on him when he was in need. That’s where his name comes from… “Wananeko”, which in Japanese, means “Trap Cat”.
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