Pansajin’s Rogues Gallery headshots, pitched for the proposed 1979 anime series. Unfortunately, the project never made it off the ground after ratings for the television series began to fall.
#illstrips #pansajin #roguesgallery #animedesign
👑 KING WALDER: THEN vs NOW 💀
Takara King Walder (1972)
The original villain from the Henshin Cyborg line.
Hard plastic, modular build, interchangeable parts. More sci-fi cyborgesque than monster. Built to play, customise and battle.
Sofubi King Walder (1998)
A Kaiju-style interpretation in soft vinyl.
Minimal articulation, hollow body, heavy focus on sculpt and paint.
More of a display piece than toy.
Same character, different philosophy. Both iconic.
Which one are you taking home?
#illstrips #kingwalder #takara #henshincyborg #sofubi
Some heat found at the recent Records & Friends pop up at SORTone, Fukuoka!
@yudaaid@seanwolcott
#illstrips #thegorillaseven #chojinbaromone #condorman #tigermask
Character concept designs for Kōmori-Hime Miotisu 蝙蝠姫ミオティス (Bat Princess Myotis), developed during pre-production of the original 1978 Pansajin television series. She was conceived as both a deadly adversary and tragic love interest for the Panther Man!
Before the disaster on Dokuro-jima, Miotisu worked as a biologist researching nocturnal animals and cave-dwelling bat colonies. Though she opposed the cruelty of her stepfather, the Night Owl King, her fascination with wildlife kept her tied to his underground animal trafficking operation, where she studied injured and dying creatures brought through the island.
When the tsunami and radiation spill devastated the island, Miotisu was exposed to the very bats she had dedicated her life to researching. Rather than flee, she disappeared into the cave systems beneath the island, adapting to life among a colony of giant mutated bats. She named her two favourites, Icarus and Myte.
Over time, rumours spread of a pale winged woman haunting the cliffs at night. Neither fully human nor monster, but something that had become one with the darkness of the island itself 🌙🦇✨
#illstrips #pansajin #tokusatsu #batprincess
Early costume designs for The Night Owl King (夜梟王 / Yakyō-Ō) developed for season one of Pansajin.
As the series’ main antagonist, his design reflected a double life: a crime boss trafficking endangered animals, masking a cult devoted to an ancient entity beneath a remote Okinawa island.
When a raid interrupted a ritual, the entity reacted triggering an earthquake, a meltdown, and widespread mutation.
What others regarded as disaster, Yakyō-Ō saw as progress.
#illstrips #pansajin #henshin
Character concept designs for Pansajin manga series (1978). Produced following the success of the television run, these early sketches explore variations of the Panther Man suit, along with initial studies of Tsukiya before and after transformation.
#illstrips #pansajin #tokusatsu
The second wave of kaijin to emerge during the first season of Pansajin, signalling a darker turn in the series.
These creatures, ranging from bio-mechanical experiments to high-ranking operatives, hinted at the growing influence of NOCT (Night Owl Cult of Twilight) and the increasingly unstable effects of the contamination event from the island.
From left to right:
Hachijin Gumo (Eight-Blade Spider)
Jeneraru Kurage (General Jellyfish)
Kabuto-Bōgu (Kabuto-Borg)
Five Bites (Faibu Baitsu)
Together they made up Nokuto Yondai Shōgun (The Four Great Generals of NOCT)
#illstrips #pansajin #tokusatsu
Cover design for the manga adaptation of Pansajin, released in 1978 following the success of the television series.
Rebranded as Panther Man (パンサーマン) for publication in an attempt to reach a wider audience.
Interest in the series declined as the henshin boom became increasingly saturated, fading out in the early 1980s.
#illstrips #pansajin #henshin
