Cheers to Andy @ TOYSREVIL for the original news on this-
On an earlier post I spoke briefly about a hip hop/street gang based animated series from Japan entitled TOKYO TRIBE2. TOKYO TRIBE2 is an incredibly authentic (in respect to hip hop) series created by Santa Inoue and animated by MADHouse Studios. It is based on the TOKYO TRIBES manga (first published in 1998) and follows the lives and conflicts of several street gangs or "tribes" in modern day Japan. The manga and the anime illustrates urban culture with nods to DJs emcees, graf and fashion. Some of the supporting characters have names influenced by real hip hop personalities. The above figure by Medicom Toy is due to be released in the last quarter of 2009. Misaki Minato is a character from the current manga series TOKYO TRIBE3. The detail is spot on with the clothing draping the figure just right. Check out the "gumby" fade and the Timbs! TOKYO TRIBE3 is not available yet in the U.S. but you can get the original TOKYO TRIBES english translated manga at Amazon.com.
Check out the original post HERE for more figure pics. I found this great overview of the manga and anime at the POISONOUS PARAGRAPHS blog HERE. The anime is still not available officially in the U.S. but if you are savvy, you can find episodes on youtube.com and other sites online. I said it before and I will say it again...we are sleeping!
