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[onionitchi]

Is it a football player?, robot??? or just a man in a mask??

[Kokuma]

I think it's made after the characters in japanese Kamen Raider (Masked Raider) and Ultraman teenager sci-fi TV shows which have masked heroes coming from outer space and battling against some multigalaxy badguys on Earth.

Btw Masktchi looked like this before Connections came out.

The old Masktchi was designed after Asian animal called raccoondog which looks much like raccoon but isn't related to it at all, but instead is canine family and is related to foxes.

[Elana]

Wow Kokuma, that was really interesting! I'd say you answered the question quite definitively. That racoon-dog, it's the same thing as the tanuki, isn't it? The mischievous creature that often appears in Japanese myth?

[Kokuma]

That racoon-dog, it's the same thing as the tanuki, isn't it? The mischievous creature that often appears in Japanese myth?

Yup, tha same. And suit which Mario has in Super Mario Bros III that allows him to change into a monk statue for awhile is "tanooki suit" (tanuki).

We've got those masked everyhting-goes eaters here in Finnish woods since 60's or 70's and they have recently turn into real pain with amazing capacity of breeding (10-15 pups twice the year) and hunger for bird eggs and bird babies and...and they tend to search food from trashyards like American raccoons.

And they are not easily being hunted as they are nocturnal animals and traps are not allowed anymore (except the cage ones that capture animal alive).
But there's even worser "killer" in Finland's nature. Mink, American ferret which was brought here in 60's for fur farming and nowadays we have strong population in the wild which keeps hunting duck litters 'till the last duckling, and when there's many rare breeds of duck family that nest in Finland that's really not a good thing.
Sigh.

[K-StateFry]

I think he looks like a really short Zorro.

[TigerLily013]

He reminds me of a little super hero the newest one. I especially think it's cute when it flies around with wings and with its cape. It's so cute ^o^

[Jiro]

ah Kamen Rider!
I remember loving it when I was 6...
ahahaha its weirdwhen you look at the figurine now
Kamen Rider's looked like a fly

[Kokuma]

Yes, Kamen Raider heros are designed after beetles.

[spiffy]

Thanks for the explanation Kokuma. That was very interesting!

A couple of years ago, when everybody had Tamagotchis, they called it "La Mosca" because they thought it was like a fly. =)

Sometimes they called it "Doña Eugenia" which is the name of the librarian, because she was a bit of a pain like a fly, and always buzzing behind your shoulder.

[Mimitchi]

A lot of people in the US thought Masukutchi was evil because of the mask and never really looking directly at you and also... all them teeth. Lotta people didn't like him, so I had the impression. My sister on the other hand adored him!