Fist of the North Star's Kenshiro got a life-sized statue last fall. It was covered in 500,000 Swarovski crystals, apparently worth ¥10,000,000 or $130,000.
For those not familiar with Fist of the North Star, watch this. It's badass.
The figure was put on the Yahoo! Auction block, with the winning bid hitting ¥3 million yen or US$39,000. A steal!
A forty-something self-employed man from Shizuoka won the auction. He and his entire family are big Fist of the North Star fans, and he said he's planning on making this a family heirloom. Make that, a six-foot tall family heirloom with a glittery crotch.
A portion of the winning bid will go to victims of the Japanese earthquake. As nice as that is, this publicity stunt sounds like it was a money loss after you factor in the value of the crystals. Might've been better if Swarovski simply sold those individually and then gave a cut to charity.
クリスタル50万個の等身大ケンシロウ300万円で落札 [Mantan Web]