Review and images by JimoAi; edited by bmathison1972
Kaiyodo is a well known brand in Japan and throughout the world for their often small but highly detailed figures. They do make well known species but where they truly shine is in their unique and obscure species, especially in the Choco Q, Natural Monuments of Japan, Dinotales, and Aquatales lines.
In 2004, Kaiyodo collaborated with Sapporo Beer to produce a line of figures depicting the different unique things that Okinawa has to offer. The one that caught my eye the most was the Tropical Fish Market, which has 3 species of fish found in the waters of Okinawa, in 1 figure: essentially 3 for the price of one! Out of the 3, 2 are completely unique species not made anywhere else! The species featured are the coral grouper, spangled emperor, and the bicolor parrotfish. It is worth noting that the fish are meant to pose as dead specimens being sold as food in a fish market, but I think they do work as live specimens as well. We’ll start with the one that has already been made into a figure and make our way to the unique species.
Coral Grouper (Cephalopholis miniata)
Size of figure: 4.3cm
Size of actual animal: 26-50 cm for a mature individual
Scale: 1:6-1:11.5
Color: Red main body with a yellowish orange middle, yellow eye, and blue spots, outlined in black
Diet: Small fish, including sea goldies, crustaceans
Notes: A popular aquarium grouper in addition to being a food fish. This is the least exciting of the trio due to the fact that in the same year, Yujin made a larger and better figure. Nevertheless, this figure works as a smaller individual. It is sculpted with the fins tucked to the side with its mouth agape like many fresh fish sold in markets, and a smooth body with no scalation. But if you’re using it as a live specimen, it could be eating a smaller fish or crustaceans.
Now onto the unique species…
Bicolor Parrotfish (Cetoscarus bicolor)
Size of figure: 4.2 cm
Size of actual animal: 50 cm for a maximum sized individual
Scale: ~1:12
Color: green main body with orange spots and outline on scales, off white underbelly, blue fins with caudal and pelvic fins, having yellow with caudal having black too. Eye is yellow with a black pupil.
Diet: algae within coral
Notes: In my opinion, the most eye catching figure in the set. This figure is as of an adult male, as juveniles are white with an orange band near the head and adult females are brownish/reddish brown with a yellow streak near it’s back. The figure is sculpted in a static pose with mouth partially open with visible beak and fine scalation. This is the most sinful figure in the lot as it is a no-no to catch and hunt parrotfish, especially in today’s climate, as like other parrotfish, the bicolor would help eat algae off coral. Without the removal of the algae, the coral would simply die and in turn, disrupt the balance of the coral reef, so please avoid eating parrotfish and leave them for other predators like sharks.
Spangled Emperor (Lethrinus nebulosus)
Size of figure: 4.5cm
Size of actual animal: 41-87 cm for a mature specimen
Scale: 1:5-1:19
Color: Dark grey top all the way to caudal fin with lighter grey underbelly, orange eyes with black pupils, teal and dark grey spots decorate the body
Diet: mollusks, crustaceans, and echinoderms; sometimes small fish and polychaetes
Notes: the drabbest figure is also the most unique species in the set. While the previous 2 had figures in their genera made, I believe this is the first Lethrinus ever made into figure form. Like the parrotfish, there are finely sculped scales and fin rays and the mouth is slightly opened. My copy has the left pupil larger than the right however. I guess one is better than nothing however as this is a nicely done figure to go with larger scale marine life figures. This figure actually took weeks for me to identify!
Overall, this miniset is certainly a unique oddity. Being an exclusive and old item, this figure is retired and your best bet is to try eBay or Japanese auction sites like Mercari or Yahoo! auctions as an entire set or just this miniset on it’s own. Other animals in this entire set are a Tsushima Leopard cat, Okinawan rail, and 2 coconut crabs, with other series having a sea butterfly, king crab, and a Japanese lates. As I say, try to get yours before they’re eaten!
Being hunted by Schleich’s tiger shark:
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But actually, parrotfishes eat corals, rather than the algae that grows on them.
Common misconception; parrotfishes are actually herbivorous. They eat algae, and wind up eating a small amount of coral as well, due to their strong beaks. They clean up more algae than they do coral, and are therefore beneficial to the coral reef.