If you ever thought: how cool wouldThe Witcher 3’s Geralt look as a samurai? Well wonder no more as CD Projekt Red’snew online storefeatures an absolutelyjaw-dropping figurinethat re-imagines the protagonist as a Rōnin monster hunter.
According to the description on the official page: “Set in the Koyasan Cemetery in Japan, the scene depicts Geralt preparing to fight the local Oni – or demons. Accompanied and guided by a friendly Tatarimokke spirit, the witcher will need to use every trick in his arsenal to prevail.”
Rafał Jaki, CDPR’s business director, spoke at length about the origins of the figure design. “When I’ve spoken with Japanese gamers, I often hear that in many ways Geralt is almost like a character from an old Japanese folk tale about ‘yokai,’ or folk monsters. He is bound by a codex, but he has to break it to be true to himself – that’s a traditional dilemma for a Japanese hero.
“The inspiration for the figure’s was Okunoin Cemetery, we also used Jizō statues that in the Buddhist tradition symbolize taking care of children (including those unborn). Finally, the owl is a lesser-known yokai called Tatarimokke – it’s a spirit of dead infants, so it connects withThe Witcher 3’s botchling mythos.”
The actual character design work was done byCDPR artistsJan Marek and Marek Madej, while the 3D model used to craft the statue was done byMarco Plouffe.
A follow-up statue is already in the planning stages for Ciri and she’ll be portrayed in the same Japanese style. I’m incredibly excited to see what the talented artists will have in store for us with their next hand-crafted figurine. If you’re interested in the process, the video below details it completely.
There’s plenty of other fan content forThe Witcher 3as we have an impressiveGeralt cosplay, an excellent fan-madefilm series, and a fan who createslovely toy dioramasincluding for aforementioned title.
