Japanese high school student makes gross yet cool action figure out of bugs

“He invaded the earth and survives as the fittest of the bug world.”

Without the regular chirping of cicadas, summer in Japan just wouldn’t be the same. Their noise, which really sounds more like a constant buzzing than a chirping, is so beloved that it has been ranked as one of the top five nicest sounds in Japan.

Cicadas have become a core component of summer life in Japan, and one surprising thing about them is that as they grow they shed their shells, often leaving them lying in places like your lawn chair or right in front of your front door. But for bug fans and quirky artists, this is paradise, because you get to use the shells to make cool things like this:

高校生の頃にセミの抜け殻で作ったやつです大地を蹂躙し、昆虫界での弱肉強食の頂点に立ちます https://t.co/T1ES7ybgBu
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宇宙船のリンク (@ride_hero_) July 21, 2018

This simultaneously cool-and-gross action figure was made by Twitter user @ride_hero during a high school seminar. According to the netizen, “He invaded the earth and survives as the fittest of the bug world.” He’s not immortal, though, as @ride_hero points out that he’s pretty weak to fire, for obvious reasons.

▼ It’s made entirely of cicada shells like this one, and held together with pins and wood glue.

使ったのはセミの抜け殻ピンセット木工用ボンドです切ったり貼ったりしましたこれを作る前に試作したりもしました https://t.co/Sjji1iEJ4c
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宇宙船のリンク (@ride_hero_) July 22, 2018

@ride_hero is actually a photographer who seems to specialize in special effects photography, especially of American comic book superhero figurines like the ones below. They also have some other beautiful photos on their feed, so if you aren’t too grossed out by Cicada Guy you should check them out!

普段はこんなオモ写をのびのびとしてます https://t.co/G0xcpvKKUZ
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宇宙船のリンク (@ride_hero_) July 21, 2018

His creepy-yet-cool cicada figurine remains his most popular creation, though, as Japanese netizens were alternately impressed with it and grossed out by it:

“Cool!”
“It looks like it would be in the Dark Souls video game series.”
“I’ve loved this kind of thing for years so I got excited when I saw this haha. Please make me your apprentice!”
“Gross”
“I already feel defeated lol”
“You’ve got good style, and I think it’s a skillful build!”

▼ One netizen even shared a crab creation and suggested that a battle between the two would be cool to see.