Ookpik our mascot looks like a kaijin

Ookpik has been the mascot for NAIT since 1964. He has had many different looks over the years, one of these look like a monster of the week from a tokusatsu a kaijin. That is not a bad thing. This is a very cool way of looking at the old design. After you see the similarities, you might see things differently.

A kaijin is a human-sized monster in Japanese media. They first were made in the 1936 novel, The Fiend with Twenty Faces. Kaijin got a more mainstream look in 1971 with shows like Kamen Rider. When you watch a show like Power Rangers those are what the monsters are. When they become big, they are called kaiju. The most well-known kaiju would be Godzilla.

Shows that have kaijin:

• Kamen Rider
• Super Sentai
• Power Rangers

With his more typical mascot look, you will see Ookpik in many athletic Ooks teams and Ooks Life events. His history is as vast as it is interesting. The original mascot went missing around 2007 and has not been found since. Its original somewhat creepy look is beloved and is looked back upon with love. Peggy Richardson created replicas of the original Ookpik for NAIT to replace the lost Ookpik. Go check out some of the NAIT Ooks events which will resume Jan. 17th and maybe see how he looks now.

The design is similar to a kaijin with the uncanny look of the mascot. If you compare it to owl kaijin you will see that it fits right in. With the modern design, it has a more cartoony look which is a more friendly look that won’t scare you.

NAIT’s history has many great secrets. Ookpik’s original creepy monster-like design must be up there with our coolest ones. It’s always interesting seeing what some of the first designs look like because as time goes on, everything changes.

---

Comments