Crazy to think that 2023 was the year that we were collectively introduced to (and subsequently overwhelmed by) the Big Red Boot but, yes, MSCHF Sneakers' internet-shattering innovation really did debut back in February. Small world.
It's not even 2024 and we've already got more Astro Boy-inspired shoes, though this time their inspiration is more literal (or maybe less?) as Onitsuka Tiger created some red high-top shoes in partnership with Osamu Tezuka's inimitable cartoon/comic/toy/filmic franchise.
And if you thought the Big Red Boot was too, well, big, Onitsuka Tiger's Small Red Sneakers might just solve any lingering hangups. Y'know, supposing you really do wanna wear Astro Boy-inspired shoes at all.
The Onitsuka Tiger shoes are part of a larger Astro Boy collection that comprises thematic apparel and, believe it or not, other thematic sneakers that channel the Astro Boy ethos into respectably wearable kicks aplenty.
The low-top fire-drenched Mexico 66 sneakers in particular are impressively cool, taking the surprisingly hot trendsetting shoe in a direction that's charmingly youthful, very out of time in a good way.
There's also a spread of tie-in apparel rounding out the selection but the star is clearly the semi-crazy shoes.
Onitsuka Tiger has a surprisingly vast spread of wild sneakers within its oeuvre, including the quietly luxe The Onitsuka line, so Astroy Boy-inspired moto boots are well within its conventions.
And, compared to the various Big Red Boot iterations — Big Black Boot, Big BAPE Boot, Big SpongeBob Boot — the Astro Boy Onitsuka Tigers are even more approachable.
Note that Onitsuka Tiger's Astro Boy partnership is aligned with the historic footwear brand's 75th anniversary in 2024, so there's a double meaning here (two icons of Japanese culture finally coming together). The end result is safe enough without being staid, something for the heads.
Not likely to be the viral sensation that the Big Red Boots once were, either, but that's not necessarily a bad thing.
