The FangShi

/*Note: I'm reffering to the FangShi ShruanRen in this post. Whenever I say "FangShi, know that I'm referring to the ShruanRen. I'm to used to calling it "The Fangshi" amongst friends. My bad*/

The Fangshi was a first for a lot of things. It was the first 3x3 to be accepted as a legitimate competitor to Dayan, it was the first cube to introduce an edge piece wing design that linked under the center for added support, which alone brought upon a revolution that would completely change 3x3 design, and it was the first cube to introduce a vastly different fell in comparison to other cubes. The Fangshi, created by Funs Puzzle, was the beginning of a new 3x3 generation. OK, that might be a bit of an exaggeration. But the Fangshi did pave the way for many 3x3's, including MoYu's 3x3's which are today considered to be the best 3x3's around. The Fangshi brought about another 3x3 design revolution.
Ever since the release of the GuHong, Dayan was at the top of the 3x3 market, and it had no viable competition. It remained this way until they released the ZanChi, considered by myself and many others to be their best cube yet. But after the ZanChi's release, a competetor came up that, for the first time, matched their quality and, in some instances, surpassed them. This cube was the FangShi, and it blew up in popularity. More people switched to a cube that wasn't Dayan than ever before. Unlike the Dayan cubes, the Fangshi didn't have torpedoes. Instead, it had a mechanism that linked the corners and edges together, and linked the edges through the center to create a tight fit of the pieces which prevented pops very well.
Its name translated to "Frosted Blade", which made sense. Its pieces were frosted over with a certain type of plastic, giving it a feel like no other. Most cubes up to this point felt smooth and "buttery". The FangShi on the other hand felt rough and "sandy". This was due to the layer of frost on the pieces. As you broke the cube in, the frost layer comes off, drastically changing its fell while in use, becoming "crispy" and "clacky" (Those last two were my opinion, but anyone who has a FangShi can agree, it clacks).
Since its release, many other manufactures have used a similar wing design to the FangShi, and it is now widely considered standard anti-popping measures. If it wasn't for the FangShi, odds are cubes would be popping more than they are today.

Of course I've caught a storm dragon, Jimmy! I even turned him into a dwarf!
-GIR