Today's review is a little bit different, since I'll be dipping my feet a little further into the world of blind boxes. For the uninitiated, "blind boxes" are a type of toy release, almost always for small toys and collectibles. The catch is that you don't know which one you're getting until you open the box. And of course, different toys in the series will be available in different quantities, almost ensuring that you have to buy 30 boxes to be even remotely sure that you're getting the super ultra rare sparkly one. (And then you open them all, and half are the same figure. C'est la vie.)
I've purchased only a few blind boxes before, back during my anime con years. Blind boxes were super popular ways to sell anime and otaku-type merchandise years ago in Japan (and still are, actually!). I was surprised to see it took this long to really catch on in America, but over the past year or two, I see blind box toys every time I turn around.
tokidoki is a character line, similar to Hello Kitty. It has the latter's Japanese "kawaii" look and appeal, but is actually an Italian brand. It's amazingly cute, and has become more popular over the last few years. tokidoki has tons of various types of characters, all with their own unique appeal. Let's look at these:
I'm familiar with the tokidoki brand, but never actually purchased something, since they tend to be on the more expensive side for toys and character merchandise. I am usually a bit more discerning with what I spend on entertainment and such things. But as luck would have it, my local Barnes and Noble was running a 50% off Clearance sale this past month, and I found a whole tray full of these little darlings:
Normally, they run for $10 a pop, which is far too rich for my blood. But at 50% off, I was willing to bite, so I picked up two of them for $4.97 each. B&N seem to carry far more "pop culture" merchandise now, I've noticed, and my local one tends to carry a small selection of tokidoki goods. Yours may or may not have a similar selection, dear reader.
The box is simply too adorable for words. It's a pastel-colored fairyland of sweets, where everyone and everything is covered in frosting and sprinkles. I felt my blood sugar creep up to diabetic coma levels just by looking at it. The back of the box gives you a little blurb about the main character of this line, Donutella, and the premise of her...story? I'm not sure if merchandise needs a story. But it's cute.
Checking online, there are 8 figures to collect. I do love that the back of the box includes the firmly worded statement that "this is not a toy. This is collectible art." We'll see if I agree with that or not.
I selected two boxes from the tray by using a secret method I picked up on one of the toy forums I visit: pick up two boxes, shake them, and compare the sounds to each other. If one is more silent than the other, it's a bigger figure. If one makes more noise, then that figure is smaller. That way, you can lessen your odds of picking up duplicates. I have no idea how useful this tip is if you've already started collecting, but I'm new to this line at least, so any tips were appreciated. The boxes were very lightweight, and fit easily into the palm of my hand. These collectible art pieces are going to be tiny.
The box is held shut by a teeny piece of tape, and pulls open quite easily. Inside is the figure, wrapped in a little silver pouch stamped with the tokidoki insignia. Just by feeling it, I can tell that it's one of the smaller figures. Perhaps.
The foil tears open very easily, although you can use scissors if you prefer. And inside is...
A donut cat! According to the Donutella tokidoki page, his name is Biscottino. After Biscotti, I see. He's pretty cute; he's a very light tan color, almost creamy, with white frosting and sprinkles on his head, and two donuts around his neck and tail. His fur is very, very soft. He has a pink elastic loop sticking out of his head so you can...hang him on things? I guess. He's way too top-heavy to balance on his paws, and there's no way to get him to sit or stand independently. I don't know how strong the elastic is, but it feels like the elastic hair ties that you can buy in packs at the drugstore.
I moved on to the second pack--the one that shook less--and am happy to report that indeed, it is a bigger collectible art piece than the first one. So the method somewhat works. This character is Chocotella. She has cocoa-colored skin and wears a matching bear suit. At least I hope it's a bear suit. Her ears are donuts, and she also wears a donut like an inner tube. She has a cute little freckled face, and a patch of blue hair showing under her hood. I think it's a hood. Like Biscottino, she has a patch of frosting and sprinkles on the top of her head, along with a loop of the same elastic. Chocotella cannot stand on her own, as well.
I love how well-made these collectible art pieces are. There is so much embroidered detail, and in an object that small...it's kind of impressive. The material is so wonderfully soft, as well. I'd like to find out if these are available in large plush collectible art piece sizes. But given that one the size of my palm is $10 MSRP, I shudder to think what one the size of an average teddy bear might cost. (Edit: I poked around on the tokidoki website for a bit and found 9-inch-tall plush collectible art piece versions of Donutella and her two doggie friends for $20 each. Unnnnfffff. Tempting.)
I don't know if I'd use these as keychains or hang them off of anything that would get wear and tear like a purse or laptop bag. Given my luck with elastic hair ties, I'm worried that the elastic would snap at some point. I may have to test this out, but I think these would be far better as a collectible to decorate your house or even the rear-view window in your car.
The box recommends that these collectible art pieces be given to connoisseurs above the age of 3. I suppose that they do look good enough to eat, indeed. They are a bit expensive to give to children, considering the size and limited use. I'd say that the age range on this would be teen and older.
I am debating whether or not to make periodic trips to swing by B&N for the express purpose of checking more of the tokidoki merch out. Remember the unicorn on the front of the packaging? tokidoki makes unicorn blind bags for $6. This could be very dangerous.
Miss Scarlett Says: If you like the thrill of mystery purchases, Japanese anime-inspired toys, and don't mind paying extra for something cute, seek these out!
Edit: I stopped by B&N the other day, to happily discover that the 50% off of clearance sale was still going on. Most of the Donutella blind boxes were purchased, but there were a few left, so I picked up another one. To my delight, I got Donutella! I'd love to get the pony figure, but I think that three of these is a good stopping point. Got to have limits, you know.
