We're looking at two of the Sailor Moon Re-ment collectible miniature sets. They are my newest guilty pleasure. :)
Let's take a look, shall we?
First up is the release from this summer, the Sailor Moon Crystal "School Life" Re-ment set. Each set features our beloved characters' belongings from different activities. For example, Jupiter has a "lunchtime" set with a bento box, Mercury has a "study" set with books and her computer, and Moon has, of course, her schoolbag and toast for her trademark "running late to school marathon dash."
But since we all know who is best girl, I have the Venus set. Her activity seems to be "hanging out/going shopping after school," which suits me just fine. Here is a spectacularly blurry picture of the box, which is a soft and sunny pastel yellow with the SMC logo, a graphic of Usagi, and pictures of some of the different items in each set. It's nicely designed, although I would have liked a group shot, since the items are from multiple characters, not just Usagi.
Here some much better shots of the box. Note the Toei sticker at the bottom. Remember to check for it! The sides have pictures of the different sets. If I was a millionaire, I would buy all of them because they are just so cute.
Inside the box are the items in one big cellophane wrapper. Each item is in its own little compartment, which is nice. It prevents these from rubbing against each other and maybe scratching or rubbing off the paint.
First is Minako's purse. It's a white-and-orange rectangular job with a yellow-and-orange graphic on the front reminiscent of her "Venus Love Me Chain" attack. It has her name and planetary symbol on the front, which is cute but a little unnecessary. It does not open, sadly.
A wee little Artemis! I'm having trouble getting accustomed to him having green eyes in this new adaptation, as opposed to blue in the original anime. He's one solid piece, so no movement here.
Hey, a magazine! It has Sailor V on the cover, so maybe it's a girls' magazine or a gossip rag or something. I kind of like the mental image of Minako buying up copies of every tabloid she sees that features Sailor V. The graphics are bright and clear, and it looks really cute. Doesn't open, though.
This super-blurry picture is of a mandarin orange crepe. The rest of the filling, plus some type of fruity decoration, is meant to be reminiscent of Minako's hair and bow, but it's weird and feels like you'd be eating a voodoo doll. I like that each of the sets as a snack, but this is the least appealing one. The reason it looks different from the pictures earlier is that...
You have to cut out a paper crepe sleeve from the paper insert that comes with the set. Above it is the high score screen from the Sailor V video game at the Crown Arcade. Cutting this sleeve feels like a desecration. Plus, it looks like Sailor V's outfit. Is Minako purposefully buying Sailor V-themed snacks? Where is she finding this stuff? Isn't it a little narcissistic, or at the least faintly creepy? ANSWERS, PLEASE.
Rounding out the set is Minako's transformation wand. For being so tiny (about half the length of my thumb), it's surprisingly sturdy. Probably easy to lose, though.
And here is the reverse side of the paper insert, showing you everything that comes in the sets. I WANT IT ALL. I picked this set up from one of my trusted sellers on eBay. Remember what I've said before about doing due diligence: check feedback, check the pictures, and ask questions. I got it for about $10 with free shipping, which is a fair price. You can buy a case with a full set from tons of Japanese retailers (AmiAmi, HobbyLinkJapan, etc.) for about $65, which averages to about $8 apiece. I think it's really adorable, and love that it has items that they "use" in "everyday life."
This second set is from the first of the Sailor Moon Re-ment sets, the Cafe Sweets line. This is one of the gifts that Miss Momo brought back from Japan. She knew how much I loved these, and got me another. <3 This is the Tuxedo Mask set, by the way. There aren't a lot of separate pieces, but the ones that it has are so beautifully ornate.
The paper insert showing you how it looks. There's a cake in a stand, with a domed lid and a rose in a vase. Very romantic, although Usagi would probably admire it for three seconds before completely demolishing it in five. C'est amor.
The cake stand is a beautiful pearly white with these ruffled edges. If you look at the actual plate itself, there is a raised carving of Tuxedo Mask and Sailor Moon gazing at each other under a starry, moonlit night sky. It's really beautiful, and feels almost secretive, since you won't see it until the cake is gone.
The domed lid isn't a lot to talk about (the plastic feels a little thin, actually), except that the knob on top to lift it is shaped like the Silver Crystal. ARGH I LOVE THIS. Specifically, it's the Silver Crystal in its powerful flower-like shape.
You can see it better from the side. You can also get a good close-up of the cake here. It's a pink cake lavishly festooned with pink icing roses that looks too beautiful to eat. The hollow at the top is roughly heart-shaped with room for two itsy-bitsy figures: a dark-chocolate Prince Endymion and a white-chocolate Princess Serenity. The figures are so tiny--no bigger than my fingernail--but incredibly and precisely detailed.
And of course, no Mamoru-themed set would be complete without the red rose symbolizing his love for Usagi. The rose is a separate piece, and easily slides into the vase, which looks like a tuxedo jacket.
This set is just so beautiful. It is lavishly decorated and exquisitely detailed. I honestly love how it references the show's greatest romance in multiple ways. The idea is that this is something that Mamoru and Usagi are ordering together, and it references their superhero alter egos, plus their past lives. Whether they're Endymion and Serenity, Sailor Moon and Tuxedo Mask, or Usagi and Mamoru, their loves endures. ::sniffle::
Honestly, these Re-ment sets are amazing, and are great little colelctibles, especially if you are a fan of a particular character. The Sailor Moon franchise has pushed that for as long as I can remember, so much that it's easier to find specific character merchandise than generic group merch. I'd easily recommend these Re-ment sets, but only if teeny tiny pieces aren't going to be an issue; I could definitely see these getting easily lost or eaten.
Miss Scarlett suggests: Sailor Moon fans should take a look at these as adorable, reasonably priced collectibles!
