I've got something a bit different for you guys this time around. Some of you might have heard of Loot Crate, a subscription company that offers themed "mystery boxes" of nerd-related merchandise (comics, videos games, anime, TV shows and movies, etc.). It's always sounded interesting to me, but my biggest hangup is that you are paying them roughly $30 a month for a box of items that you may or may not like. It's entirely possible that you could end up with a box full of items that you hate, and then it basically feels like you wasted your money, y'know?
So even though there are all kinds of subscription boxes out there, I've held off. This time around, I saw an ad for their latest anime-themed box listing tons of series I like: Fruits Basket, Persona 3, Assassination Classroom, etc. LC was also offering a promotion for this box; anyone with a Premium or Premium Plus membership from Crunchyroll would receive a $5 discount off the purchase price. This made getting this box, at least this time, a bit more appealing.
I decided that I would try it out this once to see what it was like. So here are my impressions!
Signing up on the website was easy, and you can see a list of the different types of subscription boxes you can pick from. There are some cheaper options (The apparel box is $8.99 a month and the original Loot Crate is $13.95 a month) as well as more premium limited edition boxes which go for $100 a month. The Loot Anime box is more in the middle, at $24.95, although with my coupon, it went down to $19.95. Shipping was $5 through FedEx, and took about a week.
I got my box today, and I initially was not impressed. The box looked like a busted-up shoebox and had huge gaps in the packaging. It looked really careless and sloppy, and I was worried that some items might have fallen out.
There's just one sticker keeping it closed, so while opening it was easy, it didn't look or feel very secure.
Opening it up, it looks like this! So it's pretty obvious why it wasn't closing well. The inside of the box is decorated and gives you instructions for turning it into a mock school desk.
Anyway, let's start poking through the goodies!
First off is a Revolutionary Girl Utena bento box. I'm a little surprised, given that it's an older anime (albeit one of my vintage), so I wonder how many current fans know about it? Unless it's to appeal to older fans like myself? I'm guessing that the bento box was picked because it's a quintessential piece of equipment for a student in Japan; how else are you going to carry your lunch to school?
I thought this cube was a block of Danganronpa post-it notes at first, but on closer inspection, it's a tie!
This would be really awesome if you want to do a Danganronpa cosplay. I don't really go for masculine clothing like ties, so not quite sure what I'd do with this, but giving us a piece of a school uniform is pretty different!
I like this! I probably won't use this in my office, but a dry-erase board will come in handy, and I love the many faces of Koro-sensei as magnets.
Now, this is a surprise! The description from the box said to expect one item each from six series (Utena, Assassination Classroom, Danganronpa, Persona 3, Fruits Basket, and Digimon Tri), but this is a bonus, I guess?
It's a phone charm, with a notebook! This is pretty cute, actually.
It's volume 1 of the Persona 3 manga! I...was actually planning on getting this eventually, so this is unexpectedly handy. MSRP is $14 for it, so already I've gotten my money's worth from this crate!
Fruits Basket! It's been so long since I've seen merch for this series. This is a set of rubber keychains. It's got the three main characters (and Haru) wearing hats representing their Zodiac animal (or in Tohru's case, the riceball that metaphorically represents her).
I'm ashamed to admit that it took me a few minutes to figure out that this was a set of postcard prints. I kept turning it over and over trying to figure if it was a ticket to see the limited theatrical run of the movie.
It's probably something that I'd try again, if I was able to check the series that were being included. And especially if I could get the same $5 discount. It might be a fun thing to ask as for a birthday gift. But I can't see it being very practical in the long run. I see this as appealing to a very specific set of people who really enjoy surprises and are willing to be a bit risky with their money.
Well, that's all for now, folks. Miss Scarlett, signing out!
