‘Back To School’
Welcome back folks, to another Nihon Box unboxing!
This time we are taking a look back on what was available in April’s box, as even with Japan Post resuming normal service the mail is still coming in rather slow, with each box taking several weeks to get here. April’s theme focused on going ‘Back To School’, so we have a rather interesting mix of items that are kind of associated with that. So let’s get started.
Nihon Box is a Japanese monthly subscription service that handpicks at least 6 items each month that are almost exclusive to Japan and ships them straight to your door. Their items are a mixture of Otaku Anime related merchandise and figures, as well as traditional Japanese items, from sweets to tableware. All of this is available to subscribe to for what I find a very affordable price each month.
Like SoKawaii, the more months you pay upfront the cheaper the price for individual boxes will be. https://www.nihonbox.com/en
Monthly is €29.99 plus shipping costs
3 Months is a single payment of €86.97, making each box €28.99, plus shipping costs.
6 Months is a single payment of €170.94, making each box €28.49, plus shipping costs.
Here is a link to their FAQ page, just in case you’re wondering if they ship to your country: https://www.nihonbox.com/en/nihonbox/faq
Now on to our first two items, both of which are from the GTO: Great Teacher Onizuka franchise. A manga series that first debuted back in the late 90’s and has had a number of adaptations over the years, including both anime and live action dramas. The series follows a young man named Onizuka who decides to become a teacher in order to attract women. He soon discovers he has a conscience and instead devotes himself to becoming the best teacher, thus using whatever means necessary to break through and help each one of his students that others have given up on. It genuinely sounds like a good show, much like Assassination Classroom – just minus the indestructible creature for a teacher. So in this box, we were lucky to receive a nice sized shopping bag and a set of four corkboard coasters. Each with various illustrations from the show. I would imagine that this series doesn’t have much merch nowadays, seeing as the last adaptation was back in 2014.
We also got a small stationary item in this month’s box, with a Doraemon Sakura themed pen. Doraemon is perhaps one of the most iconic anime characters in Japan, perhaps more so than Pikachu. This blue alien cat has been a part of generations of people’s childhoods since the 1970’s. Its initial manga ran for 26 years! The anime series is still ongoing even today. So its quite nice to be able to get an item that represents a show with that much history attached to it. I mean this box is supposed to be focussed on Back to School, yet this pen will be the only piece of stationary included.
Moving on, we have both a Japanese snack item and a good luck cat. Our snack for April’s box was the Karintó Matcha Milk Flavor pastry. They are a traditional Japanese snack food. Sweet and deep-fried, it is made primarily of flour, yeast, and brown sugar. With this version having a matcha milk taste to it. I was hoping to try this one for myself, but unfortunately it was out of date by the time it got to me. The joys of a slow postal service -.-’
On the right is a miniature black cat figure, known as a Maneki-neko Sakura. Over in Japan, the sakura (cherry blossom) season is associated with the start of a new school year. Many schools in Japan actually resemble what you would see in anime, in fact it is pretty common to see sakura trees planted at the front entrances of schools. This little figure is also meant to attract good luck and wealth, as this one is seen lifting its right paw.
We are now on to a rather large item that came in this Aprils’ box, and that is a figure of Yúji Itadori from the popular anime this year – Jujutsu Kaisen. Now I am certain you have seen plenty of posts and merch going around these past six months or so about this anime. Although I have yet to sit down and watch an episode myself, it seems to have created a rather large fanbase. It’s the latest supernatural series that seems to be pulling in a new audience for Weekly Shónen Jump, and is also available to read now over on the Shonen Jump manga app. With almost 150 chapters available to read now for just €1.99 a month. Coming back now to the figure, its rather large and is quite sturdy. All you have to do is sit the figure on the base and that’s it. He comes in what I would call a ‘ready to fight’ pose, which I assume is his usual stance in the show. Its fairly well detailed and built, it was also added into this box just days after it was released in Japan. So its a fairly decent exclusive for a subscription box, its just freshly out in stores!
We are now onto our final item, one that is sure to cushion-the-blow for fans of these reviews! What school themed box would be complete, if it didn’t include Koro Sensei? Many of you must be aware of the yellow, perverted octopus from Assassination Classroom. A fantastic show and manga, if you have never heard of it before. The plot follows a group of students, who have become outcasts in their own school due to either their behaviour or failing grades. An opportunity is presented to them to change their fortune, if they participate in trying to assassinate their new teacher – a terrifying and indestructible mutant by the name of Koro sensei. If they fail, the entire Earth will be destroyed by the time they graduate high school. It’s well worth checking out, either the manga or even the anime. So the merch we got from the show is infact a small pillow of Koro senseis’ head! Small, soft and round, it acts as a nice head cushion or just a simple throw pillow.
So there we have it everyone, that was April’s Nihon Box. Did you like it? If so, comment down below or tag us on our social media to let us know what was your favourite item and if you have gotten your own subscription. Nihon Box always does their best to follow the latest anime trends as well as finding items from fan favorite shows in order to always appeal to their customer base. With items from classic shows such as GTO and Doraemon, to the newer franchises including Assassination Classroom and Jujutsu Kaisen. They not only source out some decent quality figures and plushies, but also to make sure that each month their box represents another unique aspect of Japan – from its food, to its culture, art, history and beliefs. It’s a well rounded box, for both anime fans and cultural fans. This box’s theme was “Back to School”, and each pamphlet in every box also includes a detailed section called “Discover Japan”. This month’s topic was about School life in Japan and how it is different from perhaps western countries. It’s details such as these that make this subscription box so unique and talked about.
For more information on how you can order your own box, look to the top of this review and head over to the link below so you can sign up today!
