Even amidst the dark reality we are all living in, you can always find several rays of hope and sunshine around every corner. So here I am today to deliver some much needed distraction. As I mentioned before in one of my previous SoKawaii box reviews, I would also be reviewing another Japanese monthly subscription service. Nihon Box is just that! I’ve known about this service for quite some time now, as I’ve seen several unboxing videos from Doug D’Marco on YouTube. Check out his channel if you can, he reviews several different subscription boxes and gives good, honest reviews. (https://www.youtube.com/user/Angelraider78)
Much like SoKawaii, 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.
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.
The first item we have is a Pikachu silicone cup lid. This item is quite handy for those of you that tend to forget about their cup of tea for too long and tend to heat it up in the microwave. It will also act as a lid, which should help to keep your tea hot for longer. Also quite handy to have if you wish to have your drink outside in the garden, without having to worry about any flies dropping into it for a sip. This is also an officially licensed Pokémon product as well. It is safe to use in a microwave, but make sure it is washed by hand as it’s not dishwasher proof.
Next up is our snack item, with this month being two individually wrapped Dorayaki. A traditional Japanese pastry that you can find across bakeries and convenience stores in Japan. This snack consists of two small pancakes, much like the American ones. They are sandwiched together with a sweet red bean paste called Anko as the filling. The pancakes mask most of the taste of the Anko, but ultimately it’s a very pleasant snack that is more on the sweet side.
Our authentic Japanese tableware item this month is a Rice Bowl. Decorated with Sakura petals all around, this bowl is soundly made and should survive being washed in a dishwasher, but I would handwash it just to be on the safe side. It has no production markings and I am not entirely sure what it is made of, but according to the leaflet this bowl was Made in Japan. I’m interested to see what item will be included in next month’s box, to see if there will ever be a single dinner set created after a certain amount of boxes.
Next up we have another “Made in Japan” item, with a My Neighbour Totoro Mechanical Pencil from Zebra. Now I have seen this brand numerous times in both Tesco and Dealz (Poundland in England), and they are really smooth pens to write with. So I assume the refills will be more readily available to buy for when this pencils’ led eventually runs out. Now Japan has become rather renowned for their stationary when it comes to quality and this pen is no exception to that fact, as this design is made especially to prevent the led tip from breaking whilst writing. From the little time I have used this pen, it appears to be telling the truth as not once did the led break whilst I was putting excess force on the pen whilst writing. It is definitely a very useful product to have on you at all times when out and about, or even whilst at work or school.
Perhaps one of the most renowned anime films to have come from the 1980’s has to be Akira. Known worldwide as perhaps one of the greatest animated and science fiction films ever made, it has a strong following even today. Nihon Box included this miniature Volume 1 series Akira figurine, to help celebrate the up-coming Remastered BluRay release of the film in Japan at the beginning of April. It is very rare to find any Akira merch, I have only seen a handful of items over the years. So this figure is a special piece to have in my collection, and stands as a reminder that I haven’t sat down to watch the film in several years now.
Lastly we have the main reason I wanted to try out Nihon Box, as every month you are guaranteed a figure. This month they included the heroine Nadeshiko from the anime Yuru Camp (also known as Laid-Back Camp). The anime, which you can watch now over on Crunchyroll through the link here (https://tinyurl.com/ubq25os) is all about a high school outdoor activity club that enjoys camping. I have only watched the first episode so far and it seems like an enjoyable show, one that will be easy to watch. So why not check it out and get to know more about our new girl Nadeshiko. Bytheway this figure is very well made, sturdy and all you have to do is push her feet onto the base – done! Such great detail and colouring went into this figure, all I want to do is High Five her every time I go into the room!
And there we have it, my first Nihon Box review. Really positive start on this subscription, I don’t see myself wanting to give up anytime soon. I will also still be getting the SoKawaii one so don’t you worry. For the price of one box alone, I would have been happy with just a figure as they can be pretty pricey to buy over here at conventions and comic stores. I was also delighted to get the chance to get my own Akira merch and try Dorayaki for the first time before I go over to Japan later this year.
Next month’s box is going to be completely Sakura themed, to tie in with the Cherry Blossom season currently happening over in Japan. They have already announced that they will be including items from One Piece, Hatsune Miku, Fairy Tail and of course, Cardcaptor Sakura, but which one will be the figure?
Until next time, take care of yourself x
