Okay, so sorry it's been a bit since my last review, been a bit preoccupied with life in general and also been debating on whether to bother reviewing Charger Girl Juden-Chan or just skip it and review Dusk Maiden of Amnesia. I don't really have much good to say about it, and I don't want every other review to be like my first review, that is to say, a bit short and lackluster. I understand that I shouldn't only review animes that I enjoyed, and I don't intend to do only that. But there's not a whole lot to say about an anime that in this case was nothing but awkward pissing, various styles of ecchi, and lacking plot. I can't really find many redeeming qualities other than a catchy theme song and decent character design and animation. So I'm still not sure whether I should just get it over with and give it a quick run-down, or if I should skip it in favor of something I can actually write somewhat at length about. Thoughts? (not that I think I'll get really any response, but worth asking).
Probably all of my few viewers right now are my friends on Facebook, so you'll likely already know my rants and raves about anime blindboxes that I've gotten in the past half a year or so, but for those that don't, I'm going to give a quick semi-review (for lack of a better word right now) of my experiences thus far, and will probably make unboxing posts in the future as I receive more. Now, I'm not sure if I will be able to get quality pics when the time comes, I will need to experiment with lighting, probably will have to take the pics outside most likely because my camera tends to make the lighting in my home look like refried ass. But I digress, I will make an attempt at least, and if it doesn't come out well....well there's not really much I can do about it, so bollocks to that. (yes, bollocks....I seem to be saying that lately for some reason...)
Anyways, onto the blind box discussion! (should it be blind box or blindbox? I keep bip-bopping back and forth between those...) So, a year or two ago, I found out that Rightstuf had various blind boxes. They have four different ones, each a different price. ($1, $5, $10, and $25) The claim is that it will be anime/manga related, as in, could be a dvd, a manga volume, a piece of merchandise (this seems rare), etc that will be a good value for what you pay. They are not used, but could be "previously handled" (as in, possibly shipped here and there, so may have some damage on the outer casing or whatever). Being the addict I am about random chance sorta things, I was very excited to try these out, and have been getting a few boxes here and there over the past half a year or so. Now, I would say for most people, this might be a bit of a waste. You aren't going to get super new anime, you are very liable to get something in the middle of a series or something that you might not be interested in. But if you are like me, and tend to try out almost any anime out there and don't have much that you own, it can be a good way of starting your collection. Before last year, I literally only had a couple random dvd volumes, movies, one box set (a beat up Evangelion boxset that is technically my brother's), and a Blue Gender set that is likely bootleg (bought on Ebay when I was kinda young, all the discs look the same and are in little white sleeves). So, I figured I could use some more variety and was looking to support the industry a little more than I have in the past and so I decided I'd start buying but didn't know where to start. So I started buying blind boxes, and have gotten some pretty decent things so far. I'll list what I've gotten so far and then explain a bit of my concerns/complaints. (Also listing two mystery boxes I've gotten from CrunchyRoll, I know the anime box was handled by Rightstuf, but I didn't pay attention to where the manga box came from)
Blind Box Package #1 (11/3/2013):
$10 blind box- Saint Seiya Collection 2 (boxset version)
Blind Box Package #2 (11/9/2013):
$10 blind box- Tenchi Muyo Movie Collection dvd set (doesn't seem available on their site anymore, though they have bluray/dvd set of it)
$10 blind box- Mobile Suit Gundam Unicorn vol. 2
Blind Box Package #3 (1/4/2014):
$1 blind box- Synesthesia
$10 blind box- Magical Project S set 2
$25 blind box- Antique Bakery complete series boxset
Blind Box Package #4 (2/19/2014):
$1 blind box- Zi Pang vol. 1 (can't find link on site)
$1 blind box- Rumiko Takahashi Anthology vol. 1
$1 blind box- Dragon Hunters vol. 1
$1 blind box- Saiyuki Reload vol. 4
$1 blind box- Gun x Sword vol. 5
$10 blind box- Saint Seiya Collection 2 (single case version)
Blind Box Package #5 (3/1/2014):
$5 blind box- Jojo's Bizarre Adventure vol. 1
$10 blind box- Saint Seiya Collection 2 (single case version, link above)
$10 blind box- Gantz season 2 boxset
$25 blind box- Gasaraki complete series
CrunchyRoll 30 dvd Mystery Box (11/1/2013):
Anthology of Rumiko Takahashi
Appleseed
Armitage Dual Matrix x2 (one special edition, one normal edition)
Astroboy vol. 1
The Daichi's Earth's Defense Family vol. 1
Dragon Hunters vol. 1, 3, and 5
Elemental Gelade vol. 1
Ex-Driver the Movie
Fighting Spirit (Hajime no Ippo) vol. 1
Gregory Horror Show vol. 1
Gun x Sword vol. 1
Heat Guy J vol. 1
Koi Kaze vol. 1
The Melody of Oblivion vol. 5 & 6
Saiyuki Reload vol. 5
Serial Experiments Lain vol. 1
Submarine 707R x2 (one limited edition, one regular)
Tenjho Tenge vol. 6
Tsukihime vol. 1
Ultra Maniac vol. 1
Vandread vol. 1, 2, 3
Viewtiful Joe vol. 1
Zi Pang vol. 1
CrunchyRoll Manga Mystery Collection (3/8/2014):
The Wallflower/Yamato Nadeshiko Shichi Henge vol. 15-19
Ooookay, long list over! I guess I'll just number the things I have to say about it the blind boxes in general.
1. Don't expect too much.
It's likely that you will get something older or lesser known in boxes like these. For some, that might be a bad thing, for others, that might be great. If you aren't picky and enjoy trying "new" shows you've never heard of, you might enjoy these. If you are looking for very new anime or very well known anime, you would be better off buying just those things straight up. Also worth noting, most of the cheaper ones tend to be Geneon dvds. I'm not entirely sure why so many people see that as a bad thing, but it's worth mentioning since Geneon seems to have a bit of a bad reputation. (I've not done research on why, but I have seen MANY complaints about the amount of Geneon dvds wind up in blind boxes, so I suppose there's gotta be some reason behind it.)
2. They are likely a blind box item for a reason.
This goes back a bit to point one, but most of these are likely there because a. they aren't selling, b. they are old and they just want to clear out their stock, or c. the packaging is somewhat damaged. Don't be surprised if you receive a boxset that is a bit dented or a volume of a show that has bad reviews or is relatively unknown. Most of mine so far have been in decent shape, and I've got some pretty decent shows, but I will admit that there are some that I've not heard of and others that I have heard bad things about.
3. If you buy often, there is a chance of getting the same thing twice, three times, maybe more.
Saint Seiya collection 2 is haunting me. Don't get me wrong, I love the show despite it's 'flaws' (being campy, terrible dub, etc), but I don't need the same set more than once. Out of the 6 $10 boxes I have gotten, 3 of them have been the same collection (although 1 was the boxset of it and two were the cheaper looking set that is somehow more expensive....). This likely doesn't happen to everyone, but it is definitely a possibility. Try not to get too angry over it though, you technically are getting them at a discount as it is, so you might be able to sell any dupes to a friend or online to get your money back or possibly profit, if you are so inclined.
4. You might get a volume from the middle of a series.
As these are random, it is quite common to get something from the middle of a series. In some cases, this isn't much of a problem, but others it can be a bit of a pain. Using Saint Seiya and Magical Project S as examples, I received set 2 of each, and proceeded to look online for the first sets. While I spent $10 on each, I found that I would have to spend at least $60 or more on most sites if I want to get the first sets, which is a bit disappointing when you are expecting them to be similar in price. In some cases, it might even be cheaper to buy the full series (Gun x Sword is around $20 for the S.A.V.E. collection, which is a bit cheaper than buying the individual disks, but since I have a few of the individual dvds, I want to finish the collection that way), so you may find yourself feeling a bit inconvenienced when wanting to finish a series you start this way.
5. Cheaper boxes tend to be single volumes, whereas more expensive ones tend to have a full season or series.
Before buying any of these, I researched a bit (mainly watching unboxing videos on Youtube) and realized that the $10 boxes tend to be seasons or series, and the $25 boxes usually are as well, sometimes even being bluray. I have not yet received manga in any (except for the manga specific box), but I have only seen other people receive manga in the $5 boxes. $1 boxes tend to be singular volumes or in one case wound up being a live action movie for me. Of course, this is just a general guess about them, as I've gotten a $10 box that was a single volume, though it was somewhat newer compared to others I've gotten, and also more well-known. So keep that in mind if you are wanting to avoid getting singular volumes, you might want to stick with $10/$25 boxes.
6. Keep in mind that it can be just about anything.
When I got my third box, I was surprised. I hadn't seen anyone else receive a live action movie in theirs, so I didn't think they were included at all. Also, I hadn't seen anyone receive a shounen-ai/yaoi series either, which honestly surprised me even more. While I don't mind yaoi at all myself, I know that many people find it offensive, so I was surprised that Rightstuf would put it in the blind box pool. So try not to be surprised if you find something you weren't expecting. I don't think you can receive hentai in these boxes, but it seems pretty much anything on their site regardless of genre could show up in a box.
7. Keep an open mind and have fun with it.
Got something you've never heard of or something that doesn't interest you right off the bat? Try it anyway! The worst case scenario is that you dislike it, but if you have it, why not try it? If you wind up disliking something, maybe pass it off to a friend that might enjoy it. There's also anime trading groups/threads all over the place, you could maybe see if someone would be willing to trade with you, or possibly sell it. But the whole hook of blind boxes is the surprise, it might not always be something you like, but if you're as indecisive as me and want to expand your horizons a bit but don't know where to start, it could be a decent investment. So if you wanna buy something but aren't sure what, or you need a free shipping topper, maybe give these a try. You could be pleasantly surprised. :)
No comments:
Post a Comment