It’s been quite some time since my last, and only, Loot Crate review but I’ve finally received my second box. For reasons I shall call: UPS is a very unreliable delivery service in my neck of the woods, I have still not received my October box. The very nice folks at LootCrate were very quick to respond and immediately arranged for a replacement to get shipped out. I must say, whatever else you may think of the product, my customer service experience was fantastic.
I am really looking forward to receiving that October box since I’m a fan of a lot of the series featured but in the meantime, I’ve received the November box. I guess the title sort of made that obvious huh…
Now onto the part everyone actually cares about – the goodies! These boxes are always centered around a theme, but I have to level with you guys – it’s often pretty random. For instance, November’s theme was “Besties” – oh my wherever are they going to find anime with strong themes of friendships? No Hunter x Hunter is not featured ☹
I’m not sure why I always take a picture of the packed box. Maybe it’s because I’m a child and I get really excited when opening boxes. I’m thinking I can transfer some of that excitement to you through pictures (?)
First thing that caught my eye was this Seven Deadly Sins Hawk eraser. At first, I thought this was a paperweight – it’s super heavy for some reason. I haven’t seen Seven Deadly Sins but it is on my to watch list and from what I know it sounds like something I’d enjoy. Obviously, I haven’t used this eraser yet for its intended purpose, so I can’t tell you how good it is. I don’t think I will. I don’t use pencils all that much anymore and it’s just too cute to ruin. This will probably be a decoration/paperweight somewhere in my home office. I wouldn’t have bought it but I quite like it and who knows maybe Seven Deadly Sins will become one of my favorite shows and I’ll be super psyched to have this.
I got excited thinking this was a T-shirt. I have a T-shirt problem. I buy them constantly and I wear suits at work, so I just end up stockpiling apparel. I really don’t need anymore T-shirts. I was really disappointed this turned out to be a knapsack. This said, I live in a country where one does often have to carry indoor shoes with them (lotsa snow) so I’ll get some good use out of this but I just don’t find it that exciting an item. ED After I put in on the dog, I thought it actually looked pretty cool. I likes it more.
I might be one of the few anime fans in the world that has completely missed out on K-ON. I haven’t seen or read any of it at all. I can’t recommend this manga on content but as far as quality goes it’s quite impressive. Last box featured an exclusive edition of Soul Eater vol1, which I absolutely adored because…Soul Eater! And as great as that manga was, this one seems more luxurious.
The cover and paper quality are all visibly above average and as you can see there are several full color pages throughout the volume. (Not just a centerfold or a few pages at the beginning. I am looking forward to reading this in the bus and having people quietly judge me.
This month’s illustration is by Renée Park and although it is a charming picture, I wonder why they chose a girl quietly reading by herself to illustrate “Besties”. Unless they’re saying that cat is her best friend which I can relate to. This said, overall the illustration invokes calm and relaxation much more than friendship.
They have these phone charms in every box and as much as I think they are useless trinkets (and they are oh so useless), that don’t even use known characters, I’ve actually grown to quite like them. I tie them to purse straps or zippers. They’re these tiny little general anime themed decorations that allow me to subtly flaunt my fandom without getting in the way or making me commit to any particular show. I also have an unhealthy love of accessories and these play into it.
And just like last time I’ve left the best for last:
If anything is going to make these subscriptions worth it, it’s the exclusive figures that come in each box. I hadn’t really gotten into figures. Like I said I love the apparel and my house is generously decorated with anime prints all over the walls but for some reason figures were never really my thing. Which is why I was surprised by how much I just loved the GinTama figure in the August box.
It just makes me happy every time I see him and I’m not even that huge a fan of the series. Since then I’ve picked up quite a few more and now I get super excited for them. This month we had a model of Madoka in full magical girl outfit. I do like it but less. I’m not sure why. Maybe it’s the face details or the colours. It’s a nice figure and I’M really happy to have it but I don’t get the same excitement out of it as I do with my other ones.
I liked this box, but I think I preferred the August one. Since notebooks have taken over my life now that I have this blog, I got a lot of use out of the Kobayashi diary. I still would have preferred lined, but I love the cover so much. I keep all my notebooks (I have no clue why) so I’m happy to have this one lying around. I also ended us using the Bungo Stray Dogs pouch as a pencil case that I throw in my work bag. But all in all I’m not disappointed.
Next month is a mixed bag series wise:
The Long Shot. The Dark Horse. You may be underestimated but they definitely shouldn’t count you out. In December, we’re rooting for the UNDERDOGS with all EXCLUSIVE items from My Hero Academia, Black Clover, Saint Seiya and Batman and The Justice League!
I really hope the big item is from MHA. IF I ever do receive it, I’ll post some horrible pics for you guys.