Some of you may recall our previous look at The Otaku Box. For those who don’t, it’s an anime surprise box, with quite a few items inside. One of the key features is that you can vote on what characters or series should be included next.
What Sort of Thing is Inside?
Each month brings figures, t-shirts, and cloth posters, alongside some other things. Notable of The Otaku Box is that it runs somewhat lewder than most other anime boxes. There’s even an uncensored option, which does include nudity on the cloth poster.
The items do change slightly depending on the options. Aside from the level of lewdness, you can either remove the t-shirt for a lower cost and choose whether to include a 1:9 scale figure or a mini-figure instead. Long-term subscribers can also get bonus items.
It is worth noting that this is an unofficial, but not bootleg item box. They work with artists to create the items. It sits between things like the Sugoi Mart Anime Set which is fully official, and Anime Box Club, which appears to use fanart without attribution and clones of official models.
Fortunately, each box also includes an information sheet. This lets you know about all the items, with a little commentary.
What’s In the Box – May 2023
Opening the box up, I found the following:
- (Inner) Moka Akashiya Figure
- Rias Gremory Figure (New Joiner Bonus)
- Mini Liz ‘Hero’ Figure (Bonus)
- T-Shirt
- Cloth Poster
- Sushi Dish Set
- Yor Phone Card Wallet
- Collectible Coin
- Smirking Liz Car Sticker (VIP Bonus)
- Cards
- Standee
- Hero badge (Bonus)
- Information Sheet
Figures
The figures are my favorite parts of these. As mentioned, they’re unofficial, coming with names like ‘Vampire Princess’, but it’s obvious who they’re meant to be.
I really enjoyed Rosario + Vampire, so getting a Moka Akashiya figure was a very pleasant surprise. Her haughty attitude is captured well through her expression and pose, and you can certainly imagine her saying her catchphrase of “Know Your Place”.
It matches the official art well, capturing the details of the uniform and even minor ones such as the chain where her rosario usually is. It is a little delicate in terms of standing up though. The metal pegs and base are fine, but due to her pose, the feet don’t attach to it well. I’ve not had any issues if I leave it on display, but it does come apart easily when moving it.
If choosing the smaller figure, the offering this month was a Tokyo Revengers one.
The bonus Rias Gremory figure is certainly on the lewder side. I don’t recognize the particular outfit she’s wearing, but it’s certainly eye-catching. The wings and tail give this a wide appearance too.
Aside from not being fit for polite company and the hair perhaps overlapping the face too much, it’s a good figure.
The mini Liz figure seems to be made of rubber. It’s nice to throw in as a bonus item, but nothing to mention much on it’s own. A hero badge is included too. These are six-month bonuses.
I will say to be fair, I am judging these based on price. These certainly won’t have the amount of detail or build quality as expensive figures.
T-Shirt
The T-shirt is of Makima from Chainsaw Man. It’s not a series I watch, but the design will certainly appeal to people with a thing for muscular anime girls. I was concerned that the design would crack as it feels pressed on, but it doesn’t seem to have yet. The fabric itself feels nice too.
Cloth Poster
May’s cloth poster is of Marin Kitagawa from My Dress-Up Darling. It’s a nice background and I do like the character (if not as much as Sajuna), the aspect ratio did feel a little unusual to me. I really liked their previous Coconut (Nekopara) one though, and their Zero Two was great too, so it might just be me or a one-off. Otherwise, the print quality feels great, it’s detailed, and the colors are vivid.
Sushi Dish Set
As someone who dislikes sushi, I don’t think I’ll ever use this for its intended purpose, but it’s a flat dish that could be used for anything. It has a number of characters on it and uses the colors well to contrast with the black and gray background. It comes with a mini dish too, which I’ve been using to hold change.
Yor Phone Card Wallet
A small Yor phone card wallet was included, with a sticky back, which I presume is meant to attach it to something. This one wasn’t amazing, with the design looking a little dull, and the wallet itself smaller than any cards I’ve ever had.
Collectible Coin
The Otaku Box for May 2023 contains a surprisingly weighty collectible coin with an image of Zero Two on it. There appear to be more of them with other characters in other boxes.
It’s a rather nice-looking coin for display.
Smirking Liz Car Sticker (VIP Bonus)
Liz is the owner of The Otaku Box and has her own character, who you can see smirking here. The sticker itself feels to be made of thick plastic and is fairly durable, which is certainly helpful if attached to a car.
Cards
Six cards were included with The Otaku Box for May 2023. Five were from Demon’s Trick, which is an original series by OjiDivision as part of ‘Ecchi Toons’. These are sets of original manga from The Otaku Box.
The sixth was a ‘waifu card’. Each box comes with a different waifu card character from an anime or game series, with this one being Korwa from Granblue Fantasy.
Standee
Again from Demon’s Trick, this month’s box included a standee of Yukina, a yuki onna. I’m not too familiar with the character, but the quality is quite nice.
Final Thoughts
The May 2023 box had a nice collection of items. I’m particularly happy with the Moka figure. While I’m less familar with the series, the T-shirt is certainly nice too. Not all the items were winners of course, but it’s a reasonably priced box for what’s inside and the mystery is part of the fun.
Many thanks go to The Otaku Box for sending out a box for this feature.
A gamer since the days of Amstrad and DOS and someone who has dabbled in a variety of professions. He enjoys a wide variety of genres, but has been focusing on visual novels and virtual reality in recent years. Head Editor of NookGaming. Follow him and the website on @NookSite.
