Unlicensed Figures of The Otaku Box
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| Albedo by caitaron; what The Otaku Box used to make their unlicensed figure |
If you've read my previous posts you will have seen that The Otaku Box has a habit of including bootleg figures in their boxes. More specifially, these are low-quality imitations figures that were manufactured legitimately by a Japanese companies like Banpresto or Good Smile.
However, more recently (other than their shameless Nero Alphamax bootleg in the March 2020 box) they have been trying to get away with original figures of popular characters that they have designed and made themselves. This is still something they deserve to be called out on, as they are dodging the licensing deals and fees they have to pay the original creators of the anime that the characters are from. This means that not a cent of The Otaku Box's figure sales are going to support the hard working artists, writers and other employees at both US and Japanese companies that help to create and produce the anime that you love to watch.
Normally when you buy an anime figure, there is a heap of information that gets included on the box. This generally includes the scupltor, character designer, the name of the series, the character's full name among many other details. All of this is missing in an Otaku Box figure, for example their Rias Gremory figures simply say "RIAS" on the box, with no other details. No doubt this is to try and get around copyright and licensing laws. This picture is from The Otaku Box's very own email promotion:
If you want to see the other sides of the box there's an unboxing here. Compare this to an authentic Rias Gremory figure box:
Note the use of the full name, "Rias Gremory", the High School DxD logo, even a section containing copyright information and the manufacturer on the back of the box. Once you see these, you'll notice that they are missing from any "original" or "exclusive" figure the Otaku Box produces. The Otaku Box's figures also tend to be based on illustrations by the artist caitaron, who is the source of a lot of art for their shirts, prints and stickers as well.
Because Otaku Box figures are unlicensed, they are manufactured to a low standard, unlike other companies like Good Smile or Banpresto who have to make sure that they are meeting the expectations of the anime creators when they make their figure. You also won't find them on sites such as MyFigureCollection, because they are worthless in the eyes of a real collector.
With all this in mind, here is a list of all the unlicensed figures The Otaku Box has made (note I'm only including details of who "owns" the rights to the anime, not manga or light novels):
February 2020
Rias Gremory - High School DxD
Studio: TNK
English Distributor: Funimation
January 2020
Rem - Re:Zero − Starting Life in Another World
Studio: White Fox
English Distributor: Crunchyroll
In this email from The Otaku Box, they show off the fact that this "hentai" figure with its upskirt nature shows off Rem's features and lack of underwear. I find this pretty weird, since in Re:Zero, Rem is 17 years old (she has her fair share of official risque figures, but none that are cast-off or with actual nudity, unlike a character like Rias Gremory who is canonically 19 years old).
December 2019
Shion - That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime
Studio: Eight Bit
English Distributor: Crunchyroll and Funimation
November 2019
Albedo - Overlord
Studio: Madhouse
English Distributor: Funimation and Madman Entertainment
October 2019
Raphtalia - Rising of the Shield Hero
Studio: Kinema Citrus
English Distributor: Crunchyroll
June 2019
So there you have it, and likely there will be more since they're advertising this Jibril figure at the moment (funnily enough there have been no announcements of any real figure manufacturers making it):
Expect to see a pinkish-purple box with some caitaron art and "JIBRIL" plastered on the side in next month's wave of unboxing videos...
Why Does it Matter?
Companies like Crunchyroll and Funimation pay a lot of money to distribute anime and sell merchandise in the West, a market that has been historically challenging due to the abundance of obstacles like illegal streaming websites and bootleg figures. They even have their own stores set up to sell legitimate figures of the shows they license here.
So for The Otaku Box to waltz in, thinking it can bypass these complex and expensive licensing deals, and produce their own figures, with no money going back to support the original creators of the anime or manga, is simply unfair. Additionally, official merchandise is one of the primary sources of income for a lot of anime studios, and The Otaku Box is greedily keeping this for themselves by skipping the licensing process. So by supporting The Otaku Box you're reducing the chance of that anime you like ever getting a second season!
They show off these figures in most of their advertising, so I hope it's only a matter of time until someone hits them with some kind of legal action.
So if you're thinking of subscribing to The Otaku Box, consider buying something official instead to support your favourite anime and the industry as a whole.
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