The Otaku Box "Unboxed": March 2020

Otaku Box March 2020 art by caitaron

First up a bit of background about The Otaku Box. I originally found out about the box after stumbling on YouTuber AnimePlz123 (he's really great, and you should check him out if you're into figure collecting), he had an unboxing video of this "hentai" subscription box. The first thing that immediately caught my eye was the bootleg Jeanne D'Arc figure that they included.

Comparing the Otaku Box version (left) to the real box (right), it's very apparent that this is not an official figure.

I couldn't believe what appeared like a legitimate subscription service was blatantly selling bootleg figures. Since then I've kept an eye on their boxes, and their business practices mainly haven't changed over the year since this first video. Watching videos of people unboxing these is pretty entertaining because of how consistently mediocre the stuff inside is, and how "influencers" will try and hype it up.

I haven't really done anything about it up until now, but being bombarded with ads on MyAnimeList, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and pretty much every other platform, as well as emails and text messages from "Liz" that have bordered on downright deceptive, has finally caused me to snap. So here it is: the first of hopefully many posts debunking exactly what is in an "Otaku Box", why you should avoid it and even some decent alternatives to buy if you want some genuine merchandise of your waifu or favourite anime series.

Disclaimer: I don't actually buy these boxes but instead source this content from the multitude of unboxing videos, both unsponsored and sponsored, that YouTubers will put out each month.

The Figure

This month they've included "NERO" with no details on the box. (Thanks to TKDono for the video)

I think this is actually the worst thing they've done in terms of including figures, because this box style is exactly the same as the "original" figures they've done in the past (figures that aren't copies of actual expensive scale figures out there, but unlicensed designs made by them). If you're not into figures you won't recognise this, but this is actually another Alphamax figure like Jeanne. The real box should look like this:

So they've once again included a knock-off figure, except this time they're packaging them in their own box to make them look like they've produced it themselves. They charge $15 USD for the privilege of receiving this fake figure, and I won't link to any here but you can definitely find this exact figure on sites like AliExpress for around that much, if not slightly less when you factor in shipping the rest of the stuff that comes in an Otaku Box.

One of the things I'm going to try and do in these posts is link to legitimate items you can buy instead, so let's say you really like Nero from Fate (good choice). The real version of this figure is pretty hard to find new, since it only came out in limited numbers in 2018 and hasn't been released since then. It also costs a bit over $100 USD even if you can find it, so let's look at something a little bit more within the price range of The Otaku Box.

So it turns out that finding cheaper figures of Nero is a bit harder, but it's doable. AmiAmi at the time of writing has this figure second-hand for about $15 USD in A grade, which effectively means it'll be in brand new condition.

Shipping will be a bit expensive since this is coming direct from Japan, but hey, don't buy the rest of the crap in an Otaku Box, the $25 + shipping you'll save will cover it with extra to spare on some other merch you actually want to collect. Plus now you actually have a genuine figure of your waifu! There are some other really nice figures of Nero if you have the cash, like this one coming in at a whopping $170 USD.

Conclusion: Fake Figure, "Worth" $15

The T-Shirt/Print

(The screenshot is from the YouTuber Degenerate Mainframe, he seems like a genuine guy unlike a lot of people who unbox these so chuck him a follow)

So first up we have a print and T-shirt of Formidable from the mobile game Azur Lane. The art is by the artist caitaron, whose art appears in a lot of these boxes. They posted the SFW version of this art late last year on Twitter https://twitter.com/caitaron/status/1200008523062497281. I think in order to get the NSFW version you'd have to subscribe to her on Patreon, but I'm not entirely sure. The print is a nice enough addition I will admit, I'd say it's worth about $5? You can still get wall-scrolls off AliExpress with better designs of any anime/character you like. The biggest issue personally for me is the shirt, exactly the same as the print, with it on both front and back (thanks to Wicked Garden)

Here's the thing, they charge $10 USD extra for the shirt each month (which a lot of their influencers fail to mention in their videos), AND you're not guaranteed to get the character you want, if you even like either of the options (at the moment it's between Weiss from RWBY and Yae from Honkai Impact, both options I'd rather miss). The quality is a bit hit and miss, made from some kind of weird synthetic activewear-like material, and to be honest just slapping the print on the shirt is a little weak.

One option if you want your own shirt is AliExpress, despite the licensing issues, the fact is if you want a cheap shirt of your waifu (J'alter <3), you can pick probably any character on the planet and have one shipped to you for less than 10 bucks.

It's the same lazy styling as the Otaku Box offers, you get to pick your character and not have to rely on some vote, and you can buy as many whenever you want, and it's cheaper! Both are being made in China and aren't official, so really what do you have to lose?

The better option though, in my opinion, is to support a local artist who designs their own shirts. There are some really great designs out there that actually look good, printed on good quality blanks. Some of my favourites are from Super Unofficial and Bakuretsu. They do cost a bit more, but I'd say its worth it to buy one good shirt that you like instead of several months from The Otaku Box. It's a matter of personal preference but I'd say a design that's actually had some thought put into how it would look as a shirt is way better than what the Otaku Box offers, like this design from Bakaretsu below.

The baller option is to go all out and buy direct from somewhere like Cospa in Japan, these are officially licensed but they cost a shit-ton of money, so it's not for the faint of heart or wallet.

Conclusion: Wall Scroll, $5; T-Shirt, $10

The Pen

That Time I Was Reincarnated As A Slime.... sword pen?

It doesn't take a serious Otaku to tell that this is some cheap, unofficial product, not worth the cost of shipping somewhere. This is worth like $2? I spent probably way too long looking at where to buy this and couldn't find it, other than some poor soul on eBay trying to sell his pen for $12. It's also really low quality since a lot of YouTubers who unboxed this took a pretty long time to get it to work.

If you really, really wanted an official version of something like this, there was a pen officially sold for like $5, the question of whether any pen is worth it is left to the reader.

Conclusion: Slime Pen, $2

The Sticker

Remember if you receive this box, you have no idea what you're going to get so if you don't like the character then tough luck. A quick search on RedBubble and AliExpress shows you can get stickers of this quality of Akeno for about $2-3.

It's a sticker of Akeno by the artist Sevie, personally I hate the art style but I guess it's alright as a sticker, if you want to support artists through better means there are a lot of sticker sellers out there like Never Content or buying direct off an Etsy, even check out if someone you like on Twitter sells their stuff, as I've never bought a box I can't comment on the quality of Otaku Box stickers but buying proper vinyl cuts of characters I like has never failed me yet.

I'll post one alternative Akeno sticker, found this on catchmydrift.jp, it's a sticker that actually sticks to the inside of a surface so it doesn't get worn out if you put it on your car or PC case window, but it is $7.50 since the quality is better.

Conclusion: Sticker, $3

The Face Mask

I think this is one of the worst items I've seen in one of these boxes, not only is it kinda insensitive and weird given the current situation, but given its cheap, Chinese origins I would not want to be breathing with that anywhere near my mouth. I've found similar masks on AliExpress for less than a dollar. I'm not even going to bother putting an alternative option for this one.

Conclusion: Mask, $1 (probably less)

The Card

Seriously what do they expect people to do with these? It's a bit of holographic cardboard, why not at least include a Pokemon card or something that can actually be used in a real card game.

Art is once again by caitaron like the shirt/print, and it's Mythra from Xenoblade Chronicles 2. It's not licensed, you can't use this to play a card game and good luck finding anyone to sell this to, so I'd say it's actually worthless. But for the sake of calculating the value of the box, let's say the cardboard is worth a dollar.

Conclusion: "Exclusive" card: $1

The Badge

Art is by sevie like the sticker, and it's Shera from How Not To Summon A Demon Lord. There's not much to complain about since it's a badge, but why not just buy one of your waifu and support an artist you really like, instead of relying on a random one from a box?

As far as cost goes, I know for a fact there are sites out there that let you make these exact style of badges with any art you want for 75 cents (let's round it up for shipping), so that gives you an idea of how much these cost for Liz to produce. Designing them is super easy, just look at my latest design:

Conclusion: Pin, $1

Total Value

And that's... it? Remember that you pay extra for the figure and shirt anyway, so you're not getting a lot for your money. Here's a price breakdown of "actual" value. These are just figures I have come up with so they may not be completely accurate, but also remember that you do not know what you will get when you order the box. Don't like Azur Lane? Tough luck buddy, you're getting the print anyway.

Breakdown:

Azur Lane Formidable Print: $5
Reincarnated as a Slime Pen: $2

Akeno Sticker: $3

SAO Mask: $1

Mythra "Collectible" Card: $1
Shera Badge: $1

This comes in at a grand total of $13 of value without extras! So how much do you have to pay Liz for the pleasure of opening the box? 30 dollars?!?

Yikes, so you're effectively paying more than double, you're down $17, for some loot and merch you don't even get to pick in advance. Again the shirt and figure that you see all the influencers on YouTube unbox costs extra, add those and the price goes up to a whopping $54.93 per month.

So not only is the merchandise in the box not official, in some cases it's blatant knock-offs of real figures like the Nero, and to be frank a lot of it is absolute crap that is just going to take up space.

Before you consider subscribing, please have a long hard think about whether these cheap, off-brand items are genuinely what you want in a subscription service that costs over $50 a month for the full package.

Don't fall for the overly enthusiastic YouTubers who are unboxing these, they are mostly paid off by The Otaku Box to spruik their boxes, there are better options available to collect genuine items and honestly this box is just a waste of money in general.

Bonus Rant About Liz's Fake Figures

The thing that really irks me about this box is the blatant disregard for IP and licensing that Liz has consistently shown when packaging figures. Assuming 25,000 otakus (like she claims), do in fact subscribe to the box, there is now a huge number of fake Nero figures in circulation with a lot of people who subscribe not knowing any better.

Other subscription services and Japanese goods sellers who ship internationally have to play by the rules and ensure their items are authentic, it is only because The Otaku Box is small in comparison to another service like AkiBento or LootAnime that they are getting away with this. Anime companies are generally very protective of their licenses so I think it's only inevitable that they will be taken down when they grow too big.

There are prize figures out there that Liz could have sourced for roughly $15, less if she negotiated for a bulk deal, from manufacturers like Taito, Sega or Banpresto. I know this because this is what other subscription services that do the right thing will do if they want to include a figure in their box. But they're greedy, and are duping their subscribers by including fake scale figures.

Some people will say "but you're only paying $15, no-one expects for a real Alphamax Nero to be in the box" but that's missing the point. If I started a subscription service called "The Fashion Box" and included a fake Louis Vuitton bag in every box, I would be crucified by legal teams worldwide, it's probably illegal and it's definitely something you could be sued for. It doesn't matter that I'm charging $15 for it, it’s simply not the right thing to do and other companies know that.

On top of this, a lot of subscribers probably don't know how to tell a figure is fake, or that $200 scale figures even exist. Liz is misleading her subscribers, and honestly someone's probably already sold off their Otaku Box figures to someone not realising they are fake, which could put the subscriber themselves in danger of legal action depending on how much they sell it for.

Thanks for reading this far, I hope you enjoyed my first rant about this box.