April 2016 Loot Anime Subscription Box Review & Coupons: Music

Loot Anime is a monthly subscription box from Loot Crate, just for Anime and Manga fans! Every month you’ll get $60 worth of figures, collectibles, manga, apparel, accessories and more.

This month’s theme is Music!

It’s been said that music is a universal language, so it’s no surprise that it turns up in anime and manga as well. Loot Anime brings some interesting picks in this month’s box!

I love how well designed Loot Crate Boxes are! This one looks like a small boombox!

Even the inside of the box looks amazing!

Everything in the April 2016 MUSIC crate!

The poster was skillfully drawn by Hanh Chu and features Loot’s original character both creating and enjoying music.  The same artwork that appears on the key chain can be seen in several places on the poster and ties in everything beautifully.

All the goodies in the box is printed in this information card.

Your Lie In April Manga by Naoshi Arakawa

Your Lie in April is a story that truly captures the spirit of music- or rather; it desperately tries to show us this.  At the age of 12, piano prodigy Kosei Arima loses his instructor and mother.  Unable to bear this, he has a mental breakdown while playing at a recital and for two years neither touches the piano nor views life with any kind of vibrancy.   A whimsical and brilliant violist named Kaori Miyazono changes all of that, however, by showing him that music should be free and from the heart.  Volume one of this moving story is offered in this month’s box with exclusive cover art.

Loot Anime Labs Music Phone Charm

Loot decided to give their phone charm new life in this box and made it interactive with their app, Word Gush.  This game is downloadable for iOS and Android and is a trivia game that features music as well as other topics like movies, video games, superheroes and allows you use multiple modes of play like charades, team verses and hum-a-tune.  A player chooses a ‘deck’ of questions and then holds the phone up so that only team members can see it.  The person must then guess at the answer through the clues offered by those who can see the phone.  More decks are available for in app purchase.  Scanning Loot anime’s key chain gives you access to an anime deck and soundtrack so that you can play on your knowledge of animation and manga.  While Loot’s anime keychains are nice, it was good to see it being made more relevant in this box.  

Gourmandise Show by Rock Earbuds

Show by Rock was first released as a rhythm video game for the iOS and Android platform and then wa later given an anime adaptation.  The animated story plot follows a shy and musically talented Cyan Hijirikawa who is sucked into a popular music app on her phone and transported to another world where those who wield music control everything.  After saving a band from a mysterious monster in this new world called Midi Town, Cyan is invited to join a recording agency.  The rest of the story details the antics of their work in the music industry of Midi Town, their fight against the forces of darkness, and the ever present question of how to get Cyan back to her own world.   The cool factor of the headphones jump a notch upon discovering that they have never before been released in the U.S.. The retractable mechanism is easy to use and works well making annoying cord tangles a thing of the past.  The sound is decent with a strong bass; the tenor, however can wash out a little, so expect a loss of quality where strong and high pitched vocals are concerned.  All-in-all though these compact headphones are a great and quality item!

Ripple Junction Hypersonic Music Club Shirt

Hypersonic Music club is an ongoing webcomic created by Patrick Macias and illustrated by Hiroyuki Takahash for Crunchyroll.  The story is set in a world where technology is at its limits and a group of cyborg girls battle interdimensional demons for control of the strange force known as the Master Frequency.  The shirt features both protagonists and antagonists from the series and as usual, is very nice quality.  

Just Funky Hatsune Miku Travel Blanket

Hatsune Miku is a popular vocaloid character in Japan.  A vocaloid is a singing voice synthesizer.   An original voice actor or singer contributes voice samples and then the program acts to add or change various components of voice such as vibrato and tone.  Vocaloids are basically sold as a ‘singer in a box’ and are meant to act as a replacement for an actual singer.  Miku was one of the first vocaloids and remains a very popular ‘artist’ making appearances in rhythm video games such as Hatsune Miku : Project Diva and even concerts where a projected image allows fans to put a face to the voice they love.  The blanket is very cute and shows our vocaloid diva sitting amongst various toys playing instruments.  The pastel colors look great on the dark background and both sides are soft.  This isn’t a thick blanket nor is it overly large (more of a lap blanket), but it is adorable and a welcome item from Loot.  The blanket is missing a signature item, however:  Miku is typically seen with a leek or more properly a negi (Japanese green onion) which brings us to our next item….

Tokidoki Vocaloid X tokodoki Lanyard

Tokidoki (meaning ‘sometimes’ in Japanese), is a Japanese-inspired lifestyle brand by Italian designer Simone Legno and his business partners.  They are well known for their cute and various blind boxes featuring figures such as unicorns, spikey cats, and milk cartons.  They team up with Miku to give us this soft lanyard featuring various vocaloid characters in cute and vibrant Tokidoki style.  The lanyard is colorful and comfortable and attaches to a clear pouch so that you can proudly display your groupie status!   

Loot Anime Labs Light-Up Leek Plush

These odd little lovelies are typically passed out at Hatsune Miku concerts in Japan resulting in a green sea of them waving in time to the songs.  The association between Miku and the leek (onion) apparently originated from a parody of a meme involving a Bleach anime character called Orihime. 

In one scene, Orihime twirls a leek, much to the collective glee of the internet.  Fan creativity took off resulting in many spin-offs including a parody in which Orihime is leek-twirling to a Finnish polka song.  Miku was substituted by some adoring fan and the polka song was eventually vocalized by Miku herself.  And the leek?  Well, the leek stuck.  So now fans wave light up versions at concerts and they appear randomly in subscription boxes!  You’re welcome.

https://youtu.be/af84ASGmMHQ&rel=0

Have you tried Loot Anime? What did you think about the MUSIC crate?

Visit Loot Anime to subscribe or find out more! Save 15% on any subscription plan when you use this link and coupon code HELLOSUBSCRIPTION15.  HELLOSUBSCRIPTION.The box cut-off is on the 27th – see Loot Anime spoilers here. Please note that this box has sold out every month – and some shirt sizes before others.