Loot Anime August 2016 Subscription Box Review & Coupons: BACK TO SCHOOL

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.

In celebration of their new partnership with Crunchyroll, Loot Anime’s theme of the month is BACK TO SCHOOL. This pairing of two fantastic names in the anime community means better access and discounts for all otaku alike. When you link your paid Crunchyroll account with your Loot Anime account you will save $5 every month!

I love how well designed Loot Crate Boxes are! This box turned into a desk with accessories!

The information poster shows a list of all the Anime goodies in this box.

Everything in the August 2016 Back To School crate!

This well-stuffed box ensures that the arrival of a new school year will be anything but uneventful! This is all the items unpacked from the original packaging.

Art Illustration by Christine K. Yang

As always, LA does a great job recruiting talent to present their mascot in the current theme of the box.  Christina K. Yang’s other wonderful art is available for your viewing pleasure on Facebook as well as on Deviant Art.

Fruits Basket Figure Keychain Set ($4.43 each)

Gachapon machines are addictive primarily because a whole set of their offered capsule toys can be difficult to collect. That’s why this month’s next item is a most generous addition for subscribers! Our box included an entire set of capsule toy figures from the anime, Fruits Basket!

The adorable toys  represent main characters, Tohru, Kyo, Yuki, and Hatsuharu with all (except for Tohru) wearing their  representative hats and posing in character. When Tohru is orphaned by her mother’s death and driven  out of her grandparent’s house by bad treatment, she finds the most unlikely of sanctuaries with the  Sohma family. She ends up being the best thing that ever happened to them, though, when she  discovers their shocking secret and sets out to break the curse that haunts them.

The figures are cute and well made.

Loot Anime BACK TO SCHOOL Phone Charm.

Show your support for the new school season as well as LA by sporting this cute dangle. Shaped like a  notebook, it can either be displayed as a phone charm, or, more recently, even clipped to a key ring or bag zipper (the phone charm now features a lobster clasp). The charm is also visible at the bottom of the poster as a notebook laying on a desk.

Digimon Adventure tri Print Set

Digital Monsters, or as it has come to be better known, Digimon, is a popular Japanese franchise that  encompasses a large range of media including, trading cards, films, anime, and manga just to name a  few. Digital creatures exist in a parallel universe created by the various communications networks on  Earth. Tamers capture, raise, and fight with these monsters against evil, both human and monster alike,  that seek to destroy the Digital World. In honor of the series’ recent 15th anniversary and the new six part film series, Digimon Adventure Tri, Loot Anime has given subscribers three high quality art prints.  The pictures are gorgeous and the card stock has the feel of a thick and firm washi paper. I have  previously not been a huge fan of Digimon, but these prints are too pretty not to display! The original  Digimon series as well as the new Digimon Adventure Tri are available for your viewing pleasure on  Crunchyroll- remember that a subscription to Loot Anime also gives you an immediate discount when you link your Premium membership from Crunchyroll! Watch all the animes!

Danganronpa Cosplay Tie

The eerie world of Danganronpa reminisces of Battle Royal with its ‘kill or be killed’ mentality. Fourteen of the best students from all walks of life are chosen to attend the illustrious Hope’s Peak Academy.  Along with these, a student distinctly their opposite in the realm of gifts and talents is chosen by a lucky lottery to also attend. The main protagonist of the series, Makoto Naegi, is this last throw in, and is confused when on the first day, he passes out, only to wake again to the reality of the school’s true  sinister nature.

The students are introduced to Monokuma, a disturbing animatronic bear composed of  two distinct personalities. These two moods are dramatically and visually represented by the bear’s  physical appearance with half of him being white and looking like a normal teddy bear, and the other  being black and having a sinister smile. Monokuma informs the students that they can never again leave  the school unless they graduate- a grisly milestone achieved only by solving the murder of one their  classmates, or by killing a classmate and getting away with it!

One by one, a student is found slaughtered and the task falls to the rest to find the killer. Solve the murder, and the murderer is killed  in a very messy manner. Fail to solve the murder, and the killer goes free while the rest of the students  are killed. The pressure is on in this dark anime with the ‘ungifted’ Makoto unexpectedly rising to the  top. Our pencil-thin tie included in the box is a replica of the one worn by the main antagonist of the series, Junko. It is well made and the fabric is what you would expect of a regular neck tie. Wear it with despair! Er, I mean, pride!

Assassination Classroom Whiteboard

Keep notes on up-coming tests and creepy teachers alike with this personal-sized chalk board from the hit manga and anime series, Assassination Classroom. The main characters of this quirky story are students taking on a course load that most people would expect….all except for that extra class about the fine art of assassination. To make things even weirder, that class is being taught by the very same  person that these students have been tasked to kill: Koro Sensei!

With the fate of the very world resting on their shoulders and the hunted teaching the art of the hunt, one would think that the task would be  an easy one, but Koro is seemingly invincible and actually becomes the best teacher, both of academia  and life, that any of these students have ever had! The chalkboard is a simple, but adorable affair with a white chalk marker and eraser clipped to its side.

The grinning face of Koro Sensei doesn’t leave a huge  amount of room to write on, but with the swappable magnets that can change his mood in a minute,  you really won’t mind. The marker erases cleanly with the provided eraser or your finger, and the whole  board is displayable either by using the string on the back to hang it, or by leaning against its collapsible  stand.

Persona 3 Manga Vol. 1

The gods at Loot Anime work their magic yet again by being the first to bring this exclusive soft cover manga to the U.S. market. Initially developed as a console game, Persona 3 is the fourth installment of the Persona series and follows students who battle monsters in what is known as the Dark Hour, or the little-known space between days. The students battle by summoning a projection of their inner selves.

These so called Personas are released when a student fires a gun-like object called an Evoker at their  own heads. This one of a kind addition is well drawn, with some color artwork as well.

Revolutionary Girl Utena Bento Box

One thing that I personally enjoy about Loot Anime is the fact that its curators have no hesitation in honoring the older or more unique anime and manga. Revolutionary Girl Utena is aptly named. The story tells of a girl who wants to be a prince like the one who rescued her when she was a child and of her ensuing struggles as she seeks to protect and ultimately free a friend from her fate. Directed by Kunihiko Ikuhara (the same director of Sailor Moon), this shojo anime was groundbreaking for its high use of allegory and also for its surreal and metaphysical flavor. More questions tend to be raised than answered after watching this series, yet it remains a fond staple in anime history.

The bento box is a  charming addition as one of the main characters, Anthy, tends to make food for others in the series.  The box itself is two-tiered with a handy divider in the bottom and a strap to keep the containers secure.  The lid features Utena and Anthy, as well as the rest of the student council and a pair of plastic chopsticks is attached to the lid of the first container. The kanji on the side reads the series name,  Shojo Kakume Utena” (Revolutionary Girl Utena). For use, a label on the bottom declares the bento to be top rack dishwasher safe, microwave safe, and warns that some foods may stain when heated.

Have you tried Loot Anime? What did you think about the BACK TO SCHOOL crate? 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!

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