Tag: YumeTwins

YumeTwins Magical Moon Festival Box

YumeTwins Magical Moon Festival Box

What’s In the Box?!

YumeTwins was kind enough to send me their September 2022 box to review. This box’s theme is Magical Moon Festival. That means all the goods within the box connect to the Tsukimi (月見 / つきみ) holiday in some way. In case you aren’t familiar, tsukimi is the Japanese word for moon viewing.

If this is your first exposure to YumeTwins, it’s a monthly subscription box service. Every box has a different theme and comes with 5-7 items. This Magical Moon Festival box is my second YumeTwins box. Last year, they sent me their Magical Level Up box.

YumeTwins Magical Moon Festival Box
YumeTwins Magical Moon Festival Box

It’s time to answer the big question, what’s in the Magical Moon Festival box? This box includes the following:

  • Magical Moon Festival Booklet
  • Rilakkuma Dango Plushie
  • Rilakkuma Rabbit Candy Bottle
  • BT21 Cooky Magnetic Cable Wrap
  • Mt. Fuji and the Moon Sticky Notes
  • Kirby Japanese Pattern Stationery

Before getting into these items, I want to mention how the box itself has changed since last year. The Magical Moon Festival box is slightly smaller than the Magical Level Up box. But, the quality of the box increased. The cardboard is thinner, yet sturdier. The design on the box looks nicer. And their logo is actually reflective (though you can’t tell in the picture).

Something I like about YumeTwins is that the packaging itself is aesthetically pleasing. They’re not sending a boring brown or white cardboard box. That wouldn’t be very kawaii. They take the time to make the box look good.

Magical Moon Festival Booklet

Once again, the booklet that came with the YumeTwins box impressed me. Everything about these booklets is great. And I love how every box gets a unique logo that’s displayed on the cover of the booklet. The Magical Moon Festival logo is clean.

YumeTwins Magical Moon Festival Booklet
YumeTwins Magical Moon Festival Booklet

Inside the booklet, there are pages that describe the products found within the box. That’s great and all, but what makes these booklets so special are the other pages.

For example, there are 2 pages that explain what Tsukimi is, its origins, and how it’s celebrated. You’ll also notice that there are quite a few Rilakkuma products within this box. Well, the booklet also contains 2 pages explaining the character Rilakkuma.

Another page in the booklet tells the story of The Rabbit on the Moon. This page includes a blurb about something I’ve written about before. That’s the fact that Sailor Moon’s name, Usagi Tsukino, comes from this story. Unfortunately, there are no Sailor Moon products this time around.

Lastly, the booklet contains instructions for making your very own Tsukimi Dango. Now, I’m no chef, but these instructions seem easy enough that even I could make them. If I do, you’ll see it on Instagram.

Rilakkuma Dango Plushie

Rilakkuma Dango Plushie from the YumeTwins Magical Moon Festival Box
Rilakkuma Dango Plushie

Every YumTwins box comes with one item that’s a YumeTwins exclusive product. This month’s exclusive product is the Rilakkuma Dango Plushie. It’s 22cm (8.7in) long, making it the largest item found within the box.

There’s not really much else to say about this item. It’s a plushie, it’s cute, and it’s not edible despite being dango.

What I will say is that while this is an exclusive item, some months feature an original item instead. The Magical Level Up box I got last year included a YumeTwins original Magical Nyan Nyan Plush. And next month’s box includes an original Magical Nyan Nyan Halloween Plush.

Rilakkuma Rabbit Candy Bottle

The Rilakkuma Rabbit Candy Bottle is easily my favorite item from this month’s box. It’s a small, glass jar with a Rilakkuma character (bunny version) rubber stopper for a lid. There are also four possible characters you could get. These are Rilakkuma, Korilakkuma, Kiiroitori, and Chairoikoguma

Rilakkuma Rabbit Candy Bottle from the YumeTwins Magical Moon Festival Box
Rilakkuma Rabbit Candy Bottle

As you can see, I got the Rilakkuma bottle, which is actually the one I like the most. Kiiroitori seems like the best character. But, I think the Rilakkuma lid looks the best of the four options (shown in the booklet).

Something else I like about these lids is that the character’s legs are sticking out from the bottom of the lid too. This isn’t a Rilakkuma lid. Rilakkuma is the lid — or is at least stuck within the lid.

Oh, and since this is a candy jar, it actually comes filled with individually wrapped candy. They’re peach hard candies with Rilakkuma branding on them. I’m not much of a sweets person, but I tried one and they’re pretty alright. If you’ve had peach candy before, that’s what they taste like.

I’m not sure what I’m going to put in the jar once the candy runs out. But, it’s going to stay on my desk regardless of what I use it for.

BT21 Cooky Magnetic Cable Wrap

BT21 Cooky Magnetic Cable Wrap from the YumeTwins Magical Moon Festival Box
BT21 Cooky Magnetic Cable Wrap

Next, we have the BT21 Cooky Magnetic Cable Wrap. Apparently, Cooky is a character created by Jeon Jungkook of the K-pop group BTS. Don’t cancel me for this, but I know nothing about BTS. I’ve never heard a BTS song, and I probably never will.

I guess I could use this item to manage the cables in my office. Currently, I’m using binder clips to hold my cables together. But, the issue with using Cooky as intended is that he’d be behind my desk and out of sight. For now, I have him hanging off one of Rilakkuma’s bunny ears.

Mt. Fuji and the Moon Sticky Notes

Mt. Fuji and the Moon Sticky Notes from the YumeTwins Magical Moon Festival Box
Mt. Fuji and the Moon Sticky Notes

I know you’re supposed to use sticky notes to write things down. But, I think I’d have a hard time writing on and tearing off these Mt. Fuji and the Moon sticky notes. I’m the kind of person who doesn’t want to mess up how nice they look by using them.

The sticky notes are contained within a cover that has gold or silver foil stamping. Not only does this protect the notes inside, but it also makes it look nicer.

If you’re wondering why the moon is orange on these sticky notes, the booklet has an explanation. I wasn’t aware of this before, but in Japan, they view the moon as orange. The more you know.

Kirby Japanese Pattern Stationery

Kirby Seigaiha Wave Pattern Notebook from the YumeTwins Magical Moon Festival Box
Kirby Seigaiha Wave Pattern Notebook

The final item in the Magical Moon Festival box is a Kirby Japanese Pattern Stationery item. There were 3 possible stationery items to get. There’s a Kirby Dango Notebook, a Kirby Seigaiha Wave Pattern Notebook, and a Kirby Dango Drawstring Pouch.

As you can see, I got the Kirby Seigaiha Wave Pattern Notebook.

Before I went through the specific items in my box, I wanted the drawstring pouch. But, once I actually had the notebook in my hands, I realized I like it more than the pouch. I don’t have any use for the pouch. I do have uses for notebooks.

Conclusion

Once again, I had a great time opening my box from YumeTwins. Yes, the items within the box can be fun or even useful. But, for me, the best part about receiving a YumeTwins box is the experience of opening it. It’s fun.

The next box’s theme is Kawaii Halloween Party. So if you’re interested in that, you’ll want to subscribe to YumeTwins before October 15, 2022. And if you subscribe via one of the links on DoubleSama.com, you’ll be helping to support this blog.

If you enjoyed this review, remember to click the like button down below. Also, follow me on Twitter @DoubleSama so you don’t miss out on any future content. And come join our Discord server to discuss anime with other members of the community.

Finally, I’d like to thank Roman for supporting DoubleSama.com at the Heika tier this month. To learn more about how you too can become a supporter of this blog, check out Patreon.com/DoubleSama.

YumeTwins Magical Level Up Box Opening / Review

YumeTwins Magical Level Up Box Opening / Review

What is YumeTwins?

If you aren’t aware (I wasn’t until they reached out to me), YumeTwins is a subscription service that ships you a monthly box of kawaii goods straight from Japan. Each box comes with 5 – 7 items including plushies, stationery, and more.

Now, although I hadn’t heard of YumeTwins before, I had heard of TokyoTreat, which is another monthly subscription box service associated with YumeTwins. Some of the other associated services you may have heard of are Sakuraco and NoMakeNoLife.

YumeTwins monthly box of "kawaii" goods
YumeTwins monthly box of “kawaii” goods

Well, YumeTwins was kind enough to send me their November 2021 box, so today we’re going to take a look at what’s inside. This month’s box was “Magical Level Up” themed (that will make more sense in just a bit) and came with 5 items, including YumeTwins original and YumeTwins exclusive items

But before we get into the box, let me just say that I was impressed by the physical box itself. I don’t know if most people keep these boxes, but I am. It’s just like how I keep the boxes of all my anime figures despite the figures themselves going in a display case.

Magical Level Up!

Magical Level Up is the name of this box for two reasons. First, from my understanding, YumeTwins is launching a renewal of sorts of their service with this box. You could say they’re leveling up their game.

Second, in case you haven’t figured it out by now, the theme of this box is magical girls. And if there’s one thing I love, it’s magical girls. I grew up watching Sailor Moon, and Madoka Magica was the first anime I gave a perfect score of 10/10.

YumeTwins Magical Level Up box
YumeTwins Magical Level Up Box

Taking a look inside the box, the first thing that I was greeted with was a booklet about the Magical Level Up box. This might sound strange, but the booklet is actually my favorite item that came in the box.

Look, I appreciate a good booklet, what can I say? It’s extremely high-quality. The booklet details all of the items found in the box, highlights members of the YumeTwins team, shouts out members of the community, and also includes other miscellaneous pieces of information.

One cool part of the booklet is a two-page spread featuring a timeline of magical girl anime, starting way back in the 1960s with Sally the Witch. Maybe I should check that one out sometime.

Enough about the booklet, though. Let’s get into the actual goods.

Tuxedo Sam Sanrio Sweety Figure

Before receiving this box, I wasn’t very knowledgeable about Sanrio characters. Obviously, I knew Hello Kitty. But, I didn’t know the character whose Sweety Figure I got: Tuxedo Sam. He’s a penguin with a bowtie and a hat.

Tuxedo Sam Sanrio Sweety Figure from the YumeTwins Magical Level Up box
Tuxedo Sam Sanrio Sweety Figure

So, since I got this Tuxedo Sam figure, I decided to check out the other characters I could have gotten (all shown in the aforementioned booklet). There are 12 in total, and they’re all pretty awesome. Tuxedo Sam and Hangyodon are probably my favorite two.

This is the smallest item in the box. But, that doesn’t mean it’s bad. I actually like that it’s small because it means I can keep it on my desk without taking up any room.

“Twisted Wonderland” Notepads & Tin Case

Twisted Wonderland is apparently a mobile game made by Disney. I don’t have time to play another mobile game since I already devote all my waking hours to Fate/Grand Order. But, if you’re interested in a Disney mobile game with a seemingly all-male cast, this could be the game for you.

I honestly don’t know anything else about Twisted Wonderland; I’m just relaying what I understand about it from what the booklet told me.

Disney "Twisted Wonderland" notepads & tin case from the YumeTwins Magical Level Up box
“Twisted Wonderland” notepads & tin case

Anyway, the Twisted Wonderland item in the box is a tin case in the shape of a coffin (I hope that’s supposed to be a coffin) with two notepads inside. Of all the products in the box, this is the one I don’t really care much about.

I don’t particularly have a need for tiny notepads. The tin case is cool and I’m glad I got the lavender one because I prefer it over the other color options. But I also don’t really know what to do with it.

I guess I just appreciate information booklets more than stationary.

Sailor Moon Playing Cards

Now, the Sailor Moon playing card deck is definitely something I do know what to do with. While not my favorite item in the box, this is the one that I’m going to get the most use out of. Playing cards are great and so is Sailor Moon.

Sailor Moon playing cards from the YumeTwins Magical Level Up box
Sailor Moon playing cards

Here’s some “fun” DoubleSama lore for you: back in high school, my friends and I actually ordered custom decks of playing cards because we used them so much. So this deck of Sailor Moon cards is very welcome.

Also, going back to the booklet because of course I am, it has a page on how to play the Japanese card game of Daifugo. See? This is why I think the booklet is so cool.

Magical Nyan Nyan Plushie

Are you wondering what a Magical Nyan Nyan plushie is? Well, it’s a YumeTwins original item. It’s also a magical cat plushie, which you probably assumed by the name. Basically, it’s the YumeTwins version of Luna and Artemis from Sailor Moon.

Magical Nyan Nyan plushie from the YumeTwins Magical Level Up box
Magical Nyan Nyan plushie

The booklet aside, this plushie is my favorite item in the box. It’s cute, it’s soft, and it’s actually pinker than it appears in that picture. The lighting in my office doesn’t allow me to take pictures that do the Magical Nyan Nyan plushie justice.

It’s also a bit larger than you might expect considering the size of the box. That’s because it came within vacuum-sealed packaging that decreased the volume the plushie took up within the box. It was pretty fun to see it expand upon removing it from the packaging.

And just as with the Tuxedo Sam Sweety Figure, this plushie is going to be staying on my desk.

Cardcaptor Sakura Blanket

The final item in the box is probably the one that the majority of people would like the most. It’s a Cardcaptor Sakura Clearcard blanket that might be about 3 feet by 2 feet in size. It’s not a full-sized blanket, but it’s large enough to cover my lap in my office that currently doesn’t have working heat.

Cardcaptor Sakura blanket from the YumeTwins Magical Level Up box
Cardcaptor Sakura blanket

Of course, you can definitely use this blanket as a blanket. It’s extremely soft and comfortable. However, I think I’d like to hang it up on the wall at some point instead. In my mind, this is more of a display piece, unlike the Sailor Moon cards which are going to be used.

The one problem is that I actually haven’t seen Cardcaptor Sakura. I should probably do that before displaying a blanket of the series. And maybe after I watch it, the blanket will be my new favorite item from the box.

Conclusion

My final thought on my first YumeTwins box is that I’m impressed by the quality of the items as well as the presentation of the box. I wasn’t expecting it to be as much of an experience as it was. I figured it would just be some themed items thrown into a box and I was pleasantly surprised when it wasn’t.

Sure, I don’t have a use for all of the goods, such as the Twisted Wonderland notepads. But that doesn’t really take away from it for me. And on the other end of the spectrum, I also didn’t think I had a need for the Tuxedo Sam Sweety Figure. But now I kind of want the whole collection.

If you enjoyed this YumeTwins box review, you should probably check them out. The next box is All Purpose Bunny-themed. I don’t know what All Purpose Bunny is, but it looks amazing and I want it.

Also, you know, click the like button down below to show me you enjoyed the post. Follow me over on Twitter @DoubleSama so you don’t miss out on any future content. And, come join our Discord server if you’re interested in discussing anime, manga, and more with other members of the community.

Finally, I’d like to thank Roman for supporting DoubleSama.com at the Heika tier this month and YumeTwins for making this review possible by sending me a box. To become a supporter of this blog, go to Patreon.com/DoubleSama.

Check out my review of the Magical Moon Festival box.