Yotsuba&! Danbou Amazon.co.jp Box Edition Review

Yotsuba&! Danbou Amazon Edition

If you’ve been buying your stuff online for years you probably, and awkwardly, consider Amazon to be your friend. But what would you say if I told you you can own Amazon and have it standing on your shelf? Introducing the creepy cute Yotsuba&! Danbou (cardboard box) – Amazon.co.jp Box Edition!

Before we begin the review let’s line up the facts. The Yotsuba&! Danbou is modeled after a costume Ayase Fuka wears in Yotsuba&! so technically this figure is a “she”. The original version of this figure was a non-scale 130mm tall Revoltech figure. That figure had lots of articulations and you could remove the cardboard head to reveal Fuka inside. It also had a switch that would cause the figure’s eyes to light up (it uses batteries).
The Amazon.co.jp edition (hereafter refered to as Danbou) was conceived with the idea of using Amazon boxes as the building blocks for the costume. This was a joint project between Revoltech and Amazon and the figure was sold exclusively via Amazon Japan. I bought one during my visit in Japan and thought it’s so peculiar it must be reviewed. I wonder if Jeff Bezos knows his company is selling such a thing…probably not.

Unlike its big cousin Danbou is a 88mm dwarf. This figure, put simply, is weird. She can be cute at times and creepy at others. The really neat thing about it is how it retains the symbols and barcodes you can find on a real Amazon box.

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Upon closer inspection Danbou can appear a bit crude. Some might say this stems from low quality but I suspect this was intentionally made to give her the boxy look of a real battered commercial box.

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Like its bigger cousin Danbou’s eyes can glow. A tiny switch on the left of the box controls the light. It does use a battery, but one is already provided with this set. Just don’t forget to remove the small safety strip found near the neck

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Danbou comes in a tiny Amazon box. This is in fact the box for the figure. This tiny Amazon box actually comes inside a bigger (standard) Amazon box! Here’s a comparison shot I took:

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The figure comes with a stand and a “Revo Container” (a tiny box for extra parts. This figure has no extra parts). However Danbou is very smart and can stand on her own. Danbou fits pretty well alongside other figures from her size category. Here’s a shot of her alongside the Hatsune Miku Nendoroid Petite and the Squall Leonhart Final Fantasy Trading Arts Kai Mini:

Yotsuba&! Danbou Amazon Edition Nenoroid Petite and Arts Kai Mini Comparison

Just like the Nendoroid Petite and Arts Kai Mini series Danbou’s posing potential is very limited. She can only move her arms up to shoulder length and can barely move her legs a little forward. Her head can move a bit up or down, but that’s about it. Obviously she has no hands, so she can’t grip anything. By the way have you notices a striking similarity between Danbou and a certain popular game franchise?

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Yeah. Danbou is basically a mini creeper! With a bottle or two of color spray you can potentially transform this figure into some of the characters from Minecraft.

So what do I ultimately feel about my tiny Danbou? This figure is a really cool novelty item. I’ve been using Amazon’s services for more than 10 years now so I do like the branding and think the idea behind the figure is hillarious. I can’t really play with Danbou, but she sure looks creepy cute on my shelf and that’s why I love her!
Yotsuba&! Danbou – Amazon.co.jp Box Edition is out of print but can still be found on auction sites or bought from other sellers on its official Amazon Japan page. A non-scale plastic kit of this thing is also coming along in December, but the plastic kit’s features might differ from the one I reviewed here (and remember – plastic kits usually arrive unpainted so it won’t have the cool Amazon symbols on it). If you are interested in the plastic kit, for the sake of creating your own creeper if nothing else, you can order it for super cheap here.

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Here’s a picture of Danbou interacting with a furry friend of her. This is where I intended to end this review but as I left the camera rolling and exited the room for a while something unexpected happened.

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It seems my real dog Richard has found a new friend. Wait a second…

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No, Richard, no! Leave poor Danbou alone! Bad doggie! Bad Doggie!

 


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