Classic Clamp anime series has its home video release recreated in mini charm form.
Japan has a lot of capsule toys, and a whole bunch of those are stocked with anime items. Even though anime has become a medium that fans increasingly consume digitally, it makes sense that there should still be a desire for something that serves as a tactile connection to their favorite characters and series, such as a figure or pin.
But as veteran anime fans can tell you, there was a time when one of the purest physical manifestations of otaku passion was the physical media itself, in the form of an anime’s home video release. We’re not just talking Blu-rays and DVDs here, either. When modern anime fandom was starting to take shape, enthusiasts’ shelves were lined with cassette tapes, which brings us to our latest capsule toy purchase: mini anime VHS replicas.
It’s toymaker Bandai who came up with this idea, and for their muse they picked an iconic series from the golden age of anime VHS releases, 1994’s Magic Knight Rayearth.
Each of the toys is a scaled-down reproduction of a cassette case for one of the first seven volumes of the series, featuring splashy illustrations of character designer Atsuko Ishida’s unforgettable adaptations of original manga creative team Clamp’s artwork. Chain ball straps mean that in addition to desk decorations, they can function as bag straps or keychains too.
▼ The covers are all gorgeous, but the best, obviously, are the ones featuring water-based magic knight Umi.
Though there’s a Rayearth anime remake currently in the works, new merch for the ‘90s version is a rare find, and at just 300 yen (US$2) a pop, this is an instant buy for anyone who’s had opening theme “Yuzurenai Negai” stuck in their head for a decade-plus.
Even by capsule toy standards, these are pretty compact, so I decided to wait until I got home to open it up and snap some photos, but I had a pretty good idea as to which version I’d gotten.
Yep, I’d hit the jackpot with the cover for Volume 1, with all three of the Rayearth heroines, Hikari, Umi, and Fuu!
The case comes wrapped in plastic to prevent any scuffs or scratches as the capsule drops out of the machine, and its accompanied by a black-and-white pamphlet with images of all the possible covers plus the customary warnings against eating the toy.
The level of detail is really incredible. This is exactly what the Japanese-region VHS home video releases for Rayearth looked like, and Bandai didn’t stop at just the front cover either. Not only do you have Rayearth written in Japanese (レイアース) on the spine…
…the text and screenshots of the back cover are faithfully reproduced too!
▼ Though if you’re a fan with nostalgia from watching the series during its initial broadcast run, your eyes might not be up to the task of reading this very fine print.
▼ For a sense of scale, here’s the strap next to a PlayStation 5 controller.
And guess what? We still haven’t got to one of the coolest things about the design…
…which is that you can actually open the case up…
…and inside…
…is a replica of the VHS cassette itself!
Once again the details are excellent, with even the sticker that went along the edge of the cassette recreated.
The fidelity to the original case and cassette designs make the Magic Knight Rayearth Video Tape Miniature Charm Collection, as the line is officially called, a joyous trip down otaku memory lane for old-school fans, and for those who came to the hobby in the post-VHS era, it’s a cool glimpse back at the way anime used to be collected, presented, and shared. And if you’re a media historian who’s saying “Hey, the Japanese VHS release of Rayearth had more than just seven volumes,” you are indeed correct, and also in luck, because Bandai is referring to the batch as “Magic Knight Rayearth Video Tape Miniature Charm Collection 01,” implying that more capsule toy straps are one the way eventually.
Photos ©SoraNews24
Magic Knight Rayearth ©Clamp, Kodansha, TMS
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