HAPPY TAMAVERSARY! Smart Anniversary Party Set
It's November 23, so you know what that means...new Anniversary Tamagotchi to celebrate the market release date of the original Tamagotchi 26 years ago! Once again we have a Smart set, though it's a bit more lavish and readily available than last years.
To recap, last year the white Tamagotchi Smart was available via lottery on Bandai's exclusive shopping site Premium Bandai and shipped at the very end of August 2022 (close to 3 months before the general release of the coral pink, mint green, and NiziU versions). It includes the 1997 Friends TamaSma Card that lets you raise 4 classic characters (Mametchi, Kuchipatchi, Nyorotchi, Oyajitchi) in their 1996 monochrome pixel stylings along with playing the good old "Left or Right" game. Come to think of it, I wrote a post about the unboxing!
Anyway, this year's theme is Anniversary Party, plus it's available at general retail so more fans will be able to get their hands on it. Let's see how it looks next to last year's package.
IT'S BIG! The added length and depth comes entirely from the character book added as a bonus. (For those who've never opened a Smart, it's a VERY tight fit in there!)
On one side of the package you've got your special artwork...last year's mimicked the original P1 Japanese packaging, while this year's features a big old party with cake, balloons, plus all the Smart adults and the 10 included on the TamaSma Card, including Ginjirotchi who was picked by fans in a poll a few months back! This year's is much more in line with the modern Tamagotchi branding...I personally remain a fan of the classics.
Character Special Book? Check. Anniversary Party TamaSma Card? Check. Smart unit and wristband? Check. Instruction booklet and charging cable? Check and check. (Between my Vital Bracelets and my Smarts I'm swimming in these tiny cables!)
Now let's get a look at the actual unit.
Oh that is SPARKLY! A gorgeous glittery gradient makes up the "faceplate", with the new Tamagotchi logo screened in white on the clear cover. Matched with the purple of the unit it's a true visual treat.
Taking a look at the unit without the wristband, it's an opaque cool purple shell. I'd call it closer to periwinkle than lilac if we're going by Crayola crayon colors. The printed buttons around the Home button aren't a perfect color match, having a bit more red to them. It bothers me a bit but honestly I'm so busy staring at the sparkles I doubt I'll care much once this review is gone.
The wristband itself has a jelly-like opacity to it but feels no different from the standard strap. The clasp is a slightly darker purple that matches the unit's Home button, and features no printing.
As for the Special Character Book...?
It's a bit smaller than the books that have been released so far. I thought it would be similar to the character introduction section of January's "Special Book", but it's actually BETTER!
While the Special Book used the blue-outline "modern" art for classic characters up until the Connection series, this book uses the original artwork from "back in the day". Pixels and personality galore! Plus they have full rosters for Angel, Garden, Ocean, Devil, and Yasashii, which were only covered briefly in the special book.
PLUS it's got character descriptions for EVERYONE, even the funky dudes who were exclusive to Data CardDass cards and random town residents who I'm not sure have ever been featured like this before!
All non-collab (NiziU, Sanrio, Molcar, One Piece, Pixar) SmaCard characters are included up to September's Magical Change as well. (The Anniversary Party characters are introduced pretty early on, plus they were all in past versions anyway.)
The inner covers also feature past series art including the original package, 20th anniversary art, and more!
I wasn't expecting so much love and care to go into a such a small volume, but I've gotten a real sense that whoever is in charge of Tamagotchi cares greatly about the history of the brand. Professor Banzo and Mika-Chu even give a send-off on the back cover, thanking us for 25 years and hoping we'll continue to stick with them going forward.
Overall, a great set sure to please even the most nitpicky of fans. Here's to another 25 years!
izzy806
romaincrisis
pixelskylines
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