Product:  One Piece Phone Charm: Nami Product Type:  Mobile Phone Charm Manufacturer:  Unknown Suggested Retail Price (SRP):  £3 Purchased from:  Neon Martian Rarity:  Common Reviewer:  Tom (Webmaster)

Phone charms, those dangly keyring things which you attach to your mobile phone, are not popular in the UK.  You occasionally see a small range available in shops, but these will unlikely be of cartoon characters but instead 'lifestyle' objects or the last Crazy Frog type character.  There are some cutesy ones available, but they are limited.  Not so in Japan, where you can buy phone charms of anime characters, foodstuffs, landmarks, sports mascots and much more.  Their popularity as part of Japanese pop-culture has bled into the UK anime scene, with fans showing off their fandom in, what could be called, a unique fashion.  I succumbed to this odd practice of dangling objects from you mobile when I acquired a charm of the character Nami from One Piece. 
 

On first impression, this charm does look good.  It shows the character in chibi form and wearing a blue bikini top and white mini-skirt.  The outfit is well detailed despite its size, with pockets, earrings and logpose (a navigation device from One Piece) all clear and visible.  The face is similarly impressive, with well realised features making it instantly recognisable as Nami. 

I attached this charm to my mobile over a year ago and it is still there.  The string hasn't snapped, but unfortunately the charm itself has suffered from some wear & tear.  Not only has some of the paint flaked off, it has also become surprisingly dirty.  You will be amazed how much dirt accrues on charms over a long period, but accrue it does giving Nami a five o'clock shadow.  I have attempted to clean it, but I just can't shift the dirt which has become stubbornly worn-in.  The build-up of dirt isn't the charm's fault though and it does still look good despite it.  I'm impressed that the charm has lasted as long as it has frankly, given that it is essentially a gashapon on a string. 

Also worth noting is that you can dangle your mobile by holding that charm (whilst the charm

is attached to your mobile of course), which is quite useful if you keep you mobile in your pocket.  The charm also distinguishes your mobile, giving an individual touch that is far less annoying then a customised ringtone. 

Although this phone charm is essentially a useless item, I've become quite accustomed to it.  Yes it is worn and old now, but so is my mobile and the charm is now part of that mobile.  It also says a lot more about my personality then my mobile does.  In my opinion the mobile phone charm is just as much an otaku fashion accessory as anime-based jewellery, wallets, bags and other apparel.  I'll certainly be buying another when I get my next mobile, I'll just make sure to clean it often so it doesn't get a dirt beard like little ol' Nami did. 


Extras:

Nothing I'm afraid.  Just hang it on your mobile and dangle away. 

Ratings

Feature:   Extras: n/a
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