[ComicGuy89]

This lovely toy just came in the mail!



It's none other than Heartcatch Precure's Kokoro Perfume! The one I have here is the Bandai Asia/Hong Kong version, which, as you can see, has different packaging from the original Japanese version:

Source: Toy-Toraya.com

For a long time I doubted the authenticity of this release because the packaging was so different. There was simply not enough information on this toy online (and this prompted me to write this review). However, enough research, including a video review, convinced me that this was similar to other Bandai Hong Kong releases of toys (such as their Super Sentai ones) where their actual toys are identical to the Japanese ones. Here's the back of the box:


Important manufacturing information:


Also, Toei's sticker of authenticity that they also have on their Japanese versions (with different colors). According to this, a "silver sticker with English lettering indicates that the figure has been exported by Bandai for international markets (be it for remaining Asia, Europe or America)". Sorry, I couldn't get a good shot because it was so reflective, but in person it's sharp and well-printed:


One interesting thing about the Bandai Asia release is that in addition to Chinese, the instructions are in English! It definitely helped a lot learning how to play with the toy:


As for the toy itself, it is amazing! Have no fear, everything is in Japanese with the original voices! The toy includes the henshin sounds for both Cure Blossom and Cure Marine. What happens is that putting the Heart Seed in and pressing the spray nozzle will give you the phrase "Precure! Open my heart!" followed by a short snippet of that awesome soundtrack. A gorgeous array of lights flash in succession. This is finished off with either Blossom's or Marine's catchphrase.

Aside from that, the toy also comes with a bunch of little games that utilize the 5 extra Heart Seeds given to you. Each colour of the Heart Seed corresponds to a "power". As an example, Red will have a phrase saying you've been given the power of speed (I think, I'm just reading off the instructions ). The Orange seed gives you a memory game where you have to determine how many times Coffret says "Yes" and press the nozzle accordingly.



One cool feature is that the toy makes lights and sounds when you shake it, imitating the sloshing sounds in a perfume bottle. This is used to great effect in what's called a mixing game, where putting two different Heart Seeds one after the other allows you to "mix" the colours until a new color is formed! For example, when you put Red and Blue together and mix them, the toy glows Red, then Blue, then Red again over and over until suddenly it becomes Purple!

Heck, Purple unlocks yet another game which is like a lucky colour game, but I'm not really sure how that works nor am I really that interested. Seems a bit like a magic 8-ball kind of thing except with colours.

Alright here's a final picture with everything contained in the box:


You may notice that the Heart Seeds are not accurate to the show. The toy gives more variety to them, with different designs and mascots on each. Personally I don't mind, it gives them a lot more character.

What else can I say? This is a great henshin device that is quite accurate to the show in both functionality and look. The amount of play features is astonishing for what looks like such an unassuming toy and they're perfectly integrated. Giving 5 additional Heart Seeds just feels so generous, especially when they could just as easily sell them separately. Whether you want something that looks great on your shelf or a fun toy to mess around with, I'd definitely recommend picking this up!

Here's a link to my gallery with all the images I've taken and a bit more in hi-resolution: http://imgur.com/a/nndmt

Feel free to ask any questions! I'm sure a video review is more informative than this to demonstrate the play features, but I hope I can be of a little help. Until then, "PRECURE, OPEN MY HEART!"