Boku No Trends: A New Underdog in the Indian Anime Store Race

 Disclaimer: This is not a sponsored content. This is an honest review of bokunotrends.com

My love and passion for superheroes, gaming, science fiction and anime have inspired both my wardrobe & nerd collection. As a geek, I've always been on the lookout for both rare and fun collectible items.

But for a long time, I couldn't afford these merch as these items have always come at a premium— of course, with the exception of poor quality goods but WHO really wants that? Right? I've only collected what was in my reach— tshirts, a couple of knock-off keychains, stationary as a kid— that kind of stuff.

But a couple weeks ago, as I was scrolling ceaselessly through my instagram feed. That's when something popped-up— this reel that showcased some of the most iconic katanas from my favorite anime series— reinvented as little collectible replicas. And I WANTED THEM.

The reel showcased the iconic Flame Hashira Kyojuro Rengoku's Nichirin Katana, Love Hashira Mitsuri Kanroji's Whip-katana, the iconic comic relief and Thunder Breathing Newbie Zenitsu's Yellow Nichirin—all from my little sister's first & favorite anime Demon Slayer (Kimetsu no Yaiba). My eyes sparkled as I could see all 4 of One Piece's iconic green-haired swordsman Roronoa Zoro's katanas. They had Enma, Yubashiri, the cursed Sandai Kitetsu and even the legendary Shusui! They had so much more! 

I wanted to buy them! I wanted to add these mini katanas to my collection. But as any Indian, I had my apprehensions. The page that was promoting this reel was a new brand. It was a name that I hadn't heard before. The logo looked familiar but I wasn't sure. It's pretty risky to trust online shopping websites in India other than the popular ones like Amazon or Flipkart— and people get scammed even there.

The photography and editing of this reel didn't help their case either. I could see that it wasn't shot with any pro equipment or edited by a professional.

BUT I WANTED TO OWN THESE KATANAS.

So like any responsible adult, I decided to just browse their website & try to check if they're legit or not. It looked pretty decent. Hell, I'd say it looked on par with a lot of the household name such as Bewakoof and Red Wolf.

The page design was simple, all buttons and links worked, they had a secured domain address and I saw many anime influencers such as Anish Bane collaborating with them on instagram, PokeUltraD on youtube, among a few others. This was a positive trust signal for me. I also saw that they were providing payment options such as Cash on Delivery and 0 fee EMI. Read that again: I could buy these mini katanas on EMI. That too, financed by Simpl— which is one of India's great BNPL companies.

So I let that nerdy kid inside take over and add a mini Rengoku katana keychain, & a 25cm Zoro's collectible Sandai Kitetsu to my cart. I quickly signed up on Simpl, applied a 10% off discount code (KONICHIWA10) and chose the 3 month, 0 EMI plan. Oh, and I got Free Shipping. 

I was still a little hesitant about making the purchase but I knew with Simpl as the mediator, I can always hold them responsible or seek their support if things went south. 

It took the package 5 days to arrive from the date of order but I had received the tracking link through email so I knew where my parcel was at all times. The swords arrived and when I opened that package, it was PURE JOY. These items looked so great! The quality was amazing, the swords locked into their sheath perfectly, and I could feel the coldness of the metal in my hands. 

I got all this for about ₹700. Let that sink in.

A 14 cm (yes, I measured) katana keychain and a collectible 25 cm miniature katana with its own stand that sits high on the top shelf of my room along with my Naruto figurines. I got both these items at, with discounts, at just 710 Rs. 

Remember that geek inside who was always angry he couldn't find an affordable anime merch just a couple years ago? He's happy. I'm happy.

I browsed their website a little more later on and found out they also sell mini Ninja Kunai from Naruto. Browsing even more: I found out that these people also sell anime clothing items such as hoodies and t-shirts, daily use items such as printed coasters for your coffee/tea mugs, and these cute little bobble heads.

I was finally able to find good, high quality and affordable anime merch in India. Or at least that was my initial thought. When I googled for some of the products they were selling, I was able to find cheaper alternatives as well. But a lot of the times, I saw that either the website was suspicious & it was a little hard to verify their authenticity, the items were out of stock (probably why the prices were lower) or they had mixed reviews. When this wasn't the case with their alternatives, the final order amount that I could get with all the discounts and offers applied, Bokunotrends still provided a better deal for my money. 

And their support is also pretty good. Not the best but still very decent and human. (I hate chatbots)

When I was confused about my order and I tried to make sure they didn't ship me the wrong item, the owner of the store directly replied to my queries and helped resolve them.

Final Verdict:

Fortunately for us anime otakus and fans, 2023 saw a lot of little shops & stores come up that helped bring down the prices of anime merch which, otherwise were pretty atrocious. But a lot of the times, these stores are hard to trust or they fall short in some major aspects such as support & service availability.

This is one of the reasons why the top dogs such as Bewakoof, Souled Store were able to charge whatever they wanted for us anime lovers. Otaku Kulture and Fansarmy helped bring down the prices but even they have disappointed me sometimes.

That being said, a new underdog in this market who's trying to get things right by selling Pan-India, allowing offers on even smaller cart sizes & providing pocket-friendly payment options is a very welcome change. Sure, they don't have the widest variety of items to provide us but I can see they're working at it. 

As mentioned in their About section— "our mission is to make anime merch more accessible to a wider range of audiences in India.", I'm sure they'll add more products to cater to our Fanboy (& Fangirl) needs.

I'm rooting for Boku No Trends as the new underdog in the Indian Anime Market.

Gambatte minna!

⚠️Warning: If you're under the age of 18 or if you're new to using credit/financing purchases through EMI or other credit models. please ALWAYS do your research. This blog does not provide any financial advice and I strongly suggest you to consult an adult or expert about how EMIs work and what are the consequences of not paying your EMIs on time before making purchases through EMI or Buy Now Pay Later options.