Spoiler alert for those who like capsule surprises.
I think I’m not alone when I say my favorite genre of capsule toys are ring-shaped things shrunk down to actual rings like tuna cans and the popular Casio Standard Series of watch rings, which have returned to capsule machines all across Japan. This is once again your chance to get your favorite low-end digital, analog – and yes – even calculator watch in the form of a replica ring.
This was the best news possible for our writer Haruka Takagi, who’s a fan of both capsule toys and Casio watches for their retro charm. In fact, she headed straight for her nearest embankment of machines with a fist full of coins to get all of the first series, only to fall short by one model.
Now, she’s returned with a pile of 40 100-yen coins, which will give her 10 spins of the knob to get each one. However, the number of available types has gone up from 5 to 6 with the addition of a secret model that’s said to be an especially popular one.
Haruka wasted no time sliding her money into the Casio machine and seeing which watch ring she’d get first.
A blue capsule emerged and inside was…
▼ A CA-53WF-1B!
Nicknamed the “Databank,” this watch boasted both calculator functionality and the ability to store phone numbers. Although rendered completely obsolete by smartphones, these watches still have a strong fanbase that appreciates how it does so much with so little.
As for the ring watch, Haruka was a little disappointed with this one. The printing was a little blurred, but considering how small it was and the fact it only cost 400 yen (US$2.57), perhaps it couldn’t be helped.
▼ This is probably a bad time to bring up that the second series comes with display stands, but we’ll do it anyway.
With one down and five to go, Haruka took her next spin and came up with a pink capsule.
This time she got an A159WGEA-1.
It’s a long-selling model for its versatile design that can be worn by anyone and with any outfit. The ring design here was quite good too and it closely resembled a real watch.
Our writer went back into the machine and this time came up with an A100WE-1A.
She would have shouted it out if the watch had an actual name rather than a long string of letters and numbers, but she was excited to get it nonetheless because this was the only one in this series that she owns the real model of.
▼ Hers is gold though.
The detail on this one was also extremely good, which made her even happier and thankful to whoever designed it.
So far, Haruka was three for three and only needed three more models to complete her collection. Considering she still had seven turns left, the future was looking bright. She went back for her fourth shot.
It was an A100WE-1A again…
Well, it was bound to happen sooner or later, and if she was going to get a double, that’d be the best one to get.
However, her fifth and sixth turns resulted in another CA-53WF-1B…
…and yet another A100WE-1A.
Her fortunes appeared to have taken a turn for the worse but one thing she could learn from it is that the capsules are color-coded to the watch inside.
・CA-53WF-1B: Blue
・A159WGEA-1: Red
・A100WE-1A: Green
It wasn’t much consolation, but at least she knew she would tell at a glance if it was new or a double. With four turns remaining, she took a deep breath and tried again.
This capsule was purple, meaning that whatever was inside was new, and that ring was…
▼ A G-Shock?!
This watch wasn’t listed on the machine which meant it must have been the secret model!
The DW-5600 G-Shock is definitely a favorite among Casio fans and the replication in this ring was worthy of such a special accessory. Haruka also felt this one fit best on her finger with its thicker design.
More importantly, she felt the winds of luck had changed again. Now that the secret model was out of the way, she only needed two more basic ones with three turns remaining. With renewed optimism, she returned to the knob!
This time she got the MRW-200HJ-1B! It’s a sporty analog watch that is waterproof up to 100 meters deep. Many Casio fans regard it for its high cost-performance.
The moment of truth has arrived. Haruka now had five of the six watches and two turns remaining. Casio had announced that the watch models were evenly distributed too, so with the ones she’d already taken out, it would seem the odds were more in her favor. Unfortunately, she couldn’t calculate them exactly because her two CA-53WF-1B weren’t functional.
Haruka reached her watch-covered fingers into the machine two more times to reveal…
…two more CA-53WF-1B rings.
And so, once again our writer was just shy of her goal. It was heartbreaking to have come so close only to have the Casiotron TRN-50-2A ring slip between her fingers. However, while driving home she caught a glimpse of the G-Shock still on her ring finger and it made her smile.
It reminded her that the secret to happiness is appreciating what she did have rather than worrying about what she didn’t get.
Photos ©SoraNews24
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[ Read in Japanese ]