Review: Pop Mart My Little Pony Leisure Afternoon Blind Boxes

As promised in the release post we would do a review on the latest Pop Mart x My Little Pony series, Leisure Afternoon, and here it is! We'll keep it a bit shorter than our Natural Series review, as the ordering process differed hugely this time, and some aspects are the same as before.

Ordering

This time, ordering went super smoothly through Amazon. As we both wanted to open two figures we decided to order a 3-pack and a single pack, but know that a full box with 12 packs is also available. According to the information on the listing, Pop Mart promises that those boxes contain 12 unique figures, and offers to replace doubles if they occur.

Strangely enough the 3-pack came in a couple of days earlier than our single pack, but this appears to be caused by them being shipped from different Amazon warehouses. They did arrive in a better shape compared to our Natural Series order from China (Tmall), but as the order was fulfilled by Amazon we didn't receive a nice Chinese New Year card this time.

Packaging

As with last year's figures, Pop Mart went all out on the packaging and created another unique logo and design for the new series. The shiny 'sweet graffiti' logo as I like to call it really pops out and is also placed on top. All boxes feature the Pinkie Pie Dripping Teapot figure on the front and won't reveal the pony inside just yet. On the sides of the box you'll find the list of available ponies (including the secret pony, which has already been revealed to be Princess Cadance) and a bunch of warnings and contact information.

Opening the Boxes

Each box still comes with the same system and content: tear off the strip on the top, open the flaps and take the foil-wrapped figure, card and silica gel out. There is one different detail here, and it's not for the better: the character card now faces inside, so if you peek in the box you'll be spoiled about what figure is inside the foil bag. Ilona and I both fell for this on our first box, and looked away on purpose for our second box to keep the surprise. Why they changed this is a mystery, but be aware of this when you open yours.

Opening the foil bags is easy and for protection some of the ponies come in a plastic clam if they contain smaller appendages, like the spout of Pinkie's teapot.

The Figures

If you haven't read it in our previous review yet: these figures are amazing! This new set is certainly no different, which means solid, good feeling figures with show-accurate details and cute designs. The figures we received didn't have any problem standing up (which was an issue with some Natural Series figures) and have beautiful colors to really accentuate both the pony and the drink/treat that it comes with.

We didn't receive the Princess Cadance figure, so we can't further comment on that design, but with a 1/144 chance we didn't have any hopes for her anyway.

Verdict

With the direct release on Amazon our biggest issue with the figures last year has been solved, dropping the need to buy through Taobao agents or other Chinese marketplaces. The box and figures are beautiful and worth the price of $12-$15 each. Only downside that we noticed is the character card that spoils the contents when opening the box, but it's only a small flaw for this continuation of Pop Mart's My Little Pony series. We hope they continue with more sets in the future, as this is a welcome addition to many pony collections.