Anybody cop? On a whim, I snagged a reservation for a Snow Gold Musou (at what must have been just about the last minute). Being in Japan, I got it on the 12th. Way rad. Really impressed.
Anybody else? I’d love to hear impressions.
The box looks fantastic and comes sealed with a big label on the bottom. I hesitated to open it for a few minutes because it looked so perfect, ha. In the box is the Musou, an extra tip, an extra string and an instruction manual. I was on the fence about the plastic tip, but now that I’ve experienced it, I can totally appreciate it. Great idea. The tip has gotten chewed up more than anything though, in my experience. I guess it’s nice that it’s replaceable. I’ve used a walnut/rubberwood Krom Deluxe for the last few months, almost exclusively, so it has taken me a little while to get used to the Musou. The sound that this thing makes is incredible. I guess because of the hole in the base cup. After a day of play, some paint started to chip off around the hole in the tama. No sweat though. The tama is rather heavy. I’m interested to know what kind of wood it’s made of. Speaking of the paint, it’s beautiful in person and is quite tacky. As I said, I’ve used a Krom Deluxe for a good while now (paint is quite slick), so my light house success rate has gone way up.
Overall, I’m satisfied. I’m still a little shocked that I dropped ¥8,000 on a kendama, but it’s kind of a nice feeling, somehow…
I’m fairly new here as well. About one month in, my first kendama was a KendamaUSA Pro Model. Add several Ozoras later, the Mugen is by far the best i’ve tried.
My take on the Mugen:
The tip wears down quite quickly, i’m glad i bought the replacement tip pack (i’m quite sure i’ll need more.)
The colored, replaceable(!!) tips are such an awesome idea. I’m using the red one and it helps me find the spike quicker.
The tama is surprisingly as tacky as the KendamaUSA. And it’s not even using rubber.
Heavier than your standard Ozora, it somewhat feels quite good in hand.
The sound? Awesome.
Too bad I only bought the Sparkling Green. If the Snow Gold pops up in any B/S/T, i’m quite sure to grab it. And i considering buying a couple of Sakura Pearl when they are released sometime next year.
And yes, i have no idea how this compares to OG Mugens. Partly due to their price.
Yeah man, I feel like probably a lot of people feel the same way. Maybe a little skeptical at first. Like, “Wow, $80 for a kendama…? I don’t know…” But then, after you play it, you know that probably nothing else is going to stack up. So, I feel like the Sakura Pearl is going to sell out quick like. I hope they release more than one color, as well as enough to go around.
I had to work the day of the Musou Jam in Shibuya (?) last week. Wish I would have gotten the day off to go hang out. They sold Sakura Pearl there, so I could have copped early… Too bad.
This thing has got me absolutely in love with kendama. I love yoyo, and I always will, and I’ll always play every day, but the sense of achievement after landing that trick in kendama is straight unparalleled.
Yes. Before i had the Mugen, i had to use the Kendama USA to do tama balance tricks (lighthouse, lunar, bird) and the Ozora for the rest, but now i could do both with the Mugen!
Much appreciated. Now, i wouldn’t mind buying two of whatever Iwata Mokko makes next.
As much as it might sound like an advertisement, Mugens have really helped me improve my kendama skill set.
Well, Kazuma only makes limited amounts of these and given the reasonable price, it’s a steal!
Plus, it blows many kendama out of the water in terms of performance. And the craftsmanship, one of a kind.
Nevermind if you’re not good now, eventually you’d get better and you won’t regret the buy.
The manufacturers know what their products are worth. At some point of time, the original Mugens sold at $299 - $599.
I was even more devastated when I found out that Earth Blue ones were sold out just after i discovered Mugens and was pretty new to kendama.
I’m just hoping someone would sell theirs sometime.