I think I have said this before, but I am a sucker for the odd ball, novelty yo-yos. When I first see one, I don’t care if it is going to play great, I don’t care about the design, I just want to get it in my hand and experience what the strange new thing has to offer. That is specifically why I require a minimum of a week of solid play before I even consider writing a review. No matter how horrible a novelty throw may be, I know that, nine times out of ten, it is going to make me smile on the first throw due to the shear lunacy of it. The funny thing is, some of these novelty yo-yos have gone on to become favorites of mine and even been daily carries for a while. Some examples being the One Drop Dingo and the ILYY St. Eel. Others have gone back in the box and left my collection in a hurry… I am looking at you IYYC Breathe. Today, I am focusing on a new novelty yo-yo, the Sengoku Masamini. As the name suggests, it is the pint sized sibling to Sengoku’s impressive Masamune. It caught my attention when the company posted pictures from the initial 10 piece run and I knew I had to review it when they said it was going to have a larger release in late May. With it finally here, it is time to see if it lives up to its larger sibling’s legacy.
To add even more interesting stuff, i made a stress test and went for a day with the Masamini and gave it hell. i threw it on all kind of surfaces, hard. Hit it with a stone and threw it from a waterfall (that last part was absolutely and unnecessarily fun, i wish i had a go pro to film it) and at the end, the yoyo ended up with just small vibration, the rings stayed in place.
Looking at that definition, is the Masamini not new, different, and interesting? It is the first bimetal mini that I can think of (there may be others but I do not know of them). That accounts for the “new” and “different”. It is also quite interesting. Gentlemen, before you take umbrage with my word choice you might want to look up the definition. There was absolutely no malice intended when calling the Masamini a novelty. The Breathe, St. Eel, even the One Drop 54 could all be considered novelties because they all bring something new and unique to the table. Whether that “new and unique” is a good thing or a bad thing is up to the players to decide.
Since you want us to refer to the dictionary definition; I would suggest you try the same thing.
More often than not, the word ‘novelty’ (especially concerning toys) also can mean the following>
Novelty item
A fake gun that shoots out a “BANG!” flag and a cigarette lighter that shoots water
A novelty item is an object which is specifically designed to serve no practical purpose, and is sold for its uniqueness, humor, or simply as something new (hence “novelty”, or newness). The term also applies to practical items with fanciful or nonfunctional additions, such as novelty slippers. The term is normally applied to small objects, and is generally not used to describe larger items such as roadside attractions. Items may have an advertising or promotional purpose, or be a souvenir.
…The above text was copied and pasted from an online Dictionary source.
Since we all seem to be old enough to find and read Dictionary definitions; we should also be able and willing to understand a very common use of the word, ‘novelty’.
It is ‘because’ this word has several actual meanings; that I suggested that the word, ‘novelty’ has no application in describing the Masamuni.(When you consider most folks seem to be more familiar with word novelty meaning: silly, cheaply made, small toys).
Chris… I read every single one of your Yoyo reviews. I bother to read then for 3 primary reasons>
They are very well written.
They give me a much better picture of various yoyos that I may not even own yet.
They help validate or dismiss various ideas on Yoyo performance/functionality, etc. on yoyos I already have.
And I certainly do not recall your using the word, ‘novelty’ with any regularity.
Your decision to use the word, ‘novelty’ in describing a small toy, at least on the surface, that you were using the word to facilitate the more commonly accepted definition of the word, ‘novelty’.
You all got me, I used the word “novelty” in the opening paragraph. I meant it then and I stand by it. I also said it plays like a beast, a zippy little powerhouse of a throw, plays as well as its full size counter part, and holds its own with the big names in the bimetal world. One could say that I am rather fond of this yoyo, but I am getting called to the mat because my initial impressions were to call it a novelty?
This community is full of amazing people, those questioning my word choice here are most definitely included in that comment… but sometimes I feel like Allen Funt is going to jump out and announce I am on Candid Camera. ;D
Doc, K, I have much respect for you. That being said, I used the word and meant it in exactly the context quoted from the dictionary.
Completely relaxed, just musing on how picky we are. If we begin to take these spinning toys too seriously we will end up becoming a bunch of “Get off my lawn” type geezers… nobody wants that. ;D
