written by Juice / photos by Juice

The infamous Men In Black Japanese LE! We've all seen pictures of this LE on various web sites and forums. It appears to come in a nice metal case, with several great looking metal figurines that are set in custom slots within the case. As nice as it may look online, this case is a very disappointing LEs for its price.

The MIB LE comes in a plastic case that sports a sparkle finish to it, giving it that "metal" look. The case is very odd, since the hinges are on the left and not on the right side, making it open backwards. Looking at the outside of the case, you see the MIB logo on the front, and the galaxy symbol of MIB on the back. It's a basic plastic case, with a cheap snap mechanism that keeps the case shut.

Sadly, things don't get any better when you open the case and take a look at its contents. The figurines, extras, and DVDs sit in a flimsy plastic interior. The black plastic that has raised black bumps is very thin. You could easily tear it out of the case and crumple it up in your hand. The DVDs sit on the right side, MIB one on top of MIB II. Located on the left side of the case is a small metal (one of only two metal things in this box) figurine of the pug, 2 small plastic figures of the bugs, a metal MIB business card case, a plastic MIB alarm clock, and a plastic replica of the MIB memory eraser.

My pug came broken, since the body of the pug is plastic, the cigar sticking out of his mouth had snapped of in shipping. The base of the pug is actually metal, and has the MIB logo stamped in it. The two plastic bugs are cheap, poorly detailed, and poorly made. The MIB clock actually works, but is small, light, and not very attractive. The memory eraser replica is cheap plastic, and has some faux dials on it. The tip actually lights up if you add batteries, but it doesn't trick you into thinking that it's worth anything more than a few cents. Last but not least is the business card holder. This is made out metal, but also has a cheap feel to it.

All together, you are immediately aware that all of the contents of this box are cheap add-ons most likely created simply to raise the price of the box. To help you figure out how to install batteries, set the clock, and to point out in detail how poorly made the box set is, there is an instructional flier included.
Each DVD case holds 2 discs of the movies, a feature film DVD and another DVD entirely dedicated to extra content. The cases are standard, with some nice artwork on both them and the DVDs.


Overall, this is a poor release for it's price. It reminds me of the Philippines LE, it looks great online, but once you hold it in your hand you realize just how bad the quality is. I purchased this LE thinking I'd get a nicely constructed metal LE box, with some detailed and great looking figures and extras. I was incorrect. I do not recommend giving up your hard earned money to purchase this LE.

- Juice's Verdict -

- Build Quality: 4 -

Plastic box that works, but the latch mechanism is cheap and sub par. Low quality plastic interior, low end plastic figures that break in shipment means this LE gets a low score.

- Content and Extras: 5 -

Packed full of MIB specific paraphernalia, I'd love to give this LE a high score in the Contents and Extras section, but I can't. I'm going to let the quality directly effect this area as well, since you can't enjoy a miniature figurine when it arrives broken due to it's sub-standard build quality.

- Overall Rating: 3 -

As I mentioned above, I cannot recommend this LE. If you are a serious, avid fan and realize you are spending far more than this LE is worth when you buy it, then go ahead. Just remember that when your friends go to open it up, don't tell them how much it cost you...they'll just comment on how much you got ripped off.

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