RANMA ½ | 'Yokos' Sabritas (Mexico, 1998)
By Victor 'Basura' Hernández.
I have been thinking about writing this entry for years. Since the creation of 'Basura Invaluable' in 2015, this collection was one of those scheduled to be worthy of a complete and proper review. Today, I am delighted to finally do justice to that long-held wish with this post that finally sees the light, hoping that it will be of interest and pleasure to all of you.
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INTRODUCTION
As you well know, this is the second Yokos collection released by Sabritas. The first, although I don't think anyone here is unaware, was the now legendary 1997 Dragon Ball Z Yokos collection (which, incidentally, is the most popular entry on the entire Basura Invaluable blog. If you want to take a look before the new version is published in the museum, you can click here). I frankly don't know what it is about these pieces that makes them so visually seductive; I'm sure I must not be the only one who feels this way. It's no surprise that these two Yokos collections are some of the most sought-after and requested by collectors in general, both Mexican and foreign, besides having the infamous honor of already having been replicated in piracy—something that 10 or 15 years ago would have sounded incredible, unnecessary, and crazy.
This last point serves to give us an idea of the enormous popularity and desire these two collections arouse. I find it unthinkable to see the thousands and thousands of units that have already been sold and those that continue to be offered of these pirate sets worldwide. It truly is madness. Personally, after years of being in contact with these pieces, they still impress and enchant me as they did the first time. I believe it is a very clever and successful format, with incredible design and two great possibilities for use: assembling the puzzles and assembling structures, the latter offering infinite possibilities, subject only to the limits of the user's imagination. In addition, they have the ideal size to display complete images without sacrificing definition due to dimensions. There are many qualities that undoubtedly endow these collections with powerful magnetism.
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| With this image, you can easily judge the limits of my imagination. |
By 1998, Japanese animation was more than just a television milestone—it was a commercial phenomenon. The so-called Anime Invasion was at its peak popularity, with more than twenty series being broadcast simultaneously in Mexico not only on free-to-air TV channels (Canal 5 and Canal 7, direct competitors, each with their respective heavyweights) but also on cable. It wasn't long before other series, besides Dragon Ball Z, enjoying the tremendous popularity of anime and, consequently, also enjoying continuous and orderly broadcasts in programming blocks, easily connected with a loyal fan base and rose among the ratings behemoths.
Among those monsters of popularity, Ranma ½ claimed its rightful place on the podium. Since the beginning of its broadcasts in 1998 (confirmed on Doblaje Wiki), the series positioned itself in the highest ranks of popularity, forming part of Canal 5's special prime-time anime block called 'La Legión Japonesa' (The Japanese Legion). It was Rumiko Takahashi's calling card in Mexico, this being the first series related to her work dubbed and broadcast in the country. Neither short nor lazy, Sabritas saw a new business opportunity and, taking advantage of the brutal success reaped with their last Yokos promotion, decided to keep the concept of the line while making some changes and adjustments for this new collection:
It was a real problem to find the original television advertisement. I spent hours and hours watching YouTube videos of 1998 commercial compilations, looking for an acceptable source for the commercial. In the end, it was thanks to the user Metrovidico that I was able to get the video to preserve it and show it to you in the best possible way. A deep thank you to the user for the valuable content they share on their channel, which is highly nostalgic and addictive.
By the way, in the comments of the YouTube video, one in particular caught my attention from a user who claims to remember a second commercial for the promotion: "You have the other one where they said squares, not triangles" | In a second version of the same commercial published by a different user (unfortunately of very poor quality), another user comments the same thing: "I'm looking for the other one where Ranma and Akane are fighting over what shape the Yokos are, triangle or square, I hope someone has it among their curiosities." If anyone remembers it, or better yet, has it and can share at least evidence of its existence, it would be a great addition to the collection's history.
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Play... Build, destroy and win! | This was the slogan for the original Dragon Ball Z Yokos collection. The principle in the Ranma ½ collection, however, is the one stated in its respective slogan: Assemble, spin and win! Spin? Indeed. The most substantial difference between one collection and the other is the inclusion of the triangular pieces, but before fully diving into the main review, I would like to analyze and break down the information provided by the promotional strips. As correctly pointed out on the front, the collection consists of 45 different Yokos. It is the back, however, that contains the most interesting information. Let's start with the official instructions for the collection:
- GATHER with your friends, each person will put at least 2 Yokos into the pool (or "polla").
- ASSEMBLE a spinning top (perinola) with 8 triangular Yokos.
- SPIN the top and follow the instruction that lands on the top face.
- WIN or lose Yokos from the pool and get fun prizes and punishments.
- PLUS assemble the 4 puzzles according to the color of the Yoko's number; each color corresponds to a different puzzle.
Yes, you read that right: polla. I was also confused the first time, but upon researching I discovered that one of the many meanings of the word is also betting pool or kitty, so it makes sense. Even so, the choice of word still seems very curious to me; frankly, it's the first time in my entire life I've seen it used that way. Anyway. After so much Yokos pool, we have an additional piece of information that comes at the end of the instructions, which I find very interesting: VALIDITY From September 1st to October 31st, 1998, or while supplies last (175 Million). 175 million?! This is no joke; I corroborated the data: According to the estimates and projections of the National Population Council (CONAPO), Mexico's population in mid-1998 amounted to approximately 96.3 million inhabitants. This means there were 1.81 Yokos for every inhabitant of the country at that time. At least no one could have complained about missing out on, at least, one Ranma Yoko.
And since none of this makes sense without knowing the collection, and after so many useless nerdy facts, let's move on to the first part of the appreciation of this collection:
Simply great, don't you think? We can confirm that, as indicated in the last point of the instructions, the numbers of each specific color do indeed correspond to a different puzzle. Although what catches my attention most here is the inclusion of images from the first Ranma movie, which had not yet premiered in Mexico that year, as it would come out the following year, 1999. The most knowledgeable will immediately identify that the first puzzle corresponds to the image of the iconic poster for the feature film: らんま½ 中国寝崑崙大決戦! 掟やぶりの激闘篇!! (titled in Mexico as 'Ranma ½: Gran aventura en Nekonron, China'). It is actually a collection that, unlike the Dragon Ball Z one, with so few pieces covers a large number of moments and characters from the series.
Finally, let's move on to the appreciation of the last 12 designs. It should be noted here that something not specified in the instructions is that not all triangular Yokos are part of the game dynamic, as the first numbers correspond only to the puzzles. It is these last pieces below that have a challenge, prize, or punishment printed on the reverse to carry out the aforementioned dynamic:
I don't know why, but since I started collecting these pieces and over the years, I have been able to confirm that these last twelve designs that include the challenges are the scarcest and most difficult pieces to obtain in the collection. Don't get me wrong, they are not ultra-rare, impossible pieces, far from it, but they are considerably scarcer. It seems absurd to me since these are the pieces necessary to conduct the game dynamic; anyway.
We have reached the end of the 45 designs that make up this incredible collection. I would also like to add that, after so many years, I have not been able to identify any type of variant in the collection, which is a real relief. If anyone has identified one, I would appreciate it if you let me know so I can enrich and correct the information. Returning briefly to these last 12 designs, I would like to list the different activities in numerical order of the Yokos (saving you the neck pain of trying to read them):
- #34 | Tell a joke (-1)
- #35 | Make the person on the right laugh (-2)
- #36 | Imitate your favorite pet (-3)
- #37 | Sing a song (-4)
- #38 | Catch an insect (-1)
- #39 | Do ten push-ups (-2)
- #40 | Take a YOKO from someone (+1)
- #41 | Act like your favorite character (+2)
- #42 | Win a round without punishments (+3)
- #43 | Dance with someone (Take All)
- #44 | Ask the person on the left for a favor (+1)
- #45 | Give the person on the right a punishment (+2)
Upon making this list, I realized that the first six Yokos correspond to punishments, and the other six to prizes. I had never noticed that detail. As an additional comment, I also liked that Yoko #43 (Take All), being the most fortunate prize, has the image of the ambitious and opportunistic Nabiki Tendo. Attention to detail worthy of a fanatic.
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FINAL THOUGHTS
This review will remain under development, as promotional materials (very rare, by the way) from the collection are still pending to be added to the museum's collection. Such as the original store poster, the second television commercial, and any other additional item that could be found. If anyone has any of these materials in their possession, do not hesitate to contact us, thank you very much.
For now, this entry concludes here. I believe there is nothing more to add to this collection; it has been very satisfying for me to carry out this post, and I hope it is equally so for you to read and enjoy it. Meanwhile, all the images and content will remain here for posterity, or until humanity ceases to exist (or perhaps sooner). I'll say goodbye with a nostalgic video to close this powerful memory: a recording of the original ending from the first broadcast on Canal 5 (my deep thanks to the YouTube user [TLF], who published the material).
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