Beyond bias: This BT21 merch is my daughter’s fave housemate
My daughter lugs a purple fan wherever she goes around the house. The small fan fits snugly as she wraps her tiny arms around it and moves it from the top of chairs, tables and floor. It’s the Hanabishi BT21 Special Edition mini jumbo fan which was launched coincidentally on July 9, Army Day, or the day BTS’ fandom got its official name.
BT21 was a project of Line Friends and K-pop powerhouse BTS in 2017. The characters were drawn by the members of BTS, but they have their own personalities and backstories. As BTS’ brainchild, the project gained its own following among the fans.
Hanabishi collaborated with Line, hoping to reintroduce the Filipino brand to a younger audience. The original Mini Jumbo fan comes with a white body and black stand, but BT21 reintroduced seven colors for the product. Each color represents a character whose image is on the face of a fan. The BT21 characters are Koya (blue), RJ (white), Shooky (brown), Mang (purple), Chimmy (yellow), Tata (red) and Cooky (pink). The special edition is priced at P1,299.
Hanabishi president and CEO Jasper Ong hinted that this is possibly the first of many collaborations with Line.
Collector’s item
As far as a collector’s item goes, it’s very cute. The vibrant candy colors and the box that indicates the character will make a nice addition to a K-pop wall.In our home, it’s appreciated as an appliance. My daughter chose Mang, a purple creature that looks like a chipmunk with blue ears. They’ve been inseparable since she unboxed it. She carries it with her under the makeshift castle that she built with tables and blankets. It’s next to her when she eats or when she’s answering her Kumon worksheets. The size is perfect for her. The breeze hits her directly, unlike the taller stand fans that we have in our house. The air it blows is strong, too.
She enjoys the three-speed option control dial, a novelty because our fans all have buttons. The 90-degree tilt function receives praise for its flexibility, especially the flat angle. She discovered that she could easily create Bernoulli’s principle with it. It’s a concept she learned during one of our visits to the Mind Museum: Balloons are pumped to a palm size before she mumbles a series of syllables, her version of abracadabra, before releasing it on top of the fan.
“This is my magic,” she declares, proudly presenting a balloon steadily floating in midair.
If she has one complaint, it’s that the fan doesn’t have a battery or wireless option, but its cord extends longer than our existing stand fans.
K-pop merch is often collected to show a connection to a fandom and flex the idol. Some are meant to be used on specific occasions like concerts or fan gatherings. This one is different because it’s meant for everyday heavy use. INQ
