Razer is deep into its collaboration with Sanrio, and we’ve reviewed most of it. Hello Kitty, Cinnamoroll, and now the pudding dog himself. I’ll be upfront: I’m not big into Sanrio or Pompompurin. While I may not have a personal connection to the character, I can tell you that many people love him, and this collection is for them.
I also need to be honest about something else. Razer has sent us the same three products in different colors and designs, and it is growing increasingly difficult to say new things about them. The Ornata V3 TKL, the DeathAdder Essential, and the Gigantus V2 are the foundation of almost every one of these sets at this point. So instead of me retreading the same ground, I want to focus on what makes this collection different and where it falls short.
Like every Razer collaboration before it, nothing in this collection is a new product. These are existing accessories that have been reskinned in Pompompurin’s yellow, running from $29.99 for the Gigantus V2 up to $119.99 for the Ornata V3 TKL, with the DeathAdder Essential being in between at $49.99. The whole collection is exclusive to Target, and buying everything will cost you about $200.
The Identity
The entire identity of this collection rides on whether or not you can live with a fully yellow setup. It’s a rare favorite color for most, but I think it works well here. It’s a soft and warm shade, and I was expecting it to be a bit ugly in person. Surprisingly, it isn’t. All three of the pieces look cohesive together on a desk. Play in Pink barely referenced BLACKPINK outside of the colorway and logo, and I took off points for that in my review. This collection doesn’t have that problem. Pompompurin is drawn across the keycaps, he’s on the wrist rest, and his hamster friend Muffin is hiding in the artwork in a few spots. I’m a huge fan of that. It’s the major difference between a simple recolor and a full-blown collaboration, and this one is the latter.
The mouse is the plainest and most simplistic piece of the three items, but that’s less of a problem with the art and more of a hardware problem.
The Hardware
The Ornata V3 TKL is the centerpiece of this collection as it has been for the others before it, and it has the best art. Of course, that makes sense considering how large it is compared to the other accessories. I have a preference for tenkeyless keyboards, as my main is a Huntsman V3 TKL in white. When you drop the numpad, it saves desk space and gives your mouse more room to move around. I’ve been on the tenkeyless wave for many years to the point where when I’m typing in numbers at work, I don’t even use the numpad that the keyboard possesses. It is easy to adapt to having the numbers only at the top, and it makes a prettier keyboard when the numpad is absent.
My problem with the Ornata V3 TKL is that it’s mem-mechanical. I’ve said this many times before, but it bears repeating: Mem-mechanical keyboards have no place in the hardware space anymore, and I’m sticking to that position. Mechanical keyboards have become so standardized and cheap over the years that $119.99 is a hard sell, cute collabs or not. If you don’t mind how the Mecha-Membranes feel, this is easily the cutest collaboration they’ve made so far. I just personally don’t care for it.
The DeathAdder Essential fares better, for the most part. It was a solid budget mouse before Pompompurin got involved, and it’s a solid budget mouse now. This mold has survived over a decade for a reason, and that’s because it works. It’s comfortable, and my hand never cramped during long sessions with it. The standard DeathAdder Essential is $20 less, so you’re truly paying for the collab here. I complained about this in my Play in Pink review, and here I am complaining about it again, because Razer keeps pairing a Chroma RGB keyboard with a mouse that has no Chroma whatsoever. It’s a single, static color with no onboard memory. The Cinnamoroll collection got the Cobra, which lights up properly. Razer has more options than the DeathAdder Essential, and I don’t know why they opt to use the Essential instead of the Cobra.
The Gigantus V2 is the easiest piece to recommend, as per usual, and it’s also the cheapest. It’s flat, smooth, tracks the same as the standard version, and the flat surface shows off the artwork better than the keyboard or mouse ever could. $29.99 is close enough to the standard price, so I truly can’t complain about the markup. If you can only afford to get one item from the whole set, I always recommend the mousepad.
Is It For You?
Personally, I don’t have a connection to Pompompurin or any of the Sanrio characters, so the character art doesn’t do much for me outside of it looking cute on the desk. But I’ve seen how the fans respond to new merch, especially with the virality of the Cinnamoroll Kraken Kitty V2 release, and this is the most gaming gear that Sanrio fans have ever gotten at once. For that crowd, I don’t think I need to justify the premium. If you’re not a Pompompurin fan, I would obviously recommend looking at other collaborations they’ve done. There are plenty of awesome Razer products across the board across all tiers that I recommend, as my personal setup is full Razer, webcam included.
I’ve mentioned this in previous reviews, but all three products in this collaboration sit at the entry-level of Razer’s lineup. While that may not appeal to me personally, performance was never the point of these Sanrio sets, and I think the majority of people know that going in by now.
I also expect this one to sell out. Razer’s Sanrio drops are disappearing and not coming back, and the Target exclusivity makes that even more true. There’s only one store to buy from, and once they sell out, you’re on the secondhand market paying extra. Of course, that all depends on how many units they’ve made and how well they sell, but if you’re a Pompompurin fan and are considering this set, you probably should grab these items as soon as possible.
The art team did a great job here, and I wish that the hardware picks matched the effort they put in. A mem-mechanical keyboard and a mouse with no RGB makes this a lesser collaboration than the Cinnamoroll or Kanto Starters. Pompompurin fans are going to buy and love the collection regardless, and honestly, good for them.
Disclaimer: Razer provided Final Weapon with the Razer x Pompompurin Collection for review purposes.
