Here we go again with another happy puzzling time! This time, we’re reviewing the Takashi Murakami Flower 1000 piece jigsaw puzzle!
Brand Introduction – Kaikai Kiki & Tenyo
Publisher: Kaikai Kiki Co., Ltd.
Founded by Japanese contemporary artist Takashi Murakami, Kaikai Kiki Co., Ltd. released this 1,000 piece jigsaw puzzle that’s full of his signature colorful flowers. They’ve also released puzzles with other original images, as well as collaborations with Doraemon, MoMa, etc.
Manufacturer: Tenyo Co., Ltd.
The most popular product lines of the Japanese brand, Tenyo, might be their magic sets and puzzles. They are one of the top puzzle brands in the world in terms of market share. (It seems to be the biggest puzzle brand in Japan but I cannot find the supporting materials for this statement.)
Takashi Murakami Flower 1,000 Piece Jigsaw Puzzle Quality and Review
Similar to my original thoughts on Cavallini’s puzzle, I didn’t have a high expectation on this one as I thought it’s just a trendy brand trying to get into the puzzling world (sorry!). Let me share my detailed honest review with you!
Basic Information
- Piece count: 1000 pieces
- Dimensions of the box: 14.2 x 9.8 x 2.0 inches / 36 x 25 x 5 cm
- Dimensions of the completed puzzle: 20.1 x 11.0 inches / 51 x 73.5 cm
- Puzzle piece thickness: about 2 mm
- Click me to check its current price on StockX*
As mentioned in the Brand Introduction section earlier, Kaikai Kiki has released other puzzles both on their own and as a collaboration. But usually, they will be sold out immediately after launch lol. So if you want them, unless you can keep up with the news and grab one before it goes, you might want to find them on the second-hand market. My friend got this one on the online marketplace StockX*. It also has other puzzles from Kaikai Kiki/Takashi Murakami like this cherry blossom one with 1050 pieces* and another classic flower design with 650 pieces*. You might also be able to find them on eBay. But do be cautious when buying things from these platforms!
And as a huge puzzle brand, Tenyo also has all other kinds of puzzle designs to choose from. One of their most famous collections might be the Disney ones.
Packaging
I like the design of this puzzle box. It has the full image of the finished puzzle printed on the front, almost taking up the whole space. Besides being delightful to look at, it can also be a reference when doing the puzzle. The fonts on the sides also follow the same color theme but are still simple enough to not take over nor make it too crowded. The key basic information of the puzzle is also noted on the box.
Unboxing Experience
After unboxing, most pieces are properly cut. Only very few pieces were still connected and it was very easy to separate them. There was only a bit of puzzle dust.
Puzzle Pieces
Here are some close-ups of the pieces. The printing quality in the front is really good! The colors are very opaque and vibrant, not cheesy at all, and printed evenly. This high-quality printing is especially important as the artist’s design is one of the key selling points of this puzzle. And I would say it does live up to the expectation! It has a slightly glossy surface, which is causing some reflection that makes it harder to identify the colors but it’s not severe. The pieces are thick and dense, and the color of their back is a greenish-grey.
Puzzle pieces are almost all basic shapes – a square with 4 inward or outward tabs. I think there are only two of them that have a wavy side (as shown in the picture above). But the shapes of each piece are different enough so that it’s easy to know if you get it right when you try to put pieces together. I haven’t got to redo this puzzle yet but the pieces look to be strong and durable.
The puzzle pieces are not interlocking with each other closely enough to me, but it’s probably just because I got spoiled by Ravensburger’s puzzle lol. To be honest, it interlocks quite well. There wasn’t a lot of space in between the pieces after it’s put together. Plus it’s thick enough and you can slide the piece in place so it provides a good puzzling experience. (I still like Ravensburger’s soft click feeling more but it’s more of a personal preference.) It wasn’t easy to move around a small section of pieces once I put them together though. You’ll have to be extra careful when doing so.
Puzzle Image
Scattered color blocks usually will be more difficult to do as a puzzle. But because it has thick black lines, and eyes and months can be used as a reference to tell its direction, I will grade it as medium difficulty. Its choice of color, printing quality, and all the smiling flowers will let your eyes and mind feel comfortable throughout the puzzling process. The finished puzzle surface is pretty smooth. Plus you can add a Takashi Murakami’s work to your collection at a lower price with this.
Final Thoughts
Overall, Takashi Murakami Flower Jigsaw Puzzle really has an amazing visual. The top artist and high-quality prints are just a dreamy collaboration! It will be a great choice especially if you are a Takashi Murakami fan!
Lastly, here are the pictures of the completed puzzle for your reference. Thank you so much for reading this long jigsaw puzzle review post! If you have any puzzles that you like, would like to recommend, or want to learn more about, please do not hesitate to leave me a comment so I can have an excuse to buy more puzzles! 😉
Infobox
⇨ Click me to check out its current price on StockX*
⇨ Other puzzle review posts
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