A few months ago the righteous dudes at Fangamer unleashed the E-Mug on a sleepy, unexpecting world. We woke up. If you want a mug that will serve you well in the robot pandemics to come, then hoist this sucker to your lips and drink the sweet nectars. Now you’re playing with power.
Inspired by the Mega Man E-Tank, the E-Mug is powerful in its simplicity. But it’s also deceptive. Upon closer inspection, it is obvious that a lot of careful care and planning went into this vessel. It would be one thing to simply print an “E” on the side of a blue mug, but the E-Mugs are ceramic in a unique sculpt. To ensure consistent quality, a pleasing aesthetic, and a proper balance between mug and art meticulous care must have been needed to strike that ideal chord.
The added benefit to consumer to this level of care just beyond base drink-swilling physics is that the mug is a very pretty item. A mug with an “E” might elicit some conversation but the shape is still mundane. The E-mug’s two rounded lips contrast with severe straight lines to instantly demand attention. The eye is brought immediately to the centre, and is kept there. It’s an interesting design.
For folks that play games, or especially those that are Mega Man players the E-Mug will be either self-explanatory or require very little explanation otherwise. It’s a very iconic symbol.
For folks outside of that scope, it’s still an easy explanation. One of the issues with having a highly bedazzled or overwrought item is that it usually requires a long-winded explanation. The E-Mug literally requires one sentence of exposition, “The E stands for Energy” and one more if necessary, “it’s a reference to the Mega Man games.” As I’ve mentioned, the design is quite fetching so it will demand attention. It could be refreshing to have something you could explain in one or two lines if you keep your space decorated in a lot of memorabilia.
The product page for the E-Mug describes it as a “custom figurine that you can drink out of.” In essence, this is another benefit of its solid design. If you decide to use the E-Mug for display only, it’s still a very pretty item and it will still look good on a shelf. It just cries out to be filled with eminently slurpable beverages, however!
Personally, I don’t use my E-Mug for every drink that I pour. But I do use it with moderate frequency. The mug is easy to hand wash so I have no issues with actually putting it into use. It’s a sturdy beast, but I don’t want to put it into regular circulation because I’m not keen on having it bounce around in a sink or dishwasher with all of the other dishes. So rather than scratch that little guy, it’s best to give it a personal bath.
The E-Mug is a hefty little dude and the bottom lip gives it a solid base. The construction also means it’s a strong little bugger that will stand up to some punishment. However, it’s not invincible and you will need to take care not to drop it – after all you’d do the same for any other mug. If your daily routine will require you to cart your drinks around a lot then you’re probably best taking a thermos on your routine. But your home base? Yeah dudes and dudettes, pour the contents of that thermos into your E-Mug for superior sipping euphoria.
Lipscosity [lip-skos-I-tee]: Noun. The resistance to flow of liquid across the lip of a mug.
If you’re looking at photos of the E-Mug it will have a large lip around the top and bottom. The upper lip neither makes the mug top heavy when drinking nor does the difference in thickness make it awkward to actually drink that liquid. In this sense, there is no grave ‘lipcosity’ as it functions perfectly.
The extra included with the E-Mug is a small coaster. The coaster design is topical but again, kept respectable and with great cohesion to the design of the mug itself.
The packaging as per usual is beautiful. I would prefer that the box be made out of heavier material, however.
We’ve seen a few E-Tank mugs over the course of the last few months. I believe Fangamer takes the concept above and beyond with their sculpt. It would have been easier to simply print a design on the side of a plastic mug, but they strived to make something unique and beautiful. The E-Mug is more costly than some of the other offerings in this vein, but it could be priced higher and still be a worthwhile purchase. Hey, there’s even a referential bit hidden away on the bottom ;).
What you are paying for is the craftsmanship of a mug that was designed with respect for the gamer in mind. It’s not an overly busy item, and it’s not one that takes the game player for granted. It is a high end item and if you take care of it, it will take care of you. It will quench your thirst and you’ll feel like Power Player all the while.
The E-Mug is a highly sought item that as of this article’s publication is awaiting restock. You can check that sucker out on its product page, here: http://fangamer.net/products/e-mug
Beautiful looking mug, coaster, and box. This article would be good advertising for their product. It looks good enough to be sold from Capcom, or ever better.
You must sip the energy out of the mug while playing a Mega Man game. It will probably enhance your skill, lol.
Mmm, I prefer to put my feet up and read this http://twitpic.com/3hkn7s 🙂 And also listen to your Mega Man 3 song.
LOL @ “lipscosity”, nice one gov 😉 Quite the glowing recommendation for this product, which in the meanwhile has often been imitated but never duplicated. You even thought of coming out with a version of your own IIRC ;P Anyway as you know I’ve got one of these too and really enjoy it. Helluva mug. Get Equipped!!
Yeah man, I had a jokey image floating around to that extent, and I actually left a review on the product page a few months ago where I reference “Transformers Pretenders” but I figured I’d keep this one a little less crazy and a little more stoic. Just focus on this mug itself :).
That’s a book I’d like to read, myself.
Cheers! I should cover the whole MM3 soundtrack.