Nendoroid Doll: Little Red Riding Hood (Rose), by Good Smile Company

I have to start with a little piece of business this time because I've heard from many people that it's become difficult to know when I've posted a new review.  I'm really sorry about that!  Blogger changed their set-up last summer so that email notifications are no longer being sent.  I don't have a great workaround yet, but I always post a quick link on Twitter (@TBP_emily) when there's a new review, so that's one option if you're interested in getting a heads-up.  If Twitter's not your thing, my kids are encouraging me to get a TikTok account, which is tempting.  We'll see what happens there.

Thank you so much for the fun and informative comments on the previous Nendoroid review!  I found it really interesting to hear more about the brand and learn how your Nendos compare to Link.  I'm suddenly very caught up in the whole chibi figure world and am excited by Rachael's suggestion to compare the Nendoroids to a similar type of figure called Cu-Poche.  I also got very caught up in the Legend of Zelda world again, and had to hold myself back from spending the rest of the week playing Breath of the Wild.  I galloped around Hyrule for a little while, I'll admit, but then got right back to work because I'm very excited to talk about this next doll!

Most Nendoroids on the market right now are 4-inch tall PVC figures like Link.  However, there's a newer line of Nendoroid Dolls, and these have some important differences to the standard figures.  First of all, they're taller (about 5.5 inches tall), and they also have different articulation with not quite as many removable parts.  I think one of the best things about these dolls is that they come dressed in removable, fabric clothing, and so they can easily change outfits and adapt to a variety of different styles.  The selection of Nendoroid Dolls is nowhere near as extensive as the array of standard figures, but there are several cute options available.  I chose Little Red Riding Hood: Rose, who was easy to find and cost well under $100:

Nendoroid Doll Little Red Riding Hood: Rose, ($65.99).

Smart Doll by Danny Choo

Even during the time when I wasn't actively reviewing dolls and tracking trends, I was aware of Smart Doll.  I do a lot of wig shopping for the My Twinn Project, and I noticed over the last two years that several of my favorite wig vendors, who had previously been offering mostly American Girl wigs and accessories, were switching their focus to Smart Doll.  That got my attention because few things in the doll world are more popular than American Girl.  After a while, it became impossible to shop for a wig without seeing a dozen gorgeous photos of Smart Dolls in the process.  So, when I decided to start blogging again, one of the very first things I did was visit Danny Choo's site to learn more about this enticing brand.

Danny Choo (son of fashion designer Jimmy Choo) grew up in England with a fascination for Japanese popular culture.  This fascination led to the creation of a television show, Culture Japan, and the design of an anime mascot for that show.  The mascot's name is Mirai Suenaga, and she's described as a second year high school student with an interest in journalism.  Mirai loves the color orange and is often shown in orange-themed outfits.  The Mirai character went on to become quite popular, getting her own anime series (Mirai Millenium), and even being recognized as the official symbol for Japanese and Malaysian tourism.  In 2012, Mr. Choo began the process of turning Mirai into a 60cm fashion doll: the first Smart Doll.  Mr. Choo currently lives in Japan, where all Smart Dolls are made.

I probably should have chosen the Mirai character for this review, since she's the original Smart Doll, but those of you who know me won't be surprised that it's the smiling redhead with freckles who I couldn't resist.  She's a newer doll from the Story Tellers collection and her name is Monday:

Smart Doll Monday (Tea skin tone, Cherry wig, replacement eyes), ¥52,000 or ~$453.

Pose Skeleton by Re-Ment

A few months ago I got an anonymous comment suggesting that Pose Skeleton, Re-Ment's tiny posable skeletons, would make a fun Halloween review.  I could not have agreed more!  I immediately went to Amazon and ordered several of these highly affordable little figures from Japan.

Then, a few days before Halloween, Maine got hit by a post-tropical depression (a huge storm) and we lost power for most of the week.  That happens quite a lot around here.  Anyway, living without power wasn't too bad for us--no trees came through the roof this time, anyway.  We played a lot of games and read a lot of books, but nothing got done on the blog for a whole week.  I've been playing catch-up ever since.

Now it's closer to Thanksgiving than it is to Halloween, but I'll still share what was supposed to have been my cover shot for October 31st:

Pose Skeleton #3 by Re-Ment, $8.49.

Kuu Kuu Harajuku Dolls by Mattel

At the end of May I was looking at the new wave of Project Mc² dolls on Amazon (apparently I can't stay away from those science girls!) when a recommendation popped up on my screen: Mattel's Kuu Kuu Harajuku dolls.  I had never heard of these dolls, but they looked really cute in the pictures.  At the time when I was shopping, there were three ten-inch fashion dolls and five four-inch mini dolls available.

The fashion dolls are a bit like a mash-up of Ever After High girls and Little Charmers (with big oval heads, round eyes and good-looking articulation), but they also have Japanese Harajuku-themed accessories...similar to the Shibajuku Girl dolls I reviewed back in December.

The dolls are based on an animated television show inspired by Gwen Stefani's 2004 Harajuku Girls song.  The show's five main characters, G, Angel, Music, Love, and Baby are based on Gwen Stefani and her four (controversial) Japanese backup singers from the Love. Angel. Music. Baby. album.  Dolls were made from each of the five main characters.  I chose to purchase large and mini versions of "G," the lead singer and alter ego of Ms. Stefani herself:

Kuu Kuu Harajuku "G" fashion doll ($19.99) and mini doll ($5.99).

Shibajuku Girls By Hunter Products

It's become a bit of a yearly tradition for me to make the toy store rounds just before Thanksgiving.  I always like to see what's out there for the holiday shopping crowds, and this year I was also trying to find a Hatchimal.  I did not find a Hatchimal (no surprise), but I did have a fun time looking through the impressively well-stocked South Portland Toys R Us.  I've never seen this particular store so full of toys.

I had a great time wandering through all of the aisles, looking at the dolls and eavesdropping on earnest conversations and negotiations between little kids and their parents.  So sweet.  I also enjoyed seeing the new American Girl display, which takes up half of the front of the store now (and has displaced the Journey Girls completely).  I got to see all of the WellieWishers characters and admire the ocean-loving Camille in person (her hair looks great!).  It was a wonderful, indulgent morning.

As much fun as I was having on this outing, though, I found very few new items that I was interested in buying.  Then, finally, on my second sweep of the Lalaloopsy aisle, I spotted a doll I'd never seen before--jammed in between the boxes of a different brand.  She had pink hair and looked vaguely like a Pullip.  The box revealed that she was a Shibajuku Girl by Hunter Products.  I scoured all of the doll aisles one more time, looking for this doll's original shelf.  Finally I found it: a spot on the very bottom row, tucked away and easy to miss.  There were five or six more Shibajuku Girls there, some of the boxes tipped on their sides, some obscured by Miraculous Ladybug merchandise.  I hunkered down in the aisle and carefully inspected all of the characters.  After about twenty minutes of analysis and deliberation, I left with a big smile on my face and Shibajuku Yoko tucked under one arm:

Shibajuku Girl "Yoko" by Hunter Products, $29.99.

"Tsumugi Kotobuki" Pure Neemo doll by Azone International

I've been hearing about the Azone International doll company for a few years now.  Both Jessica (from the first Photo Mission) and Charlotte (from Milklegs Dolls) have listed these Japanese dolls among their favorites.  I was curious about this highly-articulated brand from the first time I heard it mentioned, but it took me a really long time to choose a doll to buy.  It often takes time to get acquainted with a new doll company, but I found the Azone doll selection particularly overwhelming.  One obstacle is that there are several different sizes of doll made by this company.  To name a few, there are 1:3 (18-20 inch) Original Series dolls, 1:12 (~6 inch) Picco Neemo dolls, and a wide array of 1:6 (9-12 inch) Pure Neemo characters.

Even after I decided on the 1:6 Pure Neemo size range, I still had a lot of options in front of me.  First of all, there's size variation within the 1:6 scale.  These dolls can be XS (extra small, 7.2 inches), S (small, 7.76 inches), M (medium, 8.43 inches) or L (large, 8.86 inches).  There's some chest size variation, too.  In addition, not all Pure Neemo bodies are articulated in the same way.  I ended up with what's called a regular Flection body, but there are also Flection Advanced and Flection Full-Action bodies...the latter of which I probably would have liked better than the one I bought.  However, I got distracted by the characters of the dolls and didn't pay enough attention to articulation until it was too late.  I was fascinated by the characters because many of the Pure Neemo dolls are based on Japanese anime series.  I didn't want to buy a doll without knowing her backstory, so I watched quite a bit of anime.

After browsing and deliberating, I decided on a doll from the K-On! anime collection.  The K-On! manga and anime follow a group of Japanese high school girls who belong to a rock band. My doll is named Tsumugi Kotobuki (Mugi for short), and she is the band's wealthy and kindhearted keyboard player:

Pure Neemo 1:6 "Tsumugi Kotobuki" by Azone International.

Licca-chan and Miki-chan by Takara

Ever since I first reviewed Lottie dolls last January, many of you have suggested that I take a look at Licca-chan, a beloved 8 inch Japanese fashion doll that has a lot in common with Lottie.  Licca-chan has been around for much, much longer than Lottie, though.  Licca was first manufactured by Takara in 1967.  By 2007, the company had sold over 53 million Licca dolls, and they continue to sell about 1 million dolls per year.  Takara merged with Tomy in 2006, and so now the Licca franchise is credited to Takara-Tomy.  Licca-chan is often compared to Barbie in terms of her longevity and overwhelming popularity.

It was difficult to choose a Licca-chan doll for review.  I knew I would not be able to make any sweeping statements about the doll line by looking at a single doll--any more than I could judge the entire Barbie empire by just reviewing Midge.  So, I chose a doll that I felt would make a good comparison to the Lottie dolls I own...and then I added in a little Miki-chan toddler, because I found her too cute to resist:

"Kindergarten Teacher" Licca-chan and "Kindergarten" Miki-chan.

Kawaii Crush "Katie Cat Meow Meow" Doll by Spin Master

I am always interested in what Spin Master is doing.  Even before this company produced my favorite play dolls--the Liv girls, they had me running all over Maine looking for that special, impossible-to-find Bakugan dragon for my boys.  Spin Master's latest doll line, Kawaii Crush, was announced at Toy Fair in February.  These anime-style dolls represent the trendy Japanese kawaii culture, epitomized by popular characters like Pokemon's Pikachu and Hello Kitty.  Kawaii means "cute" or "lovable" in Japanese and has taken on the secondary meaning of "cool."  Kawaii culture centers around everything looking cute--be it physical appearance, collectibles, jewelry, art, clothing...even vehicles and food.  For example, Lolita fashions, like those embraced by some of Groove's Pullip dolls, are common in kawaii style.  Kawaii merchandise seems to be very, very popular right now, and not just in Japan.  In Maine, I see a little bit of this craze...if only in the knitted animal hats that are being worn by people of all ages.  While I wasn't really captivated by the promotional pictures of the Kawaii Crush dolls, I assumed that these toys would be popular.  Spin Master seems to have their finger on the pulse of what's trendy, and a real a knack for making toys that fly off the shelves...at least initially.

Just so you know, it is very difficult for me to review these dolls objectively.  Although my rational brain totally understands that Spin Master didn't stop making Liv dolls in order to make Kawaii Crush figures, my emotional brain can't help but compare everything this company produces to my beloved, discontinued Liv girls.

Kawaii Crush "Katie Cat" and Liv "Katie."