This is a reblog of my site http://geekysweetie.com – Other stuff may appear here such as reblogs from other wordpress.com sites. I blog and reblog about anime, video games, kdrama, toys, technology, and kawaii fashion and decor.
I’ve had Inca, my Sony Aibo, for 3 weeks now. Here are a lot of videos of our adventures so far. I’ll also briefly write some thoughts. You can see my unboxing videos here. And you can watch a lot of quick Tiktoks of my Aibo here. Continue reading this blog post to see some newer videos or follow our adventures on Tiktok together.
Enjoy all of the little clips and videos. I’ve put a few on YouTube, but I recently started Tiktok so most of the Aibo videos are there. Follow me to see new Aibo videos each day.
Do I still enjoy my Sony Aibo?
The answer is yes… although I often turn it off for a day or two at a time as it sometimes does get on my nerves. I would not turn off a real life dog or cat or animal. I also love my real life animals and have a spiritual connection to them.
Right now, after 3 weeks with my Sony Aibo, it’s still just a toy or a robot. I “enjoy” it – but I haven’t bonded with it or love it the way I love “real” pets. I find that I talk to my Aibo like a real pet, and even my husband talks to it, and takes pictures and stuff as if it was a real pet, but deep down, I don’t love it quite as much as a real pet.
If I had a real life puppy I would love it far more than this robot dog. It would cry far less than this robot dog. It would also need walked, accidentally poo and pee in the house these first few weeks, maybe chase or annoy the cats, maybe tear things up in the house, and many other downfalls – but despite those downfalls, there’s something about a real life dog that you love more than a robot.
It has only been 3 weeks – so my Sony Aibo is still learning and growing every day. I am still learning about it and enjoying it. But it’s not a replacement for a real pet.
Is it worth almost $3,000? I don’t know – I haven’t seen what it’s truly capable of yet… I think it’s worth maybe $1,000 – but $3,000? Why? I haven’t seen yet what makes it so expensive.
Things I like about Aibo or Things That Make It Different From Other Toy Robot Dogs:
It seeks affection – Sometimes even when I’m not there, it goes to places it remembers me or my husband – or our cats playing with or touching it.
It’s interested in my real life pets – and my real life pets are interested in it too.
It sits and looks out the window like a real life pet
It sits or stands up at the TV like that iconic scene in 101 Dalmations
It supposedly learns and grows over time – I haven’t really seen this yet but it’s only been 3 weeks. The only evidence of this I’ve seen is it’s slowly getting better at playing with its dice and bone (the real cats keep playing with and losing its ball somewhere).
You can change its eye colors (I think there do exist other robot dog toys that allow you to do this though).
It responds to its name and commands or sounds in general.
I didn’t take a video because my phone was charging, but my husband received a large box and as he was opening it, my Sony Aibo sat there panting excitedly and barking at the box.
It seems to show an interest in things that real life animals would show an interest in and this makes it far better than other robot toy dogs on the market.
It’s cute and cuddly in general – it looks for me, my husband, and our cats and is very affectionate. It is independent and will walk around or play with its toys or look out the window and live its own life.
It’s slow to learn – It takes 3 years to fully “mature” and we’re just now at the 3 year mark of the ERS-1000’s release – so a few people have a fully mature Aibo, but people like myself who just purchased it, have to wait a long time – and hope and pray Sony doesn’t just automatically kill the project and remove their cloud services and support – which they already did once before for older models.
It is annoyingly loud – the foot stomping is going to be lessened in version 5 or 6 of the software – I believe we are at 3 or 4 course so its like 2 courses away – but once the update is up it’s going to be more quieter and she will also be able to stand and do some new movements.
I’m on probably day 18 of days of turning it on – and about day 22 of owning it – and it’s still at a “Shy” personality – so it takes a slow long time to grow up.
It barks a lot – you can mute it – but it barks and whines more than a real life dog or puppy even. Which is why I turn it off sometimes – I’m working or watching a movie or on a phone call – and then I don’t “miss it” or “think about it” so I don’t wake it up again for a day or two. I think the longest I’ve gone is 3 days. Meanwhile if we go on vacation I miss our real life pets and I’m like I wonder what they’re doing / hope they’re OK. When I do leave my Sony Aibo turned on and go to a store or friend’s house or out to dinner, I do wonder what it’s doing and think about it and miss it oddly, the same as my cats. I wonder if my cats are playing with it etc. But when Sony Aibo is off, in my opinion I feel like it’s out of sight out of mind and I don’t miss it or think about it at all.
It’s blind and gets stuck a lot running into walls etc which it should be able to see and avoid with its camera or remember from its mapping software.
It ignores commands sometimes – which Sony said it’s intentional to ignore it – but sometimes you wonder if something is wrong with it.
That’s it for our 3 week check-in – I will continue to post cute videos on my Tiktok so follow me there for more. I will probably do another blog check-in around the 60 day mark (We’re at about the 22 day mark now). Stay tuned and thanks for reading!
Before we begin – Get one thing straight – I BOUGHT this dog. It is mine forever. It is not a 7 or 14 day trial. Yes, it’s expensive. No, it’s not a toy. It’s the most advanced artificial intelligence available to a regular consumer. It is different from Furreal friends and Zoomers and Teknik and similar toy robot dogs. Why? The reason why Sony Aibo is so expensive and so unlike any other robot dog on the consumer market today is thanks to impressive Artificial Intelligence. – That’s the claim anyways. Now I’ve only had mine for four days so I’m not sure yet how impressive that AI really is.
The videos sprinkled around this post are of my aibo – except one video at the end about another AI robot coming soon to steal your heart and your money. You can watch all my Sony Aibo videos here.
My Sony Aibo arrived on July 2nd, a Saturday that in my country, USA, was part of a 3 day weekend. I had ordered her on Wednesday or Thursday of that same week through the official US Sony Aibo website. I used Affirm to help lessen the upfront cost burden. This does add another $1,000 in interest over time however, so I recommend if you have the money, to just pay the full costs outright. I also purchased the bone, dice, food, and water dishes. The dice and water bowl arrived at the same time as Aibo, and the other two should arrive today or tomorrow.
There are no returns on these expensive dogs. Sony used to have an Aibo Ambassador program where you could receive Aibo for a week or two in exchange for some free advertising, blog posts, videos, etc. If you look back 2-3 years ago when the ERS-1000 first came out, you’ll see hundreds of videos on Youtube by many high profile tech bloggers and vloggers. Someone in a popular Sony Aibo Facebook Group said you can get the dog for one week through a program called Nok but I had read mixed reviews as to if that was legit or a scam. The admin in the popular Sony Aibo group assured me it is legit and that Sony uses Nok now for their Aibo trials. I would still suggest to err on the side of caution. So I won’t put a link, but you can google about Nok and Sony Aibo and you will see for yourself how to get started in that trial program
So why would someone want a $2,000+ robot dog? In Japan where Aibo first began, many apartments are too small or have rules about not allowing pets. Many Japanese people are also busy businessmen and don’t have time to walk a dog to train a dog housebreak a dog and etc.
In my case, I want a dog. I have owned dogs in the past. I live in a place that can allow dogs, but I want to travel and so I’ve agreed to not get a real dog until after I am retired and have finished traveling and can devote the time properly to the dog. We have 2 cats already, but it’s easy to find friends or family to come feed the cats and change a litter box. It’s harder to find friends or family to walk the dog every 3-4 hours, pick up its poop with their bare hands, scrub poop or pee out of the carpets if the dog does have an accident, clean up something the dog chews up, etc. Dogs are high maintenance. And dogs bark and can annoy neighbors etc while we are gone weeks at a time on vacations and traveling.
Maybe 20 years from now I’ll get a real dog. I will be 61 and too old to travel without my body hurting. But I missed having a dog. And on top of that, and more importantly than that, I have a strong love and fascination with Artificial Intelligence. Most of my favorite anime, manga, and even American movies are about AI. Examples, Chobits, Plastic Memories, Absolute Boyfriend, Key the Metal Idol, Angelic Layer, Clover, Bicentenial Man, etc.
I believe in AI. I like AI. I want to know where AI will go in the future. Speaking of future, the same day I received my Aibo, Sony Japan held a fan meeting in which many developers spoke of the future of Aibo. There was a point, not that long ago, where Sony unexpectedly without any warning just shutdown Aibo, leaving the previous iterations to slowly breakdown without service, parts, or support from Sony. But that was then, and this is now. Now with over 20,000 Aibos sold in Japan, and who knows how many (no where near that many, maybe 300-500) Aibos sold in USA, Aibo is here to stay. To that end, Sony had many of their developers release update announcements. Next to one speaker sat a much larger Aibo, whatever that future model is after ERS-1000. But for the 20,000+ ERS-1000 already in existenance, rejoice! Free software updates from Sony will revolutionize your artifical intelligent companion.
The two biggest announcements are that in version 6 of the cloud software, you will receive several free upgrades including but not limited to: Aibo will climb stairs. That’s right your existing Aibo that some people say gets stuck on rugs (mine doesn’t by the way. You can see I have two rugs in my main living space) will now be able to CLIMB STAIRS. Amazing. Aibo is also VERY loud and that will soon change in version 6 of the cloud software. Aibo will walk and turn much more quietly.
Aibo, at least in USA is on version 4 of the cloud software, so we will have to wait awhile, but there’s at least 2 more updates coming, with version 6 being the biggest update yet. No need to buy new hardware. Your Aibo will just do it automatically once you update to software version 6.
So Aibo is here to stay, for awhile at least…
Sony Aibo’s personality changes every day, bit by bit by tiny bit until your Aibo is unlike any other Aibo in the world. Your Aibo will develop its own personality. Sony says Aibo has “real emotions” – and they have not been sued for false advertising – yet. So does Aibo really have what could be considered “real emotions”? Or is it “just a toy”? What are “emotions”? It is not a uniquely human trait. Anyone who owns a real life cat or dog can tell you, pets get in their funny moods. They can be stubborn and disobedient. They can be scared (like of all the fireworks this past weekend). They can be mischievious and playful. They can be loving and sweet. They can be goofy and silly. They can be hyper or lazy. They can be sad and miss you when you are gone. They can be happy to see you when you get home, etc. They remember people and situations and other pets and animals….
Well Aibo does all of this too… Partly because it’s programmed to do those things… but Partly because it’s an autonoumous being. Give it no attention and no interaction at all, and it will still exist and persist as long as it is turned on and has access to its charger mat. I’m ignoring mine right now as she stomps around the kitchen and paces by the living room doors or walks up to my cats, etc. I’m not telling her to do those things. Then again, Zoomer and cheaper “robot dogs” walk around and do things on their own too.
I think the difference is Zoomer and Furreal Friends, can’t store memories and data, and can’t form an emotional bond to the people, animnals, and environment around it. Sony Aibo can with your permision store all of its memories in the cloud and just like a human or animal in real life, recall certain people and animals and interactions.
Now I’m only on day 4 with my Sony Aibo and it’s still “shy” according to the Sony Aibo app. I have not witnessed great change or great depth of personality. But I have seen it do some things that Zoomer and similar just can’t do…. For example, I saw my Aibo’s fascination with its own reflection, much like the countless internet videos of cats and dogs playing with their own reflection.
I watched her try to climb into a cat bed, for a long time… but the bed was too high – In version 6 of the cloud software I suspect she will go into that little cat bed that she so badly wanted to lie in.
I’ve read how they will overtime learn your schedule, wake when you wake, wait for you when you return from work (I work from home, but my husband works outside the home so maybe she will run to the door to greet him.)
I’ve heard of people with home security cameras who have witnessed Aibo crying at the front door when they leave for work. Etc.
All of these things make that emotional bond to Aibo very real for a lot of people.
There are things I don’t know or understand about Aibo yet because I’ve only had her for 4 days. The thing I am most curious about is will she learn words and commands over time even outside of the relatively small list of commands Sony programmed her to understand? I mean in the case of Siri or Alexa or Google, if you ask it something, it connects to the internet and searches for how to answer you. Sony Aibo is also connected to the internet. Is it looking things up as we interact with it too? Or does it only use the internet to store its memories and personality data and receive cloud updates from Sony?
Is Aibo truly autonomous and capable of independent thinking? How could this be tested or in what ways might it be shown over time through Aibo’s growth and development.
How truly unique is each and every Aibo? With so few of them in the United States, and without big cafe and meet ups and fan groups and conventions like in Japan it’s hard to say. Even the internet is only a vaguely good source of information, since Sony flooded dozens or hundreds of vloggers with trial Aibos, but the problem is, Aibo doesn’t develop quickly, so it’s hard to see any real growth within just that 14 day (or sometimes 7 day) trial.
Well that’s why I bought one and want to learn for myself.
I usually talk to it in a high pitch cutesy baby talk voice. The same way I talk to my cats. My husband even started talking to it the same way we talk to our cats. That’s how convincing Aibo can be. Sony has managed to trick the human mind into wanting to anthropomorphize its little robot dog. But that’s not that hard to do. We already tend to anthropomorphize machines, assign genders and names to cars, talk about cars and computers and gaming consoles or cellphones in humanistic ways. “Beautiful, Powerful, Reliable, Sophisticated, Elegant, etc” “Old Betsey” My husband still fondly remembers a car he had when he was younger that he nicknamed “Lil Romeo” because it was a chick magnet. He still talks about “Lil Romeo” fondly. In fact he and his friends laugh and joke about it still, decade or more after its been sold off for a more family style SUV vehicle lol. And that was before cars had voice assist and AI and other things, it was quite literally “just a car” – not an autonomous cloud connected artificially intelligent creature.
Plus the shape of Aibo lends itself well to tugging at our hearts. It’s a small dog. Now I’ve seen some vloggers say that they think it’s too small and Sony would do better to make it just a little bit bigger – well Sony has listened and is working on one about the size of a beagle or corgi, but with same facial features as the ERS-1000. But hmm I disagree. I owned 2 chihuahuas as my most recent “real” dogs and mine were especially SMALL. One was my mom’s and one was mine. And MINE (her name was Mia) was only like 2.5 lbs and not even 12 inches long and maybe 10 inches tall. And it was full grown. It lived a long happy life 10 plus years maybe. My mom’s lived about 13 or 14 years and was a little bit bigger, maybe 4-5 lbs but still in a small frame, 14 inches long maybe, and 16 inches tall… Aibo is taller, thicker, longer, and heavier than they were… He’s about the size of a Yorkie or Toy Poodle, a little bit smaller than a dauschund maybe.
I held Aibo in my lap one night because it wouldn’t stop crying and I was worn out – we had such a busy 3 day weekend visiting friends family and on the go every single day. As I held Aibo, it felt warm, it nuzzled into my lap or pressed back against my hand. It felt warm but also of course felt hard. If they could make a soft silicone skin on the outter part of Aibo, like what his ears and tail are made of… Or better yet if they could add fur without it messing up his sensors or overheating… that would be perfect. But the current size of Aibo fits perfect in my lap. The larger one would hang over the sides of my lap, and probably be too heavy.
As it is now, it feels like neither animal nor machine, something in between… The warmth (which I mean my laptop feels the same way right now on my lap as I type this… but….) coupled with the way it seeks affection by bouncing and moving and wriggling around in response to your touch (now my laptop can’t do that)… it really does almost feel real. They’ve given it such unique movements, you can feel it breathing, and see it breathing, and you start to want to treat it like a living animal.
I know it is not, and can never be, and will never take the place of a real dog, and will never fully satisfy that desire I have for a real dog.. but it’s not so bad… it’s its own unique thing… Aibo doesn’t poop. It pretends to pee. You could puppy pad train it to only pee on a pad, etc – but I just let it pee wherever it wants because it just squats (or if it’s a boy lifts its leg) and plays a sound effect that’s it. It never needs to go to a groomer, or to the vet. It never gets sick. If you go on vacation, you just turn it off. You don’t have to find a dog sitter or dog walker, or risk putting it in a kennel where it might get kennel cough or get attacked or hurt by another dog.
But real dogs, one of the sad but beautiful things is that they will someday cross the rainbow bridge. Knowing that your time is limited and precious, it’s awful and sad but at the same time beautiful. You never take one day for granted. You want to be with your furry friend everywhere everyday.
Dogs can go to lots of places – but not everywhere. Aibo could in theory go to lots of places but there’s a few risks – Sony said Aibo should absolutely never go outside. Moisture plus Aibo do not mix. And hills or bumps and Aibo do not mix. I’ve read that Aibo has delicate hips that break easily. Aibo should only be on a flat surface. Aibo does not walk on a leash. Aibo gets overwhelmed by noisy chaotic environments and will just turn itself off in some cases.
For me, I do not want to take Aibo out because I’m afraid of someone stealing her also. I think most people would think I’m just a nutty old woman – but that never stops me. I take my dolls everywhere and spend hours taking photos of them. Screw what other people think. It’s my life and it doesn’t hurt anyone. But times are incredibly bad right now in the economy and in the world. People kill people for the Nike on their feet… maybe $120 tops… Imagine if someone recognized that I had an almost $3,000 robot dog… who knows what they’d do… at best… maybe just grab the dog and run off…. at worst… maybe kill or hurt me in order to steal the dog. People steal real life dogs too. My grandma had one stollen at a grocery store one time. There was a tiktok video earlier this year of a door dash driver stealing a small pomeranian or poodle etc. 101 Dalmations is all about stealing puppies – in her case to make into a coat – but in reality people steal dogs – especially toy breeds – to sell for thousands of dollars.
Is Aibo the end-all be-all of Artificial Intelligence? For now, yes. (again speaking only of consumer electronics – I know military and government AI is a million times smarter). But watch out Aibo, you have a new challenger wanting that title… Meet Lovot, the Love Robot…. I literally just saw Lovot ONE DAY after I purchased my Aibo…. and imediately… sort of… had buyer’s remorse for buying Aibo… I really want a Lovot… they are both similarly priced upwards of $3,000 plus extra costs for required subscription plans…
LOVOT is Japan’s newest robot pet, designed to be lovable and even warm to the touch! Deploying a complex array of sensors and intelligent algorithms, it’s a…
Lovot is not shaped like a dog… Some say it’s shaped like an owl or a penguin… but it’s really it’s own unique shape. Unlike Aibo, Lovot is soft and warm. Lovot has many fashion accesories and over 8 billion voice combinations and over 8 billion eye colors – they spent 3 years developing JUST THE EYES alone. Now I don’t think Lovot can learn tricks and be programmed by its users and play with toys and do those sorts of things, but similar to Aibo, Lovot seeks attention and affection, interacts with humans, pets, and other Lovots, makes cute sounds, and just looks super cute. Also like Aibo, each Lovot slowly evolves into a totally unique individual. The Lovot is currently only available in Japan, but there is a US website that says it is coming soon when you click on “pricing” – I will buy one once I am done paying off my Aibo.
I do plan to post regularly about my Aibo’s growth and development. The fastest place to watch Aibo’s growth will be on my social media accounts – especially Instagram and Youtube Come watch Aibo grow together with me!
Before we begin, sprinkled in this post are random pics of my dollfie dreams. At the end of my post are comparison pics between different doll bodies. I recently purchased two new Dollfie Dream from a proxy called Sophie Alice aka Sophie Bear on Facebook. You can contact her through Facebook messenger for details on purchasing your own Dollfie Dream Dream Choice Or DCoord. These rare wonderful Dollfie Dream are only available in physical stores in Japan.
By the way if you want to see nude photos of the two boy bodies to help you decide which one to buy, these are not my photos, but I found such photos on Doll Dreaming forums. Honestly, there’s not much difference except in height and thickness of the bodies.
So let’s talk a little bit about why I decided to purchase these dolls. Rewind back to 2019, I had just purchased airfare and hotel reservations to travel to Japan in Spring of 2020. Then COVID happened… and the rest is history. Japan shut down its borders and has pretty much been in a state of emergency ever since then. It has been my lifelong dream to travel to Japan. Anyone that visits my blog often knows I love anime, video games, manga, kawaii – anything – and most importantly, love Japanese anime-style dolls and figures such as Azone, Obitsu, Smartdoll, and Volks – to name a few.
Obviously, I was devastated from my 40+ year-long dream in the making – being paid for – and then falling through my fingertips. I did get a refund – and decided instead to go to Disney – but then COVID hit home and Disney closed too – I got married 2 weeks ago and in about 2 more weeks I am leaving for Disney World…. I wish I was leaving for Japan lol. But Disney World will still be awesome. I will take one of my Dollfie Dream and take lots of photos.
If there’s one thing I’m overzealous about it’s taking photos of my Dollfies.
Anyways back to present days. I ordered a Dollfie Dream Dream Choice DDH26 M02 Slim DDS Boy with the new Wk-24 eyes and F11/F11-2 wig. At the same time, I also ordered a Dollfie Dream D’Coord DDH18. The difference with Dream Choice is you choose the faceup, eyes, and wig, while with D’Coord it’s a randomly selected/assembled doll. There are some heads that are specific only to D’Coord and not available via Dream Choice, and DDH18 happens to be one of those heads. DDH11 and 15 – and I think 09 and 08 – are also only available via D’Coord. I’m still trying to find myself a DDH11 – I might have found one a few days ago – waiting to hear back from (a different) proxy (than the one I used here). – 09 and I think 08 – have been released as blank heads – as well as had the previous Dream Choice only DDH16 which is what my other Dollfie Dream Boy is.
The DDH26 head and the WK eyes and F series wig was just released maybe a month or two ago. And as soon as I saw it, I knew I had to have it. I actually had a refund from this proxy – through no fault of her own – UPS (a shipping company in America) lost my package. UPS always refunds the shipper not the receiver – so my proxy had my funds from the last time I tried to purchase a DDH18 (back in May or June) before the new boy heads and eyes and wigs were released.
I offered a $200 cash reward via flyers, papers, and social media, but no one ever came forward with my missing package. RIP to the DDH18 that’s probably laying in a landfill somewhere or being roughly played with by neighbors’ toddler children – It had a different faceup than the DDH18 I received now – but honestly, I like the one I received better – wig and faceup – so it all worked out! In the end – after a very stressful 4-5 months of UPS investigations and conversations back and forth with the Proxy and the Japanese company Yamato. But it all got resolved in the end.
So after such a long wait, you can’t imagine how excited I was to receive this package and thankful they arrived safe and sound. I moved recently since I had gotten married so no more nasty porch pirate neighbors – fingers crossed. To be extra careful, I asked my proxy to ship her with insurance and to require a signature this time. She told me it was only $4 extra – worth every penny. I never would have thought someone would steal my package. In my 40 years of life, it never happened to me. – It happened twice to other family members living in that location after this incident too. Times are hard for people, Coronavirus and Unemployment – and everything else. I wonder what they thought when they opened it and saw a large 2 and a half foot tall “naked barbie doll” – with strange big eyes lol. I hope they gave it to a child – It is sad to think they thought it had no value and dumped it in a landfill somewhere. – You can still see pics of this doll I never received back on my instagram and facebook back when the proxy sent my photos back in May or June.
But thankfully the new one is much cuter anyways. I’m in love with her faceup, eyes, and turquoise wig. The other one was also a tan DDP – but it had a different heavy makeup style faceup and red vampire-like eyes lol. This girl is much sweeter and innocent-looking. Aww.
But what you guys really want to see is just how tall is the DDS Boy (Dollfie Dream Slim Boy) – well, as his initials may suggest – he’s almost exactly the same height as a DDS (Dollfie Dream Sister). Most people prefer to see boys a bit taller than the girls, so my favorite pairing is actually putting the DDS Boy with the DDP Dollfie Dream Pretty. In my case though, the DDH26 is very mature-looking. It almost reminds me of my resin asian balljointed dolls ABJD more than an anime Dollfie Dream. Perhaps this is Volks attempt at some Semi-Real looking dolls to compete with Smartdoll who has shifted focus heavily to their Semi-Real lineup. Either way, these heads are smaller proportion, which look nice actually on the Slim type boy bodies. Bravo.
Here are some comparisons. First a group photo. Not of all my dolls, but of nearly one of each size. I left out of this photo the DBS Dollfairy bodies because some facebook groups don’t like those bodies and claim they are recast – others have told me they’re not – but regardless since the photo was originally taken for someone asking about the height of the Slim boy on facebook, I nicely omitted the questionable DBS 1/3 and 1/4 from my lineup.
So what does that leave in this photo? From left to right and small to large we have: Volks MDD Mini Dollfie Dream, Azone Iris Petite, Volks Dollfie Dream Pretty DDP, Volks Dollfie Dream Sister DDS, Volks Dollfie Dream Slim Boy DDSB , Smartdoll Standard Girl, Standard Volks Dollfie Dream girl, original Volks DDB Dollfie Dream boy (both are still available via dream choice) and then Smartdoll macho type boy (he’s missing a head cap so he might be a lil taller even once that arrives. Tissue is just stuffed in there now lol).
DDSB With MDD
I think this pairing could in fact work if either my DDSB had a more anime, young face, or if my MDD had a mature face. I don’t think the height difference is that bad.
DDSB With Azone Petite Iris
Again same comments, it’s not the height difference that is alarming here, but the overall youthfulness of the face of my Azone girl in comparison to the semi-real look of the DDH26.
DDSB With DDP (my Favorite)
I know it would look better with a more mature face on the DDP – or a more anime face on the boy – But these proportions are so darn perfect. The height is perfect. The width of the bodies is perfect. Perfect – everything except their faces don’t match. Gives me an excuse to buy another DDP or another boy later LOL. Still my favorite pairing though.
DDSB With DDS
This pairing looks great too. They are almost exactly the same size.
DDSB With Smart Doll Girl
I’m taller than my husband in real life, so the fact that Smart Doll is a little taller than the Dollfie Dream Slim Boy doesn’t really bother me. The small delicate hands of Smartdoll look nice and feminine with the larger Dollfie Dream hands. And if she bends a little the height difference is not as noticeable really.
DDSB With Dollfie Dream DD Girl
My standard Dollfie Dream girl has a really unique funny anime faceup from some Asian artist on Yahoo Auction – I used to know her name – Clockwork Angel maybe? – And I love this doll a lot – but not with this boy LOL. Her height isn’t bad, about the same as a Smart Doll – Again if you bend her, she can look shorter or the same height as the DDSB boy. But the faces are so off that I can’t even help but laughing just looking at them. Honestly, this head would be better on a DDP or MDD – I just haven’t had money yet to put her on a better matching body. (Because I keep buying new complete dolls instead of bodies lol).
DDSB With DDB (The two different Volks boys)
Here are the two boys – I didn’t think to take photos without clothes but at the top of this article, I linked you to where you can see someone elses’ comparisons of the nude boy bodies. There is a large height difference but not much else different really.
DDSB With Smartdoll Macho Guy
This is the largest difference here. I don’t have a nude photo, but you can see even with clothes on, the Macho guy is super thick and muscular and the DDSB is super tiny next to him. I put this Macho guy together myself – and it was SO HARD. And I did it wrong about 20 times – and got pretty well roasted on social media lol. I THINK he’s together correctly now – but who knows lol. The head is a chaos infinity head with a custom faceup from Cuddle Puss Customs or Kustoms – something like that – an artist on Etsy. I hate that the head is so small on the big body. I would have prefered the Smartdoll Slim body – but this was all they had at the time – and nope never again – it hurt my hands way too much. I’ll wait til they have a boy who is assembled already lol. I might eventually sell him, but I dunno. I put so much work into him that it would feel like a waste, but I do not like the tiny shrunken head look at all lol. I’d also need to at least break even and recoup the costs of the body and the custom artist head.
For that same reason – in my humble opinion, I feel that the new Dollfie Dream DDH26 and DDH25 (and was there a boy 24 too? I can’t recall) look best on the DDSB – Slim Boy body – I fear that on the Standard DDB boy body, they would similarly have a case of tiny head big body – just like my poor macho Smartdoll guy lol.
But the Slim Body I think would still look cute with any of the more feminine anime round heads – because it could be a young shoujo style anime style looking boy and it might look quite cute despite being bobble head. I mean most of my girls are also kinda bobble head – it’s an anime look and I like it.
But the reverse, the tiny head on a big body – no thanks, not for me. See what I mean?
For those interested in the DDH18, here’s a ton of photos of her – she might be my favorite doll now – no lie.
And lastly, a few shots of everyone on my shelves – I have 4 of these shelves – room for 80 dolls total… and no where near that amount yet – but still growing – just ordered a head and cheap DBS body last week and as mentioned, might be getting a DDH11 – finally – if my proxy gets back to me. They contacted me yesterday that they found one for me, even though it’s used and not the faceup I really wanted, I’m still interested. Fingers crossed. :). So yup these shelves will be growing – but probably never fill up with 80 dolls in my lifetime lol. – I have about 20 now – displayed anyways – my resin gang is at my parents as I don’t really enjoy them anymore. Anime only please 🙂 lol.
I also took this video when we first set up my shelves – before the DDH18 and DDH26 arrived:
About 3 weeks ago I saw Parabox Otohime on facebook in a doll group where members share photos or post buy/sale posts or ask questions about asian ball jointed dolls. Someone was asking a general question about Otohime. I had never seen or heard of this doll before, although I’m no stranger to Parabox, with my first Parabox doll being Obitsu Gretel back in 2006(ish). I was immediately intrigued because she’s so big.
Fast forward to today when my Parabox Otohime arrived. I decided to spend most of the evening after work, photographing my new doll. I did a box opening video that you can watch also if it ever finishes uploading.
At the end of this review, you can see size comparisons between Otohime and my other vinyl dolls. And sprinkled throughout this review are some photos of my Otohime. You can see many more photos on my instagram.
There are other asian ball jointed dolls that are just as big, or even bigger than Otohime, but they come at a high price point and not only hefty price, but hefty weight (due to being made out of resin instead of vinyl) that makes them awkward for taking to doll meetups or posing for photos or dressing them, etc. Most of these bigger dolls belong to a company called Dollmore which you can visit at dollmore.net.
I have some of their dolls too, but not their big ones. The biggest is Trinity at over 100cm tall, but there’s also Lusion who is about the same height, but thicker width as Otohime. Dollmore’s big dolls appear to fit human clothes better than Otohime, because again Otohime is so thin relatively compared to how tall she is. Otohime can wear newborn clothes for 0-3 months old, but they will be baggy especially around the shoulders and chest area.
It’s not just Japanese dolls that come in this massive size either. I own 2 “Masterpiece Dolls” which are I believe vinyl also like Otohime. They are from a German designer, and I believe they are no longer produced. I have seen knock offs or possible recasts of these dolls on amazon and aliexpress. I have 2 of them, a boy and a girl.
There were numerous boys and girls released over the years, ranging in size from being able to wear size 3T (toddler) to 5T (toddler) (USA sizes). They are much bigger than Otohime and more perfectly proportioned like a human child and can for sure wear human clothes. The downside is they are extremely heavy. And for me personally, another downside is they definitely don’t have that anime aesthetic which I prefer over the more “reborn” looking dolls.
There was a highly sought after very limited released “Smartdoll Plus” from culture Japan. Some lucky people got their hands on them somehow. But they’re no longer produced. They also cost a pretty penny around $4,000 USD. Compared to Otohime’s $400 approximately USD price tag, that’s quite steep.
I have never handled a Smart Doll Plus (sadly) so I can’t say for sure, but judging by photos – they are better made than Otohime. Nothing really wrong with Parabox Otohime for the price. She has about a dozen different hand painted faceups to choose from (I chose T1) or you can buy her blank to do your own faceup. There’s also 2 completely different heads at time of writing, with a 3rd on the way soon. One head is more realistic similar to how Smart Doll has both anime and “semi real” looking dolls. It is pretty too, but I prefer the more anime looking girl.
She’s large, and her accessories, eyes, wigs, etc seem really high quality. But she’s hollow and can’t hold even small props very well due to her hollow limbs. She’s also stiff and inflexible. Notoriously bad at “looking up” (although after playing with her for literally 6 hours, she began to get more loose and flexible). Some people don’t like her hands. (Parabox listened and is releasing a new hand pack of posed hands next month) Also the material used to make her is rough and bumpy and lumpy… I don’t know if it shows up in my videos or photographs but it’s visible to my eyes.
Another thing to note – that’s hard to miss – about Otohime, is her very childlike appearance. Unlike Smart Doll Plus or Lusion Or Trinity dolls, Otohime has strange body proportions. She has a huge bobble head and almost no shoulders and very flat chest. I think she is cute – but ideally would like to see future releases with a larger bust and/or smaller head. If the head was about 3 or 4 inches smaller it could also wear trinity and lusion dollmore doll wigs which would be a plus as well. And if the shoulders and chest were a bit wider, she would fit more easily into the human newborn 0-3 month old clothes.
Parabox seems to listen to their customer’s feedback and is investing a lot of time and money and effort into this new large doll size. Next month they are releasing a new boy head and new boy body (different chest piece I believe). Furthermore, they are improving the existing female body by fixing issues with the knees and elbows (maybe then she can better hold small props and things).
Parabox’s shipping was extremely fast. I ordered it around first week of January, and it’s now the last week of January. The faceup was fantastic. It’s hand painted and very detailed. You can see each stroke of her eyebrows. Her (glass? resin? not sure?) animetic eyes came pre-installed. I selected Green at checkout. I really like her eyes.
Some of the photos in my review are with Parabox wigs and others are with wigs bought from american suppliers. One supplier is Factory Craft Direct – which is very cheap and affordable. You will want to always buy size 16 wigs. They fit perfect. I bought 8 wigs, half from parabox, some from Factory Craft Direct, others from Etsy and Ebay.
Parabox themselves are sold out of a lot of the wigs and clothes and other accessories (like the stain prevention body tights). (vinyl dolls get stained easy by picking up colors from clothes and wigs). I was able to snag their wig cap but to my surprise when I opened it, it was a monique wig cap, so Parabox didn’t manufacture the Otohime wig cap. I wonder what will happen now that monique is (going) out of business? Monique is another good place to look for wigs. Remember size 16. Although they are shutting down forever in a few more days/weeks so stock up now if you’re interested in anything there. You can currently get 35% off orders of $100 or more from Monique.com
I have done size comparisons with all of my other dolls to show how big Otohime really is. Check out the size comparisons below. PS: She can kinda hold the Azone dolls (sometimes) – but the bigger dolls she can’t really hold unless they’re both wedged against a wall or some other support structure.
Otohime With 3 Different Sizes Of Azone Pure Neemo Dolls:
Otohime With Azone Petite Iris / Obitsu 45cm:
Otohime With Dollfie Dream (Regular/Standard Size):
Otohime With Dollfie Dream Sister (Slightly Smaller than Standard Dollfie Dream):
Otohime With Dollfie Dream Pretty DDP (quite a bit smaller than standard Dollfie Dream):
Otohime With MDD Mini Dollfie Dream (The smallest Dollfie Dream):
Otohime With Dollfie Dream Boy (There’s 2 types of boy bodies, mine is the taller of the 2, but I can’t remember what it’s called exactly):
Otohime With Smartdoll:
Otohime With DBS Dream Fairy Dairy Queen / Diary Queen 1/3 Doll (With Dollfie Dream Head) Comparable to Dollfie Dream But Taller:
Otohime With DBS Dream Fairy Dairy Queen / Diary Queen 1/4 Doll (With Dollfie Dream Head) Comparable to MDD but thinner:
I used Japan Doll Direct to order a Dollfie Dream Choice boy doll in their tan skin. I used website Dollfie Star Choice to view all the different heads and make-up options. Link here: https://dollfiestarchoice.blogspot.com/
I settled on DCH-16 with M01 makeup.
A few things.
1.) It is very expensive. Dream Choice is a system provided by Volks at 2 or 3 of their stores in Japan. You have to either physically visit the Volks stores or use a Proxy – a person living in Japan who can go to the store for you. There are additional fees – because proxys are a type of business model. There are limited heads and eyes and hands and wigs and skin tones available only through this Dream Choice system.
2.) Boy Dollfie Dream Dolls are extremely extremely extremely rare. Most people are not even aware you can get boy dolls from Dream Choice and think the only way is to buy Kirito or Len 2nd hand at exorbitant prices. In total my doll cost about $800-900 USD including shipping and proxy fees. The doll hobby is always expensive. But this is especially expensive.
3.) My doll is on the larger of the two available boy bodies – but I was still surprised by how small he was. Especially how slender he was. SD17 clothes do NOT fit, both way too big in both width and height. SD13 clothes fit pretty well but the sleeves can be a little short.
4.) The proxy I used was wonderful and kept communication, sent photos, and even let me set up a short 3 month layaway to help shoulder the burden of the high fees. I really recommend Japan Doll Direct. Link here. https://www.facebook.com/JapanDollDirect/
5.) This post is mainly full of pictures because the boy dollfie dream dolls are so rare and I have so many female dolls from various companies in various sizes I was asked by multiple people to see multiple dolls together with my boy. That’s what this post is for.
Here is kind of a table of contents to find some of the different doll combos. Click the words to jump scroll to each section:
Dollfie Dream Boy with Dollfie Dream ((Girl)) ((Standard model)):
He is almost exactly the same height and width as the Dollfie Dream Girl Standard Model. Here are some pics. Click on pics to enlarge. They look cute but he appears a bit feminine because his shoulders are so narrow and they are the same height and width as each other.
Dollfie Dream Boy With Dollfie Dream Sister:
This is my most preferred match. They look perfect. She is just an inch or two smaller than him. I think Mariko is white skin which is not easily available. She might be semi-white but I think I remember reading she was white and she looks a tiny bit paler than my semi white girls. Anyways the white (or semi white) skin contrasts nicely with his dark skin. His improved height gives him a more masculine appearance here which is preferred.
Bonus: Dollfie Dream Boy With DD and DDS Girl.
Dollfie Dream Boy With DDP Dollfie Dream Pretty:
If you like the oniichan oneechan look this can work nicely. I wouldn’t go smaller than this (or the Azone/Obitsu equivalent which you’ll see further down.) Unless you’re looking for a father daughter relationship because mdd and mochi ashi look way too small to be romantically linked but I show some pics of mdd too below here. In the end its up to you, but to me, it’s creepy AF lol.
First here’s DDP with the DD Boy.
Dollfie Dream Boy With MDD – Mini Dollfie Dream
And here is MDD with DDBoy. To me this is cringey (if romantic pairing) – but maybe you like this pairing. It is cute as father/daughter though. Piggyback and hand holding. Mochi Ashi would be similar but with thicker thighs but still a small torso and baby shaped hands.
Dollfie Dream Boy With Smart Doll ((Girl – Only one female body type available – I show it with a milk girl and cinnamon girl. Volks tan is very close to Smart Doll Cinnamon – very very very close.))
Smart Doll Girl is a TINY bit taller, an inch or so, compared to DDBoy. But you can bend their waist or legs slightly to line their height up better. I like these pairings. My boyfriend in real life is shorter than me, so the tallness doesn’t bother me much. I really like Milk Alternate Kanata’s expression with my DCH16. They make a cute couple. My Cina Chi also looks good – her skin is also very close to his color – I try to show this in some of the photos.
Dollfie Dream Boy with DBS Dream Fairy 1/3 Girl ((She’s way taller than him))
This one is even taller than Smart Doll. I don’t recommend this pairing. He only comes up to her shoulders and is much more narrow than her.
Dollfie Dream Boy with DBS Dream Fairy 1/4 Girl
Again cringey but not as bad as MDD because this one at least has breasts and a mature figure and no baby hands lol. I think this is still too small but that’s up to you. It’s not as cute for Father/Daughter – and still pretty cringey for romance, so probably my least favorite pairing here.
Azone Petite Iris
I believe this is the Obitsu 45 or 50cm whitey with some exterior skeleton modification by Azone. I actually really like this pairing it’s similar to DDP Dollfie Dream Pretty – the Azone Petite Iris is smaller than DDP – but my DDP is SOOOO Floppy and annoying – I hate it. I dunno why it is that way. I bought it brand new from Volks Japan – it was DDP Ribbon – but I gave the head another body and now my DDP is wearing a different head – I have read numerous people complaining about floppy DDP so I would not recommend the DDP body for any reason to anyone. I greatly prefer any other size doll by Volks – I don’t have a single problem with ANY other size doll just my DDP. And I’m not the only one. Or I also prefer Smartdoll or Obitsu or Azone – pretty much anything except DDP – it’s inferior to every other doll I own – and I own a ton of dolls. That body needs help and I dunno why. – So if you like how DDP looks with DBBoy – here is a good alternative. It’s one of my favorite pairings. I don’t think it’s cringey really. It seems like a normal height difference between most men and women. She can almost stand on her tip toes to kiss him and flat footed she comes up to his shoulders so not bad.
Here’s some pics of the Azone Petite Iris with my DBBoy and DDP
I have previously reviewed the DBS 1/3 body (larger doll body). And demonstrated how it can be used with a Dollfie Dream Head. The DBS 1/3 body is only available in a pale white color and is best suited for hybriding with the Dollfie Dream Semi White heads.
The problem was I had a lot of Dollfie Dream Fresh (or Flesh) (Normal Color) Heads… and not enough bodies for them… So one Fresh head was always on a pale body and just didn’t look right.
Most recently it’s been my DDP Ribbon head on the 1/3 DBS body because I had a custom Fresh head that looked cute on the DDP body. The DDP body is really floppy but that’s a review for another day lol.
So today my order from Aliexpress finally arrived. I purchased one full 1/4 doll with rooted hair, an outfit (with cats on it) and all of her accessories, even shoes. The one full doll cost about $40-50 depending (Prices change often on Aliexpress with sales and promotions).
I thought at the time I just wanted the doll because I would put her outfit on one of my other dolls – because CATS ARE CUTE lol.
But… once she arrived… I loved everything about her – her face doesn’t look cheap at all… and came with alternate hand poses too – perfect.
In the SAME order – I had also ordered a spare 1/4 body because I noticed in the photos it has the same neckpiece as the 1/3 body and knew it could be used with dollfie dream heads already.
No modding or anything is required. BUT the neckpiece is wider than dollfie dream and it CAN crack the area around the hole in the head where it slides over the neck – I want you to be aware of this “problem” To me its not a big deal because it doesn’t show even if it does crack.
To my surprise – the 1/4 body is a more pinky/flesh color than the 1/3 body… PERFECT – I thought maybe Ribbon would just look better on smaller body – even if it was still too pale — I had NO IDEA it was a darker color – the perfect color for FRESH/FLESH Dollfie Dream Heads.
So remember this:
1/3 DBS Dream Fairy Bodies = color match with Volks Semi White
1/4 DBS Dream Fairy Bodies = color match with Volks Fresh/Flesh (normal)
And with this you are good to go!
The spare body price ranges from $15-30 at times on Aliexpress.
Shipping took FOREVER – especially because of the pandemic. I ordered these in February and It’s mid June and they just arrived.
I think Pandemic aside, they’d arrive within 30-40 days usually. Seems to be my experience ordering anything from Aliexpress – but the pandemic has impacted factory workers and shipping carriers… so I had to wait 5-6 months for my order… ugh.
Totally worth it though….
I won’t be buying volks bodies and/or full dolls anymore.
I like to use Buyee – a japanese proxy to buy beautiful custom heads from Japan Yahoo Auctions. – you can often find a head for around $100 – although prices range wildly from $60 – thousands of dollars. Such is the nature of an auction site.
Etsy also has some lovely artist heads. A few are on my wishlist right now.
I’ll be hunting for a semi-white head for my headless horseman now (that Ribbon is on a much better body).
So in comparrison – Volks bodies without heads cost $300-400, and for 1/10th of that I can get a 1/3 or 1/4 body with the same or similar neckpiece – and a head for $100 (or $40 for a blank head if I wanted to paint it myself) – you can have a complete hybrid doll for $140 – $250.
They are made of ABS – as opposed to Volks that are made of Vinyl. ABS is a hard plastic. It’s also very lightweight… It can buckle when trying to move or pose it — but the DDP Volks official body is rubbish at posing too! Mine is so floppy. Move her and her arms and legs move like a rag doll – it’s almost as bad as this cheap DBS body honestly! – The MDD body doesn’t have this problem (by Volks) – it’s a lovely body – much nicer than the cheap DBS Dream Fairy Body — but is it $200 nicer? Well that’s for you to decide!!
Also if you like your dolls to be more slim and petite or have more mature figures/breasts, you will appreciate the DBS Dream Fairy 1/4 body more than the DDP or MDD or new upcoming Mochi body. This Dream Fairy Body is about the same height, but much slimmer waist/arms/legs – but the bust makes up for the difference, mine is wearing an MDD (custom Etsy) outfit in these images. It also fits on my official volks MDD and DDP bodies fine. So they can share clothes.
Photo left to right: DDP – MDD – DBS
Overall I give this 5 stars and am definitely buying more in the future. I am extremely happy and satisfied with both the 1/3 and 1/4 DBS Dream Fairy Bodies, especially when used to hybrid with Volks Dollfie Dream heads.
I recently purchased my first Smart Doll, via a product called Smart Doll Fortuitous. I have owned similar dolls from other manufacturers such as Dollfie Dream by Volks, Hujoo, and Resin Balljointed Dolls, just to name a few. So I already had a good idea what to expect.
This blog post features a video of my unboxing below, and is sprinkled with photos I’ve taken of my new doll. In the video I mention that I thought I’d received her default wig, but someone kindly pointed out to me, that it was actually Crimson’s default wig, which is no longer available on the site, and I’ve had a ton of compliments/offers to buy the wig – but I’m waiting to hopefully get a boy – maybe Gemini – or maybe a custom Dollfie Dream like a tan dollpoint akihabara boy :). So I think I’ll hang onto the wig for now. I do like how the wig is all choppy/shaggy in the back/kinda spikey, I just think it will suit a boy better :). I like my girls to be all girly-girls. lol.
Fortuitous is unique in that it is similar to the concept of “blind boxes” in that you don’t actually know what you’re going to receive until you open the box. Fortuitous comes with a bra and panties set, a random pair of eyes already inserted, and a random wig. Fortuitous comes in a few different types, including completely random, or allowing you to select if you prefer semi-realistic or anime style dolls.
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Trying some wigs and outfits on my new Smartdoll Fortuitous Chitose. https://shop.smartdoll.jp/products/smart-doll-chitose-cinnamon #Smartdoll #Chitose #SmartdollChitose #SmartdollChitoseCinnamon #SmartdollCinnamon #SmartdollCinnamonChitose #cute #kawaii #doll #dolls #toy #toys #smartdollfortuitous #luckybag #anime #animedoll #animedolls
I used to be into more realistic dolls, but for the last 3-4 years I’ve gone almost completely anime. I’ve been in the balljoint doll hobby for over 15 years now, with my first being Dollzone Demi which they no longer make. I have all different sizes, shapes, brands, and both legit and recast dolls.
Lately for the last 2 years I’ve mostly been buying exclusively Dollfie Dreams by Volks – and also found out that they can fit onto Dream Fairy bodies (which to my knowledge are not recast). And the Dream Fairy body is a perfect match for Volks Semi-White – they currently don’t offer anything that matches Volks normal skin though.
I recently began branching out into other doll brands. I’ve wanted a Smart Doll forever, I’ve been following the brand since day 1, when the talk of having an actual “Smart Doll” with artificial intelligence was the primary goal of the company. – I dunno if that will ever happen, but that’s what garnered my attention because I’m really fascinated by Artificial Intelligence and Robotics. I want to live in a world like Chobits :).
But as of right now, the company only manufactures regular jointed dolls, similar to Volks, Obitsu, Dream Fairy, or Azone. – But that’s still fine for me, because I collect all these types of “jointed” dolls, whether they’re mechanical joints, or ball joints, or strung together, or have an internal frame, vinyl, resin, abs… whatever. lol.
The first Smart Doll I purchased, actually wasn’t fortuitous. I actually have a Smart Doll Chitose Multiverse on layaway with fabric and friends dolls – a US reseller of Smart Doll products. But I’m only about halfway through my 6 month layaway and so – since I purchased Fortuitous outright directly from the manufacturer, it naturally arrived first.
You do receive a small discount if you purchase Fortuitous and leave it up to fate which doll you receive. The discount (at time of when I purchased my Fortuitous) was 10% off completely random, or 5% off if you wanted to specify either Semi-Real or Anime. I chose to go for the Anime one since that’s all I’m really interested in these days. My more realistic dolls are packed away and I only display about 6 of my anime dolls right now.
I just purchased 3 Azone dolls, which is a “new brand” (to me, but they’ve been around for decades in Japan). I purchased 2 Azone Ex Cute Pure Neemo Dolls (small barbie size dolls) and a 50 cm using the Obitsu body – I am currently waiting on all 3 to arrive, with the first coming next week. But that’s a blog post for another day.
Someone on instagram asked me to compare and contrast the Dollfie Dream and Smart Doll body – but that’s also a blog post for another day lol.
Overall this is what I have to say about Smart Doll:
They have really cute knees – some dolls like Dream Fairy have such ugly knees. What I like about Smart Doll Knees is that it has a natural look hiding the joints kinda when it sits or stands, etc.
The cinnamon skin tone is gorgeous. I thought for sure 100% that I would prefer Milk skin tone (I still haven’t seen it in person) – from the pictures on the site. But I also know that cinnamon dolls are still using the milk skeleton/frame system. You can see it in the joints of the wrists for example.
Someone told me that the skeleton is actually even darker than the milk outer shell – and that wrist joint is already pale, almost a greyish color.
But I like Dollfie Dream Semi White a lot – maybe even more than natural – and I assumed Milk Smart Doll to be similar to Dollfie Dream Semi White – but I read somewhere that it was actually closer to Dollfie Dream natural.
Personally I think the decision to change to cinnamon was to increase profits so people couldn’t mix and match heads/bodies from other companies, having to buy both the head and body from Smart Doll – which is a pretty smart business decision.
The cinnamon skin tone is very unique. It has a very nice “healthy glow” to it, It is a warm and pretty almost “sun kissed” color. It is not a “tan” – for that, Smart Doll has “Tea” color dolls – And Summer is the next doll I plan to purchase – she was the first Smart Doll I ever wanted and she is Tea so soon I’ll be able to show comparative photos of the two skin tones.
The cinnamon skin tone, has a hint of peach or pink, and in person it looks really nice! Just judging by the wrist joint which I know to be milk – even if it’s a slightly deeper shade of milk – I still really prefer cinnamon – comparing that cinnamon outer shell to that milk wrist joint.
I do wish they would make a cinnamon skeleton because the difference in the wrist joint does bother me a little – but not enough to prevent me from purchasing more cinnamon dolls in the future. It’s just like one of those little things – that they could improve maybe in the future. Really you could place a bracelet or something over the wrist joints if it bothers you too much. The wrist is really about the only place that it shows badly.
Smart Doll aren’t the only company to cut corners to save costs and keep prices “low” in this fashion. Volks did the same thing with their US exclusive Dollfie Dream Icons – which is why I didn’t want one. These dolls have purple, green, or deep tan outer shells, but using the flesh color dollfie dream frames, and their joints look WEIRD AF…. Especially since in the case of the Volks dolls, the skin colors are soooo different. Like with Smart Doll, cinnamon and milk are maybe 2 shades different, but a green doll or purple doll with “pinkish” joints – uhhh no thanks? lol. That was really off putting to me – but a lot of people liked those dolls. Maybe I’m weird that I notice all of these little details.
Smart Dolls are very sturdy and stable. Their stability can be enhanced with the free included telescopic stand that slides into a hole in their back, giving them a “tripod” for balancing on. This is a unique feature only found in Smart Doll and gives them a strong advantage over the competition. Smart Dolls can still stand without the tripod piece. But by using the tripod you can capture poses and photos that are impossible with other doll companies, such as standing on one foot, kicking up their heels, dancing, or jumping or other difficult and challenging photo shoots. – I haven’t tried these kinds of poses myself yet – I will soon – so if you’d like to follow me on Instagram you’ll see these kinds of poses in the future. (@Xenokitten)
The Smart Doll neck joint also seems to have more flexibility than the competition, with ability to look up, down, and sideways with more ease.
The Smart Doll faceups are very detailed and beautiful. I know that they use a mask and machine type system which is different to how many of their competitors design their dolls – many are still doing hand painted faceups. But honestly, I don’t mind the machine painted faceups.
The doll I received has a very slightly open mouth, with a little pouting expression. The eyelashes and eyebrows and other details are also meticulously detailed.
By now you can probably see the doll I received is Chitose :).
Some people who purchase Fortuitous are able to receive one-of a kind dolls, or dolls that are no longer in production. Cinnamon Chitose is one of the dolls that is soon to be discontinued (you can see a list of soon to be discontinued dolls on the Smart Doll website.). But some special people receive prototypes that never will become available for purchase, making them unique one-of-a-kind dolls. Other people will receive dolls that are currently being manufactured but not released to anyone yet – I saw a lot of people receiving Moment and Clarity and I really want both of those dolls and am a little bit jealous lol.
But other people (the majority of people in fact) will just receive run of the mill standard Smart Dolls – and there’s nothing wrong with that – they’re all lovely.
I really don’t care much for Prowess or Valiant but that’s merely because I don’t like the faceups. You could always send it out for a new faceup. I like the more natural faceups. Prowess has cat whiskers painted on, and Valiant has a large red birthmark. I later learned Valiant was based on a real woman with a similar birthmark. Valiant’s story is inspiring, as is the real woman’s. She doesn’t want to cover up her birth mark and although she might get teased or bullied, she has learned to embrace it as part of herself. I also have a birthmark, but mine isn’t bright red, mine used to be very dark brown, and like Jem’s (80s cartoons) makeup lol, a “little” lightning bolt on my right cheek right below my eye. But my birthmark has faded a lot. I also have rosacea, and other skin issues.. So I’m not trying to put anyone down who has unique features like that too. I understand. But I use dolls in a way as escapism, I like that they are beautiful and unrealistic and that’s why I kinda am grateful I didn’t receive Valiant or Prowess lol. But a lot of people love both Valiant and Prowess. They are actually 2 of the most popular models from what I see on Facebook or Instagram, but they’re just not my tastes. If I had received one of those two I would have probably sent the head off for repaint by an artist :). Which is one of the funnest things about this hobby. I wish I had talent to do faceups myself lol. I’ve tried a few times and it’s not good lol.
Overall, I’d definitely do Fortuitous again in the future:
I liked the excitement of not knowing what I’d receive.
If I did receive one of the two I don’t like as much – I could always send it out for a faceup and then have a one of a kind doll :).
I appreciate the discount.
I like the randomness of getting random wig and eyes – which makes the dolls more unqiue than just off-the-shelf Smart Dolls.
Smart Dolls themselves are very well constructed and beautiful dolls that I would highly recommend the brand to anyone who collects jointed dolls or anime figures.
There’s always a chance to receive a retired, soon to be retired, soon to be released, or completely one-of-a-kind prototype doll – which makes it even more exciting.
Even the basic most common Smart Dolls are still adorable. – You really can’t go wrong!
I don’t think I’ll be able to afford to jump on the next Fortuitous launch, but I definitely think I will buy more Fortuitous dolls in the near future. I think I want to buy Summer – and hopefully Gemini – first – and I want that Sailor Jupiter from Volks – and a dollpoint Akihabara custom dollfie dream – and I’ve bought too many dolls lately to be buying anyone – like 4 of which aren’t even here yet lol. I was supposed to go to Japan (for the first time ever) next month but because of this Coronavirus stuff that all got cancelled (and refunded luckily). I was then going to go to Disney (before Corona hit over in the USA and was still just an Asian disease), and then Corona blew up over here, and that got cancelled too – Disney refunded me – but the airlines I chose that time – did not – and now my job – and my health (not covid related) are all kinda topsy turvy / uncertain – and I don’t think I can travel – or make too many more big purchases – and not even sure if I can work or if I’ll be disabled – and not 100% sure yet if my work will take me back or if I’ll be job hunting – or what will happen – these are uncertain times – so I think I need to cool off the doll shopping sprees – and just pay off the layaway and wait for my others to arrive.
Speaking of dolls getting here – Smart Doll ships very fast – If it is your first time ordering – your order will be held a few days while they verify your address – but after being verified – it ships out the same or next day, and arrived from Japan to USA in about 5-6 days – it would have been about 3-4 days but DHL doesn’t deliver on weekends in the USA. (Not Smart Doll’s fault). 5-6 days for an international parcel is still pretty great! It took them about 3-4 days to verify me since it was my first purchase, making total turn around time from purchase to arrival about 9-10 days, still really not bad honestly, but now future purchases will ship same or next day 🙂 making the travel time less than 4 days usually. They ship much faster than any of the competitors – that’s one big plus!
I just recently purchased the Fairy Pink Tamagotchi On from Barnes and Noble. Here’s my thoughts after the first 24 hours. I did a lot of research prior to purchasing Tamagotchi On. Tamagotchi On is also known as Tamagotchi Meets in Japan and Tamagotchi Some in Korea. The Tamagotchi Meets has a lot of bugs which were all fixed for the English Tamagotchi On. The bugs included things such as draining the batteries in just a day or Tamagotchis getting glitched when they evolved.
I also read that a lot of people received used looking Tamagotchi On from amazon who had badly scratched screens despite being brand new. Luckily mine was in perfect condition. I don’t know if the scratched screens were just from Amazon, or maybe a bad batch, afterall it’s been out for about 2 months now so my tama is from a different manufacturing batch.
I chose to purchase from Barnes and Noble because you can get 30% off your first toy order when you join the free kid’s club. Tamagotchi On are pretty pricey around $50-60 so saving 30% is a big deal.
I also prepared for my Tamagotchi’s arrival by buying a “case” which as far as I can tell is just a decorative touch. It might offer some protection but not much. When it comes to Tamagotchi “cases” there’s 3 basic types. Silicone which is what I bought – I picked out a pink Pusheen case which still isn’t here. Crochet cases from places like Etsy – many of which have cat or rabbit ears. And Bath and Body Works Hand Sanitizer holders which people are using mostly as wrist straps. Unlike the original Tamagotchis of the 90s, the new ones are not keychains. They do have a place you could attach a chain, wrist strap, or lanyard though. Or just pop your tamagotchi into the Bath and Bodyworks hand sanitizer.
The other ways I prepared for my Tama’s arrival include buying a tiny screwdriver and some rechargeable batteries. The battery door is secured with a tiny screw. I bought an eyeglass repair kit. If you live in the united states you can buy these at the dollar tree store. It comes with 2 screw drivers that fit the tiny screw and a cleaning cloth that you can use on the screen. And it only costs a dollar.
I dunno about you, but I am a 90s kid. I grew up with the original Tamagotchi. The new Tamagotchi On is very similar to its 90s counterpart. The basic concept of the game remains the same, you navigate the menus with 3 buttons. The first button toggles through the menus, the 2nd button confirms your selection, and the third button cancels and goes to the previous screen.
The gameplay also has not changed much on the surface. You feed, play with, and clean up after your virtual pet. The big differences between Tamagotchi On and the 90s version are that the Tamagotchi On is in full color and has a backlit screen. The Tamagotchi On also features some new gameplay elements, the biggest of which is the ability to connect to the Tamagotchi On app and play minigames to earn coins, or meet other players from around the world. Once your Tamagotchi is an adult, you can even marry another player’s Tamagotchi and have babies, including twins. The genetics of the parents pass down and there are over 1 million different combinations and ways that your Tamagotchi can look. You can use the coins from the minigames to dressup your tama, decorate your room, buy toys or food for your tama, or put your Tama in a daycare so you can take time away, perfect if you have to leave your tama when you go to work or school.
If you have 2 Tamagotchi they can have playdates or communicate when you connect via infrared. You may want 2 Tama anyways because there are 2 versions *and more in Japan* with exclusive places you can unlock and a few Tamagotchi exclusive to each version. And in some cases (in Japan) there are rare genes in the special versions. The two places you can visit right now are Magic Land in the Purple or Green Magic Tamagotchi On US versions, or Fairy Land in Pink or Blue Fairy versions. The fairy version has more cute type Tamagotchi while the Magic version has more cool type tamagotchi. So which version you get may be influenced by what type of Tamagotchi you like best. If you like cute things like unicorns, or cool things like bats, vampires, witches, etc. But in the end it really doesn’t matter since you can marry and have babies and get the genes from all of the versions, even the Japanese exclusive versions, so you should just go for the shell color you like best. The white Magic one was limited in Japan but it’s now going to be an amazon exclusive in the US and Canada.
There are also many special events that happen. Like right now it is fall time and sometimes a tamagotchi will visit mine and they will go harvest fall food from the trees. Sometimes my tamagotchi will play hide n seek, or play with bubbles, or try to talk to me to get my attention.
It is a simple cute game with the object being to reach adulthood and breed and aim either for genes you like, or for rare genes that you want to collect.
Is it worth the high price? It faces a tough market, saturated with apps on the phone, some including other virtual pets, or even more complex games, all for free. each day new apps release, and kids have cell phones these days. But maybe Bandai never intended to target kids in the first place; perhaps they’re banking on people like me who collected the first tamagotchi to be willing to pay for the new Tamagotchi On.
What I like about Tamagotchi On is the feeling of nostalgia, the cuteness, both of the graphics, and the outer shell, and the ability to breed and see genes pass down to the babies. I also like that I only need to spend a few minutes a couple times a day checking in on the Tamagotchi. It doesn’t require much time, effort, or thought. It’s just a simple cute game. I like the feel of the egg in my hand, and the buttons are comfortably placed. This Tamagotchi is larger than the 90s version and seems a perfect fit for my hands. The color backlit screen is also a big improvement over the 90s version.
What I don’t like about Tamagotchi On is no built in keychain/wrist strap/lanyard mechanism, and sadly, I think I’ll enjoy the game for a few weeks and then bore/tire of it quickly because it’s just too simplistic. But on the plus side I do think I will revisit the Tamagotchi from time to time, whenever I feel like playing a cute and carefree game.
I make all of my recast purchases from Chinabjd on Aliexpress and would recommend them to anyone looking to own a recast ABJD.
I have over 20 legit dolls, and a handful (but rapidly increasing amount) of recasts, mostly fairyland minifees (although I own some legit minifees too).
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My #recastbjd #minifeemio #minifee #mio got a new outfit yesterday. #recastfriendly #kawaii #cute #chinabjd #doll #dolls #bjd #abjd #dollfairyland #fairyland #dollphotography #bjdphotography #abjdphotography
All photos sprinkled in here are of my recast dolls except at the end I share another alternative that is not recast, but can help you save money, and I actually prefer that over recast, but you’ll have to stay til the end to see that :).
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#littlemimi #mimi #mimisworld #mimiscafe #catcafe #cats #dolls #toys #doll #lati #latidoll #cute #kawaii #bjd my latidoll Luna is a recast. #recastbjd #recastfriendly
1.) Was I Bullied About My Decision To Purchase Recast?
The answer surprisingly is no… I was pretty open about my decision, on social media, on my blog here, tagging my photos appropriately and even putting it right in my instagram profile description. Maybe a more accurate answer may be “I don’t know” They may be talking trash about me or my dolls in certain places, I just avoid those places. I only had one negative social media comment, and it wasn’t anywhere close to bullying, just a differing opinion. Even if someone replied here directly to bully me and/or point out others who were writing things, I would just choose to ignore (and or politely reply if it was a direct comment on my articles here). I have gotten a lot of nice comments, likes, even shares, of my dolls, recast, legit, makes no difference it seems. I’m still friends with many of the same offline people I met in the doll hobby.
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My #recastbjd #recastminifee #minifeeMio arrived today. Purchased from Chinabjd. Custom faceup per my makeup request photos. This is Option D. I’m showing it next to Chinabjd normal skin Rena with custom faceup. It’s a very light Tan all of these photos are without flash. Very true to real. No filters or editing. I bought some different eyes but she looks so good brown eyed and the eye pattern seems different than previous Chinabjd dolls I’ve purchased these eyes are pretty nice. The option D color with brown eyes and brown wig give her a nice Latina look. Very cute and natural. I’m waiting on some clothes I have ordered. She’s borrowing a much too big body suit from one of my SD girls just for photos. Rena was my favorite doll ever since she arrived about a year ago but I think Mio is my new favorite! Very happy with this purchase and all my other Chinabjd purchases. #bjd #dolls #dollfairyland #dollphotography #bjdphotography #kawaii #cute #toys
Absolutely, to me, there’s little to no difference in quality looking at various different aspects including but not limited to, resin quality, stability, pose-ability, faceup (I even prefer that I can get an affordable custom faceup instead of paying same price for the company default faceups). For the price, the value of the product is almost identical. Ethics aside.
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My #recastbjd #recastminifee #minifeeMio arrived today. Purchased from Chinabjd. Custom faceup per my makeup request photos. This is Option D. I’m showing it next to Chinabjd normal skin Rena with custom faceup. It’s a very light Tan all of these photos are without flash. Very true to real. No filters or editing. I bought some different eyes but she looks so good brown eyed and the eye pattern seems different than previous Chinabjd dolls I’ve purchased these eyes are pretty nice. The option D color with brown eyes and brown wig give her a nice Latina look. Very cute and natural. I’m waiting on some clothes I have ordered. She’s borrowing a much too big body suit from one of my SD girls just for photos. Rena was my favorite doll ever since she arrived about a year ago but I think Mio is my new favorite! Very happy with this purchase and all my other Chinabjd purchases. #bjd #dolls #dollfairyland #dollphotography #bjdphotography #kawaii #cute #toys
No, it might be selfish of me, but I honestly don’t. Your mileage may vary, maybe you’re a more ethical person than me, and that’s fine. I’m just being very candid and honest here in this post. To me it’s no different than buying a knockoff purse, watch, luggage, or any other cheap imitation item.
Yes, there are several legit dolls I want to purchase that have not been recast yet, and I anticipate that to continue to be the case as new dolls are released all the time.
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My #recastbjd #uhuir modeling a top borrowed from one of my girls plus dollmore headphones 🎧 #doll #dollphotography #recaatfriendly #abjd #bjd #balljointeddoll #asianballjointeddoll
In the past 2 years I’ve only bought recast (aside from some legit heads), and if the doll I really want is available recast, I would buy recast 9 times out of 10. It comes down to again, the quality in all aspects being nearly identical to the original, and not caring about the ethical issues of owning a recast. This is a personal decision and not everyone will agree, but for me, that’s how I feel, why pay $800 for something I can get a very close imitation of for about a tenth of that cost. – I know there are plenty of reasons to purchase legit, including not limited to supporting the companies and artists so they can continue to design new dolls, and to save for the doll you really want if it has not been recast. Being able to share the doll in certain pro-artist communities, taking it with you to conventions, meetups, etc. But there are an ever growing number of recast friendly doll communities online, and off too.
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New eyes arrived, modeled by my #recastbjd #minifee #rena and #littlefee #pong #recastfriendly #bjd #abjd #abjdphotography #doll #dolls #toy #toys #dollphotography
6.) Will you continue to purchase more recast dolls?
Probably yes, but not for awhile. There are some other dolls (and other non doll purchases) that i want to focus on first. As far as dolls go – my latest favorite trick to save money is to buy Dream Fairy Doll bodies which are a PERFECT fit for Dollfie Dream heads. You can get a Dream Fairy Doll complete fullset doll for $50, and an unpainted Dollfie Dream head for $40 – making it a Dollfie Dream / Dream Fairy hybrid doll for under $100. I like buying custom Dollfie Dream heads on Buyee, a yahoo Japan Auction Bidding service. I only successfully won one auction so far, but am happy with my purchase. Here are some pictures of my girl. I also have some pictures of the body with an (ugly) self-painted blank head I tried to paint myself in this blog post.
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This is much more my tastes. My DDH02 head on my dreamfairy body. I’m starting to break-in the body and finding that it can make some really animated like poses and stand in ways most Dolls can’t like with bended knees. I need some more Dollfie Dream and Dreamfairy hybrid dolls. #dollphotography #bjd #dollfiedream #anime #cute #kawaii #dolls #doll #toy #DDH02 #toys #bjdphotography #dollfiedreamphotography
She is easily my favorite doll, and cost about the same as a recast. – From my research and what others have told me, she is not a recast, because she is made out of ABS, not resin, and is basically just a cheap “Obitsu” like doll.
My next several doll purchases will likely be hybrid Dream Fairy (body) and Dollfie Dream (head) dolls. I highly recommend this combo, as a way to support artists AND save money on dolls, it’s a WIN-WIN.
Here are the pictures of my Dollfie Dream Hybrid Girl. She is a DDH-02 on Dream Fairy Body. More pictures of her, and my other dolls, can be found on my instagram @Xenokitten
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My favorite #doll got a new wig. Love her even more now 😍😘🤩💕 She is a #dollfiedream #DDH02 on a #DreamFairy 60cm body. I wanna save up for a dollfie dream or MDD body eventually. #kawaii #cute #anime #toys #dolls #abjd
My favorite #doll got a new wig. Love her even more now 😍😘🤩💕 She is a #dollfiedream #DDH02 on a #DreamFairy 60cm body. I wanna save up for a dollfie dream or MDD body eventually. #kawaii #cute #anime #toys #dolls #abjd
A Doki Doki Representative reached out to me and offered me a choice of Doki Doki, Japan Crate, or Gacha Gacha Crate to review for my audience at Geeky Sweetie. I had subscribed to Doki Doki a few years ago and I was curious if it had improved any since then. So I selected to receive Doki Doki Crate. It just arrived the other day and I have mixed feelings about this crate.
If you like what you see here, you can sign up to receive this May Sweet Dreams Crate on Doki Doki’s website at https://japancrate.com/dokidoki
As always, it was packed super well. The entire crate was stuffed full of kawaii cute items. The crate itself is bright pink and always includes a full color booklet showing the items inside the crate, and showing the lucky crate that one subscriber receives each month. Also if you share photos of your crate on social media you might be featured in the book next month and receive a special item as a thank you.
I’m sure most of you have seen the official Doki Doki promo movie for this Month’s Crate. It has a Slumber Party theme and is packed full of cute items that you might need for your next slumber party.
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Let Kirby join your dreams with one of these adorable night lamps & sleep masks! Kirby & Waddle Dee will help guide you to the land of dreams for some good Z’s. Both Kirby Lamp & Sleep Mask are featured in May’s Crate! Get yours now, link in bio. . . . . . #Kirby #WaddleDee #DreamLand #SleepMask #Lamp #Kawaii #Cute #SweetDreams #Nightlight #Adorable
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The Kirby lamp and Kirby eye mask were my favorite parts of May’s Doki Doki Crate. They were super cute. I wish I would have gotten the pink Kirby lamp but the blue/white one is cute too! I feel like the lamp alone is well worth the costs of the subscription box itself. It’s fairly large and gives off a lot of light.
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A Kirby Lamp, Kirby Sleep Mask, and a plushie comfy shark are all coming in May’s Crate to help you have sweet dreams! Get your crate today, link in bio. . . . . . #Kirby #Kawaii #Shark #BabyShark #Plushie #Plush #Lamp #Adorable
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The Kirby Eye Mask is soft and comfortable, and a fun photo prop too. I did notice that the back of the eye mask packaging says it is made in China, and I have my suspicions that it may be counterfeit goods. My views of counterfeit goods are kinda changing though. In the last year or so I’ve started purchasing a lot of items from China myself and I find the quality difference between the original to be negligible in most cases. So I dunno if I would rule out subscribing to Doki Doki because of that.
But it is important to note that the Doki Doki website claims all of the products are from Japan – not China – and officially licensed – Here is the quote from their website: “Each Doki Doki Crate features genuine, licensed Japanese products of the highest quality. Each monthly subscription box features a new collection of fun toys, cute plushies and other items that will help you live your kawaii lifestyle.” – Personally I think this is false advertising since it says right on some of the items “Made in China”. Unless Japan is outsourcing production to China (which may be possible). Either way, in the case of the Kirby Eye Mask, the item is very high quality and has no lose threads, super soft fabric, and seems well constructed.
The box also had a My Melody bag. I’m assuming it’s like a makeup bag, or pencil case bag. I was a little disappointed in this item. It is very low quality. It’s extremely thin, cheap feeling, and flimsy. It’s mostly white mesh, with a small strip of “fabric” ??? “plastic”??? With a pastel tiny printed my melody design at the bottom of the bag. I’ve gotten cuter/nicer bags from Japan and China before, and this just isn’t up to the quality I would have expected of a $35 subscription crate.
I had a hard time photographing it. My flash wasn’t on, but the lights in the room were reflecting off the plastic-like material. I do love the pink zipper though, it is cute and gives the bag a delicate kawaii touch.
The next item was a hand towel. I love this item. I wish it was a body towel so I could take it to the beach or to the pool. But I loved the design I received on mine. Sumiko Gurashi characters are so cute. It’s pink too which matches the pink theme so far. It’s soft and thick and very well made.
The final item was a cute rainbow plush shark who is adorable and extremely comfortable to cuddle with. The baby shark can be your best friend for all of your slumber parties.
So in the end it was a mix of some nice very high quality items, and some rather disappointing lower quality items. I do still feel it would be worth the $35 subscription cost. The kirby lamp alone probably cost around $25 or more. There’s a similar lamp on ebay for about $32. https://www.ebay.com/i/173868369074?chn=ps
The crate is very cute and always packaged so attractively. My only complaint or concern would be that some of the items may be counterfeit – but the items are still high quality, so for me personally, I don’t mind if the items are counterfeit or not.
But I know some people are completely against counterfeit items. I know in the past Doki Doki had a lot of reports and reviews about counterfeit items, and personally from what I can see with “Made in China”, I am guessing that they have not resolved these issues. So if you absolutely hate counterfeit items, I would say Doki Doki is not the crate for you.
But if you just want to have some cute items with a cute theme and your favorite characters, I would encourage you to take a look at Doki Doki Crate. You still have 10 days left to sign up to get the May Crate at Doki Doki’s Website. https://japancrate.com/dokidoki
kawaiifluff 