Comeback!

Yep, I'm back with another fluff post.  I figure some of y'all were growing weary of my ongoing obsession with Cabbage Patch Kids, hence the glut of brief posts about other dolls.  I thought the Shibajuku Girls were a thing of the past, but a post on Reddit proved that wasn't the case.  As with a great many of my dolls, my Shibajuku Girl Shizuka hasn't been in the blog for quite some time.  Indeed, these are reused pictures.

Shibajuku Girls were available in 2016 and 2017, and they were here and gone before one could blink, but they developed...oh, I'd say their following was respectable.  Clearly it was respectable enuff that Hunter Products is giving the dolls another go.  Apparently this rerelease has been going on for about a year now, but the dolls themselves are just now hitting stores.  And because I'm a super mondo DOLT I had no idea until I saw the dolls on Reddit.  The new Shibas are anime-themed, and their dresses have a strong lolita vibe as well.  Their faces look a LOT like Pullip faces, more so than my Shizuka's face does.

I couldn't help but have a nervous laugh at one of the dolls' names.  Her name is Akira, and Akira is the name of an animated Japanese film that is...decidedly NOT for children.  Not bad for adult fans of Japanese animation, but not for the kiddies.  Anyway, another of the characters is dominantly pink like Shizuka, and yet another is black and yellow.  The black and yellow one is my favorite...and now watch her be the hardest one to find, just like Luna!

A couple'a y'all stated back in the day that Shibajuku Girls might've found their footing if they'd been introduced a year or so later.  Well, it's FOUR years later, and I reviewed my doll after the line was discontinued.  Maybe now they've got a snowball's chance...and maybe they don't.  As usual, it'll be interesting to see.  I personally am hoping for some new threads for Shizuka; one of the things I loved about the fashions was the mix-and-match aspect.  So we'll see!

Think pink,
RagingMoon1987

Across the other pond: Licca-chan clones

This was supposed to be Part 6 of last fall's "Across the other pond" series, but it took forever and a day the two dolls I'm reviewing to get here.  There were SUPPOSED to be three, but the doll I'd christened Mariko never arrived.  Since it took forever to get this review together, I'm not going to number these Asian doll posts anymore.  I'm just going to post them as they come and let that be that.  So let's start this with an honest statement:  Licca is Takara's girl.  Even with sweet Jenny and her ties to Barbie, Licca is still Takara's girl.  With her being a good seller it should be no surprise that clones exist, and indeed they do.  Here's my two, with Licca thrown in for a comparison.

The little brunette on the right came from Mexico of all places.  I named her Kohaku, which means "amber."  She is nine inches tall.

She has straight, dark hair that needs a little TLC...

...and amber eyes, hence her name.

Kohaku's eyes have the Japanese style present, complete with three light clusters like my others do.  While her eyes are well-painted and fairly conventional for a Japanese doll, her mouth is slightly different.

Her mouth is smiling like Licca's, but it's painted red instead of pink.  This makes me wonder if Kohaku is supposed to be an older child, despite her diminutive size.  The shape of her body adds credence to that theory.  Like Licca, she's got visible breasts and a trim waist.

The quality of Kohaku's body is pretty low, by the way.  Her body is stiff, rough-seamed, hollow plastic with only hip and shoulder joints to keep her from being a figurine.  The poseability is surprisingly fairly good, for the number of joints.  The hip and shoulder joints can only rotate, but they do so with no fuss.  They also hold a pose without me having to hold them in place.

Kohaku avoids the bimbo-on-Quaaludes tag because unlike many of my hollow-bodied dolls, she can sit with her legs together.

Kohaku is smaller than Licca all over, but her feet are a lot smaller.

As a result, Kohaku can wear Licca's dresses (loosely), but not all her shoes.

So far the only pair of shoes I have that will fit Kohaku's stubby little feet are these.

These pink shoes also fit when paired with thick socks.

Seeing as the Japanese don't wear shoes in their houses anyway, I can let the lack of shoes slide for Kohaku.  Or...I can see if Licca's body will fit Kohaku's head.  Both dolls' heads come off with a reasonable amount of force, and their neck knobs are of a similar size.

It's worth a shot.

The fit is not perfect; Kohaku's head wobbles a little on Licca's body and vice versa, but it's a workable swap.  Kohaku is a little paler than Licca so the skintones aren't a perfect match, but again, they're close enough that this swap is workable.  Unfortunately for Kohaku Licca's body is not available for donation, so I may get an Azone body and attempt that for Kohaku.  It'll be an interesting pairing, putting a cheap head on an expensive Azone body, but my doll, my rules.  If I do get an Azone body for Kohaku I'll let y'all know how it goes.

The second doll has a name and a maker, and should be somewhat familiar to those who are ardent Licca fans.  She is Daiso's Elly.  Pardon the flash reflecting off of the cellophane.

Mami, Emiko, Licca, Kohaku...Elly???  Somehow that doesn't fit.  It's very westernized, like Jenny's name is.  It was used in an anime once though, as a nickname for a witch in Puella Magi Madoka Magica, so I think I'll stick with Elly as a name for this young lady.  Elly is taller than Kohaku and shorter than Licca.  Like the Barbie dolls of yore, these Elly dolls come in all three hair colors, and my doll's hair happens to be my favorite hair color, red.

Okay, she's not the only Japanese redhead that I own, as you saw with Emiko.  Elly's hair is a radically different shade from Emiko's hair, though.  It's also a different shade of red from my newest Fashionista, Katherine the Second.

Emiko's hair is copper and Katherine's hair is what For My Doll would call "sweet carrot."  Elly's hair is...heck, I'm not even sure what to call that shade!  One of the images I found online says this shade is "deep auburn."  Good enough for me.  It's nice hair, especially for a clone doll.  Very smooth and sleek.  It's not hopelessly kinked like Kohaku's hair, nor is it stiff and slightly gummy-feeling like Licca's hair.

Once again, the Japanese aesthetic presents itself with Elly's eyes.  Big and round and...BLUE, with pale pink lips.

Overall, not a bad head for a clone.  I've seen better, but I've also seen worse.  Elly's eyes are not as unique as Kohaku's, but they look much brighter.  I wouldn't have picked that lip color either, but again it's not terrible.

Unfortunately Elly's body is on the lower end of mediocre; it's hollow, blown plastic just like Kohaku's.  As a result Elly's posing is predictably crummy, but to my surprise it's even worse than Kohaku's posing!  She sits the bimbo-on-Quaaludes position that Kohaku and Licca both have managed to avoid.

She can make a convincing stretching pose, though.

I used to like watching our school's cheerleaders do that.  I was NEVER that limber.  That's all that Elly can do, though.  No bendy knees or elbows, just pivot joints at the shoulders and hips, plus a neck joint.  She can hold most of the positions I put her in so that's a plus.  Not all of my clone dolls have joints that are tight enough to hold a pose, but Kohaku and Elly both can.

Like many clone dolls I've seen, Elly's head can come off.  Unlike Kohaku and Licca, her head attaches to a ball-shaped knob.

I actually like this method of connection, as it allows Elly to pose her head in ways that the others cannot.  Elly can tip her head, something that neither Licca nor Kohaku can do.  Mami can tip her head, but not as much as Elly can.

I don't recommend pulling Elly's head off a lot, because it's harder to get her head back on her body than it is with some of my other clones.

Since Elly and Licca are of a similar size they can share clothes, and they often do.  Thus why it's not uncommon to hear Licca fans speak of Elly; they may not have the doll, but the clothes are another story.  This little pink yukata is an Elly outfit and it fits Licca like a dream.

The shoes aren't a perfect fit, but due to Licca's rubbery feet they stay on with no problems.

Likewise, Elly can wear Licca's clothes.  As with Kohaku, shoes are an issue for Elly.  She can wear the same shoes Kohaku wears, but Licca's red pumps are a no-go.

I was hoping that Elly and Licca might be able to share a body but alas, Elly's head opening is too big for Licca's neck.  I might be able to jerry-rig a connection with putty or tissue paper, but for now Elly is stuck with her default body.

Since these dolls are so much alike they'll share a good stuff/bad stuff section.

BAD
*Stiff as a board, though both hold the few poses they can strike with ease
*Can't wear Licca's shoes without modification
*Kohaku's hair is horrible.  I haven't tried THE PLASTIC BAG OF DOOM yet, but I'm not even sure if that would help.
*Faces lack Licca's charm
*Elly can't be rebodied without some sort of head modification.

GOOD
*Elly's hair is soft and silky
*Both dolls have a nice root job, though Elly's is a little weird.
*Both dolls can wear most of Licca's clothes, and Licca can wear Elly's
*Well-painted.  Kohaku has particularly nice eyes.
*Cute
*Sturdy

With a few exceptions, clone dolls are usually a sign that a doll line is doing well.  Licca just celebrated her fiftieth birthday (she's a March baby like Barbie is) so I'd say she's doing VERY well.  It's nice to see little clones come out as that often means more clothes for Licca to wear.  Would I recommend these little clones, though?  Not unless you just want a different face like I did, or if you want to experiment with rebodying.  Elly and Kohaku are cute, but there's nothing they can do that Licca can't, and Licca outdoes them in terms of posing.  Elly is accompanied by a cute wardrobe and that's a huge plus, and her hair is good quality, but that body is pathetic.  Kohaku has a lousy body as well, though she can sit with her legs together (Elly cannot).  Her face is prettier than Elly's, but her hair is not as nice.  So it's hard to rank one clone over the other.  When I throw Licca into the mix though, there's a clear winner.  Licca's hair isn't as nice as Elly's, but she has better posing, her clothes are of higher quality, and her face has an innocent charm that the other dolls' faces lack.  Kohaku looks worldly, and Elly looks spacey.  Still, even though I wouldn't recommend either Elly or Kohaku over Licca, it's nice to have these two aboard.  I look forward to tinkering around with them both, trying to find out what sort of bodies they might be able to use.  It's also fun to look at this trio of girls and wonder what kind of personalities they'd have.  When I group my three together I see three fairly strong personalities that compliment one another.  Kohaku looks elegant, reserved, self-confident, and kind-hearted, Licca looks innocent, friendly, and a little on the shy side, and Elly looks like a flighty, fun-loving bubblehead.  They'd make good characters for another blog, and if I were a traveling sort that's exactly what I'd do.  I'd take these three with me and share their adventures.  That sudden burst of creativity makes Elly and Kohaku worth my money and my effort to fix them up a bit.

Much love,
RagingMoon1987

Throwback Thursday review: Irwin Sailor Mercury

HEADS UP:  I've been having some computer woes and my tablet won't do Photoshop.  Hence the lighting in these pictures will thus be all over the board.  I apologize in advance for any ill-lit photography.

I'm not a hardcore anime fan yet, though I do enjoy it.  The doll that I'm reviewing for Throwback Thursday is a member of Sailor Moon, an anime that I've been working through over the past months.  For those that are uninitiated, Sailor Moon is another magical girl anime, based on a group of teenage girls from Tokyo who have to protect their world from a race of evil aliens.  I have a lot to say about the DiC dub of Sailor Moon and not all my opinions are positive, but let's not open up that discussion here.  Regarding the doll, Sailor Mercury would not have been my first choice, given what I know now about the characters.  Had I been able to afford a Sailor Jupiter doll she would've been the one I chose.  She's sort of redheaded and she wears green, a combination that is dear to my heart, and she is tough as nails.  But for some strange reason Sailor Jupiter dolls are hard to find at a price I can currently afford.  My next choice would've been Sailor Venus because she's got a cute personality, but she's blonde and I've already got too many blonde dolls.  So I settled for this very cute Sailor Mercury doll.

Her real name is Ami Mizuno, or "Amy Anderson" in the DiC dub.  Apparently the surname "Anderson" was only used in one episode, after which the surname "Mizuno" was returned.  "Anderson," continues to stick in some circles, however.  The name "Ami" can mean either "Asian beauty" or "second beauty," while the last name "Mizuno" contains a kanji relating to water.  Both of these names make sense, as Ami is the second main character introduced, and because her sailor attacks are based on water and ice.  Personality-wise Ami is depicted as a quiet, sweet, extremely intelligent transfer student with a knack for technology and a fondness for swimming.  Her signature color is blue, and her attacks are based on technology and music in addition to water and ice.  The DiC dub depicts her as having a British accent for reasons I'll never know, though it suits her.  As always, let's start with hair.

BLACK???  Ami is supposed to have blue hair!!!  That doesn't please me one bit, because I love dolls with blue hair.  It's not nice hair either!  It's stiff and wiry like nylon.  If Ami's hair is any indication of the quality for this line, maybe it's a good thing that I was unable to land a Jupiter doll (her hair is long).  This hair is mercifully short and fairly thick.  I can see Ami's scalp right at the very top of her head where the part gaps open, but her scalp is painted black so the gap isn't terribly obvious.

In the anime Ami wears her hair parted on the left and her bangs are swept to the side.  This doll's hair is a little fluffier than Ami's should be, but other than that the style is dead on.  In spite of that I'm still mega-bummed about the hair being black.  One of my favorite things about anime is the ridiculous hair colors that crop up.  This trait is unfortunately not as prevalent in Sailor Moon as it is in other anime; out of eleven main characters, four have unnatural hair (Mercury, Saturn, Neptune, and Chibiusa), and of those four, only one (Mercury) appears in the first season.  My Ami's having black hair drops that number to three.  However, the style and the length are right, so that's a plus.

Underneath her hair Ami sports a tiny pair of ears, complete with tiny blue earrings.

In the first season of the anime these earrings are fairly important, as Ami uses one to work one of her technological gadgets.  On the doll, they're just spots of blue paint.  Nothing special, but nothing to fall off and get lost either.

Ami's other piece of jewelry is this tiara, made of gold plastic with a blue "gem" painted in.

This tiara is fairly important for the sailor senshi, because they can double as weapons when they battle, though I've only seen Sailor Moon herself do this and only during the first season.  Ami's tiara doesn't come off and it's a little crooked.  I can tolerate it being a little cockeyed if it won't fall off and get lost, but I'm not terribly tickled about that ding in the plastic.  Ami came NRFB so that had to be some sort of flub at the factory.  Nothing I can't cover with gold paint.

Ami's eyes are large like an anime character's eyes should be, and blue like her hair should be, with eyebrows in a relaxed position.

I've read online that Irwin's Sailor Moon dolls varied considerably, with some being "pretty" and some being "ugly".  The "ugly" ones have flat faces.  My Ami has a small nose that's really more of a protuberance in the vinyl than an honest-to-God and red lips that also are not molded.  Not a good sign.

These lips aren't accurate to the anime.  Sailor Moon occasionally wears makeup in the first season of the anime, and all four of the Outer Senshi wear makeup when they're in uniform, but as far as I know Sailor Mercury never does.  Nail polish, yes, but not makeup.  I love the color and shape of these lips, though.  Up close they look a little ragged, but at a normal distance they're fine.

Unfortunately, due to her extremely flat profile I believe that my Ami is indeed one of the "ugly" dolls.  She doesn't look ugly to me!  The worst critique I can muster up is that all of the characters look the same:  blandly sweet.  A blandly sweet expression is alright for the nicer characters like Ami and like Sailor Moon herself, but I'd have preferred a tougher visage for dolls like Sailor Mars (who can be a bitch) or Sailor Uranus (who flat-out IS a bitch).

Like my little Mami, Ami is clad in her magical girl uniform.

In keeping with the "sailor" title, Ami's magical girl uniform is done up like the sailor fuku so common among Japanese schoolgirls.  Not all sailor fuku are one color like the one in the link is; usually the bodice and sleeves are white, while the skirt and shoulders are plaid or some solid color.  Sailor senshi uniforms appear to be based on this.  Ami's bodice is white, while her hood and skirt are royal blue.

Said skirt and hood are both folded a little from being in a box so many years.  The hems are trimmed with gold ribbon, a touch that is not found in the anime.

The skirt has a few well-placed pleats sewn in, plus a white satin band that I guess is supposed to simulate a waistband.  The pleats are hard to photograph, but they're well-executed and nicely spaced.

Underneath the skirt Ami wears a pair of white skivvies and a white extension of the bodice that keeps her skirt in place.  Nice and modest.

Both the white and the blue fabric are knitted.  The bodice is very closely fitted to Ami's body but stretches a bit, while the blue fabric doesn't stretch at all.  The dress fastens in the back with old-style Velcro.

The bodice is trimmed with a crookedly-sewn pale blue bow and a royal blue button...

...and a matching bow in back.

I have to be extra careful with the Velcro here, as it has grabbed the bow and snagged it a bit in the past.  The ends are finished so the ribbon won't unravel completely.

The button on the front bow is a bit interesting, as in the anime this button can be either round or heart-shaped.  Either one is right, apparently.  A similar discrepancy can be found in Ami's choker, which I forgot to photograph.

It's just a simple strip of royal blue fabric.  It can be either plain or adorned with a star; again, either one is right.

All the senshi wear gloves of varying lengths, with Ami's coming to the elbow.

These are made of the same fabric as the dress and have some stretch.  The hands look more like mittens than honest-to-God gloves.  I know why the gloves are done like this, but I still think it looks clunky.

Topping off the look are these blue boots.

All of the senshi wear shoes that match or coordinate with their uniforms and inexplicably, most of the shoes have...high heels???  As active as these girls are that's hardly practical, but that's what they wear.  Ami's shoes are no exception.

The upper cuffs are painted white, and the rest of the shoe is unpainted blue plastic.

These shoes have no slit cut down the back, which is somewhat problematic for reasons that will soon be revealed.

Overall I'm mostly pleased with the way my Ami is dressed.  She's accurate to the anime and her clothes are reasonably well constructed.  The back bow can snag if treated carelessly and the front bow is crooked, but otherwise the outfit is alright.

Alright...with clothes out of the way let's take a look at this body.  This...body!!!

This is the absolute last type of body I'd expect for Sailor Mercury.  It's trim but very athletic, more like a body I'd expect Uranus or Jupiter to have.  Ami's arms and legs are much thicker than a Barbie's...

...and her feet are very big, almost as big as Monster High feet.  Thus why removing those boots is tricky without a slit.

Ami's body is very muscular in appearance, but she does have some bone structure visible.  Her chest has sculpted clavicles.

Thick vinyl limbs usually indicate stiff joints, and indeed Ami's mobility is mediocre.  She has rotating joints at her shoulders, hips, and neck, plus internal click knees, but the range of motion isn't great.  Ami's neck can only rotate.  I wish it could tip too, but it doesn't.

Being thick vinyl against hard plastic, the hip joints have a lot of friction.  Ami can get into positions that my other dolls can, like so...

...but I have a very hard time getting her hips to cooperate.  The knees are not particularly flexible either; this is the extent of their mobility.

Two clicks.  Not great, but better than no joint at all.

Ami's torso is smaller than the average Barbie body so I have my doubts about clothes sharing.  But just for the heck of it I'm going to try it anyway.  I'll start with the outfit that my Fashion Fever doll was wearing.

That's not a very promising start!  The shirt fits, but the jeans are too tight.  They almost made it all the way up, but when one's drawers are peeking out almost doesn't cut the mustard.  So my Barbie jeans and pants are out.  Good thing I have tons of dresses!  This one is from Olivia's Doll Closet.

This one is loose around the waist, but it fits Ami without a fuss.  Much to my chagrin the seams are beginning to pull apart in places.

This next dress is one I use a lot for dolls that have little to wear.  Right now one of my old Starr dolls is using it, but she's willing to let Ami borrow it.

Okay, I lied.  It's really a skirt and top, not a dress.  It fits Ami pretty well, though.  The black tube top underneath was a bit of a squeeze, but the skirt and outer top were no trouble at all.

Starr's friend Kelley usually wears this next outfit.

This too fits without a lot of problems, though the sleeves are a bit tight.  The skirt, by contrast, is a little loose at the waist but not ridiculously so.

Last dress for the time being is an Etsy find, one that I usually put on Princess Tiana.

Ami rocks it just like Tiana does!  It's a little loose around the shoulders, but not terribly so.  If I'm ever in the mood to redress Ami she'll probably get this.  All she needs are shoes.

Oh yes, shoes!  I was worried about shoes for Ami since such a highly arched foot can look a little silly without shoes.  Monster High to the rescue.

I don't know if all MH shoes will fit Ami, but Operetta's mules are a near-perfect fit.  So we've established that Ami can wear some clothes intended for other dolls.  Unfortunately the opposite is not true.  Barbie and Tiana couldn't wear Ami's uniform, and neither could Starr or her friend Kelley.  It was too tight for all of them.

Just for kicks, here's how Ami compares visually to my other anime doll, Mami.  It's Tokyo versus Mitakihara City!

Needless to say these two will not be swapping uniforms.  According to their respective wiki pages, Mami should be about 5'1" and aged fifteen, while Ami should be about 5'2" and aged fourteen.  When I pair these two together Ami towers over Mami.  They make a visually interesting pair though, with one being dominantly blue and the other being dominantly yellow.

Time to sum it up now!

BAD
*Hair is low-quality, thin around the part, and the wrong friggin' color.  Ami's hair is supposed to be blue.  Not black, blue.  BLUE, BLUE, BLUE!!!
*Tiara is off-center and missing paint
*Front bow is crooked
*Both bows can snag on the Velcro if not treated with care.
*Shoes are hard to get off.
*Stiff body

GOOD
*Accurate portrayal of the character.  Sailor Moon fans can tell at a glance that this is Sailor Mercury.
*Hair may not be the right color, but it IS the right style.
*Cute face
*Clothing is well-constructed and attractive
*Shoes don't fall off.
*This doll can stand on her own if balanced properly.  I forgot to mention that above.
*Can wear some clothes and shoes meant for other dolls.

I'll admit it:  reviewing Ami wasn't as fun as reviewing Lime Chiffon was last week.  That's not to say that it's not fun owning Ami.  On the contrary, I love having this bookish little sailor senshi around!  Ami is cute and mostly accurate for the anime, and her clothes are well-made.  Redressing her WAS fun; I always enjoy playing Dolly Dress Shuffle.  However, I wish her hair were blue.  I don't know if a reroot is possible with these dolls but if it is then that may be in my girl's future.  Also, Ami is very, VERY stiff.  Her hips joints are hard to manipulate, her knees have a poor range of motion, and her arms only rotate at the shoulder.  Now that I think about it, I realize that the jointing is what bothers me the most about Ami; she's a sailor senshi, and sailor senshi are very active.  Thus I'd expect a doll based on an active character to have more joints so she can strike more poses.  It would've been great if this doll had had enough joints to strike her...well, I call it her attack pose, the pose each girl strikes when her transformation from regular girl to magical girl is complete.  This is what Ami's attack pose looks like.

My stiff little doll has no hope of striking this pose and I think that's a shame, but in my Ami's defense, very few of my other dolls can strike that pose.  My Monster High dolls probably could, and my Made to Move Barbie definitely could, but that's it!  So I should probably cut Ami some slack.  She looks cute with Mami, even if the two are massively out of scale.  And I love having a doll that looks like one of my favorite senshi!  

Love,

RagingMoon1987