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Anyone not into anime, but into BJDs?

Aug 19, 2009

    1. Hi everyone, I am new to DoA and awaiting my first BJD who is on hold with Denver Doll. Looking around for threads I was pleased to find this one as, like you said, I feel a bit out of place on some of the others. I got into the dolls when my daughter bought her first doll. I started making jewellery and hats and things for her and then I was hooked! Despite both daughters being into manga and anime, I just don't like it.

       
    2. I'm in the same boat as you. ;) In fact, I never explored the BJD world until I came across a doll whose face I fell in love with...and boy was I surprised to find out it was a BJD! I never knew there were so many different types and looks to them. I do find it difficult to explain to non-BJD collectors though as they automatically assume BJD = anime.
       
    3. I've kind of noticed that too. Of course, I've also met a lot of BJD collectors who are cat owners(including myself), probably a coincidence, but it does make you wonder ...

      I, personally, like BJD's, AND I like anime/manga, but I'm not a hardcore fan. Like, I only have a few manga's here and there and watch my animes online every now and then. I don't have shelves upon shelves of anime/manga merchandise or anything. :lol:
       
    4. I'm not into Anime at all, i saw some.My son likes anime and can tell about all day, but I love only dolls)))
       
    5. I've used the phrase 'I came into BJD's sideways' in various profile descriptions because I'm not familiar with Manga and I've never been 'into' dolls (until now of course).
      Art, animation, crafts, rpg's, collectible figures, sewing and general hobbying, however, are all elements which apply to both me and the bjd hobby.
      I think I discovered bjd's after a google-fest prompted by a friends facebook avatar depicting either a Blythe or Pullip doll, all gothed-up, and I followed the breadcrumb trail to bjd's and then proceeded to spend 6 months researching the hobby until I could resist no longer, lol!
      However, the diversity of the community has piqued my interest in the various cultural influences and origins of some of the dolls and collectors, so I think it's a good thing that that the variety of backgrounds exist! I have watched a few anime films now on the back of info I've picked up in and around this hobby, but I don't think anyone needs to feel like an outsider if they're not into manga or anime. I didn't even know there was a majority manga/anime influence until I joined DoA ! In fact, I wonder how many people are in the hobby who don't use DoA, DA, Flickr etc. I mean, I'm 40 and one of the few women I know locally who are regular computer users (and even my 'regular' isn't enough as far as forum posts and the like go).
      Still...
      The hobby is the dolls. That's how I see it anyway. :)
       
    6. i don't like any of that stuff either, but I am really attracted to BJD dolls.
       
    7. I think my love for everything Japanese lead me to find out about BJDs. However, I had been collecting porcelain dolls from age seven so that ties in too.

      I'm sure there would be some people who aren't into anime or manga that collect bjds, but I'm gonna' bet money that most are. :D

      Edit:: Or I could say most of the younger bjd community at least. ^__^;
       
    8. Not interested in anime and manga one bit. Don't even know what manga refers to specifically, actually.

      Just always loved the imitated human, in dollform especially. Made many OOAK paperclay dolls and marionettes etc before arriving here.
       
    9. I think this thread is really similar to an older one.

      http://www.denofangels.com/forums/showthread.php?317401-Anyone-not-into-anime-but-into-BJDs

      I can't remember what I said before but I think it's still the same for me. I used to be into anime but I've moved on. There is still a series that I sort of follow but it's only to see it through to the end. There are still some series with characters that I love but that's about it. Nowadays, I'm sort of against it.

      Edit: Oh oops, I missed Ostrich's post. xD Sorry!
       
    10. Anime was my gateway to BJDs, in an odd way. (I was replacing the missing hair of a secondhand anime doll with a wig, and ended up finding out about BJDs while searching for doll wigs on ebay.)

      I'm sure there are doll people who found out about them other ways, though.
       
    11. I've never watched anime. I know what it is, but I'm not interested enough to try watching it (in general, though, I watch very little TV). All of the anime references people often use go right over my head :lol:.
       


    12. I'm glad I'm not the only one. And kudos for watching little television. I barely watch it myself, but am also a major movie buff. I pretty much watch a movie every night. XD
       
    13. Same here.

      I love anime. I've been watching it since I was 5 years old and it has been a huge inspiration for my art and story ideas. I'm 24 now and I still love it. However, I don't even watch tv nowadays...being an adult sucks XD

      But I never associated anime with BJDs. I think BJDs are a different hobby from anime/manga.

      BTW, I love your avatar...Keith from Terra E was my favorite character. See? I'm an otaku XDDD
       
    14. I think they are not as related as we think, I am a fan of anime, not hardcore, but i like anime since 10 or so years ago, and just recently found out about ABJD, and not from an anime related page or a BJD related thing... It was a chinese clothes shop (for humans) and their models were BJD.
       
    15. I must admit that anime and manga definitely came first for me and was what introduced me to the BJD hobby- browsing Deviantart and looking at fanart of my favorite anime led me to Dollfies, and so on...
      However, I do not think that it is a prerequisite to this hobby.
       
    16. I'm not into anime but am into mange (big difference, right?) but at first I didn't relate bjds to manga at all. I found out about them at another forum unrelated to dolls or manga, and just found them beautiful/adorable/intriguing and something I would like to try out. Now I am considering basing my next bjd on a favorite manga character, but to me it's not really different from basing him on any book character (except that the image is actually already drawn). But I agree with ntheriel and many others, anime/manga are not necessary prior to enjoying bjds.
       
    17. I don't watch anime or read manga, or Adult Swim...I'm not really into the Kawaii/deco/cutsey/things with cute faces and bling things, or the lolita/jrock and what have you fashions. I'm not big on the anime eyed dollies, anime/manga character/ fan character dolls....
      I'm not into "yaoi" or that plethora of wierdness either.


      I don't play video games, or collect figurines, and I don't cosplay anything. (Though I do have some cool props I made...because I wanted to make them.)

      I just...do my own thing really. Though, just because I am not into that sort of thing, or don't really divulge into those sorts of things, doesn't mean I hate or loathe any of it. How I see it, I'm just a person with resin ball jointed dolls, who likes sharing the hobby with other dolly people. I enjoy seeing what everyone else does, and sharing the experiences. I like seeing different things, it may not be my cup of tea, but I still enjoy seeing new things and learning about the people around myself.
       
    18. BJDs CAN be enjoyed by those who know nothing about manga/anime. However, they ARE related. That’s the model Volks originally started with, however much denial goes about.
      I'm repeating myself here, but anyone who thinks there is only one aesthetic for anime/manga really does NOT know the genre very well. The terms are just shorthand for Japanese animation/cartoons/comic books. So think about all the different kinds of animation/comics in the US - & extrapolate for Japan - LOTS of styles & a huge spectrum of quality. There are some extraordinary animes (Akira, Paprika, anything Miyazaki, Graveyard of the Fireflies) that are high art, some which are very good (Cowboy Bebop, Ghost in the Shell, Usagi Drop:D), some which are ordinary, some which are terrible. Same w/manga which tend to be in b/w rather than color for some reason so aren’t totally comparable to our comic books or graphic novels.
      I do find it rather obnoxious (sorry) to dismiss an entire culture’s artistic output (the ‘I’m not really into Asian things’ – oh, except the dolls which ARE Asian like it or not).
       
    19. I think there's a lot of crossover in both genres simply because ABJDs and anime have the same Japanese artistic/aesthetic roots, but one doesn't equal the other.

      I started out liking neither anime/manga nor dolls (in general). I got into anime through a friend who introduced me to series that both told good stories, and had an art aesthetic that I could appreciate. And I discovered ABJDs through a completely independent route from anime/manga. I won't say that I'm an anime fan though -- I hardly watch it nowadays (because I'm picky about what film I watch, and because I don't see that friend anymore). But I'm still actively involved with dolls.
       
    20. I used to love anime, to an unhealthy extent, back in high school, I also liked trashy popular shonen anime. A bit later I discovered lolita, but never got around to wearing it (cute but unprofessional, and probably unflattering for my body type.) and there were a few lolis who had BJDs. I googled dollfie and I fell in love, so to speak. At the time I didn't have much money, so I had to wait. I started falling out of my anime-fan phase, and I rediscovered BJDs. At first I liked really cute animesque sculpts, with the big eyes and the distinct syle, but now I tend to lean towards more realistic sculpts. I guess my tastes changed with time.

      I don't think anyone is intentionally dismissing an entire culture, when they say they "like dolls, but not Asian thing." To me that sounds like a bit of a defense mechanism, because they don't want to be lumped with wapanese/weeaboo/(whatever you kids call hardcore anime fans nowadays) subculture. Liking anime had a bit of stigma especially in high school, so they want probably to distance themselves from those really hardcore anime fans. It still does give off a vibe of dismissing a culture, though even though it's probably unintentional.