Dolls vs Figures

That's funny -- I was looking at that last night too. They also have some Suigintou dresses; I'd need new wigs for both outfits which bumps up the price a bit too.

 

I have a few Nendos, Mecha musume figs, plushies, and lots of prize figures and keychains. I think the dolls are good for your own characters, and figures are good for already existing characters that aren't yours. I have a much more personal collection with my BJDs because they're something unique and not on the mass market. I do think it'd be cool to have a character doll, but for now I'll just collect my favorite characters as various merchandise.

 

For me, with dolls I feel that there are more customization options available! Figures are more for established characters, and dolls for characters that you'd like to bring to life. I have figures and a doll coming in, so I'm excited to see how it all plays out

 

I started with figure collecting, and now am just getting into dolls, and I'm finding I don't really have a line between the two? In both cases, what it boils down to is, "What do I love?" and, "What do I have the room for?" Space tends to be the issue that wins out, as I'm usually pretty strapped for it (I also have a hard time getting rid of boxes; I know I lose a lot of resale value not keeping boxes, so I have a really hard time tossing them, but I usually don't have the space for them).

There are some dolls I've purchased or am looking forward to purchasing that I will also have figures for (Snow Miku and Re:Zero's Emilia), and there are some figures I own I really wish had dolls (Cardcaptor Sakura and Sailor Mercury). On some level, dolls for me are just another way to collect characters I really like, or from anime or games I really enjoy.

BJDs tend to win out on customization and poseability, however. I know some figure companies are trying to create more varieties of clothes for their figures (GSC and their Nendoroid Co-de line comes to mind), but it just isn't the same as being able to dress up a doll in whatever outfit I want! Or being able to style their hair however I want, or pose them however I want. Despite that, I think I'm going to be a lot pickier with dolls than with figures, just considering the typical price difference.

Rambling aside, I do agree with @Koru above that dolls also seem to be more for characters I want to bring to life! There isn't a doll for every character I like (including my own), but the ability to create them is there with dolls where it's kind of lacking with figures.

 

Figures are for existing characters, ones that I don't want as semi-real little people. This applies for my own characters too. I would love to have figures of my characters that I write stories about! ...however dolls... I would just feel like I was forcing them out of their own world in in to a dolls. I like my dolls to build their own characters.

 

i love both Bjd's and figmas(though i still don't own a bjd yet) i love figmas because most of the time they came from my favorite animes, they can also be really useful in my drawings as references. the same with bjds but with bjds there's a lot of things that you can do with them, but how do isay it, bjds and figmas are just different from each other for me,they have their own uniqueness so i love them both.

 

I have a decent collection of both. I'm not really an either-or kind of collector, but rather focused on quality and taste. I love my figures, but their downside is that if you want something adjustable, you won't find it there. At least where it's attractive.
BJDs are expensive as well, but offer a wide variety, where you can easily customize to look like a pop culture figure. I know plenty who don't like either, so I mean, whatever makes you happy in your fandom and community c:

 

I have a few figures but they're of existing characters, I like BJDs for making my own characters and looks. I love how much more easy it is to customize and mod a BJD vs a figure and I prefer the "real" hair of wigs vs molded plastic hair. I also love the large size of BJDs. I do love that figures are so sturdy and poseable though.

 

I've been collecting figures (mostly characters from Japanese animation or games) for more than 12 years. For me BJD hobby is an extension of my figure collecting hobby, just with better flexibility and costs me much much much more I love both my figures and BJDs! They are all my lovely collections!

 

I think it is harder to re-characterize an existing figma if that character becomes recreated in bjd form. [Actually, I take that back, fan fiction has taken care of that. >_>]

Note on fashion: Several characters in anime and games do not only have one outfit that they wear, but if you want those clothes, you likely have to commission/make them yourself.

 

I used to collect exclusively figures, but I think I would prefer to have a doll of a character I like because I prefer to be able to interact with it more. But, I'm reluctant to get any sort of fandom merch, because my interests have been changing like crazy :^/

 

I have over a hundred figures and a lot of merch outside of that too, but I do not personally own a single BJD yet though I do window shop like crazy...
I think the thing that's different for me when comparing figures to BJDs, is similar to what others said too. Figures are for more established characters that already exist, and BJDs are their own character(s) all on their own or are able to be customized. There's something more "artsy" to me about BJDs that's less so in figures, maybe it's because I'm drawn to the more elegant/ancient style BJDs or something but there's a stark difference between a 70cm BJD and, say, a Happy Kuji prize figure, or even a 1/7th+ scale figure.

The harder I think on it, there's only maybe one or two established characters I'd want as a BJD. Otherwise, a figure would do. I think I would choose a BJD over a figure if I was wanting something with more, uh, "elegance"? Or something more unique? If that makes any sense. But I love both.

 

I collect both, but I want my figurines to be characters I like, while my dolls are characters of their own. Even if I make a cosplay for them I would see them as my doll cosplaying that character, not the character itself. For me, figurines are for sitting on the shelf and looking pretty, That's why I prefer my figurines to be statues without joints, no figmas for me. I see dolls as being more interactive. Sure I'd like to display them as well, but I'm more about taking them down and making clothes/accessories for them.

 

Personally, I don't have any dolls at this point but I do collect figures. I was thinking about the same thing actually. For me, I might get costumes from characters but the "default" look would be my own character. The exception to this might be the fact that I like a lot of characters they don't make figures for. But still I wouldn't have a doll who's "main" look was a preexisting character, I have figures/fanart/etc for those.

One side note, though, is I will buy figures of characters I am neutral too if the figure is nice enough. Like really, really nice. For dolls, I would be much, much pickier.

 

Existing as figures I think. I have several Super Sonico Figures and I do dress up my bjd as Sonico once in a while but it' not the same. They are very different.

 

I have some 60+ figurines sizes 2"-7"+, I like them because of how easily they are photographed and displayed. They're my way of supporting certain series/games I love, but my dolls are personal characters and I love the customization aspect.

If you enjoy photography in general I think figurines are good for relaxing shoots while BJD requires more patience, both are types of photo shoots I do enjoy when the time is appropriate. Not saying figurines are effortless to shoot, oh boy the things I've done for photos, but there's no hassle of keeping them in pose or changing their pose/gaze/clothing.

In short I like them both equally because of the different creative outlets they bring me.

 

Figures are not versatile, nor very customizable. So although I like to look at them, & even have a few (actually one of my DOLLS collects the few I do have LOL) I much prefer BJDs. They cosplay a lot

 

I really do prefer BJDs also for already existing characters. I also do not see why they always have to stay always in their "signature outfit". Marvel characters (well, mostly), are my thing. And the movies give plenty of examples how they dress outside their superhero existence.

Though I do own a few jointed figures, from Bandai (model kits) and Disney (their short-lived 1/6 Star Wars line). And yes, they are nice. But for me, they are a bit small, and I do not dare to undress even the Disney figures, although they have outfits made of fabric. I just do not want to loose their look. It's nice to look at them, but they just stand around all the time. They bore me a bit...and with BJDs I just can do anything I can think of. They make me learn new crafting techniques. They also force me to invent things that did not exist before, like a flight stand for a big 70 cm guy.

So you could say, BJDs contribute to widen my horizon.

 

I used to collect static figures and dolls, but have switched to dolls only. I prefer the poseability and size of BJDs because I'm very interested in the photography aspect and that's how I enjoy the hobby. Adding that poseability makes it easier to take new pictures of the same doll. The aesthetic of BJDs is also very beautiful in my opinion, and very unique.

 

I think both figures and bjd have their own special place. I myself have collected figures and also bjd.