Famous Character Dolls?

My characters are from a few older series, so if you've never heard of, read the manga or watched the series, it wouldn't surprise me. But since you asked....

1.) Sakuma Ryuichi: Gravitation, ages 35 and 16, and I'm waiting for his five year old version to ship.
2.) Seguchi Tohma: Gravitation
3.) Ukai Noriko: Gravitation
4.) Uesugi Tatsuha: Gravitation
5.) Yuki Eiri: Gravitation, currently a floating head
6.) Shindou Shuichi: Gravitation
7.) Alucard: Hellsing
8.) Bettie Page: A famous pin-up girl from the 1950s
9.) Aoyagi Ritsuka: Loveless (floating head)
10.) Agasuma Soubi: Loveless (floating head)
11.) Kaido Kio: Loveless (floating head)
12.) Sakuma Ryuichi as a toddler: Gravitation (floating head)

It was Gravitation and the desire to create one of the bands that got me into BJDs. Here are the members of Nittle Grasper, one of the bands from that series. From left to right its Tohma, Ryuichi holding Kumagorou and Noriko.


100_6322_zps4fcbf841 by Ryuichi Sakuma, on Flickr

Since they're rock stars, it was easy to dress them back when wild clothes were easier to find. I miss wild clothes, most doll clothes makers now makes outfits that look like they got their ideas from shopping at Old Navy.

I also have at least one canon outfit for each of them.

Ryu

 

Since the kinds of things I'm into enough to spend that kind of money don't tend to be the things that get licensed (and often are the kinds of things no one's ever heard of), I've never really been tempted by official character dolls. I sometimes use a character as a jumping-off point for picking an aesthetic or choosing a name. But I think the official dolls I've seen are really cute, so I'm always interested to see them when they come out.

 

I love that not only are the characters, but the character dolls themselves are extremely iconic at this point... I always love hearing how many other people were also introduced to the hobby by seeing the original volks rozen maiden dolls, and probably vice versa, a lot of hobbyists being introduced to the anime from the dolls? I was a huge Rozen Maiden fan back in the late 2000s and finding pictures of the volks dolls was exactly how I discovered BJDs as well. I'm also so so so excited to see the DOLK versions of those characters!!! Volks Suigintou has always been my grail but that's a bit of an unrealistic wish, just in terms of rarity and my budget so I have plans to make my own Suigintou character doll someday... but if the DOLK release is good looking and an understandable price... well... that might happen instead

Like a couple others have said, other than Rozen Maiden, nothing I love and cherish is even remotely popular or well known enough to get licensed dolls hehe, so the things that do get licensed typically aren't up my alley.

 

My grail is Volks Belldandy from the anime Ah! My Goddess

 

Are you going to create your own version of her? It sounds like it would be fun! If you do, feel free to send me a link to your workshop thread, I love Ah! My Goddess!

Ryu

 

It was originally released back in 2013 at Volks Doll Party (Dollpa) 30. Only available via ballot.
See link for more details:
SDGr女の子 ベルダンディー ｜ ボークスブース (限定販売商品) ｜ ドルパ30 in Joint Festival｜株式会社ボークス

 

Sorry for taking so long to reply! I got her in the Volks USA lottery release. I'm also a Sailor Moon collector in addition to BJDs, so I always promised myself I'd get a Sailor Moon BJD/Dollfie Dream if she was ever released. She hangs out with my tiny 1/12 Sailor Moon dolls! She's actually a littler smaller than my BJDs, and usually they don't get dusty because I interact with them pretty frequently.

 

If I was in your position, I would copy those pics and use them to create my own version of Belldandy. Finding just the right sculpt would probably be the most difficult part. Everything else could be commissioned, found, or you could create them yourself.

But isn't that a large part of why people create character dolls? To create their own version of a beloved character. At least, that's originally why I joined, anyways. It worked out beautifully for me.

Here is one of my OCs cosplaying as the 10th Doctor from Doctor Who. I taught myself how to hand-sew, and made this suit. It took me over two months, with many mistakes and do-overs, but I'm pretty proud of how it came out.


000_0013_zpsc37b4e4d by Ryuichi Sakuma, on Flickr

Ryu

 

I've seen several mentions of I.O.S. Dr. Strange, but I think their doll versions of the characters from Black Butler and Attack on Titan are pretty cool. I'm more interested in the 'create my own version' approach than having a full set of a favorite character. The prices for full sets tend to be super high too.

 

My friend has a DD Miku and she's positively adorable; I'd love to have one if I could afford it. She's the only character doll I've ever really liked or thought was pretty. An updated Chii doll would be cool, and I'd LOVE some Ukagaka dolls but I think they're too outdated/obscure.

 

I own Volks Rapunzel. But I purchased her because I think the doll is gorgeous (both sculpt and default faceup), not to be the Disney character. I've actually never seen the movie.

Interestingly, when I fall for a doll that is a specific character from media, I find myself second guessing buying it. I'm not sure it makes too much sense, since doll companies often give their dolls characters and I'm fine with changing it to my own tastes in those cases. But somehow, when it's associated with a story, I hesitate because I'm not attached to that specific character? In the past I have even told myself I couldn't get dolls because I hadn't watched the show they were supposed to be from...but that just ended up in me hunting down and watching the show because I couldn't get the dolls out of my head. Both dolls happily live with me now.

 

Amazing, Volks announced a Higurashi mdd. The dream is now reality.

 

I think the one time I saw an anime character doll that I genuinely loved was when Ringdoll did Ciel Phantomhive from Black Butler. I love the fashion in that show because it correlates so well with fancy BJD clothes...

I think there was also a Book of Circus and Atlantic doll done by another company, but I didn't like those as much tbh.

 

Don't know why but for me, the Shinku version of Volks interpreted the spirit of character from both anime manga, so DOLK's version, inspire of a beautiful child, is some-way so strange as it's another person.
But yes, Volks' Shinku is really really expensive in the market that I never think I could have a chance to own her second-handed that way.
Volks' Suigintou doesn't look like the original character, but she has her own beauty, isn't it? I know many people hunted her on the second-hand market not because she is a Rozen Maiden character, but because the sculpt itself is so beautiful and easy to apply make-up.
Still doesn't have any information/image about Suigintou version from DOLK at this time...

 

I have made dolls from a few characters from The Untamed / Mo Dao Zu Shi (three so far (Nie Huaisang, Lan Xichen and Jin Guangyao), but I'm on the lookout for two more (Jiang Cheng and Nie Mingjue) if I ever find the right dolls) and my partner is also planning to have dolls inspired by this (Jin Ling and Lan Sizhui).
There were also official dolls of the main characters by... Ringdoll, if I remember right? Not in a size that interested me though (which is a good excuse when you're not sure about cashing out for a fullset XD). Their Lan Wangji was stunning! Wei Wuxian was pretty cool as well, but his face didn't quite fit the character

I'm mostly into 1/4, and I don't think it's a popular size for official dolls of anything... which my wallet is probably glad of

 

The Ringdoll Untamed dolls are gorgeous, but 70cm size and that price is too much for me. Granado made some smaller mature tinies based on the main characters as well, but I don't trust myself with anything that fragile-looking. (I'm probably just gonna end up getting the nendoroid versions because it'll be way easier and cheaper to make other characters if I want lol).

The one character doll I would actually buy 1. For the character, 2. Instead of making a version myself, and 3. regardless of price/size, is a Volks Elsa (Which has been announced, but as of this post we still haven't seen her properly yet...)

There's not really many existing official character dolls I would want atm. I think the only other BJD's I would buy for the characters, if they were ever made, would be other Volks Disney girls like Jasmine or Belle, a Smart Doll Catwoman, or a Dragonball Z character since that was my first anime love.

 

A number of my girls are videogame characters, mostly horror like Silent Hill 3 and The Last of Us. I also had a girl modeled from an Elfen Lied character, though she's since been rehomed.

 

I think famous characters as BJDs are pretty fun! When we saw BJDs in Japan it was pretty neat to see them dressed as recognizable anime characters. I think I would be more likely (but still unlikely) to buy a fullset of a character I loved. Sailor Jupiter DD was probably the most I've ever been tempted hahaha.

Back when I first got into BJDs I really wanted to make a BJD of Ares from Devil Maker Tokyo. I thought Iplehouse Claude was the perfect sculpt for him (just way out of my price range). Fast forward several years, DMT has long since died unfortunately and not sure if I still have the drive to make that character. But oh well it was fun to dream about it at the time

I do think that I am more nit picky for a favorite charcter. For instance, I saw a Sesshoumaru styled BJD head for sale on FB a while back but couldn't decide if I liked that sculpt for him or not. Someone else eventually snapped him up and put me out of my indecisive misery LOL.