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Help comparing: MNF | Unoa | Narae | Iplehouse

Dec 17, 2011

    1. Hi, I'm new to bjds and am about to buy a doll. I'm wondering whether anyone could either point me to a comparison thread for these lines (if it exists) or if folks would be willing to weigh in about these few brands I'm considering.

      I had narrowed my selection down to a MNF Lishe due to the A-line body and pretty sculpts, but thought I should really look at some of the others more closely, just in case.

      Can you say which of these you like the best and why? I realize it's all personal opinion, so I don't mean to spark any debate (we're all different, and I love synthesizing input from all different angles), but just to hear who likes what among these, and why.

      Brands in consideration:

      MNF Lishe

      Alchemical/Unoa Lusis 1.5 (or other?)

      DollFair Narae

      Iplehouse?


      My particular values when it comes to a doll:

      I want a girl. I prefer fairly realistic faces as opposed to very "babydoll" or very large, popping eyes.

      I'm very visual and the aesthetics are everything. A fine, beautiful face and hands. Photogenic.

      The posability of the body is important to me. I don't know whether the word refers just to their ability to hold a pose for the camera, or also to the sculpt and joints and having a beautiful humanlike fluidity to the posed shapes, but both are important to me.

      All of this matters to me, if such can be had all in one doll. :)

      Thanks for any input about any of these dolls. :)
       
      #1 feyheart, Dec 17, 2011
    2. I think with the right faceup, clothes, hair, the persona you give them, all of these companies can meet your standard. I've had MnF, Unoa and Narae (Dollfair is just a distributor that's not really around anymore). Out of the three that I have had, I've been most impressed with the posability and fluidity of the MnF sculpt. Each doll was beautifully made however and each sculpt unique. I'd say MnF is a gentle, natural sculpt, but bordering a more stylistic interpretation. Unoa of course can be very stylistic although their body is very beautiful and well pieced together. Narae perhaps is the most realistic of those three sculpts and she was a solid poser, as in she stood well and naturally. However, she couldn't do more complicated poses like my MnF can. Out of the three, my Unoa was the worst poser. She looked natural in all of her poses however, but it required of me a lot of time and concentration to get her into those positions, she wasn't a set her down and you're done kind of poser. As far as faces go, definitely Narae would be the most realistic with features and proportions very similar to a real human. MnF and Unoa can tend to be a little more stylistic, but again, like I said, this can be well over looked with the right faceup, etc. Even how one photographs them can change the look/realism of a doll. For hands, my favorite are the MnF. They're so delicate and graceful and natural and gentle... I could go on forever. I love MnF hands. Narae, imo has the worst hands, they just didn't hang well, always looked stiffed, posed and unnatural. Unoa has beautiful hands too, but I do think they're a little more stylistic. And even though I've never owned an Iplehouse, I will say, I'm not a fan of their hands either and they seem too small for their body. I will end saying that MnF, Narae and Unoa that no matter how easy or difficult they are to pose, when they are in that position, they all look natural and never awkward.

      Here are some old pictures of mine:
      Unoa Sist , Narae, MnF ShuShu

      MnF Hands: 1, 2 , 3

      MnF Nude

      In total I've had 1 Unoa, 4 Naraes, 3 MnFs

      GOOD LUCK in your search! :D
       
      #2 DenaliWind, Dec 17, 2011
    3. DenaliWind, that was really helpful! And very in line with what I thought i was perceiving but wasn't sure since I haven't seen any of these in person. Your dolls, face-ups, and images are really beautiful! Which MnF hand sets do you like best?
       
      #3 feyheart, Dec 17, 2011
    4. Thank you!

      My favorite hands are 3, 4, 6, 8. ^^ My Shushu has the 4 hands.
       
      #4 DenaliWind, Dec 17, 2011
    5. I've held a Narae and a MNF, and I own an Unoa. My Unoa poses easily and naturally; I strung her tighter than most would, though. The Narae I held did not pose so well. She poses naturally, yes, but it took forever to get her into a decent one and for her to hold it! She was a few years old, too, whereas my Unoa is brand new.

      MNF is definitely the best poser, hands down.

      My favorite hands, personally, are Unoa hands. They're very graceful. Narae's are pretty, too. I think MNF hands look more childish, but they're still lovely!
       
      #5 Tangerine, Dec 21, 2011
    6. I've had a MNF, and I still own Narae and Unoa dolls. MNF, Active Line of course, posed greatly because of their body structure and double joints. I had a doll with magnet hands, and sometimes it caused me some problems to fix the hands, as one of them always slipped off.

      My Narae is wired, so it is pretty easy to put her into one or another pose, and all her poses are very graceful and elegant. I can say the same about Unoa, yes, your choice of her poses is limited, especially in comparison to MNF, but she has very beautiful body and each and every pose makes her look very elegant.

      Both Narae and Unoa sculpts are pretty flexible, and you can play with their looks and possibly there are no limits in your game. MNF has narrower choice of looks because of her large head, larger than other dolls have, and anime-stylized features. You can browse thru bjd database and see what these dolls can look like.
       
      #6 Gamayun, Dec 21, 2011
    7. Thank you Gamayun and Tangerine. G, do you think the magnetic hands are enough of an issue that it'd be worth buying the hook hands, or is it worth it to have the smaller, more mobile wrist? Also, is it hard to buy a Unoa? So many choices!
       
      #7 feyheart, Dec 21, 2011
    8. Unoas pop up pretty often on the secondhand market (often priced higher than they would have cost new), but to order them directly from the company is very difficult. Alchemic Labo/Noppin/Crescent Shop only opens orders for the girls once every few years. The most recent one ended on Halloween of this year, and the one before that was I think in 2008.
       
      #8 Tangerine, Dec 24, 2011