Realistic-Idealized & Mature Vs. Stylized Youthful-Dolls: Which Do You Prefer?

Can't answer this question. Too new to BJDs.

Can't answer this either.

Can't answer this, I'm old.

I am in my 40s and my mother is in her late 60s. We have vintage and new dolls at home. All our dolls, both new and old, both girls and boys are NOT the realistic mature looking type like Barbie and Fashion Royalty. We are not into Himstedts because they are too realistic.

At this moment, I only buy boy BJDs between ages 13-19. If older, than 19, the boy must look at most 19 and they must be beautiful. My mother has no age preference for boys except that she reminds me that boys must look like boys. She dislikes my 12" Karl Heineken (Volks Lost Angels) because he looks like a girl. She likes my 12" Kenshin (Volks) because his face is scarred and he carries a sword which makes him look like a boy. She has not met my 23" Isao, I'm sure she will approve of him, Isao looks like a boy....to me at least he looks like a boy. I am bringing Isao to Toronto to meet my mom in Feb. She will be disappointed if he looks like girl. Age is not the issue.

Similarly for BJD girls, I prefer the young, sweet innocent, cute look no more than 15 years old, if older than 15, they must look at most 15. Like boys, they must be beautiful.

I think age is not much a matter. Through observation, older people in their 60s who grow up playing with large plastic dolls (Pedigree, Palitoy, Ideal etc) tend to prefer dolls that are cute and young.

For me, BJDs are a fad for sure. When the fandom ends, I'd store the dolls away in the closet with other vintage dolls. In future, I'd be interested in BJDs again and the fanatism cycle repeats itself.

About culture and regions: Culture and region affects the type of dolls we grow up with and love. For example, we lived in Singapore, a British Colony in South East Asia. I played with my mother's big British plastic dolls in the 60s. Later, our family worked with Japanese business partners, we had Japanese neighbours and we are familiar with Japanese doll brands. We never had dolls made in Korea or China. A photo shows we had an IDEAL doll in the early 60s, made in the USA. I watch Japanese anime since late 70s, so I like the anime doll but they have to be original anime characters and not a generic head mold customized by an individual to look like a certain anime character. I'm old school.

I strongly disagree that as we mature, we prefer mature looking realistic dolls. I like the cute, sweet, young, innocent look especially girls. There is a difference between girl and boy dolls. I feel uncomfortable a mature looking and realistic SD16 girl but a similar type SD17 boy seems ok with me. Don't ask me why because I don't know! I think my preference is influenced by the type of anime I watch: Bi-Shounen and Mecha.

Different people have different taste and preferences. There will always be a group of collectors who love the mature and realistic look.

 

I prefer more realistic and interesting faces whether it is younger or more mature. There are so many choices and for me, many have a very simliar look so the ones that stand out to me are more real and have more of a character face. I can't get many dolls so the doll I select has to meet many criteria. I odn't want a doll that I will get bored with.

 

My purchase style is definately toward realistic. I love the overly beautiful faces but do appreciate those with character as well. I am not a fan of the overly disproportionate heads nor the younger looking faces with the highly developed bodies though I do own very young sweet girls who had a long kiss from the puberty fairly and will be needing the bras with the wide straps!
I do like children dolls and adult dolls. I would like to see the "teen" looking dolls have more modest bodies that fit their slender frames. It would make some of the fashions look less provacative and while maybe a little sexy, sexy in a subtle way.
I am fine with the nip tuck looking body on dolls meant to be adults.

I would vote: youthful realistic, and trending toward idealized. This is where I prefer to invest my doll-ars.

Denise

 

I always tend to look at more realistic/stylized dolls. I just can't seem to find myself wanting a youthful/more cartoon-like doll, maybe because I don't see them fitting in my family anywhere.

 

In your opinion, has the BJD market changed, is there now more demand for "mature-realistic looking dolls"?
From the sculpts that I am seeing, YES.

If yes, what do you believe brought about this change?
In your opinion, has the BJD "world" matured, are older (long-time) bjd-followers now seeking more mature-realistic looking dolls?
If you agree, why do you believe this is so
It could be that the industry is growing together with its majority fan-base. Typical marketing strategy.

Do younger (10?-18-years-old) BJD-owners prefer the younger, "less-realistic" looking dolls? Why, why not?
Not necessarily. Depends what is the main source of influence - anime, manga, TV, parents, etc

Do older BJD-owners (19-100?-years-old) prefer the more 'realistic,' more adult-looking dolls? Why, why not?
Regardless of age, do you have a preference (realistic/and/or/mature vs youthful/and/or/stylized)?
Personally, I prefer the more mature and realistic looking sculpts. These are more pleasing to my own eyes. Blame Chucky... Since young, I have been freaked by dolls with unrealistically large eyes and somewhat scary makeups. Infact, to a certain extent I still do. Alot of my age-group friends are still apprehensive about dolls due to that movie.

Is it just a fad, in a constantly changing hobby?
For some - YES. For true collectors - NO.

Is it do to the joining of a completely new audience?
Yes. People like me, are considered a new audience. I can afford them now, hence the interest, not before.

Is it just because BJD companies are growing, maturing themselves, and they want to make more 'real' looking dolls?
I believe so. It's called "growing together with your customer". However, there will always be consideration for the younger fans. Again, these younger fans, if they are influenced by an older person, their preference may mirror that of the older person. Take music for example - I know of pre-teen kids who love listening to music from the 60s.

Does it have anything to do with age-group, or is it related to culture, region or other?
Highly possible. Environmental influences are always a major factor in a person's upbringing, preference, thinking, etc. We cannot discount that.

If you have other views, or opinions of why more 'realistic,' and mature looking dolls are suddenly popping up, please give me your insight, I am curious to know what you think!
Another thought is WHY you are purchasing these dolls. I believe there is a community here that is attracted to these dolls due to their artistic & photography potential. For such, perhaps a more realistic looking doll works better.

The general younger community nowadays are much more knowledgeable and open minded that about their bodies. Perhaps that is why, more realistic dolls with realistic bodies are better accepted, compared to some of us who only knew Mickey Mouse whilst growng up. :P

Finally - price... That could have some bearing on the preference or type that one can afford.

 

I like the realistic dolls as well, I suppose its my predisposition to believe dolls should resemble reality in some way.

I think age doesn't have much to do with what dolls people are going for but the over all look the person is into.

 

Hmm.... I prefer younger looking and possibly less realistic sculpts. (In the age range of believably 14 to 20 ) This is possibly because I'm 20 myself, but I just don't feel right playing with a doll that looks much older than I am... (Even -I- have eyes bigger than some of those sculpts! ) And also because I don't find them as beautiful--to me, at least.
I play with them to escape reality for a moment, haha. (And as inspiration for my graphic novel) When they're artistic models, they suit my drawing style much better as more youthful and "anime inspired". (<-- Though I'm picky about this. I don't really like the Dolfie Dream dolls and molds that are more towards that style, because it's a little too extreme)
I do notice that companies are tending to respond to the demand for more realistic sculpts though. And I can't very well blame them for not catering to the minority-- they wouldn't do well just going with my tastes, would they? XD But I do hope they continue to make at least a few more of the type of sculpts I like occasionally, instead of making it a mass evolution-type event such as the change in style of furniture or music every ten years or so. (And it hopefully won't be that way, or that dramatic)

 

I fall into the older (nearly 40) demographic, and I do prefer more realistic sculpts - no matter the age the doll is representing. I have moved over from fashion doll (Barbies, Genes, etc.) collecting.
I have always been drawn to the fabulous fashions and photography for BJDs the last few years, but I have only started getting interested in purchasing my first doll after I found the realistic-looking ones. I like the boys to look like boys and the girls to be pretty.
I like the anime style, although surprisingly I'm not drawn to it in doll form. It truly comes across as too stylized for me with the big boobs and tiny waists, big eyes and tiny mouths. Yet as I write this, it seems kind-of odd that this would bother me, since i have always loved Barbie.
I love seeing the variety of dolls available now in all forms (even Barbie). I love seeing the fantasy creations, anime styles, different cultural representations, etc. It's great that dolls reflect a broader range of society and dreams.

 

I think it's all about a person's personal asethic, regardless of age. These dolls are all about bonding, so their sculpt must strike a very deep personal chord within the individual collector. I think companies have simply discovered that the realistic sculpts will appeal to certain collectors' asethics and have responded to that, market-wise. But the more stylized forms continue to have very strong followings as well. It's nice to have choices. I'm an older collector and my collection is quite varied. As I've developed a character, I've gone in search of the ideal sculpt to bring to life. Because of this, I have carefully chosen everything from a mildly stylized El, to an emotionally complex realistic Dollstown, to a super realistic minimee, to a robot, and I'm now in the process of searching for the perfect, very stylized sculpt to portray a young Pokemon trainer. It's all about finding the perfect sculpt for the perfect character. Variety is the spice of life for me!

 

I surely prefer more realistic dolls. I always wanted to have a little projection of a human to play with. Also it's fun to see and have a possibility to do faceups of an interesting mature face to achieve as much realism as possible. Many respects to Soom for their dolls! I also like to look at Minimee custom dolls very much.
I made two dolls by myself and one of them is an old bitchy-looking necromancer. I had a great time sculpting all those sagging cheeks, sharp nose and frowning forehead. Beauty can be shown in many ways and not always those that mass culture proposes.

 

Well, I wasn't really active in the market years ago. I only started looking at BJDs seriously about a year ago. So I can't really give an opinion on this. But however, looking at what others have said, I think the change comes from more and more people becoming interested in BJDs. It's not just people within the Asian market, but people from around the world in different cultures are now into these dolls. What is popular in Asia may not be popular in other parts of the world.

I think that as we get older, our perspectives and interests change within our hobbies. For example, I've always loved animation. But I'm not drawn to the same sort of animation I watched as a kid... like Saturday morning cartoons. I now look for animation with more mature themes though not R rated. But when looking back at the animated movies I enjoyed as a kid, I now look at them artistically instead of solely for entertainment value. The same goes for any hobby really. As a child, you may go for the little innocent princess. But as you grow up, you may grow to love the scruffy underdog character because he relates to your frame of reference better.

As with BJDs... I would assume that for most younger people, especially with anime, manga, and anything remotely Japanese being extremely popular. (I have a 13 and 14 year old niece and a 17 year old nephew who are heavily into anime, I know how it is for them.) They would be more prone to looking for younger sculpts with large eyes and small mouths. But the main reason why I couldn't find myself getting into BJDs was that while I've been in the anime/game fandom for 10 years, I just didn't see most of the dolls that were around as interesting... since I have moved on in a way. Especially in my own artwork. Finding more mature / realistic sculpts prompted me to get into dolls. Although my more realistic doll is going to be my 2nd.

But overall, I think it depends on the person, their personal preferences and their interests.

As far as age and preference goes, it depends on the character I want to create. For my adult characters, I prefer more mature sculpts. For childlike ones, I'd go for more youthful and stylized. Though there are certian sculpts that don't really attract me, and it tends to be wide eyes and very, very tiny mouths. But the more mature sculpts really tend to draw me in much more.
I don't think it's a fad. I just think the scope of the hobby is growing. I also think it has to do with more artists getting into this business. Each artist has their own unique style. Even within anime/manga and western animation/comics, each artist has their own way of interpreting people and animals. There are going to be more differences as more artists get into this. It also has a lot to do with the background and culture of the artists, and also as a business, their target market. If they start seeing orders coming in from all over the world, they may look into making dolls that appeal more to these people.

 

Only discovering BJDs 4 months or so ago i'm pretty new to the hobby but i've always preferred the really realistic sculpts. I think being someone who loves tiny little details and is fascinated by the realism and the personality that these resin beings seem to have means that nothing can compare to them. Having been avidly doing my research ever since i saw my first i've skimmed past the more stylized and youthfull dolls and only stopped for the really striking realistic sculpts that have caught my eye. When it comes down to it i think its just about personal preference, now with the emergence of talented sculptors showing off their skill for realism its enevitable that the hobby will produce such things but there hasn't been a decrease in the younger/stylized sculpts being made there is just more variety now.

 

Age: 19
Artist
Preference: Realistic and mature

As you age i think your sense of aesthetics merge more with reality rather than fantasy as you see more of real life, experience more things and meet more people.
Perception of beauty just changes sometimes and as you mature it keeps moving forward.

In a way, Companies are also maturing little by little, starting from iconic, ambiguity and vagueness to something more complex.

 

Do older BJD-owners (19-100?-years-old) prefer the more 'realistic,' more adult-looking dolls? Why, why not? I'm 22. I prefer the less realistic molds. Mostly because I do honestly find highly realistic molds to be a little creepy.

Regardless of age, do you have a preference (realistic/and/or/mature vs youthful/and/or/stylized)? Youthful and stylized, please


Other less specific, but related questions:
Is it just a fad, in a constantly changing hobby?
I don't think so. I think with the hobby branching out, you're obviously going to get a wider variety in sculpts and whats available.
Is it do to the joining of a completely new audience?
I think the newly joining audience just lets more and more companies branch out more and more. Just due to the fact that the more people in the hobby, the more likely theirs going to be a market for anything a doll company would want to do.
Is it just because BJD companies are growing, maturing themselves, and they want to make more
'real' looking dolls? I think it's a higher skill to make more realistic molds. So maybe as scultpers get better at their craft, companies feel more comfortable making more realistic scultps.
Does it have anything to do with age-group, or is it related to culture, region or other? Not that i've personally noticed.

 

Yes, absolutely. When I first encountered the hobby, highly stylised dolls were all there were, and so I went urrgh, creepy, and ran away. My first encounters were with pictures of dolls with stylised faces, anime mouths and big glass eyes and it didn't help that they were posed as a cross between real child pornography and hentai, with the emphasis on the sculpted genetalia ond submissive/abused poses with the big, inhuman, anime eyes and faces... ick ick ick. I don't think I can be blamed for running away.

Then I saw more realistic dolls from DIM and Elfdoll, much, much later, and was in love.

I agree with two points raised above: 1) the influx of collectors from outside anime or Japanese doll collecting fandom, who are more interested in realistic, human-looking dolls and 2) more variety, more experimentation, more sophistication, and less big garage models.

Also... people have just looked at the beautiful, realistic models and wanted them. Demand creates supply.

More choice on the market!

Not necessarily. It depends why they came into the fandom, and what captures their interest.

I thik there are plenty of adults collecting stylised dolls. But again, as above, doll collection in general is less dominated by teenage otaku, and new people cossing iover (from, say, Tonner or reborning fandom) changes the pattern of collecting.

I don't agree with the blurring between mature/realistic and youthful/stylised. Nothing I like better than a realistic child or baby doll.

I do tend to prefer realistic dolls (in a sense! I love vampires, mermaids and elves, but with human proportioned features), of all ages, to anime-styled ones, if we're talking either fashion dolls or bjds. I agree with an earlier poster that actual anime models tend to be a far better translation of anime characters anyway. My little ultra-posable Yotsuba doll with her interchangeable limbs, faceplates and expressions looks and has the feel of her character far better than, say, the Volks Maria-sama Ga Miteru dolls, who capture nothing of the characters they are supposed to be other than their outfits. Even when I have anime cosplay plans, I'd prefer a doll that looked human to me - as if she was a representation of a live-action version. The anime-styled dolls just really don't appeal to me.

 

I'm 20 years old and for me I feel like my age and what I like reflects on the type of doll that I like. I prefer the more mature that looks around my age sort of dolls. Also I like the one that look more realistic because I've never really been into all that sort of fantasy ideal humans. Though I do like a lot of mangas and animes that deal with fantasy I always prefered the ones that dealt with more human like features. And about the doll companies changing...I think over time things just start to change. Nothing stays the same and people always have new ideas and designs. Technology is always changing and so is the fashion, television,...etc...so many things change over the years that it just seems normal to me.

 

I haven't been back to this thread in a long time. What's ironic is that some of my oldest characters are embodied by my most stylized sculpts. Stylized sculpts are much more versatile than they are often given credit for--there's an automatic assumption of youthfulness, however, by being a highly stylized image of a human, it allows them to take on may different looks and aspects. A highly realistic doll that is meant to be in a certain age bracket is going to have a harder time breaking out of that bracket, since being realistic is being true to life. With a stylized doll it is largely up to how the owner chooses to portray them and what kind of feeling they give off. For me, this is really a benefit as with a wig change Cait's doll body can represent her over a great deal of her life, but I couldn't do that with my most realistic heads. If anything, I lean more towards stylization now than I even did when I posted in this thread originally (with the exception of my minimees, since they're intended to be portraits of specific people), though I've seen a few realistic non-minimee dolls that I do find attractive here and there. So anyway I'm now 32 and have really not been big on the trend towards greater and greater realism.

 

I haven't been into this long enough to notice trends, but I can speak for myself here. (I'm 20, by the way)

For me, it depends on the doll size.

MSD and larger, I tend to prefer more realistic, mature sculpts. They are closer to the aesthetic I prefer in art in general, and I think that they come closer to achieving the human ideal of beauty, as well as just looking more natural. I like more detailed, realistic (but not exaggerated) bodies as well in this size range--not totally smooth, but not inhumanly ripped either. There are more stylized sculpts that I really enjoy looking at, but a, still searching to see if I find one I love enough to own. I also love fantasy dolls, but still prefer them to have more realistic features.

For tinies, though, I tend to prefer slightly less realistic sculpts. There are some that look more realistically like children, and I am not nearly as drawn to them as I am to otherwise similar, but less realistic sculpts. I also dislike tinies that are styled to look like small adults, or proportioned too much like infants.

In any size, though, exaggerated features kind of bug me. I'm used to big eyes, but too big, and I won't like a doll. I like the heads to be in moderate proportions to the bodies. Some amount of stylization, I like--I don't always enjoy the "too realistic" molds--but I want a sort of idealized reality.