Ring Doll Teens

Hey there guys I stumbled across this thread looking for anyone else that liked Ringdoll Kyo. So far nothing XD I was wondering what everyone else thought of him since I fell in love with him the first time I saw him =)

 

It would appear that Rongdoll has made Spencer their new Darkside boy! Here comes The Judges line....
http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fb...46868812020653

 

I can see people either loving or throwing a fit over the Judges doll. Yes, its based after an anime character. But the clothes, chainsaw, etc while stylized similar are not identical. Companies like dollmore and a few others have already had exact clothing replicas for sale for a long while. There's even a company with a head based after Austria from hetalia, and we see character replicas every day with minimees.

So please, leave the drama and accusations up to the companies. This is a large gray area that also covers fanart and cosplay.

With that said, I love his clothes.

 

I think that there's a big difference between "styling a doll after a character" and "intentionally styling a doll to exactly look like a character." 'Judges', looking like a doll made to look exactly like Grell from Kuroshitsuji, falls into the latter category - down to the features, the clothes, the glasses, the chainsaw, the plush bunny. The pictures on Ringdoll's site are meant to look like images of Grell from the anime, fcs. Considering how complete the copying is, I would say it goes well above and beyond just crossing the line into the territory of copyright infringement (the line which Minimee heads toe by making limited copies, and other companies do by merely alluding to characters [i.e. Dollmore's clothing] or making similarities rather than totally copying them).

Frankly, I'm really kind of upset by this, and also upset by your tone that we should all just ignore the copying and not talk about it cos you said so. :\ RingDoll is a company I've considered ordering from before, and I'm really, honestly disappointed in them, and also worried that they'll be sued for this. Cos, um, the makers of Kuroshitsuji would have a case.

I don't really want to start drama, attack anyone, or anything like that, but like I said, I'm really amazed by the totality of their copy of the character, and kind of shocked they actually, honestly went through with something like that and nobody there thought, "Wait a second, this isn't right. We shouldn't do that. And also they could sue us." And I'm really, like I said, disappointed.

 

I've seen also your opinion posted in the news thread.
Ok let me share my two:
i'm sorry to say that i'm on o01101011 side.Before talking of copyright infringment we should be speaking carefully.IMO to copy a costume to perform a certain character into a cosplay contest isn't just different from creating a doll similiar to a certain character.
It's not that i don't want to talk about it,but imo isn't this the case,maybe RingDoll makes allusion to this character,and just a reader or a fan of the manga could see a copy of one certain character.

In these days i have a real fight with several fans of Lady Gaga,that still claim that her don't copy in anything other singer that stepped the stage long before she did,while i see copying allway from others celebrities.
It's the same here.
Maybe to you it's clear that RingDoll is copying this character while maybe it's not.
And by the way i agree as well with the DollMore and Minimee discourse,it's not different what they do,so why complain about RingDoll?
I see also some company that copying each other ideas with no shame,i see as well face up, and ideas from background for ABJD used by people..i don't see why complain only with certain company.

 

So IOS makes a Sebastian doll, even commissioning fairy-tale to make Sebastian's clothes. And now their 60cm doll look like Claude. Odd everyone seemed excited over it. Why excited about 1 kuroshitsuji look alike doll, but not this one?

 

Also keep in mind, copyright in different works differently in different countries. IE: In Japan there is oodles and oodles of stationary, doujinshi, and other items featuring characters that are not directly endorsed by the companies. (If you look at Cospa the company on hlj.com, they seem to specialize in it.)

So in my opinion, is it legal to sell this through a dealer in the US? I'd say no. Would it be legal to buy it through a dealer in Asia? Likely yes. Do I agree selling the whole kit and caboodle together? I think it would be more of an homage if they sold/merchandised the accessories separately, like a cosplay for your doll. I know Dollmore has Sailor Moon inspired costumes, and probably a few others, but no one ever made a big fuss about that.

People did, however, make a fuss about the last Kuroshitsuji based dolls, and the Edward and Jacob Twilight based dolls were made to be a very limited release.

Back to the Ringdoll... other than the obvious application as Grell, his sculpt is nice and unique to the dolly world. I'd like to see the head painted differently, or even as a girl!!

 

one also needs to remember that copyright laws are not the same in asia as they are here. leave the accusations and the fussing to the people whom it matters to - i'm sure that the creators of kuroshitsuji will put up a fight if they choose to. or they might be completely flattered that the character is being promoted in this way. lets not forget the IoS orisis, who is based after the black butler himself.

 

Tempest_Strife - Cospa goods are actually all licensed official merchandise.

As for this doll, I don't think it's illegal, but I do find it highly unimaginative and tacky of a company to do something like this. This isn't a fan lovingly putting together a character doll or even a doujinshi circle creating comics for a series they love. It's a company looking to cash in on those feelings. They're free to do it, but it's not something I would want to encourage with my money.

And I adore Grell and would love to have a doll scale chainsaw, but this doesn't make me want to purchase one from them.

 

idk you guys. I just think it's really problematic, especially since, like I said, this doesn't seem to a "homage to" or "inspired by" situation as much as it does a "complete copy of" situation, which makes me a little bit upset. I mean, come on, it's not like Ringdoll hasn't shown themselves to be capable of original, nice sculpts that people enjoy.

(And just personally, I don't approve of any character "copy" dolls. There's a big difference between a doll inspired by a character and a doll meant to look exactly like them, and I don't like the latter at all. Even the Twilight copy dolls turned me off from the company that made them, although I completely loathe Twilight.)

ETA: Kim, I completely agree with you. You probably put it better than I did, ha. It is really tacky. Especially from a company like RingDoll where, like I said above, they've shown they're capable of making original sculpts that people like... but they chose to make a copy doll based on someone else's character because they knew it would bring them a lot of cash. That's just really, very not cool in my book.

 

Guys, here is the Ringdoll designer write to me "for your inquires, Judges is come from our designer's latest experimental design practice of donjin work - a re-creation of Japanese comic characters. Our designer re-designed the outfit and props of the character,as his face-up design is actually inspired by the comics of Grell Sutcliffe and also other elements from many Japanese animes(some was new designs). And you can also find out his head sculpt is our RTB09 head (which was also incoparated in our Spencer styles). BTW, the donjin work is a very common practice among asian anime and cartoon fans community."

 

I have to say I really love this Judges doll- if just for his overall face sculpt, not for the character (since I've only read maybe half of a Black Butler manga). But I think people need to realize: character dolls are a very common thing! I can't count how many times I stumble into the Sewing or Customization forums and find people trying to turn their dolls into a character from their favorite anime/manga/or TV show. But they're not flamed for copyright infringement, are they?

And personally when I see companies do something, such as make a doll/article of clothing that looks like a specific character, it is not their intention to outright "steal" something that's not theirs (since, when you look at it, the character in reality is but a 2D figure, not even a doll to begin with) but rather use it as a sort of homage to something they enjoy just as much as the fans who are apparently infuriated by them making it. (When mannnnyyy of these people themselves have made clothing or mods in order for their own dolls to cosplay or just BE the very characters they can't stand seeing companies make anything remotely similar to. I'm not pointing fingers, just observing ).

 

If they wanted to offer an homage, they wouldn't be selling it for a profit. And therein lies the difference between fan made single dolls and more mass produced company dolls that are clearly meant to be characters to cash in on popularity. And that's why I find it tacky. Doujinshi are allowed by the anime and manga industries in Japan because they are extremely limited runs of books that most doujinshika just hope to break even on. Seamstresses at Dolpa may offer small runs of doll sized cosplay. They're not companies advertising a product like this.

Like I said, it's not illegal and I wouldn't go on a witch hunt over it. I find it distasteful and won't be purchasing from the company.

 

Zest, I think there's a huge difference between an individual making a doll into a character because they love the character (heck, I've done it!) and a company making (and producing for sale, not for personal use) a doll to look exactly like a character because they know it'll make people buy the doll. I've got no problem with people making their own personal dolls look like characters; it's when you have a company doing it, producing to sell, etc. that it gets very, very iffy to me. I don't know about other countries, but U.S. copyright laws have a "fair use" clause that includes things like using the imagery of the characters for personal use. The problem comes when you actually produce for sale (ergo, in volume) and make money off that imagery.

Kattie.fr: Thank you for sharing. I don't think that excuses it at all, though, really. :\ "Oh, it's based off a doujinshi" doesn't really make it not based on the anime/manga in any way. And come on. The imagery in the company photos is all from the anime. And the way they say it's from their "latest experimental design practice" makes me wonder if they aren't going to put out more dolls along these lines (copies from anime/manga) in the future... :\

Kim: Once again, I agree, ha. Biiig difference between personal use, limited stuff produced at small or no profit for the purpose of personal use (doujinshi, limited clothing designs, etc.), and making a large number of dolls for sale at profit. Sigh.

 

It will all blow over. Only a few are offended, the rest will love it and will buy it. Too bad RD doesnt have a Q&A like Soom does because I'd like to see some I will sue you posts.

I dont like the shiny resin RD uses so yet again not a doll I want.

 

People please keep calm and carry on (British royal army ditto).
I agree with most of you,but still i like the doll,and i don't see anything wrong with Judges,i've noticed before some resemblance with Spencer mold face by the way,i like face up,expecially lips.

If we really wants to debate i think that is nothing wrong,but again don't forget thta other companies like Angell Studio,with Mix Red and Mix Black, realesed similiar dolls to this specific manga.

Also i don't think that in certain cosplay contest isn't supposed to win a prize,don't know if money or what,so i don't see again any issue...

I was told that is shiny since is a special eco frinedly resin,and thta it's lovely in real,i would buy,cause i like it,but simply Judges is too short for my tastes ^^"

 

The resin has been changed no shiny again. It is too bad that not everyone know this. What a waste for their customers Q&A.

 

I was just wondering... has Ringdoll said this is a standard doll? Or is it limited to a very small number (IE: 5)? I'm not interested in the doll because I'm not a fan of Minimees or character dolls for some of the reasons listed in this thread, but I'm curious. Did I miss something?

Same here. Having owned a doll made with environmental resin in the past, I can say even if my views on character dolls were different I wouldn't be interested. I am not a fan of the texture, but that's just a personal preference. I really do love some of their sculpts (such as Don).

 

Thanks Kattie. In Korea, this is not so harsh. Emily from Ringdoll write to us that --
"Thank you everyone for supporting RingDoll!
We would like to state some facts regarding our newest release Judges. Our style designer used our existing RTB09 head sculpt (was used for Spencer), and RTbody-2 for his body. The concept of Judges, including the studio photography is heavily influenced by the Japanese comic series Kuroshitsuji (黑执&#20107 character Grell. We designed this doll as homage to one of the Anime series beloved by everyone here at RingDoll.
With regarding to Copyrights infringement issues that some doll lovers have brought to our attention, we already did our preliminary consultation with our legal department and third party Copyrights law professionals. We are quite confident that our creation is and should be considered original art. There is no ambiguity whether our doll design is legal or not.
However, we realize that such design can easily lead to unnecessary controversies and negative publicity. We apologize if this has caused any discomfort for our doll lovers out there. We will definitely be more cautious with the future designs to avoid such controversy.
Sincerely,
RingDoll Team"

 

I'd just like to throw my two cents out, and say that Judges very obviously has the Spencer sculpt. Because RD will be discontinuing the military uniforms, I believe Judges is the replacement fullset for Military Spencer. I can't be too sure with the single picture that has been released on Facebook, but I believe Chai will be the replacement for Ashford. As for Judges being a very obvious cosplay... I don't think it really matters in the long run. Eventually, the faceup will fade, be replaced and the resemblance to Grell will no longer exist (unless, of course, the owner of the doll replaces the faceup with a similar one). The chainsaw doesn't really mean anything in my opinion, since RD already had a chainsaw released with Jessica as part of her fullset, and it's not being offered with Judges as part of his.

@PeppermintPocky: I think it's standard. Judges isn't listed in their Special line like Armand and Jessica.

@teddie.hace: The resin changed to something less shiny? Is that what you said? When did that happen? I got my Valo sometime early September, and he's very shiny compared to LUTS head, but very lovely.