"Those Anime Dolls"- Does the connection bother you?

It really doesn't bother me because I'm an anime fan myself but I keep anime and BJDs apart. I don't care about meshing my worlds but there really is not reason to except for of course if there is a doll event at a con. However, if there's a person who doesn't know about BJDs and associates them with anime with clear distain in their voice,....well I'd have a problem. They dislike anime and BJDs it would seem and probably sound very rude. I wouldn't tolerate that.

 

It doesnt bother me at all, but thats because i first seen bjd's at an anime con. I can see why it can any people though, it can be nice being clumped into a "box" that you arent apart of.

 

It bothers me a tiny bit because I'm on the fringes of anime and manga, I like the style, but nothing I've watched/read has really stuck with me yet, so I don't want to be identified with something that isn't that important to me...but at the same time, the association often helps other people realise what kind of doll I collect as opposed to porcelain dolls or fashion dolls.

 

Yes!

Especially as I don't particularly like anime and manga. It has to do with my being an artist and being 'stuck' in that style for years as I started drawing, since that was where I begun (when I should have been starting out somewhere completely different to get where I really want to go with art).

So yeah. Not my cup of tea, but then I'm not interested in the super-dollish BJD anyway. I prefer the realistic sculpts.

 

well part of the reason i liked bjds was because they look very anime and not like normal dolls! when i pointed out they were very anime, my gf told me she readed that the first bjds were create by people who make anime action figures....so yeah i don't mind the connection at all...

 

I would not mind so much if the people around me did not usually look down upon fans of anime as if we are geeks who like kiddie cartoons. So I instinctively get miffed at people who refer to ABJDs as "those anime dolls".

I do see how people can think that they are anime dolls because of the big eyes, smaller noses and chins just like the the proportions of the typical stereotype anime character. Some dolls however I have no clue as to how they look like an anime character.

I wish that BJDs would not be associated with anime because it could turn people away that might actually enjoy these dolls. But of course that association will always be there. I don't mind it if the person actually made an honest mistake or is generalizing because they don't know that much about BJDs and are not saying it in a way as if they were looking down on me.

I wish for a day I don't have to hide my doll/anime loving side of me for the sake of getting people to think I am not weird or a geek. (I am so happy there is a forum like this )

 

I can't be upset about it because if not for anime (Rozen Maiden) and anime conventions, I would never have encountered a BJD. It was at an anime convention that I saw my first BJD, and later came to love them through Rozen Maiden and DoA. While I don't intend to create "character dolls," I may take my resin kids to conventions with me in costume. I love cosplay, and I want to share that with any dolls I may get in the future.

I can understand why some people are upset about the association, especially those who are not a part of anime subculture. It's not an accurate generalization, but few generalizations are accurate. Maybe if the BJD community continues to grow, it will be able to break free from this tie to the anime people.

 

I think that people connects BJDs with anime and such because they are also a wave of Japanese phenom that Americans came to love. People automatically connect them, even though BJD lovers do not always like anime, and anime lovers don't always like BJDs. It just comes with the idea that they're Japanese and so is anime so they must be related. (Coming from a person who likes both anime and BJDs but doesn't see parallels between the two.)

 

It doens bother me.. as far as i have seen many dolls dont looks much like those anime characters u see nowadays on childrens TV. Many look like refined works of art, with beautiful clothes, etc etc... True some people will make them look like an anime character... but thats where t owner's personality plays a part. Whatever rocks people's boats

 

I don't know what kinds of anime series you're referring to but the ones I've seen are not suitable for children and they have beautiful animation. Seriously, I've been in this hobby for many years and for me EVERY single BJD can look like an anime character: DOD, Luts, Volks, SOOM, Dollmore, even Pukis etc etc all of them have traits of anime. And it doesn't bother me at all if people think that BJD=anime, I'm not ashamed of admitting that I like anime, BJDs and yaoi. Why should I?

 

I'm a anime/manga lover but prefer to keep my dolls just dolls. I don't like dolls much that looks like an anime char Most of my dolls have natural colored hair over unnatural. But the animes doesen't bother me. People shoulden't feel bothered over how some people like they're dolls. Pink hair, huge eyes haha After all we're all bjd lovers We just got different tastes.

Haha yumi, yay for yaoi^^

 

I think one thing you have to take into consideration is that A LOT of these dolls, whether by owners or by companies themselves, are based on anime. [Volks' Gurren Dollfie Dreams--- Yoko, for example] And then often times in the BJD fandom, an owner will base their dolls' character, appearance, etc. on their favorite characters from an anime they like. Other people simply occasionally cosplay their dolls as a beloved anime or video game character.

So imagine if a non-BJD person was only exposed to these types of dolls, dolls who really do revolve around anime---can you really blame them for making such a connection between BJDs and anime? Non-BJD people may have never seen 'more realistic' sculpts; if they have no savvy about the hobby, how could they possibly know? Honestly, in light of such possible and plausible situations, the whole connection itself is an innocent enough mistake for someone to make. Anime people know anime. Doll people know dolls. Some happen to know both.

It's because of this notion that the connection doesn't bother me much; though personally not a single one of my BJDs has anything to do with any anime series. My dolls are just themselves, and they forge their own characters either from existing personal characters I have for them, or as we go along. ^-^

 

I thought it was cute and funny when my best friend was looking for stuff online for my 'anime dolls' so she could knit them something (she was looking mostly for patterns).

I discovered BJD's at an anime convention so I really have anime to thank for having them.

 

Actually, as a guy in the hobby... I appreciate this connection. It makes it a little bit easier for people to accept the fact that I collect dolls because.. "Oh, they're anime dolls... They're like action figures."

I'm not going to try to say that most dolls aren't inspired by anime. Their features are-more often than not-based on anime proportions, and some companies are inspired by, or even downright copy anime characters (Angell Studio, some Dollmore outfits)!

I personally don't think it should matter either way XD! The only place this label comes into play is with outsiders of the hobby-and things are almost always awkward with them anyways so this has little negative impact with me.

 

As another person who discovered these dolls thanks in part to my enjoyment of anime, it would be unfair for me to resent the connection!

Still, I guess it depends. The dolls I tend to go for have a more realistic look to them. I don't mind them being associated with Japanese culture, and while I'm guilty of wanting to cosplay my dolls, I'd be quick to correct anyone either way.

They're more then anime action figures for example, and they're not limited to just anime fans, which I think is a point people need to make clear. I knew a few doll owners who wern't into anime at all but still loved the dolls. I'd imagine this question botherd them more then it would me.

 

I like both anime and BJD, I think it's normal people that don't know about bjd or anime connect bjd with Japanese thinks, like anime or manga, because they come originally from Japan.

Few months later I was in a cafe with some friends and our bjd and a girl who was there ask us if we were emo. It was like: wow!! what are you saying!?!?

 

I'm only sli (totally just got cut off by my dollie falling on his face XD) slightly annoyed most of the time, mostly because I know that BJD are affiliated with anime, but are not based upon it. I like to think that BJD are a branch of the Asian culture, and should have nothing to do with anime. People associate BJD with anime 90% of the time because (and I suck at statistics, so correct me if I'm wrong) 80% of BJD owners attend anime conventions.

I'm bothered when I talk about my love for BJD to people (especially my male friends who aren't into the culture as I am) and they say 'WTC is a bee-jay-dee? Those anime dolls?' because BJD deserve to be more than that. The anime world is being broadened by spectrums every day, with millions of people enjoying it, cosplaying it, the works. BJD is just a nitch in the Asian culture bedpost that so happens to be located next to anime because of the convention populous, and deserves to be recognized as a branch of original art that is, honestly, loads more sophisticated than the generic 'anime' title they're given.

Uh... I probably made no sense.... and I really should stop talking XD;; But that's my opinion on it all....

 

Personally yes, it does bother me when people associate BJDs with anime. I really do not understand the fascination people have with anime, and I think it's a bit silly (this is all IMO so don't take anything personally). I think what really gets to me is...omg Japanese = automatic weeabo/otaku which isn't true at all. I do not enjoy being clumped into a category of people.

Another thing about the types of dollies that I like...they look way more realistic than anime-esque. I don't much like dolls that don't really look real at all...e.g. I like Rainman's sculpts.

 

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It's not a subculture I'd be keen on resembling in particular, but that label is peanuts in comparison to being A DOLL PERSON. Who am I to criticize someone watching cartoons and playing dress-up when I play with dolls every day? XD Surely if you own one of these dolls, you already don't give a damn about being unflatteringly labeled?

I can't speak for the rest of the world, but I don't think the average 21-100 yr old American would look at your doll and think "anime". They'd think, "look, that person has a doll."

.

 

I've never really had anyone connect my bjd to anime, though I admit not many people have seen him. But the ones that have and have basic knowledge of anime really just though he was a very pretty doll...or creepy lol. they regarded it only as a doll and didn't even address the issue he came from another country.

There are lots of other things at anime conventions that are there just because it came from Japan (like a visual kei band or Shamisen player) so it's no surprise that bjd's appear there too. It's understandable to connect all of them together because they are foreign, but I know I would tell someone that was confused that dolls really don't have anything to do with anime, just that some owners choose to cross them over. Or that the can sculpts look different compared to american dolls (like anime to american cartoons) because they are in line with a popular Asian aesthetic.

I would totally be offended if I was called an otaku in regards to my doll hobby. In fact I only call myself otaku in jest since it's very much not something I want to really be called xD


edit: wow! my post happens to really tie in with Silvertongue's last thought above.