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

no, i was stating that that is what other people assume. i'm not putting anyone into a stereotype here.

i know pretty damned well that people who like anime don't slot right into all those things. i watch anime too sometimes, but if i mention anime, people assume that's the sort of person i am.

 

I get where people would get really upset like with some call all hispanics, mexicans and such but I got more into BJDs through cons

 

It doesn't bother me too much that people make the connection to anime when looking at my dolls. I do enjoy some anime, as someone stated people made a big fuss about hentai and all that poorly done aspect of the genre. There are good series like the recently being syndicated on American television Moribito.

There's also what has been said again and again, as much as some may dislike it the ABJD do stem from anime origins. Notice how many of the molds have that same large eyed, small mouth tiny nose thing going on. I don't really like molds that have such an anime feel. I prefer something in the middle of anime and real.

What does bother me is when someone will compare my doll to a specific anime character and completely ignore it when I tell them otherwise. There's nothing wrong with them connecting it to anime to me but the fact that they would ignore that I created this character, spent time and money making him is bothersome. Its the same as when my art gets pinned as oh snap look its Inuyasha when my character looks nothing like Inuyasha.

As a person who draws in an anime inspired style I can understand why other people would be annoyed by being stereotyped in such a way. But stereotypes are always going to happen. It should irk your hobby just because someone else doesn't know the details.


I had to add this:

I really don't see how that relates at all. Its two completely different topics. I am of Hispanic ethnicity and that offended me. Its not the same to call someone Mexican when they came from Puerto Rico. Two completely different places in the world, one is an island. I'm not going to get into the full details of that though as that's off-topic. The issue here is dolls and anime, not racist stereotypes.

 

That was so pointless it was not funny man. Two different topics. (Is also Hispanic so totally offended)

ON Topic:

Again My own opinion is that I don't like the anime dolls personally. I will look, like them as other people have them. But I myself would never buy one. For me. I am more of a 'real-life-doll' person. Of course it is my opinion.

 

Back in this topic aways there are a number of posts that go into detail about abjds and their anime roots, if you're interested. I wouldn't expect abjds to not have other influences as well as time has gone on--that's only natural, however the connection to an anime aesthetic is still there, even in the more realistic abjds. The aesthetic that sets them apart from Western style dolls is the same one you see with anime and manga. Anime/manga really has a variety in it's style--it's not all cookie cutter big eyes, small nose, and pointy chins. Ironically CP, the ones who created your Ani also make anime figures too, and there are other such overlaps with various companies and sculptors. It's far more relevant than you give it credit for. When people make that connection they're actually being pretty perceptive.

I think the main problem you are having is with rude people. They just used anime as an excuse, but people can be rude about dolls in many ways (crazy doll ladies, dolls are just replacements for kids, guys who like dolls are all gay or pedos, dolls are creepy, adults who play with dolls are immature...). After all, we are adults playing with dolls--this does not always engender much respect. On the flip side, you can also get people that find their ties to anime appealing and the fact they are Asian interesting and attractive. It just depends on who you happen to be lucky (or unlucky) enough to bump into.

Asian roots are what these dolls have, so feeling animosity towards it doesn't make sense if you want to participate in the hobby--it's where this style of doll was developed, what informs their particular aesthetics. If people are nasty about it, then they have some issues of their own they need to address--the problem is with them, not with Asian roots or an anime type look.

(BTW I have an Ani boy, he was my second doll--it's such a cute sculpt)

 

What for?

I for one do not like early jazz or standards, because I do not find these remotely as interesting as free jazz. This does not mean, however, that I am not allowed to enjoy jazz music because I do not care for it's roots.

To say so is just madness. Maybe even arrogant to some degree.

 

I think what Taco was suggesting, in your analogy, was not that you aren't allowed to enjoy jazz music, but that when people say "oh, you like jazz...that's like, Louis Armstrong, right?" you should try not to allow annoyance to be your primary reaction, since there is a connection regardless of whether you like the songs. Doesn't mean you can't steer the conversation away, whether by saying "yeah, kinda...but I'm into more modern stuff" or "yeah, there's a connection there...have I told you about how I'm turning an interest in runway fashion into my very own doll clothing line?" But it's like allowing yourself to get bent out of shape over the inevitable "they cost HOW much?" or "doesn't that boy look kinda girly?" questions you'll have to answer: these dolls DO cost a lot and they DO have an androgynous aesthetic and they DO have a connection, however ten-years-ago, to anime/manga, whether or not these are aspects of the hobby that we concern ourselves with. So if we want to be happy in this hobby, it's in our own best interests to make peace with the connection.


Oh, and this is OT but to the people who got upset about the mention of hispanics, perhaps you should re-read the post--I think the person was saying "I understand that it's bad to lump things together in some cases, for example by calling all people who look a certain way citizens of a certain country--but it doesn't bother me in this hobby because I have seen a connection since I became interested in it." Not very elegantly phrased, but I really don't think (s)he was saying anything inappropriate about anyone--in fact quite the opposite.

 

Well if u do think about it, most times people see bjds on the streets are on anime conventions (becouse lets face it no one that is not interested in dollls is going to go to a doll convention but they are bound to bump to some cosplayers on the streets more often). and most of the meet ups I see happen to be on asian restaurants.
so want I am trying to say is that since most of the "publicity" to bjd is made by bjd otakus its natural if most people associate them whit anime.
That and the description on wikipedia :P http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ball-jointed_doll

 

I found BJD through an anime convention,but I don't associate BJD with anime. (maybe because there are BJD from all over, even here in America. Anime isn't from America.) But also, because I just don't SEE any kind of association with anime, but I do understand where other people are coming from. They usually do see BJD at cons, and a lot of people there are otakus. Does it bother me? Not in the slightest.

 

You completely misunderstood me.

What I said was that you can love abjds and not like anime and manga. However, the connection to anime is always going to be there to some extent or another--that's the way things are with these dolls. Letting yourself get angry or annoyed about it is pointless. After all you picked these dolls and this hobby that have that background. It's better to accept it, move on and enjoy the dolls than to get upset about what is just another part of the hobby. It doesn't have to be the part that you like, but it's still going to exist no matter how much you might want otherwise or try to fight it.

I'm pretty sure that wasn't arrogant or mad

 

I think that people often connect things that they do not understand. Like previous posters have said: since BJD originated in Japan and anime is big in Japan, that the two are connected. The connection between the two does not bother me, what bothers me is when people call them "Barbies" and "cartoons".

 

Oh, well then yes, I misinterpreted you; my apologies. I agree, it is silly to get worked up over it.

 

This

It also assumes that all anime is LIKE Naruto (which I happen to have watched since its inception) or any of the other shows that are geared toward adolescent males. Its MUCH broader than that and much more artistic in general than, say, Spongebob or Family Guy or most of the sitcoms or reality shows on TV in the US.

I personally have found anime to be an entre into learning things about world history that I would never have even thought to look into, before. To say nothing of mythologies of other parts of the world. Saying that all anime is power-up fighting nonsense is like saying that all romance novels are soft prOn.

Even Naruto. You know? Naruto is one thing at the surface, but all you have to do is poke a little bit into it and you see stories about loyalty and love and honor, and *growth*, personal and societal. You see people trying to uphold traditions, for the wrong reasons as well as the right reasons. And you see people trying to come to terms with their own strengths AND weaknesses.

It's good storytelling...it MEANS something more than just a string of one-liners... and I think that's why fans that have been around for the long haul (and I mean the last 40 years or so) have been there.

Just like anything else, there's craptastic anime as well as stellar anime. But I think the latter outweighs the former. There's nothing that says being a fan and appreciating the art, the music and the writing turns you immediately into a squealy pre-teen dork.

So. That's why I'm proud that some of my dolls look anime-esque. They come from a proud tradition. As so many people have said, you don't have to like anime to like bjds. No requirement whatsoever - and no need, with the expanding range of looks for bjds, which is also a good thing! BUT! For those people who dislike anime... please don't put it down out of hand like it's something ... dirty. It is more than just its most vocal advocates


P.S. I should explain that part of my passion on this topic stems from having done doctoral-level study on visual literacy and media literacy as they relate to learning and education. Had I gone beyond the pilot study for my dissertation, it would have been about manga and the language of comic art. ... after 6 years of being up to my eyeballs in this stuff at that level it's hard not to be passionate about it

 

Could you pretty please have my babies?

It's this sort of thing that will hopefully remind people that we can be as passionate about anime as they are about dolls. It's unkind to speak rudely of one based on shallow stereotypes.

 

Nope, doesnt bother me at all.
I like anime tho, and really fond of Japan and their culture. And anime is not a single genre, so what people are relating dolls to, I wonder - mostly yaoi from what I've seen, but only boys can be related to it, so what about girls - yuri?
It happens often that people associate things based on misconceptions and other associations set up tradionaly by other people.

 

It doesn't bother me, but I can see how it would bother someone who isn't interested in anime/manga and have people constantly referring to them as that. I do like anime/manga and other Japanese things, but that didn't cause me to get into BJD's. A friend actually introduced me to them and that's when I started considering a doll(which I can hopefully order soon, yay!).

 

It doesn't bother me at all. I have zero interest in anime, it's not that I dislike it, I just don't seek it out, but I find it aestheticly pleasing.
It's much better to have someone who is not a "doll" person say "oh one of those anime dolls" then "ew, creepy."

 

Thank you, veddy much

Hey my hair's not dyed either. Probably should be because it's more than 50% gray at this stage Oh, and MistressLegato? Already had my two babies: one of them is "Lizardbreath" here

 

I sorry to Isamu, Zion, and other Hispanic who felt offended by post. I'm idiot who worded her message wrong.
I meant to say that when people assume BJDs are only a part of Anime, but is part of Asian culture. Just like when ignorant people assume all hispanics are mexicans when that is clearly Hispanics come from all around the world not just Mexico.
That's want I meant to say as hispanic born of two parents from Ecuador.

 

It doesn't bother me. Although I'm something of an anime fan I actually discovered BJDs through other doll collecting. And I'm probably more used to anime comparisons than a number of people, having been described to strangers as "The cute anime looking girl" by friends.