I just purchased Calico and began playing it over the weekend. Calico is a cute anime style Cat cafe game. The gameplay is simple and relaxing. You collect cute animals and run errands for towns folk while baking cute treats to sell in your cafe. You can also buy and unlock new recipes, new furniture, and new outfits.
What I love most about this game is how inclusive it truly is. You can be fat, slim, short, tall, black white, or green, or yellow, red, pink, whatever. You can have long hair, short hair, curly hair, straight hair, bangs, no bangs, side bangs, etc. I mean my character looks almost exactly like me in real life. And within game, the NPCs are various body/skintone types too. read more
I just started playing Birdie Crush a few weeks ago. It has a lot going for it. First of all it has an awesome opening song that I absolutely adore. Secondly it has cute anime graphics with various costumes and equipment to collect that make it in part at least a Dressup game. Thirdly, even people that don’t like anime, like birdie crush for the golf gameplay such as my fiancé – finally found a cute game he will play with me lol .
Well what is there to say about birdie crush that hasn’t already been said? Lol. It’s a golf game. It’s free and available on both iPhone and android mobile devices. It has cute anime graphics and rare event items and costumes.read more
I just started playing “Starry Love” yesterday after seeing a Facebook ad. It’s a brand new game from someone named Modo Games whom I’ve never heard of.
The gameplay is quite similar to Love Niki, or Mr Love Queen’s Choice or Wanabe Fashionista… all of which I’ve reviewed here and all of which I definitely recommend.
When I started playing Starry Love there was only one review and it was a one star rating. Maybe someone was confused and thought one meant good and 5 meant bad.
There’s not much bad about this game so let’s get the bad stuff out of the way first.read more
I had previously played the Japanese version briefly of A3! Act, Actor, Addict, an otome simulation game that puts you in the role of a young woman looking for her father who went missing 8 years ago.
Cybrid has now released an English version of the game, which is good, because this one has almost no gameplay, and tons of reading (as most Otome and Visual novels). Which is why I only played the JP version very briefly, because I can’t read Japanese, and with little gameplay, and no story (since I couldn’t understand it) it became boring quickly. But now that it is in English, I’m enjoying it quite a bit.read more
BTS now has an official visual novel style game that puts you in the role of managing your favorite boy band. Unfortunately, it is a great concept but has poor execution. There are lots of features which sound fun, but somehow still miss the mark. Even if you love BTS, which I do, this game still feels dull and boring. But somehow it’s cute, and I still find myself playing it and hoping it will get better. I’m grateful they made this game and took time to translate the text to English. Even if it is rather mediocre at best.
Check out the full review below.
Name: BTS World
Genre: Visual Novel / Otome Game / Dating Sim / Manager Sim
The game has only been out for about 2 weeks at this point, so hopefully they can keep adding new updates to make the game more exciting. The first chapter is especially dull. It needs a better introduction to the game, because no one is going to stick around to keep playing when the first dozen or more missions are so lackluster. I keep playing to see the cute boys, but you could just watch BTS youtube videos and get the same effect lol.
Geeky: 2/5 – Gameplay is bad, story is boring, but yet, it is definitely geeky, only geeky girls (and guys?) who love BTS will play this game.
Sweetie: 5/5 – The game is cute, with each member being featured in their own chapters and putting you in the middle of their story – even though that story really isn’t good at all. I like being able to pretend to text/chat with BTS, and watch their cute reactions. Who is your favorite BTS member? I like Jimin and Jin. They are so cute.
Gameplay: 4/10 – I want to rate this higher… but I just can’t… It has so many features, collecting cards like in Love Live, visual novel/otome story like idea factory games, dressup minigames like love nikki, chatting/phoning like Mystic Messenger…. yet… somehow… even though it draws inspiration from all of these amazing popular games that I love… it somehow… feels flat to me… The features are there… but they lack heart if that makes any sense?
Also one thing that drives me crazy is we can’t take screenshots, and can’t share our cards / brag about rares, etc on social media; that kills a lot of the fun for me.
Story: 3/10 – The story is bad… really bad… Almost can’t force myself to keep playing the game because the story is so slow, boring, dull, just blah…. You guys know I don’t like giving spoilers when I review a game, I like to let you discover the stories for yourselves… I should add I’m not very far in the game yet? Maybe about half way through? Maybe it will get better?
To give you a “highlight” of the story “concept” BTS World takes place in an alternate universe where BTS has never met. You receive a strange message on your phone telling you that you have won a free ticket to a BTS concert, but when you arrive, it’s only a single member, who is waiting to sign a contract which you somehow mysteriously have been carrying around.
Surprise, you’re BTS’ manager. Only you have any memory of who BTS is in the “Real World”. Here in this alternate universe, you work at Big Hit and have been tasked with recruiting talent for a new boy band who will eventually become what we know as BTS.
You do this by progressing through a visual novel style game, although there are few choices along the way.
The game assumes alot about you as the player. It assumes you already know who BTS is, and that you have in depth intimate knowledge about each of the members of BTS. The game doesn’t really provide you any of this information, because why would you be playing this game unless you love BTS right? (that’s their thinking not mine, I personally “like” BTS, but I’m not really knowledgeable about every single member).
I think the story could be improved by assuming less. Giving the characters more… character? I want to learn/know more about each member of BTS while I’m playing… but I feel like it doesn’t really tell me much… which leaves me feeling uninterested…
The games first several missions are literally like “OMG it’s xyz Member, what’s he doing here? Oh he signed my contract, and teased me because I’m freaking out again. I’m a really bad manager. I will do my best to help BTS”
I rather it assume that the player only has minimal knowledge – or better yet even, no knowledge, of BTS. I rather see the members introduced doing things they enjoy/love, like what’s their favorite food, what other hobbies do they have aside from kpop, like maybe playing video games, playing basketball, reading, volunteering with animals, I dunno, whatever BTS does in their spare time.
I feel like that would add some… heart… or humanity… or something to this game…. Give me a reason to care about the characters….
The target audience of this game, the millions of ARMYs are probably perfectly happy with this game, as evidenced by the 4.8 rating on Google…. I don’t consider myself an ARMY… but I do consider myself a fan of BTS – as evidenced here the last month or two that I’ve been sharing my listening habits with you readers, you can see I constantly list BTS (among also other KPop artists).
But even though I’m a fan, I couldn’t tell you too much; hell I can’t even name every member honestly – sorry, I’m not like die-hard… I’m just kinda a casual fan… but I would like to play this game too… but it just… frustrates me that I feel detached from the story and characters because the game does nothing to introduce them, tell me about them, let me “get to know them”.
Which leads us to…
Characters: 7/10 – I’m rating this highly – I am taking points away for the lack of character “development” – but the characters are actual BTS members and they have made videos and pictures etc just for this game, which is really cute, where they speak right to you as a manager. And you can see cute clips and introductions and it’s very cute. I love the cute boys. That’s the only thing saving this game. lol.
Graphics: 8/10 – Sometimes… the graphics look very cheesy in the novel (main gameplay parts), because they are so stiff. I’m used to Live2D where the characters move fluidly… But… in other sections, even some high level cards, there is real video clips, and BTS is so cute, who couldn’t love the Graphics, really?
Voice: 10/10 – BTS provides voice clips for the game too. You can hear BTS talking to you :).
Music: 10/10 – What BTS game wouldn’t have good music? duh lol.
Replay Value: 2/10 – I’m not sure… it’s only been out for 2 weeks – will they have time-limited cards, special events, etc? I hope so, otherwise once you complete the story (which isn’t even that good in the first place) I see no reason to keep playing the game.
My Score: 51/80 64% D “Average Game For Girls” – Yeah, I’d say this game is really just Average. Much better games out there… but if you love BTS – and know a lot about BTS – like I know Millions of ARMYs do – then you will probably super love this game. For me, it’s just kinda cute/amusing but ultimately not a very good game at all, despite that I like BTS quite a bit, but my lack of intimate knowledge of the band and its members ultimately hurts my enjoyment of this game. Your mileage may vary, especially if you’re a BTS super fan. lol.
I am really into Idol M@ster Shiny Colors. Unlike other Idol M@ster Mobile Games or Love Live or Bang Dream, Idol M@ster Shiny Colors is not a rhythm game. Idol M@ster Shiny Colors is a simulation game. You are a producer and “hire” idols to work in your studio. You draw the idols from gacha.
Please note – I did not realize this when I played, but on your first 10 play gacha, you get UNLIMITED REROLLS by pushing the YELLOW BUTTON on the left. Once you are happy with your cards press the PINK button on the right. I didn’t know, I pushed the pink button and I only had one SSR. I have been thinking about starting over (and still might) but I think I had some pre-registration bonuses and other things I don’t want to lose by restarting the game. So definitely do not push the Pink button until you have the cards you want.
Collecting and dressing girls is the main appeal of the game. But what do you do once you have a team of idol girls? You can plan their schedule – like a true sim game. You can have them practice, give interviews, or other activities to promote their stats.
The stats also can be increased in a final-fantasy-style skill tree system where you spend skill points to unlock stat-bonuses like +20 vocals, +30 dance, +20 vitality, etc. Depending what “path” you take in the skill tree your girls will develop in different ways.
You have one main girl, and several other backup idols. The main girl is the one to gain from this skill tree system.
Performing a live show is quite different from other mobile idol games. It’s more almost like an RPG battle. You tap a girl’s face below the stage and then tap a “skill” along the left such as vocal, dance, etc. Then a colored bar will appear on the screen, try to time it right and tap the screen when the needle on the bar is in the white color. White will give you the highest bonus. Purple the least, and yellow a medium boost. You can also “link” your girls’ actions to perform together in one attack. On the right hand side of the screen are some other bubbles. i think, but could be wrong since I do not read Japanese, but think that you are competing against other idols, and as you perform these skills you can defeat the idols to the right hand side. But if you miss, you will notice your own idols on the left dropping off the screen. Once all the idols either on left or right are gone, the performance ends.
The artwork in the game is very kawaii, and SSR and higher cards have movie animations, both when retrieving from the Gacha and also when performing a live show. All of the idols are animated with Live 2D which brings the characters to life on your screen. Many of the cards have “multiple characters” on one card, and when performing a live show, or meeting the idols out in town, you may see special scenes featuring the characters all together.
The voice acting and music is also top notch as you would expect from an idol game.
Replay value is high due to limited time events that offer rewards such as gacha tickets and gems.
My only complaint is a lot of the gacha are for paid gems only. However, the gems are fairly cheap, you can get a few hundred gems for under $10 – I haven’t bought any yet.
Will we see Idol M@ster Shiny Colors get an English release? Probably not. They tried years ago to release some Idol M@ster games in English and it flopped – however, they wanted $65 for a mobile game – And worst of all, after it flopped, they pulled it down and even if you had paid for it you could no longer play it!!! I wish they would try again but with some of their “FREE” mobile games, either Shiny Colors, Theater Days, or Cinderella Girls. — But my hope is slim… However there are 2 things that give me a little bit of hope. 1.) They seem to understand that there may be English speaking players playing Shiny Colors, when the visual novel aspects come up and the choices appear, they show in English an emoji and English words that say “Perfect” “Good” “Normal” so even if you can’t read the choices you can pick the best response still. And when purchasing diamonds, the currency is shown in US Dollars, not in Yen, which is odd. I’ve literally never seen that ever before in any Japanese games. Which is a nice touch so I don’t have to try to convert it, if I ever decide to buy diamonds. And 2.) I have hope because we are getting more and more and more English idol games, with the upcoming Revue Starlight Re LIVE, or last year’s Bang Dream Girl’s Band Party and Utapri, or the ever popular Love Live School Idol Festival, we continue to receive more and more games in this genre, but we have yet to receive any of the free Idol M@ster games… Shiny Colors is only a few weeks old in Japan, maybe in a year or two we could hope to see an English release? But it is still fairly easy to play even in Japanese. But it would be nice to be able to enjoy the story! I’d be more likely to buy paid gems if the game was in English.
Scorecard:
Overall Score 70/80 88% B+ “Very Good Game For Girls”
Geeky: 5/5 – collect virtual waifus. very geeky. And simulation aspects set this game apart from other idol games.
Sweetie: 5/5 – the girls are adorable
Gameplay: 10/10 – finally a true simulation game, similar to Princess Maker or Tokimeki Memorial, you schedule your idol’s activities and watch their stats grow. I enjoy this much more than just a tappy tap rhythm game. Your girls develop in different ways based on your choices and I love that.
Story: 0/10 – I can’t read Japanese so this may not be a “fair score” but until an English version exists I can’t judge the storyline.
Characters: 10/10 – cute, gorgeous artwork, huge diversity of girls.
Artwork: 10/10 – cute, live 2D, SSR and higher cards have full movie animation sequences.
Voice Acting: 10/10 – all of the girls sound so cute.
Music: 10/10 – of course a game about idols is going to have catchy and cute music.
Replay Value: 10/10 – Lots of events, they give a lot of SR tickets and free Gems and the fact that this is a simulation game also adds replay value because the girls change based on decisions you make.
Overall Score 70/80 88% B+ “Very Good Game For Girls”
Revue Starlight Re LIVE is an idol simulation game based on the popular anime Revue Starlight. The game uses Live 2D technology to bring the anime characters to life. You can pre-register now for the English release at the Pre-Registration website at https://www.en.revuestarlight-relive.com/preregistration/
They are running an event for Pre-Registration where they will give out rare girls based on the number of users who pre-register. So get all of your friends to join so we can all benefit from more Waifus.
The game and anime story follows a group of 9 girls all competing for the center stage, the shining star, lead performer role. The girls who were once friends now find themselves as rivals.
Not many details are available on the pre-registration site, but I expect an experience similar to Love Live School Idol, Bang! Dream Girl’s Band Party, or Idol M@ster.
A game where you collect cute girls, level them up, add them to your team, and play a rhythm game in solo or multiplayer game modes while enjoying a simple slice of life story.
Although the gameplay may be simple, the allure of collecting rare and time-limited girls will keep players coming back.
Around Christmas time I bought myself a “Dream Fairy Doll” on Aliexpress – At the time it was on sale, $59.99 for fullset. I bought it mostly for the outfit as I didn’t care that much for the face. But I figured the outfit alone was worth $59.99 and free shipping.
She comes with a faceup, shoes, socks, underwear, dress, accessories, 2 pairs of hands, rooted hair head (not a wig sadly), eyes, and even a painted manicure on one set of her hands. And she’s huge at 62 cm.
She was packaged very nicely and the doll and her dress are high quality.
From my understanding, and what other people have told me, Dream Fairy Dolls are not Recast, they are a cheap ABS doll similar to Hujoo but cheaper. I don’t really care if it is recast because I’m pro recast or recast friendly, but I know a lot of people are pro artist / anti-recast. So they should know that (from what I understand) Dream Fairy is not a recast which makes it a good solution for a cheap doll body for anyone regardless of where you stand on the recast debate.
It is no longer on sale, and now ranges $89-$100 for a full set, or you can get just the body for around $35. I would recommend waiting for a sale. Aliexpress has sales pretty frequently. I’m betting some dolls will go on sale in a few weeks for Valentine’s Day or in a few months again for Easter. $100 is still pretty cheap for a fullset non-recast doll. But they have sales like super often. By time you read this it may be on sale again.
The following URLs can help you find Dream Fairy Dolls – or you can do a search for Dream Fairy 1/3 in dolls on Aliexpress.
Here is a link to the doll I purchased on Aliexpress:
What I noticed though is perhaps the best / most exciting part about these dolls. While browsing facebook, I came across someone selling a dollfie dream body and I noticed that the neck piece looked similar to my Dream Fairy neck piece.
This got me thinking… Could a Volks Dollfie Dream head fit on my Dream Fairy Doll Body? I decided to try a little experiment… And discovered that yes, it fits without needing any kind of attachment.
Note: Some dolls that are listed as “Dream Fairy” are not Dream Fairy – you have to be careful to read the descriptions fully – for example, icy dolls and Dairy Queen / Diary Queen dolls are often listed as Dream Fairy and they have different neck pieces. When in doubt look for the one in my blog post in the pink dress with yellow hair. It for sure has the right neck piece as of time of this blog posting. Of course manufacturers sometimes make changes to their designs if parts/prices change in the future to maximize their profits or improve their dolls.
For my experiment, I bought the DDH10 head from www.VolksUSA.com – Blank heads are available for around $40. So for under $95 you can basically have a Dollfie Dream. The Dream Fairy doll body probably isn’t as flexible, good at posing, or as stable/sturdy as a Dollfie Dream, but for $59, when the Dollfie Dream is about $400 for a body – the Dream Fairy Doll presents a good option for those who can’t afford a Dollfie Dream.
It is not a good color match, the head I bought was a DDH10 Semiwhite. I wonder if just white would have been better.
Also I am a super bad faceup artist – sorry for my amateur work.
And I couldn’t find my MSC Mr. Superclear – I used a can of krylon topcoat that my grandma had… Don’t ever use it on dolls – in my opinion it dries sticky – Even a week later, and I did stand back and only use short quick sprays – and due to the stickyness – it picks up hairs and dirt. And I think it has a slightly yellow hue. If you look at the back of my head with the neck/body the color match isn’t as bad.
The color match is worse with the flash of your camera… (FYI Flash was on in the picture above showing back of head – and it’s STILL not THAT bad – so I think a lot of the yellowness is from the krylon I used for the sealant.) Here are some more photos with and without flash. You’ll see the yellow hue I mention below.
Anyways, having seen that my experiment in creating a hybrid was a success aside from my awful faceup skills, I bought a custom DDH2 head from Buyee.jp and waiting on it to arrive. They are a proxy bidding service for Y! Auctions Japan, Yahoo Japanese auctions.
Even with the proxy fees and international shipping, it was cheaper than I could find any second hand or custom dollfie heads for in the states. I paid about the equivalent of $108 for the head + insurance/package inspection (could have saved about 6 dollars without the insurance, but it was worth the peace of mind, because if there is a problem, the proxy can communicate with the seller in Japanese to resolve any issues).
The proxy just received my package today, with no issues, and I paid about $20 for shipping and handling – cheaper options existed but this one was reasonably priced and said it will arrive in 2-4 days.
So I paid about $130 for the head + shipping + insurance + tracking — which isn’t bad. If you look on Etsy and Facebook and elsewhere rarely do you see a custom head going for that cheap. Most of the custom heads that I see on Etsy are $200+. Especially if they’ve been heavily modded like mine to have mouth parts or sanding/reshaped.
I will use Buyee again in the future. Also for those wondering, someone told me that the auction was from a popular Japanese instagram faceup artist named doll a holic. Some of you may want to check out their instagram here. https://www.instagram.com/doll__a__holic/
So that’s how I am now the owner of 2 dollfie dream hybrids – I will eventually buy another dream fairy body for the other head – but until then they can easily share the one body. the head just squeezes/slides/wiggles over the neck attachment that looks kinda like a grooved pe— err p–iece of male anatomy 🙂 lol.
PS: someone on Instagram asked me if the hands are changeable – I believe the answer is yes. It came with an extra pair of hands which seem to be using a “peg” system. See photo of the extra hands below:
Will it work with Volks hands parts? I dunno – I am tempted to find out.. I believe it will work with this item which on one end has a long peg and the other end has a ball joint and “square” type attachment, and then you order extra hands that I assume slip over / snap onto the square like piece?
I may buy a few and try out this theory – I will update this once I know for sure if it will work, but looks like a strong possibility just from the photos. – They could probably be sanded or cut and/or lengthened/plumped with clay etc if the pegs are too thick or thin or too long or short.
There are a lot of cute hand attachments. The internal piece and all of the attachments can be purchased from Volks at the following page:
https://volksusastore.com/webstores/dollfie/index.php?dispatch=categories.view&category_id=826read more
I recently purchased my first recast dolls (Shown in the featured image) (Sorry for the bad photo >.< I will update once their wigs and clothes arrive). Anyways, when I purchased these lil cuties I was nervous and not sure what to expect despite having done my own research as well. I own 13 and counting legit ABJD, and although I’m not super active in the doll communities I do like to share photos of my dolls and attend annual meetups or bring the dolls to conventions, and I have a small circle of about a dozen friends I’ve met through the hobby and I worried how owning a recast doll may damage those friendships.
If you’re like me, and have been considering purchasing a recast doll for awhile now, there are some things you need to know, many of which you may already be aware of. Or if you’re like some of my readers, you may have no idea what an Asian Balljointed Doll even is, or why so much controversy exists about the recast dolls.
This post aims to be “Recast Neutral” and present both sides of the argument. At the end of this article you will also find links to external resources for both Recast Friendly/Neutral and Anti-Recast resources for further reading so that you can come to your own conclusions.
Once my dolls’ wigs and clothes arrive I will also do a separate post to review the dolls here on my blog.
I understand there are strong feelings about recast dolls, but please keep the comments civil. Negative comments are fine, but comments that evoke bullying or harassment will not be tolerated. Also if it is your first time commenting on my blog, your comments will be held for moderation automatically due to a setting in the back end. I will publish all comments, yes even anti-recast comments as long as they are civil, but since I am the only moderator there may be a delay of a few days. Thank you for your understanding.
What is a Recast Asian Balljointed Doll?
An Asian Balljointed Doll is a doll with balljoints that allow it to move and take lifelike poses. The dolls come nude, bald, without wigs, without eyes, etc. And unlike other dolls they are meant to be customized by the people who purchase the dolls. They even come unpainted. Many manufacturers offer painting services and other customizations for a fee. Others will send their dolls to “Faceup” Artists to be finished and customized.
A Recast Asian Balljointed doll is made by taking a Legit Asian Balljointed Doll, and creating a mold from the doll, then using the molds to reproduce the original dolls often times to resell to people buying them for personal use. Buying counterfeit items for personal use is not illegal in the united states. See below under legal issues surrounding copyright or visit the following source: https://consumer.findlaw.com/consumer-transactions/buying-counterfeit-goods-laws-and-resources.html
A Recast doll is basically a knock-off. Often these dolls are made in China where their copyright laws are very different from most other nations.
There is controversy and drama surrounding Recast Dolls, unlike other counterfeit items, many people feel more strongly and get more heated about Recast Dolls than say, a fake coach handbag, or fake barbie doll. But ultimately a recast Asian Balljointed doll is no different from other counterfeit items. There are pros and cons to purchasing a counterfeit items, such as more affordable price, vs quality. This post wants to help you form your own decisions on the issue at hand.
If Recasts Are Available Why Would Someone Want to Purchase a Legit Asian Balljointed Doll?
The number 1 reason to purchase Legit Asian Balljointed Dolls is to Support the Companies and Artists Who Create New Dolls For Everyone to Enjoy
Without Our Financial Support, these companies cannot stay in business and cannot continue to design new dolls.
Fewer companies making dolls = fewer dolls to choose from
Less competition from doll companies = higher prices / longer wait times / quality issues as demand for dolls from the remaining companies will increase
Artists, and the companies employing these artists, deserve to be paid for their work
The 2nd most important reason to purchase Legit dolls is so you can join in and be accepted and included by the majority of large doll communities both online and off.
Most of the online communities have strict rules that forbid you from posting any photos or information about your recast dolls
Many offline meetup groups, and special doll events and conventions also have strict rules against bringing recast dolls to their events
Which they have every right to do, because it is their community, or their event.
The problem becomes when a user shares their recast outside of these anti-recast communities, there is still a butterfly affect, and backlash received from members of the anti-recast communities, who feel it is OK to bully users on their personal websites, personal social media accounts, personal emails, or even harass them in real life.
The grey area is also the case where a moderator or admin of an anti-recast community may join or browse a supposed recast friendly or recast neutral community and then decide to ban anyone it finds who also has an account in their community.
This is a big concern for a lot of people who would be more likely to be openly recast neutral or recast friendly because they fear repercussions and witch hunts from within the larger anti-recast communities even if they don’t own recasts themselves.
It’s a grey area because on one hand, it is still their community and they can moderate it as they wish. But on the other hand, if a user follows and complies with the no recast rules within the anti-recast community, that should be where their jurisdiction ends. In other words, theoretically it could also be argued that a user should be free to associate with or join other sites or with members of other sites and their activities on those sites should not impact their membership on other communities as long as they comply with the rules while within that community.
Remember that owning a recast doll, or not, if you’re participating in the recast neutral or recast friendly communities you are at risk, even if you do not own a recast doll yourself.
Many faceup artists will not work with a recast head.
There have even been horror stories of artists smashing/breaking heads and/or not returning heads to recast owners
If you do choose to do faceups on recast dolls, even if you do not own any recast dolls yourself, you are forbidden from advertising your faceup services even for legit dolls in many of the large online communities which hurts your ability to promote your services and affects your profitability.
Even if you find and join recast neutral or recast friendly communities, there are “spies” and “cyberbullies” from anti-recast communities who can find you and not only ban you from their communities, but also publicly humiliate and harrass you online or off.
Even if you yourself do not own a recast doll, and merely want to label yourself as “recast neutral” that means you don’t buy recasts, but you don’t care if others buy recasts, these “spies” will label you as “Recast Friendly” and bully and harrass you the same as they would an actual owner of recast dolls.
I was in a number of facebook groups when the whole recast neutral thing first took off a few years ago. I merely wanted to say, hey, I don’t really care what you do with your money, that’s up to you, and to label myself AGAINST all this cyber bullying drama that goes on in the hobby.
But I left the communities due to fear of becoming a victim of bullying myself by association with those owning recast dolls.
On one hand, I see the bully’s point of view, if you are “turning a blind eye” from the problems of art theft and copyright infringement, you are enabling others to continue to purchase recasts
But on the other hand, similarly, if you “turn a blind eye” on all the cyber bullying and drama, you’re enabling users to continue to cyber bully, threaten, and harm other users as well.
You might think, well they own a recast so they deserve to be bullied or threatened but you don’t know anything about this person and owning a recast doll is far from the worst thing a person could do.
Many people take the bullying to such extremes that it becomes very stressful for the victim and spills into many other aspects of their daily life.
Many people view owning a recast as negatively as robbing a bank, or other “large scale” theft. Which is blown pretty out of proportion. For one thing, owning or purchasing a recast (yes even when you know it is a recast) is NOT illegal in the United States as long as it’s for personal use, while other forms of theft and robbery are illegal. Source: https://consumer.findlaw.com/consumer-transactions/buying-counterfeit-goods-laws-and-resources.html
I’m not saying owning a recast is perfectly OK or that there are not victims or consequences that the industry experiences, or that recasts should be viewed as widely acceptable, but it’s far from the level of extremity that many anti-recast users view it as and does not necessarily instantly make someone the scum of the earth or invalidate them as a person. People all have flaws, weaknesses, sins, etc. Not a single one of us on this Earth is perfect.
Many anti-recast people jump to wild unfounded illogical accusations / assumptions / conclusions about the people owning a recast about their other morals, characteristics, personality traits, and personal life that make the person appear as scum.
They tell everyone to shun and not associate with this person. Even if they already know or are friends with the recast owner.
This is in my opinion horrible, encouraging people to end years long friendships because their friend owns a recast
Encouraging friends to shun and not associate with their friends who own recasts, and even encouraging them to join in on the cyber bullying against recast-owning friends
If you choose to end a friendship with someone because they own a recast doll, you’re not a good friend.
I personally don’t care if a friend owns a recast doll. It doesn’t matter to me. It doesn’t change my opinion of them, and it doesn’t break our friendship or invalidate what I already know to be true of that person.
Friendships aren’t about doll drama. Friendships are about shared memories and experiences built together over time and about other personal traits and qualities.
Being a good person, or a good friend, isn’t automatically negated by owning a recast doll. That’s silly. I much rather have a friend who cares about me as a person, makes time for me, gives me good advice, shares things in common with me, does things for other people, makes me laugh, smart, fun, funny, witty, caring, warm, etc. Owning a recast doesn’t negate all those other things or the years of history we’ve built together.
This is just hypothetical as I don’t know anyone who actually owns a recast, before you want to witch hunt or harrass any of my friends, I’m just saying that if I discovered one of them did own a recast doll, it wouldn’t really change my opinion of them. My love for my friends goes deeper than if they own a recast doll or not.
In my own opinion, and in that of many recast neutral / recast friendly users, owning a recast doll is no different from downloading a “free” mp3 without the artist’s permission / without funds going to the artist. It’s no different than owning a fake Coach purse handbag, or fake pair of “designer” jeans or sunglasses. It’s no different from watching a stream of a mostly text/visual video game (visual novel, otome game, most rpgs, etc), or no different from watching a new release movie online for free.
All of these things are crimes and “wrong” – but how many people, including yourself and your friends do at least 1, or more of these actions? If it’s up to the cyber bullies, you should end all friendships and relationships with these people.
I’m not saying everyone does these actions (downloading MP3s, owning knock off fashion items, watching movies online, using their friends’ netflix accounts, or etc)
But I am saying, think about someone you know who does these things… If you don’t know anyone who does those things, picture hypothetically that you discover a very good friend has done this. Would you automatically hate that person and never hang out with them or talk to them ever again? I doubt it. You’d be more likely to remember all the times that friend was there for you, that they did something nice for you, nice for their community, nice for their country, nice for their other friends, nice for their kids, nice for their spouse or significant other, or nice for a random stranger even.
You might be thinking, oh my friend is so nice and so good, and so moral they would never own a recast doll (or download an mp3, or watch a movie online, or buy knock-off fashion items or login to their friends’ netflix account, or etc.) — But the reality is, there are millions of people like your friend who is so nice, and so good, and so moral (in other areas of their life perhaps) that DO own a recast doll, (or download mp3s, and etc). Owning a recast doll, doesn’t necessarily make someone deserving of the extreme levels of bullying that exist in the hobby.
You have no right to make assumptions about a person, especially regarding their character, their personal life, their moral judgement. Yes they made a poor moral choice buying a recast doll. However, there are far worse things than owning a recast doll. There are people who lie, who cheat, or murder, who commit adultery, have affairs, harm animals, harm children, commit fraud, or numerous other more serious crimes / immoral decisions.
And owning a recast doll does not automatically make someone more likely to commit these other more serious crimes / immoral decisions, not anymore or any less likely than anyone else.
The wild jumps to conclusions / assumptions about people’s personality traits, morality, and judgement are where I take huge issue with a lot of the “anti-recast” drama. – If they left the personal assumptions aside, and just made it about the dolls, that’s one thing that no one could really take issue or offense with, but instead, they launch these horrible personal attacks and witch hunts, and in my opinion that behavior is way worse than owning a recast doll. If you ask me who I rather be friends with, I would choose the person owning the recast doll, any day, over the person who is committing cyber bullying and harassment.
If you own a “mix” of legit and recast dolls, it tarnishes your name/reputation in the community, and may hinder your enjoyment of the community aspects of your legit dolls. Once you’re labeled as owning a recast, even if you own 20 legit dolls, and 1 recast, that 1 recast reflects so strongly against you that most anti-recast communities will treat you poorly even if you never share that 1 recast anywhere on their community and only share your legit dolls. Once you are discovered to own recast dolls it is a big risk. Are you willing to take that risk? You have to ask yourself how important is being part of the community to your enjoyment of the dolls? Not everyone cares about sharing photos of their dolls or participating in meetups, etc. But if you do, then owning a recast is sure to bring you a lot of misery and stress.
For example, you might post pictures of your legit dolls, with or without your recast dolls, on your own personal site or social media, and you might receive negative comments, even if that picture contains no recast dolls, because maybe your account has other pictures that do have recast dolls.
Online drama in other communities:
There are hashtags that many of the anti-recast users want recast owners to use.
Many recast owners are afraid to “oust” themselves by admitting to owning a recast doll because they know:
1.) that it is wrong
2.) that they will have to suffer cyber bullying and possible repercussions from other communities and users.
Other recast owners do not even know they should be tagging their dolls as recasts, because they do not participate in the anti-recast communities where these hashtag “rules” originated.
Anti-recast communities and their members try to enforce their views/rules/regulations outside of areas of their control (such as wanting to enforce hashtags or ban photos of recasts from popular social media sites, such as instagram, youtube, twitter, or going as far as wanting to shut down or bully users who build websites for their recast dolls, not to sell their dolls, but maybe to share photos, roleplay, write stories, character descriptions, and so on.)
In reality though, the only thing they can really do is report the content to the site owners, such as reporting your content to youtube or facebook for violating some sort of facebook or youtube policy about bootleg items if even such a policy exists hypothetically speaking.
Even if you are just posting the recast dolls on your own personal websites / social media pages, you will get a lot of hurtful comments from anti-recast users so you must be prepared to deal with the cyberbullying that comes with owning a recast. You must have very thick skin. The comments do not stop at just remarks about your dolls, but remarks about you as a person, your morals, your ethics, and even calling into question details of your personal life, relationships, or other drama, anything they can find against you, they will use to their advantage to shame you for owning a recast. Some remarks even go as far as telling recast doll owners to kill themselves, or talking about breaking, burning, trashing, or harming the recast dolls, and or even suggesting committing theft and property damage or even bodily harm of recast doll owners, through doxxing (posting private details online such as address or phone numbers) or other harmful cyber bully tactics.
Or you could always just always keep your recast to yourself, do not ever mention owning a recast and never show photos of your recast or take them to events, even ones labeled as recast friendly, for fear of being discovered. But this eliminates your ability to enjoy many aspects of the hobby which may be important to you.
This is a lot to think about – and even if you don’t care about supporting the artists, chances are, you do care about being bullied and/or want to enjoy your dolls with other members of the doll community. You should really think carefully about if you can withstand the cyberbullying and about what you are giving up or missing out on by owning a recast. If it is your first doll, chances are you want to do all of the things that come with owning a doll and being part of the hobby and community. Owning a recast will paint a large target on your back right from day one and forever tarnish your reputation in many online and offline doll communities. Once you own a recast you can never redeem yourself in the eyes of most of the community. Even if you sell or throw away or give away your doll, you will always be looked at with suspicion by the anti-recast community.
That suspicion even spills over to those who have never owned a recast before; there have been countless instances of someone owning a legit and being accused and bullied for owning a recast, when the doll was in fact legit to begin with.
The best way to protect yourself against cyber bullying is to never purchase a recast, and always keep your COA, box, and other items, as well as registering your dolls online if the specific company where you purchased your doll from allows registration.
The 3rd reason to purchase Legit dolls is concerns over quality or communication and for more peace of mind/buyer’s protection
Even many anti-recast communities admit that newer recasts have improved in both quality and communication practices and that it is getting more difficult to easily spot a recast based solely on quality alone.
However, just like not all legit doll companies have the same levels of quality assurance, the same goes for different recasters. Some recasters have higher quality and better communication than others.
Even those recasters with higher quality sometimes make mistakes or deliver poor goods, just like even some high quality legit doll manufacturers sometimes make mistakes.
The most common quality issues surrounding recasts include:
Shrinkage; when a recast is made, they use an existing legit doll as a mold. When that mold gets old, new molds are created from the mold of a recast, as time goes on, each mold gets slightly smaller and smaller and the resulting doll therefore gets smaller and smaller too.
As a result of shrinkage and/or the molding process, there is sometimes a loss of detail around fine areas such as the eyes, nose, lips, or ears of the recast doll.
Another issue is often the magnets used to attach fantasy parts or hands/feet are weaker than those supplied by the legit companies.
Sometimes too there will be wrong magnets, where it repells the body part instead of attract, making it impossible to assemble.
Stringing and other issues internally in the doll can result in a doll with inferior posing abilities compared to the legit versions.
Sometimes dolls arrive with two left feet, legs, or other mismatched body parts, this is perhaps the worst flaw of all because it significantly affects pose-ability.
Sometimes dolls arrive broken, damaged, etc in shipping. Sometimes shipments get lost. Sometimes they send you completely the wrong dolls or wrong parts.
When this happens sometimes you’re left with poor customer service (or no response at all) and lose your money and receive damaged goods or no goods at all.
Even legit doll companies can have issues with quality control or communication; however, the problems seem more common with the recast companies. Some people get perfect dolls and perfect, prompt, friendly polite customer service even from recasters. It just depends. It seems most legit doll companies have a better more consistent record at providing better quality products and customer service.
The 4th reason to purchase Legit dolls is a wider variety and a larger selection to choose from.
Although dozens, maybe even hundreds, of dolls have been recast, not all dolls have been recast yet. Recasters only buy dolls they think will be popular enough to sell many units. Even though recasters have cloned many dolls, there are thousands more that they do not offer.
If the doll you really love has not been recast, you should save your money to get a doll you love, and not just settle for one you like. In the long run, you won’t be happy, because you’ll always be comparing the doll you have, to the doll you’ve seen that you really wanted but couldn’t afford.
You might say but I will never afford it, or even if I could afford it, I’d feel so bad spending so much money on a doll.
There are numerous distributors which offer layaway options, even some of the doll manufacturers offer layaway too to help ease the financial burden.
You will love your doll more if you have to work hard for it. It will be precious to you. It will mean something to you. Just like anything in life, things feel BEST when you earn them through hard work, instead of things just being given to you with minimal effort.
Even if you are a child, or you are disabled, or you are elderly, or some other reason you cannot have a traditional job, there are ways you can make income to fund your hobbies.
Here are a few examples that anyone can do:
Start a blog – you might not get rich, but you’d be surprised how much you can earn each month. For example my little blog here averages between 100-300 a month. There are many many dolls in this price range, that could be a doll a month. I use my blog all the time as my “hobby money” buying things like games, dolls, anime, cosplay, or whatever. It feels “good” to me, because I’m not taking the income out of my regular paycheck, nor am I using expensive credit cards with high interest rates, and I’m “earning” things for my hobby through hard work and dedication.
Take up crafting, especially doll related crafting. You can sell wigs, eyes, clothes, faceup services, etc. And then you will have left over materials, and a lot of experience and skills making these items for when you finally have a doll of your own.
Even if you don’t have experience or talent making anything, you can always learn! There are so many tutorials online, and it’s fun and part of owning a doll that many collectors enjoy in the hobby.
You can start with smaller less expensive doll clothing/eyes/wigs such as for pullip, blythe, icy dolls, and etc. This way you can purchase a doll to get exact measurements and have a doll to model your finished pieces to help sell and promote your items more quickly.
Have a yard sale, or ebay if you prefer to do it online, to get rid of old items you no longer need. You’d be surprised what some people collect that you no longer want, such as old toys, clothes, housewares, home goods, video games, anime goods, etc.
Do chores – even if you’re a tiny child, ask your parents, friends, family members, neighbors, etc if you can earn 20 bucks helping them do chores that you normally don’t do.
Here are a few examples:
Shovel snow
Rake leaves
Wash cars
Walk dogs
Babysitting (for older kids / teens)
Cleaning challenging rooms/areas such as attics, garages, basements, etc.
Helping with computer, internet, printer, and other technological devices
Running errands
Delivering groceries or other items
Uber or Lyft driving (for teens/adults)
Lemonade Stand / Baked Goods sales
Online surveys
Create virtual items in free games such as IMVU and Secondlife, then sell the in-game currency for real money
Write and self publish a book or ebook and sell it on amazon or similar
Photography for older kids/teens, see if friends and family members will pay you to capture special moments, such as wedding/engagement photos, baby announcements/baby photos, family portraits, etc. Don’t be afraid to ask for money. At my first wedding, a friend of the groom was our photographer, but he still charged us 200 dollars – which was cheap really because we had him for the whole day (10+ hours).
Many other ideas and suggestions I have probably forgotten – there are many ways you can earn money to get the doll you really want. You just have to be creative and think outside the box! Age, disability, or other factors are just an excuse. They may hinder you from having a “real” job, but don’t have any impact on many other things you can do to earn money “on the side”.
The 5th and “final” (at least for this post) reason for purchasing Legit dolls is to help maintain the value of the dolls.
Doll collecting is an expensive hobby. Even many US dolls are worth a lot of money on the second hand market, like old barbies, my little ponies, etc.
When something goes out of production, it’s a simple lesson in supply and demand. As supplies decrease and/or demand increases, prices also increase. But as supplies increase, and/or demand decrease, prices decrease.
Many limited edition Asian Balljointed Dolls are EXTREMELY limited. Sold only for a month, or even some only for a few days. I think my Crobidoll Sinbi was only available for about 4 days – And even “better” inside her headcap it says “01” – I think maybe she was the first Crobidoll Sinbi to ever be produced. I feel extremely excited / proud about that.
Another example is my Iplehouse Claude, currently my most expensive Asian Balljointed Doll. I paid over $900 for him. He used to just be a standard doll, that Iplehouse sold, but then they decided to retire him. Now he is only available very rarely and for only a few days at a time. And his price has increased. They do open him up for sales, I don’t know if it’s yearly. I don’t believe so at least. They occasionally have “auctions” on Iplehouses site, or have “Custom” sales where you can order any head (from a list of available heads, in which Claude is not always offered).
Another example is many Dollmore dolls do limited editions of like 10 dolls. That’s it. TEN. Once they’re gone, they’re gone forever. And they sell them WORLDWIDE.
To put it into perspective, a European doll manufacturer that I collect, called Masterpiece Dolls, also makes limited edition dolls that they sell “Worldwide” but you know how many “limited” dolls they release? 10,000…. That doesn’t even sound limited at all!!! (but yet they do sell out and there are some highly sought after ones on the 2nd hand market)… Now imagine that “hype” times 1,000…. That’s how rare and sought after some limited edition Asian Balljoint dolls are! There are even companies such as Volks which make “One Off” dolls, where there is only ONE in the whole world. (my dream is to someday own one of those lol)
Now imagine the rage and hatred that someone feels when someone recasts and makes unlimited numbers of a limited edition doll. Suddenly you go from having 1 or 10, to having thousands, and growing as time goes on…
This kills the 2nd hand market for a user who may one day wish to resell their doll. Why they would want to resell their doll, is their business. Some people fall on hard times, other people outgrow the hobby, or some just want the money to spend on more newer dolls.
Back in 2005, a user might pay $600 for a limited doll, and be able to later resell it for 2 to 3 times the purchase price (1200-1800 typically, and sometimes for really sought after sculpts, 3000 dollars and up)
But along come recasters, and with that, there goes the 2nd hand market.
Why would someone want a yellowed, possibly cracked, stained, used doll for $3,000 dollars, when they can get a brand new mint condition doll for $200?
You can easily see how this destroyed the 2nd hand market.
Nowadays people have trouble selling 2nd hand dolls, and the recasters are one of the primary reasons.
To prove that it is a primary reason, you can look at other similar asian dolls which have not yet been recast, such as Dollfie Dreams or Smart Dolls, and you can see how the 2nd hand market is thriving there. Many extremely old Dollfie Dreams go for $3,000 and up still today.
These dolls haven’t been recast because they have intricate and delicate parts inside of them such as a spine system that allows for greater stability, flexibility, and poseability. Recasters have not figured out how to engineer these internal pieces, which for now, keeps them safe from recasters.
Not only the 2nd hand market, but also the “uniqueness” and “pride” in owning a limited doll. It kills that special fun, super exciting feeling of exclusivity. I’m sure they still love their doll just the same, but it kills some of the magic and excitement.
Suddenly you see photos that look like your doll plastered all over the internet.
Sure yours might be painted differently, styled differently, different wig, different eyes, different clothes, different faceup, but still it is disheartening to go from seeing maybe 3-4 other users posting pictures of “your” doll, to seeing hundreds or thousands of users posting the same sculpt all over.
One of the best things about the hobby is how unique and different everyone’s dolls look, even when it’s the same sculpt, but sculpt too does have an effect, and when you think you’re buying a rare sculpt, for someone to then go and recast that doll, and ruin its rarity, it’s really devastating. It’s a horrible feeling.
What Are the Reasons Someone Would Want a Recast Asian Balljointed Doll?
Lower Price
Obviously the biggest reason to purchase recast dolls is the more attractive price point. As mentioned above when discussing the 2nd hand market and limited edition dolls, many Asian Balljointed Dolls go for hundreds or even thousands of dollars. You can get the same doll, brand new, and not used, for a fraction of the cost.
How much money are we talking here?
Some recast sculpts are more money than others – I think they like to take advantage of the popularity and rare availability of certain sculpts
Doll size is also a consideration, larger dolls use more materials and cost more to manufacture, and are heavier and cost more to ship, therefore they have higher prices.
Tinies, YOSD, Puki’s, Latidolls, etc. are all very very affordable. Even some MSDs are insanely affordable.
I purchased my 2 recasts during an anniversary event where there was an even greater discount off the already low recast prices.
Regularly, the little recast latidolls are around $65 with a faceup, or $40-$50 for a blank doll
They go for $200 and up for a blank Lati Yellow from Lati Doll.
Because of the sales event, I got mine for $55 with a faceup and shipping and handling.
I didn’t pay much more than that for the much much larger / heavier Littlefee Pong, which was under $65 for faceup and shipping and handling
Littlefees go for $285 and up (not counting faceup or shipping) from Fairyland – more than 4 times the amount I paid.
Since we’re talking about Fairyland, the MSD line goes for $397 on Fairyland’s site, or only $47 from the recaster that I ordered my Lati and Littlefee from (both prices are for blank dolls, both prices go up slightly for a faceup). This is almost 10 times more than the cost of a recast MSD.
The recaster has almost every MSD sculpt – but not all of them. I don’t see Shiwoo and there’s probably others the recaster is missing as well 🙂 They do have littlefee Shiwoo though.
The SD and larger dolls start to get a lil bit pricey even from the recasters. However, they are still much much cheaper than their legit counterparts from their original manufacturers.
The SD dolls are almost all $100 and up, with most being $200 and up. Most are still under $300, even for instances in where the legit are rare, limited, or discontinued.
This may sound expensive to some not familiar with the hobby, but the Legit SD sized dolls regularly go for $600-800 for a standard, non limited, regular SD sized BJD, and even up from there. I’ve seen some companies charge $900, or even $1,000 or more for a limited edition doll.
To remain neutral I should also note that there are some Legit companies which offer SD dolls for under $300 too. I will add several of these dolls to the resources section at the end of this article.
The prices of being in the hobby, don’t just stop at the dolls either. There are eyes and wigs and clothes and shoes and props and accessories and furniture and even if you plan to make everything by hand, you still have to factor in materials and the value of your time.
Spending less on the actual dolls themselves gives you more money to spend on “all the rest” of the things you’ll need to buy for the dolls.
Not everyone values money the same way. Some people could afford Legits, but don’t want to spend the money when to them a recast is just as good. Just like to some people they could afford a coach handbag or designer glasses, but they don’t see the “value” in it, when to them the knockoff or counterfeit versions are just as good.
Availability of Discontinued or “Limited Edition” Dolls
As I mentioned above under preserving the value of the dolls, many companies manufacture limited edition dolls. Now you might be familiar with limited dolls from European or North American manufacturers as having hundreds or thousands or even tens of thousands of units in production… but that is not the case for a limited edition Asian Balljointed Doll. Not at all!
Most are limited by a time frame window. They take an unlimited number of orders but only for a short period lasting a few days, up to a week, the longest I’ve ever seen for a limited ABJD was a month long ordering window.
Others are limited by the manufacturers producing only a small number of dolls to sell.
And by small I mean SMALL!!! Not hundreds or thousands or tens of thousands.
Dollmore usually does 10, and that’s for WORLDWIDE distribution.
Other companies like Volks even make “One Off Dolls” where there’s only ONE in the whole world.
Once it’s gone, that’s it, it will never be offered again.
This is good for the Resell 2nd hand market and for creating excitement for the companies to sell more dolls and also creating a proud exciting feeling for those who are lucky enough to own such a doll (man I LOVE that feeling..).
But “bad” for someone who wants a specific doll. Imagine just finding the hobby today, and missing out on 20+ years of limited edition dolls.
Those dolls are highly sought after and have high market value, which makes them very expensive, sometimes up to $3,000 for a 2nd hand doll.
All resin yellows over time, this is fact. I still have my very first ABJD that I purchased in 2006, and it’s yellow as hell. To the point where I don’t play with or display it, but it’s still near and dear to my heart and will never be sold.
My first doll was a Dollzone Demi
It was not limited, but for whatever reason, Dollzone no longer offers Dollzone Demi anymore. The sculpt has been retired, etc. The company has moved a completely different direction, and its apparently working for them, and they have a lot of fans, but honestly (most of) their newer dolls scare the hell out of me and gross me out lol.
I would love to purchase a new, mint condition Dollzone Demi, one that’s not yellow, and preferably one with a company faceup since mine just has my bad attempts at my first (and 2nd, 3rd, etc) faceups.
But I can’t purchase it from Dollzone as it’s been discontinued, and I don’t think it was ever recast either, so I’m stuck with my yucky yellow doll that I still love very much. If I could buy another Demi from Dollzone I definitely would buy another Demi right now today this very moment. I could buy another on the 2nd hand market (assuming I could find one) but they’d be just as yellow as mine as 12 years have passed now.
If it would have been recast, I could have just “replaced” my dolls as they began to yellow. (although I’d still keep my original dolls, especially Demi since she was my first).
In this way, I can really understand fully why someone want want a recast doll – No one wants yellow banana babies.
Other times, a Legit doll company goes out of business forever. And their dolls are no longer available. There may not even by (m)any on the 2nd hand market either! Or the ones on the market place may have small defects and imperfections since they are used and probably several years old now. And as those are sold, fewer and fewer remain. Overtime, eventually it becomes impossible to buy a Legit of one of their dolls.
There are recast versions of many dolls from many manufacturers who have gone out of business. Dream of Doll comes to mind off the top of my head, but I’m sure there are others.
I know that the fact there are recast versions of the dolls may have been what led to them going out of business in part or in whole, and I can’t deny that.
But in some cases, the Legit companies have gone out of business due to bad service or poor quality or just the economy.
And many other companies where almost every sculpt have been recast are still selling dolls and still profitable, because they offer good quality and good service, or just make really attractive sculpts or well engineered dolls, or unique dolls, etc.
Whatever the case is, buying a Legit from those companies who close down is no longer possible as the company no longer exists.
You may get lucky and find one in reasonable shape and at a reasonable price on the 2nd hand market, but you might not find the doll, or it might have scratches or stains, or other flaws on the 2nd hand market, or it might be very expensive since the seller knows you can no longer purchase the doll from the manufacturer.
In times like these people often feel justified in purchasing a recast doll and many, like myself, feel that if the company still sold the sculpt they wanted, or if the company was still in business, they’d purchase the legit.
Many people don’t want yellow dolls, scratched dolls, stained dolls, dolls with poor faceups, dolls that need to be restrung, dolls that have had extensive modding, or etc.
Many Anti-Recasters argue to “Save for the Doll You REALLY want” — but what if the doll you REALLY want is from a company who is out of business and there’s not any dolls in the 2nd hand market? Then they tell you, buy a doll that looks like that doll, or wait and see if any come on the 2nd hand market, or etc.
But I disagree. I think you should ALWAYS go for the doll you REALLY want, and since that company is out of business, you’re not even hurting the company or artist.
It can be argued though you’re hurting other artists and other companies, because the recasters will take your money to purchase more legit dolls to use as molds for their recasts
But I still say, go for the doll you REALLY want, if it’s Legit, or if it’s only available as a recast. If it’s a 2nd hand doll and yellowed and stained, if that’s not what you want, you want a new doll, hey it’s your money. And remember if it’s for personal use it’s not illegal (in the US), and the only harm is that you’re hurting the 2nd hand market, or angering the owners of the original dolls, but still, that shouldn’t force you to feel bullied into buying a doll you don’t want.
No one wants that banana green doll with a chipped finger and black stains from their wig and peeling faceup that you’re charging $1,200 for. I’m sorry.
If it was me, doing the shopping, and I could only get the Legit from you…
And assuming it was poor quality, because I also know there are 2nd hand dolls that are in great condition. I’ve purchased 2nd hand dolls myself!..
But if my only options were a really bad quality 2nd hand doll at 3 times the original price that it was when it was brand new from the manufacturer, and there was no other option because the company no longer existed, and even if no recast “new” “mint condition” version existed, I would just not buy the doll at all, I STILL wouldn’t be buying your overpriced poor condition used banana baby regardless of if a recast was offered of that sculpt or not. Sorry but that’s how I feel.
Recasting does indeed hurt the 2nd hand market, absolutely, because there are hundreds of other dolls who are still available from the manufacturer who can be found recast for like a 1/10 of the price of the legit. And many people will buy the recast version instead of the legit, making it more difficult to sell your used legits when they can get a brand new recast at a tenth of the price. Plus there are probably others who WOULD probably buy your little discontinued or limited banana colored baby, but not me. If it was in good condition, sure I’d buy it 2nd hand, don’t get me wrong.
But over time, as such is the case with my 12 year old Dollmore Demi there just aren’t any options that AREN’T yellow and/or stained or flawed etc.
Which means that, some of those people you are harassing and cyberbullying would never have bought your 2nd hand market doll(s) in the first place.
Some of the people purchasing recast would never buy your banana baby dolls even if they couldn’t get the doll “brand new” they would just either get a different doll or no doll at all…
And still leave you unable to sell your used doll to them because they just aren’t wanting to purchase a doll that looks so used.
So AT LEAST PART of the argument of the market place devastation due to recasters, is in fact quite flawed, and it’s also part of the reason behind the cyberbully attacks.
Which is what the bullies just don’t understand. It’s not as if removing all recasts would instantly allow them to sell their dolls at premium prices. It just doesn’t work that way.
To Have a “Hybrid” Doll More Easily
Many people worry about “Resin Matching” when wanting to create a Legit Hybrid Doll. This refers to the colors of the resin, Since as we know resin yellows over time, this can make it even more challenging. Not only do you need to find a company whose resin color closely matches your existing head, but you need to worry about if your head has yellowed, and how it will look on the new body. Even if your head is brand new, there are slight color variations between each batch of resin.
But recasting takes away all of this worry. You can mix and match a head from Company B, on a Body from Company C, with a Resin color from Company D. All cast from the same batch of resin.
Why would someone want a hybrid doll?
Not all dolls are created equal – some are just FAR better posers than others. Or others have more aesthetically pleasing bodies.
But maybe they don’t have the right face for the doll you want
Maybe you want a different face, or a different body. Maybe you just like the way the body is shaped. As time has gone on, companies have gotten more experimental with their bodies, making some with big heads, big hips, big busts, animal/fantasy parts, exaggerated cartoon proportions, child like bodies, more mature bodies, etc.
Out of Curiosity
Why does anyone do anything “bad” that they know they shouldn’t do? Simple, curiosity. A recent release movie had a good quote that said “You can’t teach people to not try things, that’s what trying things is for” In other words people learn by trying things, even bad things that other people think they shouldn’t do.
My recast purchase was mostly out of curiosity. A combination of curiosity and unbeatable pricing. I was like I wonder if the quality is as good as my legit dolls, I wonder if the things everyone says (both good or bad) are true. I want to find out first hand.
I had been reading about both sides of the debate for years. I’d seen photo comparisons and I knew the risks and the benefits of both sides of the issue. I carefully researched which recaster to purchase from, read reviews, both positive and negative, and did my homework.
But reading and understanding something from 2nd hand information just can’t compare to experiencing it for yourself and making your own decisions
It’s like reading a restaurant review; you might hear they have the most delicious food, but until you taste it, you can’t be sure. Different people like different tastebuds and preferences.
First hand experience can’t be beat. It lets you learn without any one elses’ bias or opinion influencing your decisions.
And you might come to find that your opinion based on that first hand experience is so different from anything you’d heard or read, or thought you knew or think you understand.
Until you try it, how can you know?
I’m glad I tried it. Prior to this, I’d say I leaned more towards Anti-Recast but now I definitely side with Recast Friendly and plan to purchase more recasts in the future. This comment will bring me some flames I’m sure, but I’m being very candid, open, and upfront in this article, and have been very candid and open on my social media channels and elsewhere.
To Have a “New” Doll Instead of a “Used” Doll
I covered this at length a few paragraphs above under the availability of limited or discontinued dolls.
Resin yellows and stains easily
Many people don’t want yellow or stained dolls.
Other flaws include chips and scratches, broken fingers, etc
Many older dolls will need to be restrung
Others have peeling faceups that need refreshed or removed
If a recast of that sculpt is available it gives you a chance to own a doll in mint brand new condition instead of having to settle for damaged goods
I want to stress the fact that not all 2nd hand dolls are yellowed, flawed, chipped, stained, etc.
Many are perfectly fine.
I myself have purchased 2nd hand dolls before with no issues.
Even if the doll is perfectly fine though, many people would still rather have a new doll as opposed to a used doll.
Just as there are many perfectly fine things at your local goodwill, even things with tags still attached that have never been used before.
But if someone can buy item X at goodwill for $35 or item X at walmart brand new for $2 where do you think they’re shopping? Not only does it cost less, but it’s brand new too. Now imagine multiplying that price by 10 or 100 times and compare the value.
I understand this angers a lot of people in the hobby, but the fact is that it’s not JUST about the recasts. That’s not the sole reason the market place has crashed. Some people just really don’t want your yellow stained banana babies and would not buy it even if they had no alternatives (such as recasts)
Anti-Recasters always say get the doll you really want.
But the doll some people really want isn’t a yellowed, stained, chipped, cracked, peeling, floppy version of that doll
For some people the doll they really want is a brand new doll. End of story.
To Have a Doll in a Fantasy or Unique “Skin” (Resin) color
If you want a purple or green or black or grey or snow white or magenta colored doll, you can request different resin colors from recasters that were not offered by the original manufacturer.
To Have a Doll that They Can Practice Faceup Skills and Modding on.
Spending $50-$100 as opposed to $500-$1,000 on a doll can make people feel more comfortable to enjoy artistic aspects within the hobby such as painting, sanding, or customizing their dolls.
Similarly related, many just feel more comfortable taking the doll outdoors, doing creative photoshoots, or merely handling or playing with a less expensive doll. Some people feel that if they spent several hundred on a doll that they would be too nervous to enjoy the doll. You might think that their fears are strange / silly / stupid or tell them that that’s what the dolls are for, to handle and enjoy, but many others, especially first time owners, feel differently. You have to remember not everyone has the same view points, personalities, attitudes etc towards things.
To See If They Want to Collect Asian Balljointed Dolls
Many people buy recast and then later on buy legit.
Some people can feel intimidated to throw down $500 and up on a doll when they’re not sure if they’ll even like it.
A smaller price point makes the dolls more accessible to people who either wouldn’t or couldn’t spend the money on a legit “at first”
But they may find they love the hobby, and later buy the same sculpt or a different legit doll once they’ve gotten into the hobby.
Others may find the hobby is not for them, and then instead of losing a lot of money, they are out significantly less money when they decide to leave the hobby.
They See No Difference Between the Recast and Legit Dolls
My experience was very very positive with my first recast purchase. Your mileage may vary. But some people, such as myself, have an excellent experience. They get excellent service and receive an item that is 99.9999% identical to the real thing while spending about 85% less money.
I was honestly blown away by the quality of the recasts I purchased. They had no odor, they had beautiful normal colored and smooth resin. The larger of the two dolls was quite heavy actually, not light/thin resin like I’d read about some people receiving. It had no bubbles, cracks, debris inside or out of it. It was in flawless condition. The dolls posed and stood up on their own perfectly and were very stable. The faceups were beautiful – much better than I could do myself, and it wasn’t that they were worse than the company’s default faceups, just done in a different style, but that was OK, because people do their own faceups, or send the heads out for faceups by other people all the time, even with legit dolls. There is no reason that a doll has to have a factory default faceup – in fact many people probably prefer something more unique and customized.
Others might have different views and different experiences which lead them to different opinions.
But just as you can’t be swayed away from your belief that recasts are “vastly inferior”, neither can others be swayed from their belief that recasts are “almost as good or nearly the same as the real thing”
We form our opinions and beliefs based on what we see, what we read, what we hear, and on what we experience. And no two people ever experience anything in the exact same way, because each person is different. 2 People could be sharing an experience together, and come away with very different feelings even though they both experienced it at the exact same time. Like my best friend would love to go ziplining in the jungle, while I would be terrified. I love wooden roller coasters and my boyfriend is terrified of those. I love swimming and until a few months ago my boyfriend had never even been in a pool. Like I said no two people are the same!
So two people might get two very similar quality dolls but have very different perceptions about how they’d grade that quality.
Everything in life is subjective – dolls are no different
Also as mentioned elsewhere throughout this article, there is no difference (for many people) morally speaking in owning a recast doll compared to a number of other activities that the overwhelmingly vast majority of the North American population engages in daily. Such as but not limited to:
Downloading an “illegal” mp3
Watching a movie streaming online instead of going to the theater or instead of purchasing the DVD or instead of paying for a digital download/stream or instead of paying a cable provider
Logging into their friends’ netflix accounts
Signing up for a free trial just to access an item for free and then cancelling the trial once you are done with that 1 item
Creating multiple free trial accounts to avoid ever paying for a subscription
Using your student discount when you’re no longer a student
Using a friends’ Amazon prime
Using a friends’ costco or sams’ club memberships
Buying knock-off fashion items such as replicas of coach bags, replicas of designer jeans, replicas of designer sunglasses, etc.
Purchasing other anime/asian related items from Chinese websites or in Chinatown etc. Most all of these are counterfeit, just like the recast dolls. Also if you subscribe to monthly subscription boxes, the vast majority of those include counterfeit items too.
Even in the doll hobby, there is not this kind of hatred for other “recast” dolls such as Blythe and Pulip. Most Blythe and Pulip online communities welcome users to share their “Fakies” and “Off brand” dolls. My little pony is another big one where recast ponies are encouraged to be used and even sold as artist creation dolls and even welcomed at events and conventions.
If you’re purchasing dolls wigs on ebay, taobao, or aliexpress, you’re purchasing from recasters, even if you’re not purchasing a recast, they’re using your money to continue to buy new legit dolls to add to their collection of molds to recast new dolls. Many people in the community are vehemently anti-recast, but yet continue to shop here for doll accessories, wigs, clothing, etc. Which is just funny and hypocritical really.
The Recast May Have Been Gifted to Them By Someone Not Familiar with the Hobby
Family members, especially parents, grandparents, or male family members may not even realize that they are buying a recast.
Even if they know it is a recast, they may not view anything wrong with this because they are not active in the community to have heard all of the reasons why buying a recast is wrong.
Even if they know that buying a recast is wrong, they might still want to surprise their loved one with a doll for a special occasion out of love and desire to see that person’s happy expression when they receive their gift.
The doll, recast, or legit, would have such strong special sentimental attachment that the recipient of the gift wouldn’t care if it was recast or legit.
However, that recipient may feel bullied into behaving rudely towards the person who gave her the gift
Also the bullying may overtime cause the recipients feelings about the doll to change
Many people will lecture and bully the recipient until she feels ashamed of her doll and forgets the thought and love that went into selecting the gift for her.
Some even tell her to give the doll back, or worse yet, throw it away, trash it, burn it, junk it, etc.
This is extremely rude! Think how you would feel if you gave a gift to someone and they gave it back to you, or you later discovered they intentionally damaged, lost, gave away, etc the doll.
Yes, technically when you give a gift, it’s up to that person, it’s theirs now, if they want to get rid of it, that’s their decision… but if the ONLY reason you’re getting rid of it is because of the bullying, please don’t do that. Just “F” them and continue enjoying your doll. Their behavior is so heartbreakingly cruel. And your behavior towards the person who gave you the doll would be just as cruel too!
If you love the person who gave you the doll, and you love(d) the doll, then just continue to keep loving them and enjoying your hobby. Haters gonna hate. Just do your own thing.
There are bigger things in the world to worry about. Stick together with your family, friends, significant others, etc, and let their special gift to you make you grow closer, not more distant. Don’t be a dick, don’t let a doll come between you and your loved ones!
They don’t care about the 2nd hand market and don’t want to resell their dolls
Not only do they not care about your banana babies losing market value, they also don’t care if their own dolls have any market values, because they never intend to resell their dolls.
They don’t care about sharing photos of their dolls or participating in many of the larger communities
Although unlikely, there are some people that just don’t share their dolls online or attend meetups or any other activities.
Some people are just too busy with other hobbies
Others, even if they had legit dolls, wish for whatever reason to keep their hobby private.
Afterall, dolls are perceived as being childish, and many worry what non-dolly friends, family members, and coworkers would think of their “strange” hobby.
Even if they don’t care what others think, some people are just more quiet and passive and private than others and just wish to enjoy their hobby in solitude.
Even if unable to participate in the larger communities, many smaller communities have opened up over the past few years that allow you to share and discuss recasts. These communities continue to grow more and more each day.
You can create your own blog, or use your own social media pages to share your recast dolls, no one can tell you what to do on your own space.
They don’t care about supporting the artists or companies that make the dolls.
We should all care about supporting the artists and companies who make our dolls, because without them, there will be no dolls, recast, legit, or otherwise, but the truth is, not everyone does care. And you can’t force them to care. People care about different things. While LOGICALLY it makes sense why we should ALL care, as pointed out, no profit = companies closing = no new legit dolls = no new recasts. It impacts every single person in this hobby. And we all SHOULD care, absolutely. We SHOULD…. but I’m just pointing out that some people STRAIGHT UP DO NOT CARE ABOUT SUPPORTING THE ARTISTS OR COMPANIES — despite all of the reasons why everyone should care, not everyone does. Just like everyone should care about a number of other important topics, global warming, recycling, women’s rights, equality, voting every election, saving for retirement, ending world hunger, helping the homeless, spaying and neutering your pets, or taking care of themselves/physical fitness – but you can probably think of some people in your life, or maybe even yourself who just don’t care, and never will. Everyone cares about different things and nothing will change that.
They don’t care about the bullying and drama in the hobby
This is what prevented me from buying recast for at least the past 2-3 years. But you know what? I’m so over it. Bullies are not my friends. They don’t care about me, and they will prove how little they care for me based on their words and actions. I only care about the important people in my life. And those important people don’t get an F if I own a recast doll or not. They know who I am as a person deep down and I don’t need to prove myself or validate myself to a bully.
They see nothing morally wrong with owning a recast doll
Lets all go troll and cyberbully someone for owning a pair of fake “Raybans” or a fake “Rolex” because that’s about how much sense it makes to be hateful to someone owning a recast.
There is absolutely no difference.
You might think oh the doll is a work of art. But is not fashion also a work of art?
Or if you want to set dolls apart as a class of their own, is not a Pullip or a Blythe or a My little Pony also a doll? Nendoroids? Figmas? Even barbies and monster high. All of these get recasted daily. Why then are recasts and fakies welcomed with open arms in those hobbies? Encouraged to be used as artist custom works, shared openly, discussed openly, and praised by their respective communities?
What difference is there? Is it price? Materials used? Size of the dolls? How the dolls are used? You can’t say this type of recast is morally wrong, while buying others, and then at the same time supporting, and encouraging recasts of a different type of doll.
So you’re saying there’s a price tag on morals now? Once an item crosses a certain monetary value it becomes immoral to have a recast?
Everyone has different and unique morals and different standards
We come from different backgrounds
Our morals are shaped by how we are raised and what we experience in our life.
Your morals may have taught you that recast dolls are bad, that it’s somehow far worse than a knock off or counterfeit item of any other kind of object or that it’s somehow different from downloading an MP3 or streaming a movie that you did not purchase. You’re stealing from an artist any time you engage in those behaviors.
Your morals may tell you that recast doll owners are the most immoral worst people on Earth and to never associate with them and to “warn” others about them so they don’t accidentally associate with them either. Or you may believe that their entire moral compass is F’ed that they will do nothing but steal, lie, cheat, and take advantage of everyone. That they are greedy, or entitled, or care only about themselves, that they deserve to be bullied and that they are literally the scum of the Earth.
For many of us, we disagree. Many of us realize there are far bigger things to worry about in a person’s character and moral judgement, and that owning a recast doll is no indication of a person’s TRUE character or moral judgement. No more so than downloading an mp3 or carrying an offbrand handbag.
You have to realize you can’t force your morals onto other people. I mean if you could, there would be no crime or violence or hate in the world right? But real life is not always black and white, things are more shades of grey.
I recognize that buying a recast is wrong.
But how I rank that level of wrong is different from how you may rank the level of wrong.
And that’s fine, just as you can’t force your views on me, neither can I force mine on you to get you to see it as a lesser offense.
Many people rank the owning of a recast doll as the worst most wrong thing a person can do.
But to me, I don’t feel like it makes someone instantly a bad person. I give everyone a chance and I have my own set of morals that I judge others on.
We shouldn’t even judge people at all, because you know as they say, people in glass homes shouldn’t cast stones.
But judging people is part of human nature. We do it from our first impressions within 2-3 seconds of meeting someone and we continue to refine and reshape and rethink those impressions with each further interaction we have with that person.
I look at what really counts inside a person (and this is TOTALLY subjective!!! What counts to ME in a good friend might be WAY different to you.) I like the quote that says something like “If you search for friends with no flaws, you’ll be left with no friends”. In other words we all have flaws. But if a person has all the qualities I seek in a good person, and morals that I believe to be ranked as more important than owning a recast doll, then nothing would change my opinion about that person.
But there are other people that will end friendships with otherwise “good people” over a doll…
And that’s fine that’s their choice, but to me, a good friend is hard to find, and a good person even harder to find, so no, their owning a recast does not affect what I think of this friend’s moral judgement. I already know they’re good people (once again this is subjective to your personal beliefs), and owning a recast isn’t going to magically change my perception of that.
They Are Selfish and Entitled
This is how you will be viewed if you own a recast doll.
And maybe it is true! I’ve seen some pretty petty / weak arguments for owning a recast doll that seem highly entitled and spoiled and selfish to me.
Like not wanting to wait for the delivery times
Or not wanting to save up enough money
Or making excuses such as age or disability or some other reason they feel justifies their actions
Or just because they “want nice things” (apparently without having to put in the effort to earn those “nice things”) (that’s the very definition of entitlement lol)
People are human, they don’t always have the best motives and reasons behind their actions.
And yes, in the United States especially, many of us are in fact entitled spoiled brats.
Being entitled sometimes is OK.
You’re paying money for a product or a service. You deserve to have the product or service that YOU want. If you want a recast, buy a recast, if you want a legit, buy a legit. Don’t let some faceless random stranger on the internet tell YOU what to do with YOUR money.
That’s right, we’re PAYING MONEY even for recasts. I know that most of you anti-recast people just LOVE to compare buying recasts to shoplifting but it’s not the same thing.
To illustrate my point: That cute dress or cute pair of jeans, that cute handbag, etc, in your closet, is probably a form of art theft too unless its a high-end designer label!
Things like fashion items are cut up and used as patterns
Or some talented seamstresses can create patterns from photos
Especially in Asian countries they send “spies” in snapping photos of different items
Then they “reproduce” those items.
Those items get shipped around the world, to big box retailers, target, walmart, kohls, penny’s, macy’s you name it.
Even more so if you buy items online from Amazon, Ebay, Aliexpress, or various “Wholesalers” with “Unbeatable” prices.
You buy those items.
You’ve just contributed to art theft.
Have you shoplifted? No, you’ve paid the seller for your item.
No difference in if you buy a recast doll. You’ve paid for it just the same. You haven’t shoplifted anything. Just because something has a face, and human or animal like proportions doesn’t make a difference.
Or if you want to claim it does make a difference, what about Phony and Fakie My Little Ponies, Fakie Blythes and Pullips, Polly Pockets, Bratz, Barbies, Monster Highs, etc? In almost every doll hobby, there are recasts, and guess what, there’s not this weird stigma with them. In fact, many are used to create custom artist dolls, those dolls are welcome at conventions, even given away as prizes and/or raffled/auctioned off for charity etc.
The owners of those dolls don’t lose friends, don’t become shunned by their respective communities because no one cares if it’s recast or legit.
These communities don’t cyberbully and harass users, and don’t bring up their personal relationships, life, morals, and any other personal issues – because they just don’t care. They view it as a doll is a doll. No one even questions it or bats an eye at it if someone has a fake doll in any other doll collecting community.
Instead many people are usually curious and show off their recasts or cheap dolls they find in China town, etc.
Some people also seek out or collect these strange offbrand dolls and comment and discuss things openly with the “Fakie” owners and rest of the community coexisting peacefully in one place.
And no one tells them you’re entitled, spoiled, have poor morals, etc.
So be entitled if you want, afterall, you’re a paying customer. A recaster paid for that original doll they’re using to make their molds. The artist and the original company still got paid. And you’re paying the recaster to make a copy of that doll. Everyone is getting paid, you’re not shoplifting anything from anyone.
There is a big difference between shoplifting WHICH IS ILLEGAL in the United States, and Buying a Counterfeit Item (even if you know it’s counterfeit) Because in the USA, buying a counterfeit item for personal use is NOT illegal in the United States. See below under legal issues surrounding copyright or visit this source: https://consumer.findlaw.com/consumer-transactions/buying-counterfeit-goods-laws-and-resources.html
What Are the Risks in Purchasing or Owning a Recast Asian Balljointed Doll?
Financial and Mental/Emotional Damage to the Companies and Artists Making the Dolls
As mentioned above in reasons to buy legit dolls, the biggest concern is that overtime, the sales of counterfeit goods cuts into the profits of the doll companies. If these companies go out of business, there’s no new dolls being made, eventually that means no new recasts too, so it is a problem that all doll lovers should feel worried about. Not only is there financial burden, but also emotional distress caused for the companies and artists of legit dolls when they discover their doll has been recast. Imagine how you would feel if someone stole your work of art. It is not a good feeling. Regardless of if you care about the artists’ “feelings” you should want to financially support companies whose work you enjoy to ensure they are around for a long time to continue to manufacture new dolls for all of us.
Cyberbullying from individuals with strong opinions against owning recast dolls
You can refer to my sections above about why to buy legit dolls – there is a lot of my thoughts put above there about the cyberbullying that goes on in the hobby. This is probably the biggest risk persay in owning a recast doll.
Also not “bullying” but related note that you also should be aware many communities, online and off, and special events, do not allow you to bring your recast doll, talk about recast dolls, share photos of your recast dolls, etc. This is not bullying because it’s up to each person how they wish to run their community and you should respect their rules. There are smaller communities online that are recast friendly, but very few real life events such as conventions or meetups that allow for recast dolls. Not being able to participate in these online and offline communities and events may hinder your enjoyment of your dolls.
You May Be Unable to Purchase Legit Dolls from Legit Manufacturers and Dealers Ever Again in the Future
There is a lot of fear and drama in the recast witch hunting. Part of that fear is that someone will buy a doll and send it to a recaster to use as a mold. So to help stop this, many people will not sell their dolls to you if you are discovered to own a recast. I don’t think anyone actually does this though (sends their dolls to recasters) I don’t know where that fear / rumour started from.
But as a result of that fear, many US based distributors, and original Asian manufacturers will block you from their websites and ban you from ordering their products.
Getting around this is so easy, so don’t let this scare you.
The most common way to get around it is to have a friend or family member hold the package for you. You just enter their shipping address and contact name/number and viola. Then you just either have them send the package to you if they live far away, or you can just go over and pick up your package.
Make sure that you’re only doing this with people you TRUST (preferably people you know in real life) so you don’t get ripped off and someone steals your package.
Another option could be to open a PO box at your post office, but some companies do not ship to PO boxes.
Even if they do an IP address ban on you, fear not, just go to your library or a friend’s house and purchase the doll on their computer.
I’m almost 100% sure that the recasters are obtaining their dolls in similar fashion (having their friends hold the packages for them or sending the packages to another address, using different names, or etc.) I really really really doubt anyone who is just buying dolls for personal use is sending them off to be cloned by the recasters. I sure wouldn’t want to send my dolls off, and risk never getting them back, or getting a recast back, or the dolls getting damaged etc.
Possible Quality Control Issues and Errors in Communication
This is just straight up copied and pasted from above (under reasons to purchase a legit doll)
Even many anti-recast communities admit that newer recasts have improved in both quality and communication practices and that it is getting more difficult to easily spot a recast based solely on quality alone.
However, just like not all legit doll companies have the same levels of quality assurance, the same goes for different recasters. Some recasters have higher quality and better communication than others.
Even those recasters with higher quality sometimes make mistakes or deliver poor goods, just like even some high quality legit doll manufacturers sometimes make mistakes.
The most common quality issues surrounding recasts include:
Shrinkage; when a recast is made, they use an existing legit doll as a mold. When that mold gets old, new molds are created from the mold of a recast, as time goes on, each mold gets slightly smaller and smaller and the resulting doll therefore gets smaller and smaller too.
As a result of shrinkage and/or the molding process, there is sometimes a loss of detail around fine areas such as the eyes, nose, lips, or ears of the recast doll.
Another issue is often the magnets used to attach fantasy parts or hands/feet are weaker than those supplied by the legit companies.
Sometimes too there will be wrong magnets, where it repells the body part instead of attract, making it impossible to assemble.
Stringing and other issues internally in the doll can result in a doll with inferior posing abilities compared to the legit versions.
Sometimes dolls arrive with two left feet, legs, or other mismatched body parts, this is perhaps the worst flaw of all because it significantly affects pose-ability.
Sometimes dolls arrive broken, damaged, etc in shipping. Sometimes shipments get lost. Sometimes they send you completely the wrong dolls or wrong parts.
When this happens sometimes you’re left with poor customer service (or no response at all) and lose your money and receive damaged goods or no goods at all.
Even legit doll companies can have issues with quality control or communication; however, the problems seem more common with the recast companies. Some people get perfect dolls and perfect, prompt, friendly polite customer service even from recasters. It just depends. It seems most legit doll companies have a better more consistent record at providing better quality products and customer service.
Possible Health Concerns
The recaster I purchased from claims to have used French imported resin, but the truth is, who knows what material is really in the dolls. Not only that, but China is infamous for using harmful leads in their paints. There have been numerous recalls the past few years of clothing, shoes, toys, dolls, and even baby items for having toxic levels of lead in the paint they use. Many people who came into contact with these recalled items broke out in scary horrible rashes and hives where their skin came into contact with the objects. Most infamously, there were flipflops sold at walmart that had unsafe levels of lead and were giving people lead poisoning.
I have heard horror stories about recast dolls being “rough” or having “filling” mixed in the with resin, such as sawdust and other particles.
My 2 dolls seem OK, but still who knows. My dolls are smooth and feel just like my legit dolls but are they really made from the same materials? There’s no way to know for sure.
I’ve read reviews, even from the place where I purchased my recast dolls, that indicated the dolls had a strong chemical odor.
This was not the case with my 2 dolls. They have absolutely no odor at all.
I was pleasantly surprised, because I’ve ordered other items (not doll related) from Chinese sellers before, as well as my stepdad working and living in China for several years in my teens, and I remember the packages he sent me, they almost always had a very strong odor. I think it may be caused by all of the air pollution over there. The air pollution is one of the worst in the world there. And obviously air is all around everything, clothes, dolls, the boxes the dolls are shipped in, whatever.
My 2 dolls honestly have no odor at all though, I’m very familiar with that “China smell” and they just don’t have it, or any smell at all. I even held the dolls up to my nose and sniffed them right under my nose, and nothing lol. Where as with many things from China, the moment you open the package, you can smell a very strong odor. But in this particular case, mine were 100% odor free. We’ll see if that trend continues next month when I purchase my next recast doll from the same recaster.
Regardless, this strong chemical odor that many others report could be cause for concern. It could be caused by actual chemicals mixed into the resin, or as I mentioned and suspect, caused by air pollution and who knows what effect the residue from that air pollution could have on one’s health.
Legal Issues Surrounding Copyright
The dolls themselves are not protected by copyright, however, their trademarked names, symbols, company brand names, and other such things are protected by copyright (which is why many recast dolls do not have headplates or certificates of authenticity)
There are laws in many countries, including the United States, regarding the traffiking of counterfeit items
The grey area is if you sell a doll that is a recast, even if selling to another for “personal use” at that moment you go from buying it for your personal use, to selling a counterfeit item and may face legal problems. I see a lot of people selling and trading used recast dolls – there’s even communities set up to do just this, but the bottom line is that you are risking legal complications once you sell or trade your recast dolls.
If you never sell or trade your recast doll, there’s no legal problems to worry about. Laws are always changing though, but for now, the US government has ruled that it is not illegal to buy a knock off or counterfeit item for personal use, whether or not you know it’s a recast or not at time of purchase.
The other thing to remember is that only brand names and brand symbols are trademarked, the dolls themselves are not – at least in the US Government’s eyes of what is covered by a trademark. So if your doll comes without any kind of brand mark, etc, it is not protected by any sort of copyright. (This is kinda messed up and I disagree with this law, but I don’t make the laws, that’s just how things are.) The source is the same source as above for further reading).
So the bottom line is you are doing nothing wrong legally – morally may be a different story, but legally as long as it’s for personal use, in the eyes of the US Government, you have done nothing wrong. Please also note as I mentioned laws change so you need to do your own research on this matter as this article ages and you happen to read this. Also please note I only refer to US law here. You need to look into the laws about counterfeit items in your own country to make sure it’s safe to purchase these items for personal use.
Unable to participate in certain doll-related communities, both online and off
Not all online communities care if you own or share photos/information about your recast doll
But the vast majority, especially of larger communities, do care, and will ban you.
Most of the communities do not care if you actually “own” a doll, as long as you do not post any photos or information about that doll within their community. However, there have been stories of members being banned for posting their recast dolls elsewhere and moderators of these communities discovering the dolls and banning the members.
If you care at all about being part of the community, it is in your best interest to not own or share your recast dolls anywhere online
Fear of this sort of behavior is also tied into the cyber bullying issues mentioned above.
What Has Your Personal Experience Been Thus Far With Bullying As a Result of Owning a Recast?
I’ve only had my recast dolls for about 2 weeks now (It’s taken me about a week to create this post so that’s why there is the time difference from beginning of this article). I have not experienced any bullying. There’s only about 10 “doll people” who know I have recasts right now. Of those, 2 have been supportive/friendly, while the others have not said anything at all about the dolls, but still remain my friends and have not bullied or harassed me. I suspect that to change once I hit the publish button here on this blog post. I have heard of people getting hundreds of harassing comments a day, I’ve heard of people getting doxxed (their addresses etc made public), I’ve heard of people getting death threats or being told to kill themselves. I’ve heard all of these things, but no, I have not experienced it yet… and I probably never would experience it if I wasn’t writing such a long-ass blog post about the whole thing.read more
OMG… I want to do this. (Maybe Next Year – I don’t have Vacation Time left this year since I will be going to Peru this summer) Their next tour is in just a few weeks, and seems to only happen once a year, in March coinciding with the International Anime Festival AnimeJapan.
Visiting Japan is my life long dream. (sadly, mostly just so I can go shopping for anime, game, and doll stuff lol. Although I do want to do the museums and cherry blossoms and hot springs and other cultural things too – though mostly, I’m just a big geeky nerd who loves anime and wants to go shopping – which is what this whole tour is designed for <3)
It’s not that much money (well OK it is, but it’s cheaper than I expected honestly). Guided 6 Day Anime Tour in Japan which includes hotels and Guides through all the “anime” spots in Japan (since I can’t speak Japanese a Guide would be helpful…)
Only $1,500 a person, includes hotels for each day. I’d just have to have airfare, and LOTTTTTTTTSSSSS of money for food and shopping. Like seriously I’d probably want to have another $1,000 with me just for shopping lol. If I buy a dollfie dream or custom volks doll or something that’d eat half that budget right there. Then there’s all kinds of cheap (but cute) dolls / toys / figurines, etc.
I wouldn’t want to go by myself either – I would hope my boyfriend would go with me but if not then I’m pretty sure that I could find a friend or family member to take… If I had to pay for both of us that’s $3,000… The tour includes several meals but I’d need money for more meals (Let’s say $100 a day food budget X 5 days $500) Airfaire is probably close to $1,000 a person too So not counting shopping expenses I’d need $5,500… I want to mainly go shopping so I’d want at least $1,000 for shopping for myself that’s $6,500…. which still… isn’t that bad because of all the things this tour includes.
This tour includes all of the Ghibli and other museums, the largest anime stores, and even admission to an anime convention for one day. OMG and an anime theme park another day… OMG it includes real life mario kart racing too…. omg…
The number 1 place I want to visit actually isn’t on this tour – that place is Doll Point Akihabara – Volks store where you can buy Dollfie Dreams and Asian Balljointed Dolls and Accessories – including some items available only in the store and not sold online. But that’s OK because the tour gives you free time in the evening and one free day where you’re on your own without a guide.
My dream / life goal / bucket list… lol…
Now that I have my passport I can actually do stuff like this O_O!!! Now I just need money (lots of money) (and to wait for my vacation time again lol).
I received this book for free in exchange for a review. Thoughts and Opinions are my own.
Neko Atsume is a popular idle clicker style mobile game where you leave food out and close the app, and open the app later to find different kitties have come to your garden to sample your food. The object of the game is to “collect” all the different kitties who will come and go in and out of your garden and do various cute things on your screen. The simplistic artwork and simplistic gameplay launched this mobile app to stardom levels with over 50 million users around the world having installed the app.
The success of the mobile game spawned a whole franchise of toys, home goods, pet products, even a live action movie. So it’s no surprise there are new activity books by Viz featuring the cute kitties! The first book I will review is Neko Atsume Kitty Collector Haiku Seasons of the Kitty. As the name suggests, it’s a cute collection of poems with illustrations featuring the collectible cats of the Neko Atsume mobile game. There’s also stickers in the book that let you keep track of your kitty collection and personalize it with names and other details. See the stickers below:
A Haiku is a type of Japanese Poem that features 3 “phrases” with a rhythm that’s defined by the syllables in each phrase. The first phrase will have 5 syllables, the next will have 7, and the final phrase will have 5 again. Thus creating a rhythm of 5, 7, 5. Many Haiku create a relationship between two objects and focus on observing everyday objects and occurrences. Many Haiku also focus on seasons, so it’s quite fitting that this book Neko Atsume Kitty Collector Haiku Seasons of the Kitty breaks the book into short chapters each featuring a collection of Haiku showing us what the kitties are doing in each of the four seasons. In spring we see them playing with flowers or napping in the sun, in winter we see them playing with Christmas decorations. There are also some Haiku in the book which don’t seem to reflect a season at all, such as kitties hiding in tunnels or playing with toys, kitties just being kitties, which they do year round. Neko Atsume Kitty Collector Haiku Season of the Kitty features over 100 full color pages sure to charm you and brighten your day.
My favorite Haiku in Neko Atsume Kitty Collector features a kitty begging for more meat treats. I love this one because my own kitties always beg for treats. I joke that my kitties need an intervention, they are like treat-addicts. So reading this haiku and seeing the simple illustration warmed my heart because I immediately thought of my own kitties in real life. In fact, at several points in the book I was thinking “That’s just like my cats!” This book is definitely for cat lovers! In fact, it’s so cute and would make a great gift for any cat lover — even if they’ve never played Neko Atsume.
It could also be a great book to teach young kids about Haikus. You can have fun showing young kids this book, counting together with them as you read each line of the Haiku, and enjoying the cute and funny artwork and seeing what the kitties are up to in each Haiku.
My only complaint with the book is that some of the Haiku feel a little forced to fit the rhyme scheme, with random “meows” thrown in it feels like at times just to match the syllable formula of the haiku. Regardless of this small complaint, the book is so cute and charming that I’ve already read it front to back and re-read my favorite Haikus again and again. Reading these little poems is so relaxing – just like the relaxing gameplay of the Neko Atsume mobile game that started it all.
Once anyone reads this cute collection of poetry, they won’t be able to resist catching Neko Atsume fever and delving into playing the game or collecting the toys and other related merchandise.
If you’re looking for a great gift for a cat lover, or just looking to feed your own collection of Neko Atsume Goodies, be sure to pick up a copy of Neko Atsume Kitty Collector Haiku Seasons of the Kitty today. For just $10.99, it would make the perfect gift for that cat lover in your life, or maybe that cat lover is you! 🙂 Curl up with a nice cup of tea and kitty in your lap and enjoy the cute illustrations and see what mischief the kitties in the book get up to each season.
You can bring the kitties home for yourself on March 13, 2018!
You can buy Neko Atsume Kitty Collector Haiku Seasons of the Kitty at any of the following retailers:
*It looks like Rightstuf is selling the book ahead of the other retailers, and for a bit cheaper too (currently “in stock” and just $8.24 at time of this posting)
Gree Animal Days was my all time favorite mobile game.
Be warned, before reading this review; the game was shut down several years ago.
There are lots of articles available online pointing to why the game failed. But largely, from what I read, the developers over promised and under estimated how difficult it would be to maintain their production schedules for new content and features which ultimately led to them shutting down the game as they could no longer maintain it.
There were not many games like Gree Animal Days at the time available in the android or IOS app stores.
It also shared lots in common with Happy Street which for quite some time filled the “need” for an animal crossing like game available on mobile devices.
But the ability to breed and recruit new animals to your town really set Gree Animal Days apart from the rest. And still to this day, I’ve not found any other games quite as fun as this.
Check out the trailer below:
Here’s a look at some of the features of Gree Animal Days:
Information taken from Game Faqs
Animal Days is recommended for anyone who:- Likes animals- Wants to raise animals- Likes games where you make your own town or village- Wants to try a game where you help raise villagers- Likes simulation games- Wants to try a game with romantic side
Make the most fantastic city in the world in a hidden forest with your animal friends!
Start romances with the animals in your friends town!
Animals fall in love, get married, and have cute animal children!
Get as many animals as you can, and make a bustling animal town!
Make a town in the forest with cute animal friends! In this game you will work together with cute animals to make a fantastic town. Find all types of animals and collect buildings to make a unique town with your cute animal friends!
Romance
Your animals and your friends’ animals will have romances and make children. Start romances with different animals to get new animals that will live in your town.
Buildings
In the middle of the forest near your town lies the Mysterious Pond. You can get free, cute Decorations and Houses from the Mysterious Pond every day! Decorate your town with your favorite buildings and develop your town into the best that it can be!
Animals
Build Houses and start romances to increase the number of animals that live in your town! There are over 100 animals, all with unique personalities! Your favorite animal is waiting for you! You will find Dogs, Cats, Rabbits, Penguins, Mice, and more!
Dilemmas
The animals experience all sorts of Dilemmas. If you help solve their Dilemmas, they will give you items and special buildings, so solve as many as you can and expand your town!
Score Card:
Title: Gree Animal Days
Publisher: Gree
Where to Get: No Longer Available
Platform: Formerly available on Android and IOS
Price: Free
Genre: Casual, City Building, Life Simulation, Dating Sim
Overall: 38/50 76% C – Good Game for Girls
Breakdown:
Geeky: 3/5 – with over 100 animals, and over 300 buildings available at launch, Gree Animal Days was a hugely ambitious project that offered hours of gameplay and innovative fun mechanics in a well polished package. However poor management eventually led to the downfall of this great game. The devs were not prepared to handle the success of this game.
Sweetie: 5/5 – The cute characters and interesting marriage and breeding aspects really set this game apart as a great game for girls.
Gameplay: 10/10 This app offered so much to do! with hundreds of buildings and animals to collect, as well as the ability to date and breed with your friends’ animals too. These features are severely missed as no other cute animal city building game has yet to replicate this unique gaming experience.
Story: 3/10 – There was a loose story about rebuilding a run down village, but it was not terribly interesting. Then again neither are the stories in Animal Crossing games, so it’s about on par with that series there.
Characters: 10/10 – The characters are so cute. Each one had unique personalities and appearances. With over 100 characters at launch and more added in updates, there were a lot of cute characters to collect!
Graphics: 5/5 – This game looked great for the time it was released. It looks similar to even newer apps such as Animal Crossing Pocket Camp and Happy Street. Each character and building was unique, which is part of the game’s downfall as they had to create so many assets in such short time.
Music: 2/5 – Like most mobile games, it’s cute/catchy at first, but lacks variation and will tend to annoy after your first few playthroughs.
New Hardcover Art Book Edition Features Vivid Illustrations, Concept Sketches, And Interviews From The Beloved
Studio Ghibli Film
=&3=& VIZ Media, LLC (VIZ Media),a premier company in the fields of publishing, animation distribution, and global entertainment licensing, expands its renowned Studio Ghibli library with the release of a new hardcover edition of THE ART OF THE SECRET WORLD OF ARRIETTY on March 6th.
The vividly illustrated art book will be released exclusively in print with an MSRP of $34.99 U.S. / $46.99 CAN. It features story notes, commentary, and artwork from The Secret World of Arrietty. Based on the classic novel by Mary Norton, the 2010 film was directed by Hiromasa Yonebayashi, the youngest director to ever helm a film for Studio Ghibli. The studio’s founder, Hayao Miyazaki, also supervised the production of Arietty as a developing planner. Yonebayashi has gone on to direct When Marnie Was There and Studio Ponoc’s first feature film, Mary and the Witch’s Flower.
“THE ART OF THE SECRET WORLD OF ARRIETTY features hundreds of character and production sketches as well as insights from director Hiromasa Yonebayashi and other key creators involved with the film,” says Masumi Washington, Editor. “We invite readers to dive deeper into The Secret World of Arrietty with this beautiful hardcover release.”
VIZ Media’s Studio Ghibli Library is exclusively devoted to the work of iconic Japanese film director Hayao Miyazaki and his famed animation studio. The imprint has collected a substantial catalog of full-color art books, film comics, picture books and other releases celebrating Studio Ghibli films such as Princess Mononoke, The Wind Rises, Howl’s Moving Castle,
Bushiroad is bringing us yet another great anime rhythm game.
From the creators of Love Live School Idol Festival, and hot on the heels of the recent announcement of Klab’s English localization of Utapri Utano Princesama Shining Live, Bushiroads has recently announced plans to localize BanG Dream Girls Band Party.
Not only are we getting the mobile game, but also English versions of the Weib Schwarz card decks:
[RELEASE ANNOUNCEMENT]
The girls from the upcoming mobile game “BanG Dream! Girls Band Party!” are joining the Weiß Schwarz stage! Featuring the vibrant scenes from the mobile game!
