DD Fes 2016 - Ltd Preorder announcement Soon

I really don't see why Volks didn't just nix the counter once the beans had been spilled. The thing that's pissing me off is they have the Im@s page up... but it doesn't link to any info! I want their data sheets! ALL of this time and they couldn't even manage to have all the info up??

 

Other than that and I may be getting as excited as I did when we ordered KosMos & Momo, our first preorder girls.

 

~Sister Kyoya

Yes, it may be big in Japan, but if they actually want to make money then they would start marketing to their international customers, it's basic business. You never see any other international businesses do this because it's not sound. The Twins would have been safe, CCS Sakura would have been safe. It was just a bad decision to set up the whole countdown for something that they had already done. It just disappoints fans and makes their international customers not feel as loyal if we're just being left in the dust.

Idols sell for the company so as long as that still remains the case they will keep making Idol dolls. End of story.

 

Yeah, I understand why they are making so many idol themed dolls--I just meant that I was personally not into it, not that I didn't think it was a good idea for making money. :p and yeah, idols appear to be really big in anime recently anyway, so I know that my personal opinion on them is in the minority.

While it's a little odd and kinda anticlimactic, I feel like the only one actually excited about this lol XD Yayoi & Iori are my favourites! And I think they are both adorable! Iori reminds me of Chihaya and Yayoi makes me think of Ranka Lee. I'm also excited about the DDP body, I'd like to get one for my Millhiore one day.

I hope we see many more cute DD's on this new body! ♥

So it really was just those three. I am happy that they will be made into DDs, but considering all the hype leading up to this announcement this is pretty disappointing. It really seemed like Volks would try something new with their preorder dolls. Oh well! I'm not a super big fan of any of them so my wallet is safe for now. I DO really like Anya's dress and Yayoi's eyes tho..... welp.

 

I might be in the minority, but I'm actually fine with the hands on Iori and Yayoi. xD One thing that always bothers me about 50cm obitsus is that their hands seem way too small! It works fine with the 40/45cms but not for the taller/older bodies.

Not really sure what everyones getting up in arms about. Idolmaster dolls are safe business decisions for volks that are pretty much guaranteed to sell well. Volks is a company out to make money they aren't your friends.

 

Idol's sell for the company so as long as that still remains the case they will keep making Idol dolls. End of story.

 

As cracked.com once humorously remarked: Japan is in the midst of its "Warring Idols Period."

 

I'm even more hooked on Anastasia now. She's gorgeous and her face is pretty unique compared to my other IM@S girls. She's seems closest to Takane in terms of sculpt, but Takane has rounder cheeks and Anastasia has a softer look. Takane is pretty spectacular, and I am thinking Anastasia will be the same.

 

The other two just aren't doing anything for me. Their faces are too similar to the girls I already have.

 

No detail info on the outfits yet, but both versions of it are billed as for the two DDP dolls. I guess we'll see if they offer other sizes when the detail info comes out.

Well this... This isn't really surprising. Good job volks. 10/10 -IGN

 

In all seriousness though this isn't a bad release, and it's kinda cool to see preorder idolmaster girls especially on the new body, I was kinda prepping to go into aftermarket hell for Anastasia too if I had to, but seeing that not be the case is nice. I'm unsure if I'll get the other two girls. They're cute but I don't think I'd want them for anything that I can think of yet. I am curious about how their heads would look on the larger bodies though. As for the hands... I can't say yet. With the pose the hands are going to look ridiculously big anyways since those are closer to the camera, so they might not be as bad ordinarily, but it's also possible they're just too big. iirc in the preview pictures for this body they were using regular DD hands before and people didn't seem to mind it there, so it could just be a poor choice of angle.

Iori has stolen my heart but I am a bit disappointed there isn't a casual clothing option announced for her yet.

Yes, it may be big in Japan, but if they actually want to make money then they would start marketing to their international customers, it's basic business. You never see any other international businesses do this because it's not sound.

Actually, I've seen this with other anime-themed merchandise (like fashion collaborations with series, in particular; SuperGroupies, which is the main company doing this, very recently started international orders, and Earth Magic&Ecology Japan Label anime collaborations still are Japan-exclusive afaik) where even with shows popular abroad, the stuff isn't even sold out of Japan, or if it is, not really advertised.

Re-ment, a Japanese company making ~1/6 miniatures, did try to cater to the US market and even developed US specific product lines, and it flopped. They don't even retail in the US any more (and these were like $6 sets, not super expensive).

Volks does seem to market Super Dollfies abroad much more (correct me if I'm wrong, I'm not that knowlegeable) and possibly that's because it has a wider appeal (not just tied to anime) and the international and domestic markets have similar desires. It seems that Japanese vs international DD markets have pretty different desires, therefore it would be a lot more work for Volks to research a second market and develop for them specifically, than if the two were pretty similar in their tastes. The risk might pay off in a big way, or it might not, and they may not want to take that risk right now.

 

 

It was just a bad decision to set up the whole countdown for something that they had already done.

 

Yeah, I agree.

I don't think it's bad business sense at all -- it's a license they already hold, it's a very popular series, it's historically done well for Volks, etc. It's just a... poor execution?

 

Hyping the pre-order in a way that makes fans expect a new franchise (countdown + contest).

Releasing super-popular dolls via lotto immediately prior to the announcement.

Announcing Anya way prior to the countdown.

Having the photos of Iori and Yayoi leaked early.

Not turning off the countdown after the leak.

Not having any details up when the pre-order page does go live, despite having all this time to prepare.

 

Imagine instead if Volks had done something like this:

~ Covered the pre-order page with cute music symbols to hint at an idol theme

~ Done the contest, but with playful hint that brought in the music/idol theme -- "Who's playing on the Volks stage this year?"

~ Showing silhouettes of one or more of the girls on the countdown page after the guessing contest closed

~ Waited to release Rin and Len until after the announcement, so we weren't comparing the twins to the pre-order

~ Having the pre-order page go live a full week BEFORE Volks News (to prevent leaks)

~ Making the pre-order page complete, with tons of photos and details, when it did go live

 

Which scenario makes you more excited, as a fan? Sure, the 2nd scenario has less of a surprise factor, but that surprise is replaced by a build-up as you get used to the idea of an Idolmaster pre-order and then actually start to look forward to it. Much better than the disappointment of the 1st scenario, I think!

From a business standpoint, I can see why they used DDP as a preorder to gauge interest. To use Idolmaster again, ok you clearly have the license and need to make the most out of it. But then you add the timer, why? That implies big news, and these girls were not the most popular of the franchises...

 

Usually I could be forgiving if the faces were cute but they all seem a little plain this time around. I keep looking at them wondering if I'd want either of the three and keep thinking, no. :/

I feel like the only one actually excited about this

No worries! You and I can just stand together in a corner, clasp our hands together and scream like 12 year old girls at a boy band concert. I'm so excited I really want to scream at the top of my lungs. I told my sister that I feel like a 5 yr. old who's been told they can go to Disnelyand.

 

From a business standpoint, I can see why they used DDP as a preorder to gauge interest.

If they thought rationally like that, Len WOULD have been preorder rather than Volks assuming everyone would hate DD boys like they seem to indicate so far. I'm SO gald now that I'll have the base cost of Len saved up by the end of the week. I'd sell an organ for him if I had to.

 

~Sister Kyoya

Which doll are you interested in Sister Kyoya?

If they thought rationally like that, Len WOULD have been preorder rather than Volks assuming everyone would hate DD boys like they seem to indicate so far. I'm SO gald now that I'll have the base cost of Len saved up by the end of the week. I'd sell an organ for him if I had to.

 

His body seems more of variant though, so optional chest and hips. DDP is 100% brand new

I'd sell an organ for him if I had to.

 

~Sister Kyoya

 

If you're going to hock a body part at least hold out for a car or a boat.

I was almost set on Iori... then i saw Anya on the PO. Its Anya for me

Hmmm. . . I'm disappointed it was more Idolm@ster girls, but at the same time I'm happy because my wallet is safe . I'm also happy to see that they're continuing with the Idolm@ster characters because I really want to see how Hibiki, Ritsuko, and Azusa will come out if they release them in the future (P. S.- I'm not really a fan of the games or show, but I do love the character designs and own artbooks featuring Idolm@ster material).

Which doll are you interested in Sister Kyoya?

Hubby okayed both of the DDP girls. Iori is so freakishly adorable as she is I've already started to figure out for her story why she doesn't have blond hair and blue eyes just so I don't have to change her. It is so rare that I don't change a default girl, and she may be the first one wo wants to keep her original clothes too! A lot more will be added to her wardrobe (Skipper IS a Barbie... LOL!) but I'm trying to figure out what it will feel like having a 100% complete girl out of the box! I'm a bit baffled! LOL!

 

As for Yayoi, she's getting divided up. Once Skipper laid claim to her clothes, the remaining parts lasted as long as a discount table at a department store on Black Friday. My Gizella (Ranka Lee) is getting her body since the DDS is too tall for a 13 yr old in my household, Ringo snatched her wig, and her head is getting a new faceup and will be on an MDD body to make a slightly grown up Hatoko Kobayashi from Angelic Layer.

 

Part of me hopes that my sister will want to get Anastasia (her first and only DD so far is an 07) but I haven't heard yet what she thinks of her or if she would ever want to do a preorder. I'm thinking that she might not like her hair, but to me it just looks like an alternate wig for my MDD boy Tamayuki.

 

His body seems more of variant though, so optional chest and hips. DDP is 100% brand new

One of the big reasons I want Len so bad other than he's LEN is because of the boy body. Lucas is a hybrid DDS and I have to keep him clothed because his hips stick out freakishly bad and he looks deformed. I've been highly curious if his current bust piece would work with the DDS boy since it's more muscular so he would nearly be a Volks boy. So for my own sake I hope the DDS boy will be a preorder someday just to make it easy to get.

 

If you're going to hock a body part at least hold out for a car or a boat.

Nope. Len really is that big of a deal to me. My first DD 4.5 years ago was a boy (Tamayuki) and I've been waiting for an official DD boy since then. If they ever make an MDD boy I will positively cry my eyes out. The only part of Tama that isn't Volks is the Obitsu male bust piece. Even his hair and eyes are Volks. Besides, I can't drive and with a sun allergy I'd never be able to use a boat if I had one.

 

~Sister Kyoya

 

Nope. Len really is that big of a deal to me. My first DD 4.5 years ago was a boy (Tamayuki) and I've been waiting for an official DD boy since then. If they ever make an MDD boy I will positively cry my eyes out. The only part of Tama that isn't Volks is the Obitsu male bust piece. Even his hair and eyes are Volks. Besides, I can't drive and with a sun allergy I'd never be able to use a boat if I had one.

 

~Sister Kyoya

 

Well congrats on getting the OK to get the other two. I look forward to seeing the photo stories you make with them.

*_* Wow... I love these new dolls! I don't know the first thing about Idol Master (tried to watch it some time ago for the sole reason that I had heard the name through Volks... but couldn't last 10 mins) but I think these dolls are all amazingly adorable! I love the normal size girl's face. Not 100% on board with the way the lashes are painted, but the sculpt and styling itself hit all the right buttons for me!

 

The DDP girls are cute too! The pigtails one sculpt reminds me a bit of MOMO ^^.

 

And the DDP body is ADORABLE and the perfect size since I'm less keen on full size DD lately. I gotta be honest.. I wish I had one of these bodies even more than my Len... but I suppose that's a futile wish since pre-order dolls are usually like 1-2 years from order to delivery, right? That's a long time to wait that body .________. ....

Edited September 12, 2016 by Guest

I'm kind of happy but also kind of sad Anastasia will be a preorder. On one hand, it means I can definitely get one. On the other, it is an agonising year long wait.

 

I don't want to sound repetitive and negative so I will just say that... I saved money for this moment hoping to buy Sakura or something more interesting than this. I guess I will spend those savings on my DDs now.

 

On the other hand, I just saw the new SMDs!! now I'm happy that I don't like this preorder!

Edited September 12, 2016 by Guest

Well congrats on getting the OK to get the other two. I look forward to seeing the photo stories you make with them.

Thank you! I've been working hard on various bits and things needed for the upcoming story but with the current count I need to make & finish 10 more costumes and 2 more boys before I'll have it all done to photograph. It's been a work in progress since this time last year. I've had to realize that trying to get this massive storyline down into photo stories at the time of year they are supposed to be in just isn't possable. So I might be posting Halloween photo stories in January. From what I've mapped out so far, the current storyline is in 8 parts and that's before going back to fill in the missing intro stories. At least I have the pics from Thanksgiving last year done, and where my sister's DD first pops up. Having the freedom to post the stories at any time of year should reduce much of the stress I'm constantly fighting with. Plus since my Sis and I make so much of the props and all that, it takes longer than it seems like it should to get sets completed to photograph. Now I've got two new characters to add in! *laughs unnervingly like a madwoman*

 

Some part of my brain keeps trying to justify the DDS girl simply because of the shape of her eyes. Two preorder girls at once is my limit, especially when we have more than 7 floating heads...

 

~Sister Kyoya

My face when people thought Volks was going to do something different

 

Anyways, I'm mostly happy with the news. I like forehead-idolIori and poor-chanYayoi.The faceup on Yayoi looks iffy but Volks promos aren't all that. The only thing I'm mostly worried about if Yayoi will look okay on other body sizes because I have an OC in mind for her...

I've said this on other platforms, but I am beyond thrilled I can have Anastasia. I thought she was going to be lottery, so this is really refreshing. She's one of my favorites. If they had made Mika, however, I would be screaming so loud you all could hear me in the distance. Maybe some day. She would be fun - lots of accessories.

 

I'm not personally excited about the other two and I stand by thinking they probably shouldn't have done a count down timer for this.... I'm really itching for new characters not in the IM or Vocaloid franchise. Soon.

 

Either way, once I put the timer hype away in my mind and get over that, this is pretty exciting haha.

 

Volks seems like that have a lot of outfits planned later though. So if anyone is upset about this, save your money. Christmas is soooooon