Smart Doll - Spike Spiegel still available for pre-order

The second batch of Spike Spiegel Smart Dolls are still available for pre-order. The first batch sold out in minutes.

https://shop.smartdoll.jp/collections/new/products/smart-doll-spike-spiegel

April 1st? Mmmmh XD

I have a feeling the second batch is gonna stay up longer than Suzaku's did.  

 

Which is a bit frustrating, since we never got second batches with any of the girl licensed dolls save for one, which are usually sold out in hours.  I emember signing up for when Mika went on ale, getting the email notification, only to go to the store and find she was sold out.

From the fine print:

"The number of dolls in batch 1 are fixed and are actually ready - we just need Sunrise to issue license documents before we can ship. We cannot ship until these documents are issued.

If you are not so quick and only manage to order from Batch 2 then your order will ship no later than April 1st 2020. All orders in Batch 2 are made to order.  Depending on the production schedule, we may be able to ship earlier than the stated dates.

We plan to keep Batch 2 open for 7 days until 2019/10/09 AM JST. However, if we reach production capacity early then Batch 2 pre-orders will close. You cannot buy or pick up this item in Mirai Store."

Edited October 4, 2019 by K-2

I honestly can't believe that batch 1 sold out that quickly. This doll doesn't look good. It looks too goofy in comparison to the actual character.

What's up with him selling a product he doesn't have the license documents for? Is that normal?

On 10/6/2019 at 4:09 PM, rainglow said:

I honestly can't believe that batch 1 sold out that quickly. This doll doesn't look good. It looks too goofy in comparison to the actual character.

Cool and fun fact: If you find a doll unattractive or are otherwise uninterested in it for any reason, you aren't under any obligation to buy it! Considering the first batch sold out so fast, there is clearly interest, as well as a chance that at least one person on this forum has either bought or is looking to buy said doll. Let people enjoy things once in a while.

8 hours ago, RainbowNanaki said:

Cool and fun fact: If you find a doll unattractive or are otherwise uninterested in it for any reason, you aren't under any obligation to buy it! Considering the first batch sold out so fast, there is clearly interest, as well as a chance that at least one person on this forum has either bought or is looking to buy said doll. Let people enjoy things once in a while.

Not to be rude but...duh? Let people have an opinion. Me disliking a doll doesn't mean anyone has to not buy it or regret their purchase. If they're swayed that easily it's on them. I thought I was allowed to express my surprise at this doll selling so quickly. 

4 hours ago, rainglow said:

I thought I was allowed to express my surprise at this doll selling so quickly. 

I share this surprise and found myself wondering how big the first batch was. (Maybe 10 dolls? haha.)

Edited October 9, 2019 by Beani

12 hours ago, rainglow said:

Not to be rude but...duh? Let people have an opinion. Me disliking a doll doesn't mean anyone has to not buy it or regret their purchase. If they're swayed that easily it's on them. I thought I was allowed to express my surprise at this doll selling so quickly. 

And some people are exhausted with how half the forum has turned shitting on Smart Dolls at every turn into some sort of game. I never said that someone would have their opinion swayed, but it certainly doesn't make people feel welcome or comfortable to see a constant stream of "Smart Dolls look bad" in every single Smart Doll thread.

Just a general observation here. People on the forum have always been free to express criticism of doll releases, however we should endeavor to not make smart dolls owners feel like the red headed step-children of the forum.

I think this Spike is interesting in part because it's a glimpse into how different the super-hero dolls may be from the traditional anime doll look. We're used to dolls with wide heads and big eyes, but the "hero" line is likely going to be more like traditional western action figures but much bigger.

 

Edited October 9, 2019 by BeyondTime

I can admit that while this particular Smart Doll doesn't quite appeal to me, it is mostly because I am not familiar with the anime he is from.  But I am glad to see more variety in boys, and I do look forward to other male Smart Dolls being produced. 

Points taken. It's best for everyone (me included) that I stay out of this subforum completely, which I've tried mostly do anyway except when I had found pictures I thought might be of interst.

51 minutes ago, cfx said:

Points taken. It's best for everyone (me included) that I stay out of this subforum completely, which I've tried mostly do anyway except when I had found pictures I thought might be of interst.

I certainly wasn’t suggesting that. I just mean we should be careful of the line between expressing a negative opinion, and putting something down because it’s not to our taste. 

It's fine and I wasn't referring to your comments really, rather some others, and just generally speaking.

On 10/7/2019 at 5:11 PM, CuteOne said:

What's up with him selling a product he doesn't have the license documents for? Is that normal?

When licensing any intellectual property, there's a timing issue with when the contract is signed and when the actual products are made available to the general public.

1.) When negotiating a contract with a license owner, the licensee may choose to delay production of products until all the relevant signatures are on paper. The disadvantage of this is the release of products are delayed for a year or more.

2.) Another route a licensee can take is to start planning production once negotiations start. When there's a reasonable expectation the contract will be finalized within a short period of time, actual production can take place while all the details are being hammered out. While there's some risk in doing this because negotiations can fall apart before the contract is finalized, the advantages of bringing products out on the market with great speed outweighs the risks once the licensee can reasonably expect the contract will be signed (and any relevant certificates delivered).

I suspect in SmD Spike's case, situation 2.) applies. However, Danny tends to share too much info on social media. "Normal" companies do not share where exactly in the contract signing process negotiations have gone to. There's a risk of breaching implied confidentiality or trust in general by sharing too much on social media (or elsewhere). A "normal" company spokesperson would have been more vague in the announcement. One possible thing to say would be, "We have a few more business related issues to take care of before Spike can be shipped out. We'll keep you updated," instead of what was posted by Danny.

Mirai, Inc. headed by Danny is very far from being a "normal" business entity. Had he been more vague like in my example, we never would have found out he didn't have the license documents before mass producing Spike dolls.

I don't feel like it's a great likeness of the character, but in some ways, it can't be helped; Smartdolls are proportioned more like characters from Code Geass than Cowboy Bebop.  I'd be curious to see a customized version of him without the baggage of being compared to a licensed character.

On 10/9/2019 at 4:17 PM, growcian said:

2.) Another route a licensee can take is to start planning production once negotiations start. When there's a reasonable expectation the contract will be finalized within a short period of time, actual production can take place while all the details are being hammered out. While there's some risk in doing this because negotiations can fall apart before the contract is finalized, the advantages of bringing products out on the market with great speed outweighs the risks once the licensee can reasonably expect the contract will be signed (and any relevant certificates delivered).

Kind of a side note, but I have seen disclaimer to the effect of "these are samples not yet approved by the license holder" on the new FGO Pre-order page for Volks.

I'll go out on a limb here and say if you are big and have well established relationships with business partners, like Volks or SmD, it's probably fairly safe to do this. I can't comment as much on SmD or Cowboy Bebop, but in the case of Volks and FGO there is probably close to zero chance of things falling apart. It's probably more likely that a product detail will change than it is that a deal won't get signed.