Guys and Dolls: Who and What Got You Started in the Hobby?

I'm currently a figure collector by heart. Still saving up for my doll. At first, I didn't really liked the idea of having a DD in my collection because they give me the creeps. ;A; But one day, my figure collectors group had a display in a convention and someone brought along a DD Saber Alter 2nd ver. I was like, "OMG! That's the most beautiful doll I've seen." And then everything followed. I started researching about DDs! I really fell in love with the Saber line.

 

You're welcome

 

 

Anyho, I guess it started a few years back, when I was first introduced to the fate series. I started researching about saber merch and I stumbled upon the preorder project for Saber Extra and Alter (which I missed, by the way. I found out about it a day after preorders closed ) And I suppose you can say I was in love with them? I would literally go look at doll photos for hours and marvel at them and hope that I would come to own one.

 

I didn't get my first girl until very recently though. And even I was remotely surprised it had to be one of the Sabers that introduced me to the world of Dollfies when it could have been my holy girl. Oh well~.

For me it was my girlfriend who got me into this hobby. I previously and still currently collect figures and at the time (2009) I wasn't a big fan of dolls or anything with joints. Most dolls that I had seen didn't look very good but then she showed me asian BJD's which were pretty impressive but didn't really interest me. Then one day in 2010 she showed me a picture of a Louise MDD and I was stunned at how perfect she was so I decided we would save up and get one at some point! ^^ A month or two later I came upon Shana uniform and so began my project to build a custom Shana. Shortly after we started that project although, I saw a Louise on YAJ and tried to get her but failed to much grief, but then my girlfriend saw Yoko for a good price so ended up getting her instead. And so began our journey into DD's XD

My brother has been interested in it, so I was helping him do research. And he finally purchased a Haruka Niimi head today, so now I have the itch to get into it as well! D: It's only natural though, I love dolls. Especially anime-style ones.

I started out as a PVC collector on MyFigureCollection (MFC) for a year. I heard about them but didn't have an interest in them at the time.

 

A MFC user posted a picture of custom DD Henrietta from Gunslinger Girl.

 

I'm a HUGE fan of Gunslinger Girl. This really wanted me to get my first DD. A friend I met through MFC saw my post about wanting a DD. She was curious that I was interested in DDs. She loves loves DDs and wanted to find more people to talk to about DDs. So we got talking. She told me how customizable DDs were and the beautiful clothes you can get. She got me drawn in. I started to look through the MFC DD database. Then I saw her. DD Mai Shiranui. That was the push that tossed me over the edge. I knew I had to get her! In just an hour of searching I found her unopened in the aftermarket for 68200 yen. \o/ Compared to the 85000 yen prices that was going around for Mai, this was a steal. I immediately bought her!

 

So now I'm waiting for her to arrive sometime this week.

I originally got in to anime by watching Sword Art Online. From there, I started collecting PVC figures. I spotted Dollfie Asuna while browsing around MyFigureCollection one day. I wanted her almost immediately, but the price seemed a bit beyond my reach. Even so, I started periodically checking around and researching Dollfies, for science, you know? Who cares if I can't afford one, I'm just looking, right? WRONG! When I saw the lottery for Asuna come up the other day, I knew I had to enter. I'm glad I did and I'm so excited for her to arrive!

Like a lot of others here, I was big into anime (not as much now but I still watch it), and I naturally started looking around for info and merchandise and came across pvc figures and figmas. So I collected those for about 3 years. My favorite character being Saber from Fate/stay night universe, I was always looking for photos and whatnot and came across the Saber Alter v2 DD and thought "So pretty! Must have!". Searched around and after seeing the market price I was like "Who would spend 1k plus on a vinyl doll?! O.o. Answer: THIS GUY! Found someone on MFC selling one BNIB and couldn't pass it up. Here I am a year later and still love her as much if not more as the first day I got her.

 

My dad did walk in on me dressing her up when I finally opened her box after I got her and he wasn't really weirded out by it which was weird to me (being a single male and all). But NOBODY else knows about my doll hobby and it will stay that way for a while heh. I'm more open about my figure collection as it's not all that weird or strange to most people.

 

As it stands I have KOS-MOS and MOMO awaiting shipment and Miku being a year out from delivery now. I do enjoy shopping for doll clothes and dressing her up and taking pictures. It really is fun.

I've had a casual interest in anime for quite some time, I absolutely adore anything and everything that Miyazaki-san puts out, in fact I tend to like most of the movies coming out of Studio Ghibli in general. So while browsing around for anime related collectibles a while back I came across pictures of Dollfies and was intrigued. Then I saw a picture of Kanu and that was it, I knew I had to get one. I haven't been able to adopt her yet but I do have the lovely Saber Nero for now and she's certainly no substitute, she's very much loved for being herself! As many others here (I assume) I also have Miku on order, and who knows, perhaps even Kanu will be mine one day as well?

I like just about everything anime..books, shows, figures..I've never been a follower of any specific character though. What draws me in is the look. I love the look of the girls and DD is a fun way of letting me be a little creative with the whole anime idea.. don't know if that makes any sense.

I was always into anime and video games since I was a kid. Toonami was what got me started with anime when I was young until I discovered the internet and download whole episodes of new shows I've never heard of and expanding my horizons. I started liking Dollfies way back like in Middle/High School, but of course I never admitted it. I think was when Volks made an SD of Chii and I was enthralled with her because she was my favorite character at the time. Even though I was never able to get her the interest in dolls stuck with me as I got older. I guess I'm one of the people who's more character-oriented when it comes to dolls because if it's a character I like then I'm much more drawn to it. When I got Rise a big factor that attributed to me getting her was because I was really into the character and the Persona series, on top of the fact that I've also wanted to get a DD for a long time.

I can't remember exactly how I first got into BJD. I just remember that I was looking at a bunch of pictures and became really intrigued. I saved up all of my money for months and was finally able to purchase my first latidoll. After seeing Nekopon's DDH-07 a couple of months ago, I fell in love with BJD's again and now I am working on getting my first DD.

I was fascinated by BJD's after a visit in Japan more than 10 years ago. When I started collecting seriously in 2008 I first thought it would be much more Volks than it turned out to be, I was fascinated by the Rozen Maiden dolls they made and their Lost Angels story, but more realistic BJD's (and Soom) caught my interest instead.

Over and over, for the last five years, I have thought about getting a DD, but every time something else came up. One reason for the delay was that I thought it would be hard to incorporate the anime-like DD's with my slightly more realistic dolls (if you can find demons, harpy's and elf's realistic that is).

That is until I finally now in December decided that I can't let Saber be any more, so she arrived a day before Christmas to my great joy. Although I have handled and admired DD's of various type over the years, when I really got her in my hands as my own doll, I just knew I will get more of her kind.

And in the end it was not even hard to incorporate her in my story of the Old Magicians Abode as a guardian demon, she looks the part and a partner in battle she got as well, she is the perfect partner to my Nightmare.

I've been a fan of anime for a very long time (1980's!). A good friend of mine got into the doll hobby back when Volks first started making their resin Super-Dollfies, and she would send me pictures of dolls she had seen or links to things.

 

I did finally break down and get into resin BJD's (mostly MSD-sized). But you have to be so careful with the resin dolls and I wanted a big doll that could hang out with me on my desk while I work. So I'm planning to get a Dollfie Dream. It's also a fiendish plot to try to get my husband interested in dolls--he likes their anime feel, but I think he wants to see one in person first.

I had to say it was other Dollfie collector and my love of Blythe/anime/manga as a whole that got me started. My very first dollfie was Syo from Volks. I feel in love when I saw his adorable face!! after about two weeks of debating if i want to pay 1K for a doll I decided to go with it.. With a full face out and 3 outfits.. after that my family of Resin dolls has grown to 13... Then I feel off of the Dollfie hoobie for a bit.. actually for 5-6 years until about two weeks ago when I visited CA with my husband.. I saw a mini Dollfie Gathering that just made my heart flutter... and now I am back.. I really miss the community and see the beautiful new models and DOLLFIE DREAMS!!

It was anime for me. I first got into dolls through PVC figures. I was looking for a Mikuru Asahina PVC figure, but the only figure I liked was actually a doll. She was a 1/6 scale Obitsu doll from Megahouse. She had the warmest smile She was my first doll, and I got into Dollfie Dreams through the doll hobby after that. The anime look of Dollfie Dreams was appealing in and of itself, but the doll hobby was the primary gateway for that.

For me it was my cousin and her roommate. They moved next door to me a few years ago and used to hang out with me. Out of the three of us I was the only one with a digital camera and they both had Dollfies. My interest got perked being their camera man....and they noticed my interest and gave me advice...

Definitely the fault of Anime, fate stay night in particular.

 

I had just recently gotten hooked into Fate/Zero (and Fate/Extra) by then, and I wanted to look for saber Extra merch, and that's when I stumbled upon the Type-Moon 10th anniversary preorder projects . Alas, by the time I found out, preorders were over days ago, and at that time I thought owning one would be impossible because of the price point.

 

Ever since then though, I've always dreamed of owning both sabers, and half of that wish came true last year with the adoption of my first daughter Luna, a V2 Alter. Now I have a happy crew of three girls, and I'm looking on bringing Extra, my beloved holy grail home this year (and possibly a MDD as well)

Everything started when I firstly saw the DD Saber. I think many friend are like me，aren't

you？

Danny Choo's post on his Saber when he first got her introduced me to Dollfies. Spent ages trying to find a Saber. Then I saw Erika and fell in love and ordered her straight away. Picked up DD Saber Alter 2nd from Mandarake just after the event.

 

To be honest I can't say that being a guy collecting dolls has been a huge issue to me. I have never been one to care what other people think about me. My mom though it was abit odd, but has always been supportive of any choices I make. My dad didn't really seem all that bothered except that I was mad for spending the amounts I did on them.

 

I plan on bringing them with me to Disneyland Paris in the summer so that should be interesting.

 

For reference I am a 22 year old male.

A little bit anime, and a little bit art for me. I saw my first doll on DeviantArt, and I was blown away by how beautiful they were. But for the longest time I could only find Volks' Japanese website, and I was confused both by the language and the ordering system. Years later I saw another bjd on a craft website, and that was the beginning of the end so to speak! I have mostly resin dolls, but finally decided to get a DD after drooling over Saber and Yoko. It was Yoko's sweet smile that inspired me to get my DD h-04.

A mix between figure collecting/making, anime and of course the endless options of customizing. At one point during the 90's I had collected the Sailor Moon doll collection and of course the Spice Girl set. I felt for many years people judged me (including my sibling and parents) for having these even though they never left their boxes. Those sets I ended up selling to my younger sister which I later regretted. Having no friends helped because I didn't have to deal with any people saying stuff I didn't wish to hear.

After moving out on my own many years back I started to get into anime and back into my collecting. In between surfing the net on anime, figure.fm, wonderfests and hobby stores I came across some photos of the earlier strung Dollfie, Dollfie Chara 1/6 and even Obitsu Megahouse 1/6 dolls. I liked how Dollfie Dream looked and the fact they were trying out the anime doll market. Though I couldn't sanely drop that kind of money between my car and rent/bills at the time.

After years of looking at everyone else and their girls I decided to save back and wait for luck to send me a dollfie of my own. Which has been a fun experience so far outside of my ocd for avoiding stains and keeping her to her colors of her original persona outfit. I can honestly say once she arrived I found a new friend to share my strawberries with

 

I haven't had any negative issues yet, though I have heard of some guys getting nagged about sexuality and their dolls (which honestly shouldn't matter either way). To me I think as long as you're not harming anyone it can be a very good way to be constructive(but I always remember there is always a line you just don't cross...and that goes for most things in life). I have seen many scary photos of dolls and their owners. Most recent was that very creepy stitched doll on that auction link I know people have their styles and such but things like that and other odd things can label a gender in the creepy way.

The first time i ever learn of DD existence was Rozen Maiden (though i didn't know they actually exist in real life as well). Upon researching more and more, i eventually learn what they are and my only thought at the time was "pretty! But that price tag" hence i never got into it. But then suddenly a wild Sasara appears, it's super effective!

 

Time for more saving

I can't remember what got me into BJDs and DDs. I have always loved dolls and anything doll related. My favorite movies are doll related and I loved Angelic Layer and Chobits. More likely random internet searches lead me to Volks's site. I am 100% positive I saw DD's before I saw resin. So i tend to love me 2 Dollfies more then my other crew (don't let them hear me say that! )

I ain't gay, i'll say this right now cause its often a question i'm asked in my local community :p

 

As a kid i always felt compeled to play with dolls of any kind, be it GI Joe's, ninja turtles or barbies and i always liked girly things, i DID watch Jem and the hologram and other more girly shows.

 

It was a sort of complex as a teenager and of course i kept it hidden.

 

A few years ago i was already deep into anime and one day i fell on some pictures of dollfie dreams and a video from japanorama which talked about the dollfie phenomenon. I was a bit creeped at first seiing adults play around with dolls but i couldnt help but see the beauty of the dolls.

 

With time i started seiing more and more DDs and one day for a friend's pastry themed party a friend brought over his recently aquired Fate T. Harlaown (Feito) DD. I was lovestruck at first sight and my desire to own some daughters of mine only grew higher in the following years.

 

It wasnt until august 2011 when i saw a reaaaaally good deal on a Noumi MDD that the familly started (600$, brand new and sealed, when she was sold 1k). By November 2013 i had my 6th daughter

The first time I was exposed to it was when a friend in the forum chat was talking about it and showing off his girls. Initially, I was put off by it because I found it creepy and I wasn't quiet about it either.

 

Funny how the saying goes that those who oppose it the strongest tend to fall the easiest. I think a couple months later, I found myself browsing through the dollfie databases to see which ones existed and I had eventually bought my first girl, Mai Shiranui. The idea that I could bring my OC into a physical form didn't come by until after I moved out of Japan.

 

As for reactions from friends and family, I didn't tell anyone for years, and if anyone had visited, I usually hid it from everyone.

 

Today, only a handful of friends know and they seem to be just fine with it. I still don't plan on telling the world that I have dolls though. Familywise, my sister has gone nuts over Kihona and I don't know how the parents feel other than the usual saying "Stop buying so many toys", because you know, I'm apparently too old for it.

I had change to meet DD owners at japanese garden (got nice photographs) and again at Desucon. Now I have a dream. That someday I own custom DD Holo from spice and wolf. ^^