Kim's House of Dolls--Personal Encounters With Japanese Anime, Manga, and Video Games

Most of the Japanese and Korean-imported articulated 1/6 dolls and 1/3 ball-jointed dolls are sometimes dubbed "anime dolls" by the mainstream media because many of these dolls do feature the big eyes, small nose, small mouths, and pointed chins that one would find in anime. Many Asian doll enthusiasts are also into anime. In fact, at some of the anime conventions I've been to in my local area, I've seen ball-jointed doll panels and doll artists hawking their unique creations in the Artist's Alley.

However, there are also many other Asian doll enthusiasts who are not anime fans at all and there are some non-fans who bristle at the term "anime doll" because these enthusiasts fear being lumped in with the stereotypical hard-core otakus who are so busy with their anime collections that they don't bathe, go out with friends, or get laid very often. Every time the issue of compairing ball-jointed dolls with anime comes up on the Den of Angels forum a contentious debate seems to erupt about this. (You can see one such example by clicking here.)

In any case, in the past I've used illustrations of anime figures published in anime magazines like New Type USA for inspiration in deciding on a particular hairstyle or eye color. As of this writing, I've never done a direct copy of an anime character for customizing 1/6 dolls because I'm always afraid of not getting the doll's look right and I'm not really into spending huge amounts of time trying to match a doll's look with a certain character only to have it end in failure and I cry out of frustration. Currently I am experimenting with cosplaying with my Dollfie Dream because I hope to enter my doll in a doll cosplaying contest that will take place at this year's Otakon in Baltimore.

I've read manga, viewed anime, and played Asian-made video games. I'm not a hardcore otaku by any stretch of the imagination mainly because of both time and money. (An anime DVD costs around $20 each while a manga costs around $10 and a video game starts around $30 each. As you can see, anime can be a pretty expensive hobby.) As I was compiling this list, I discovered that most of my encounters with Japanese and other Asian culture has been through video games. I guess it's no surprise with me since I literally cut my video gaming teeth playing games like Pac-Man, Dig Dug, and Space Invaders.

Below is a list of Asian anime, manga, and video games I've actually encountered. (I own some of the ones on this list while the others I've either rented, borrowed or somehow encountered them without buying them.) If you want to learn more about each item on the list, just click on the link, which will open in a new window.

Astro Boy (It was the first anime series I ever saw. I used to watch this series on television as a young child. I didn't know it was anime until many years later.)

Chrono Crusade

GTO: Great Teacher Onizuka

Speed Racer (This is the second anime series I ever saw. I watched this one on television when I was in elementary school and I didn't know it was anime until years later.)

Pac-Pix

Wario Ware: Touched!

This page last updated October 24, 2005.

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Personal Encounters With Asian Anime, Manga, and Video Games

Anime

Manga

Video Games (Arcade)

Video Games (Sony Playstation 1)

Video Games (Sony Playstation 2)

Video Games (Nintendo Game Boy Advance)

Video Games (Nintendo DS)