REVIEW: Integrity Toys Jem & the Holograms Beat This Aja

 

I got my Beat This set today! I thought I was done with Integrity's Jem. I'm not sure there's another doll company I despise more than them and their endless exclusivity. But they finally did right by my girl Aja and I had to have her. I pre-ordered this from Sideshow. 

So here's the shipper and the outer box. 

 

Flip open the top and the two skinny boxes are inside. There's  also a certificate of authenticity. 

I am not keeping Shana. She's going up on ebay tonight. So there are no pics of her. I'm never a fan of how they do her hair and I don't care for her outfit either, so it's easy to let her go. Sorry, Shana. But I owned and sold off a lot of the original Integrity Jem line, so I'm just continuing my habits. 

Aja in her box. 

Still Aja in her box.

Straight from the box, minus the jacket. 

The clothing pieces are well-done. Typical Integrity.

The hair is a pleasant surprise because the first run of IT Jem was loaded with hair gel. Aja has none. 

She's so beautiful. I didn't like the original Aja because she didn't look Asian enough. This one does! She's stunning!

Accessories: guitar, guitar bits (like the strap), earrings, 2 pair of hands, gloves I hate, and shoes.

The amount of time between the accessories picture and this picture was not a short one. 

I HATE those gloves. This is what gets me about Integrity. They spent oodles of time making those gloves look as nice as possible only to not ensure they fit on the doll easily. They focus on detail and forget about practicality. What good are the nicely-made gloves if I have to snip seams to get them on?!! Because I did. 

Aja, you are never taking any of this off. Ever. 

I like the addition of the silver detail at the back of the shoes. 

As with other heels in this line though, again it's detail and "quality" over practicality. It's great that these aren't plastic shoes, but the lightweight materials they use don't fit to the doll's feet as well and pop off her heels a lot. 

With the jacket. 

I didn't get a shot of the earrings, but they are on her. 

GORGEOUS. 

You're worth the trouble, Aja. 

And finally with her guitar. The skinny metal bar that sticks out of the front (I am not a guitarist and know nothing about what these parts are called...clearly) was packaged separately with the strap. Smart move. However, it wasn't easy to put on! 

I'm so happy to have a beautiful Aja at last. Aja was my first Jem doll in childhood and she'll always be my favorite Hologram. (Except in the comics, where it's Kimber.) And to top it off, she's wearing my favorite fashion that was produced for the vintage doll line but is so hard to find that I never got it. Amusingly, the upcoming Kimber/Raya set is called She Makes an Impression, which is the name of this outfit. 

PHOTO CREDITS: Mine.