REVIEW: Shibajuku Girls Yoko

I honestly don't know where to begin with the Shibajuku Girls. I don't think I've ever had so many varied opinions on a doll line.

These came out in Australia way back in May, appeared in June in the UK, and then in France sometime after that. US people kept wondering when we would see these and I'm sure I'm not the only one that didn't understand the delay. (Although maybe now I do.) Toys R Us in the US finally has them and apparently there are no plans for any Canadian release. It also looks like only four of the five girls have been released so far. Koe is missing. And Namika is very, very different, but I'll get to that.

Shibajuku seems exclusive to Toys R Us, which I don't think is a wise move for a doll line that has their level of lofty goals. They're $29.99 and 13" tall.

My first impression of the dolls was that they clearly were modelled on Pullips, but were still pretty cute. I went to their website and my second impression was to cringe in horror, because their commercial is the second worst doll-related thing I have ever seen. The voiceover is like your mom using teen slang, trying too hard to sound cool. The art on the site was also kinda creepy.

The lineup of five girls is a little confusing. I personally think they took their cues from anime and these are five Japanese girls. Every one has a Japanese name: Yoko, Namika, Suki, Shizuka and Koe. (Miki will be the new character in Series 2.) Every doll has the same large head and all of them are pale with huge eyes. Lines like Pullips that are made in Asia are typically like this. They have anime-esque features, lighter skin and the only real diversity comes in hair and eye colors, yet no matter what color their hair and eyes are, they're all Japanese. There's occasionally a tan doll, but not that often, and even when they do appear, they're not representing any other races or ethnicities. This is something I've grown used to from Asian doll lines, but to carry that practice over when you're an Australian designer and you should know that diversity is pretty key in modern doll lines is disconcerting. The dolls make no effort to even look that different from each other. Two are blonde, one is brunette, and the other two have pink and purple hair, with one also having blue mixed in. All of them have very pale pink lips, except Namika, who has purple. Some have loaded on glitter eyeshadow. Shizuka is kind of cool, because she has one blue and one green eye, and I like Suki's gray eyes, but diverse? This group is not diverse. And why is there no black-haired character in a line of Japanese dolls?!

But then I learned something strange last night. The American version of Namika is darker-skinned. It doesn't seem like the US will get the pale Namika, and the other countries don't have our darker version. I think the company understood that diversity in doll lines is a pretty big deal here, so they transformed one of their dolls into a not white girl. I have mixed feelings on this, because I'm rather bothered that instead of creating a character that was darker-skinned from the beginning, they just basically racebent one of their existing dolls. I feel bad for the younger fans that have been wanting Namika as they have seen her for months and now they'll only get her if they can talk their parents into importing. However, I also like the added diversity, which is something Pullip never got around to doing, to my knowledge. So it's cool to finally have a Pullip-type doll with darker skin, something many, many collectors have wanted for years.

There's one more thing that I'd like to address before I get into the actual doll review. I read an interview with the designer and she said something very problematic that I really do not respect at all: "I also went back to that really natural and pretty face. I know there are a lot of monster dolls and vampires are a huge trend, but since Barbie there hasn't really been a pretty doll."

Just take that in for a minute.

Sound wrong?

Yes. Yes, it does.

First, "since Barbie there hasn't really been a pretty doll." Since Barbie? When is that exactly, because Barbie has not stopped? There is no "since." Does she only like the original Barbie and is then insulting pretty much every fashion doll ever created afterwards? Does she have a specific Barbie in mind? Also, I can think of loads of fashion doll lines that are "pretty" and "natural." This type of subjective comment is ridiculous.

Second, "natural?!" Really? What about these dolls is natural? The oversized heads and eyes? The caked on glitter eyeshadow? They may not be purple-skinned or fanged, but "natural" is not the word I would use for this line.

And third and most important, I have absolutely no respect for people that try to build themselves up by putting others down. That is schoolyard bully nonsense. It has no place in the fashion doll world. Ms. Hunter, speak with your products and don't put down the competition to try to make your dolls look better. It just makes them look worse.

While I like several of these dolls, I am quite disgusted by the designer's comments and I'll be buying some of these, but not nearly as many as I would have had she not attacked other doll lines.

So do you want to see this doll that's the first pretty thing since Barbie? *snort* Let's get to the actual review.

I ordered Yoko from the Toys R Us website last night, but then ended up picking her up in my store, because we actually had them. I'll be returning the other doll once she arrives in the mail.

First bit of advice: Look over these dolls CAREFULLY. They have massive quality control issues. Both Namikas I saw had wonky eyes and so did at least one Suki. (Can't remember if both did.) Neither Yoko had perfect eyeliner. The doll I didn't buy had one perfect eye and one really off eye. The one I ended up taking home has two eyes that are a bit off, so that's easier for me to deal with. The eyeliner completely surrounding the eye is weird to me as it is, but on some of the dolls, there's a huge gap between the edge of the eye itself and where the liner is. Yoko has gaps on the outer edges of her eyes, while the other girls were more underneath. Namika was the worst of the lot, which is a shame, because I wanted to bring her home. I can't see myself buying her though, unless they fix the eyes. She had both the worst wonk and the worst liner. Shizuka was the best one overall, quality-wise. So watch for eye wonk, eyeliner gaps and blobby eyeliner.

Is Yoko cute? Absolutely she's cute. I picked her not because she's the "spooky" one, but because she's the one without the crazy eyeliner. Hers is normal. It gives her a wider-eyed look than the other four girls.

I find it rather amusing that the spooky girl, who would no doubt sport the most black eyeliner of the bunch, is the only one that didn't go wild with it.

She does have a really sweet face though. I like that her eyebrows are pink. I mean, she still clearly dyes her hair, but at least she went all the way. Suki's got pale blonde brows. Ha!

The hair quality is okay, but nothing to write home about. It's nylon. Not the best, but not the worst. Also, it's rooted, unlike wigged Pullips. The neck joint is just one big round ball coming up from the body and the head fits over the top. As cheap as it sounds, that's actually a pretty good idea, because when I was young, I brushed hair that was this long and thick and my dolls' heads would pop off. At least with Shibajukus, you can pop it right back on.

Her outfit consists of a black top and a black skirt. The top is a very simple design that's slightly longer on both sides. I think they could have put a picture on it to make it less plain. The skirt is nicely layered with the little chain and the lacey bit. The layer underneath has some decoration, as does the waistband.

The problem is when you turn her around. Her shirt gapes open, which I hate. Just give it more velcro, come on. And the print on the front of the skirt does not carry around to the back. This isn't a full-on Barbie dress print, this is a few little diamonds and dots. Wrap it around.

The quality is decent. The skirt is a nice piece, although the lace bit had some that already was pulled looser. The material of the shirt could be better, too, and it did stain her shoulder. I had so many Pullip flashbacks when I saw that! They're really going overboard in emulating the Pullips. Heh.

Let's get to the best part though.

The cat socks.




The cat socks are insanely cute and are constructed perfectly so they don't slip down at all. The cat part is always sticking up.

Her shoes are pretty cute, but some ankle boots would have been nicer.

Now how about we compare the bodies? Pullips have been around for so long that I'm not going in depth with this. On the left here is a J-Doll body that's the same as a Type 4 Pullip. You can see where some of the inspiration came from. The Shibajuku body feels sturdier, which is good, considering these are for kids. The hands do not come out. There is less articulation and the Shibajukus are less curvy.

The feet make it pretty clear, as if it wasn't already, that Pullips were the inspiration for this line.

The Shibajuku body is like a hybrid of a few different Pullip bodies. It's a bit thicker like Type 2. I'm sure they can wear Barbie clothes easier than Pullip Types 3 and 4. I'm not even bothering to try other things on her. Aim for Barbie-type clothing and stuff from similar lines. If you Google which shoes can fit a Type 3 or Type 4 Pullip, you'll know which will work for Shibajuku.

Adsiltia is a Type 3 Pullip. You can see the similarity in the hands there.

Shibajukus are taller. The designer made a point of trying to make a taller doll than Barbie. Guess she also wanted to make a taller doll than her inspiration.

Check that profile.

I'm aware that I'm being hard on these dolls. It's because of the designer's attitude. If you're going to have that type of attitude that your doll is so fresh and unique and pretty when nothing else has been pretty in decades, I'm going to put you to the test. And held up to those standards, Shibajukus fail. They copied elements from another doll line. Their Japanese style is nothing we haven't seen multiple times before. They lack diversity. They have poor quality control. Pieces of their clothing feel cheap. Their hair is not the best material.

Are these bad dolls? NO. By no means are they bad dolls. But they do not belong on the pedestal the designer has placed them and herself on.

Will I be buying more? Yes. I've seen the designs for the second series on the website and that is the Yoko I've been waiting for. One of my issues with the personality of this Yoko is that she loves spooky stuff, but she doesn't look like she does. She loves skeleton hair clips, but doesn't come with one. She loves spiders, but isn't wearing one. Instead, she has silly bunny ears and a gaudy butterfly.

The only clip that's decent is the metal rhinestone bow.

Second series Yoko...well, just go look at her. I also love Miki, even though at the same time I'm irritated that they added a third blonde to the line. I like the new Koe and Suki, too, and even Shizuka. I might just get all of Series 2.

I really do enjoy these dolls. They're fun and they are something a little bit different. They'd be great for the younger siblings of Pullip fans or even Pullip fans who can't afford to buy as many Pullips as they'd like. (The prices on those have gone way up since I collected!)

So yeah, I like them. I was hard on them, but I like them.

PHOTO CREDITS: All mine.

RECOMMENDED SITES:
http://www.shibajuku.com/toys
Here, go look at Series 2. Bask in the gorgeousness of that Yoko.