Shibajuku Girls

[kCherry]

Aw man, that really sucks that they could be direct recasts.

  While I wouldn't be At All surprised if it were true, I have a hard time believing that the cast was ripped off as they are being sold in places such as WalMart and Target. I would think more than likely the cast/ license was sold with the stipulation that something is changed, ie. no joints in the ankle. With the legal departments of such retailers being so thorough I highly doubt that these dolls are what we in the doll community consider recasts...
  I dunno though. I'd like to know more! They are really cute!

Noxxbunny! I can't get over how Perfect their clothes fit your hybrid! So, so cute!!!

[brightberry]

Noxxbunny, your doll is adorable!

These do look a lot like Pullips so me.  But, it's hard to know if they were illegally recast.  It's not like they're in direct competition with Pullips.  So a bargain could have been made or Groove just chooses to ignore them.  It's hard to imagine Pullip being sold at Walmart.  But we can dream.   I think I was once irked that the Shibajuku creator claimed in an article that there weren't any other dolls (on the shelf) like these.  But I'm over it. 

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-3609999/Madeleine-Hunter-invented-Harajuku-inspired-Shibajuku-Girls-dolls-set-rival-Barbie.html

[lovesbabysquirmy]

See I wouldn't expect Target or Walmart buyers to know ANYTHING about recasts or doll collecting specifics unless they are a collector!  After all, they sell pony fakies ALL.THE.TIME. 

I'm thinking that the average consumer has no idea what a Pullip is, so it's not as important to verify the sources of the material ; Barbie is likely a much different tale!  And yeah, these Shibajuku Girls were an Australian product first, I cannot see any merchandise buyer scrutinizing each and every country's style of doll and comparing to something also commercially available, albeit in a smaller community like Pullip collectors. 

I feel... like so. 

[Vertefae]

Yeah, retailers wouldn't care. They carry knock off toys all the time

[terabithianprince]

I absolutely love the Shibajuku dolls. I'm still trying to save up for one. But I'm fairly certain here we have the first wave still in shops. We also have these really tiny ones in Kmart here.

I'm not sure about them being recasts though, they do look quite similar to Pullips.

[Galactica]

See I wouldn't expect Target or Walmart buyers to know ANYTHING about recasts or doll collecting specifics unless they are a collector!  After all, they sell pony fakies ALL.THE.TIME. 

I'm thinking that the average consumer has no idea what a Pullip is, so it's not as important to verify the sources of the material ; Barbie is likely a much different tale!  And yeah, these Shibajuku Girls were an Australian product first, I cannot see any merchandise buyer scrutinizing each and every country's style of doll and comparing to something also commercially available, albeit in a smaller community like Pullip collectors. 

I feel... like so. 

Although the Big Box stores actually do a pretty good job of keeping straight up bootlegs off the shelves-  if Groove investigated and found that the bodies were re-casts, it may be able to put a stop to them.  They just might figure that it's not worth it- since the heads are different and the bodies are definitely not a selling point for Pullip (I think a lot of the more serious collectors still rebody to Neemo flexion or some such don't they?)

[starryeyed]

i really want one, i literally dress like Suki every day lol! I love jfashion and even tho some of these representations are not the most *accurate* (especially the ones that try to do lolita fashion rip) theyre still super cute i was really excited to see something like that at Target
the only complaint i have is the eyes are a little dead-looking.... ;; i wonder how difficult theyd be to replace?

[orangepeachmango]

i really want one, i literally dress like Suki every day lol! I love jfashion and even tho some of these representations are not the most *accurate* (especially the ones that try to do lolita fashion rip) theyre still super cute i was really excited to see something like that at Target
the only complaint i have is the eyes are a little dead-looking.... ;; i wonder how difficult theyd be to replace?

the images are now gone (thanks photobucket : / ) but the instructions are still there.
http://mharena.com/index.php?topic=13505.0
quillette's great tutorial on removing shibajuku girl eyes : )