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There was one company, I can't remember what it was called, that I think would have made great "I'm not exactly sure what gender this is" dolls.

Part of me is really tempted to get a minimee made off of Takato Yamamoto's art, because they are so wonderfully androgynous. He basically even admits that everything he draws are all hermaphrodites with the title of one of his artbooks. XD
ILU, Yamamoto.

Oh god, I love Sho-u Tajima. Dude needs to do more full illustrations like the work he does for Robot.
Yamamoto, Tajima, Maruo and Furuya all have similar styles. I think it's that general guro style.

Whaaat. I normally can't believe that people don't know who he is. His aaaart. heart

His stuff before MPD was kind of meh in terms of art. He's really improved in recent years.
Anyway: http://www.mangaupdates.com/authors.html?id=1735

There's probably a variety of reasonings. Maybe they're like surrogate recipients for affection or attention? Personally, they're like achievements for me, but I do have a deep affection for them. Like if anything hurt them, I'd probably be on the warpath; and not simply because they're costly. I kinda feel like they 'depend' on me. As such (and since no one around here ever wanted to help me put my shelf up...), I keep my boys in one of those fabric box/drawer things near my bed and tucked in with brocade and silk (lol extreme, I know).

Myself, I think Kyon and Gray are extensions or exaggerations of my own personality and that's why they're precious to me. Kyon is slightly more reserved, easily overwhelmed or pushed into things by others (like Gray).

Gray is more aggressive. He doesn't like to listen to others' complaints and he doesn't usually seem to care who's toes he steps on when he talks. He's not a bad guy, but he doesn't really make the effort to be considerate (a point that bothers Kyon a great deal). He likes being alone, but he also likes to be around to tease Kyon. He smokes when he thinks no one notices.


The beauty in BJD's is that you can attach yourself but you can also *change* that doll to evolve with your needs or desires in an attachment.

Heh heh. I often dress my dolls in clothes that I wish I could wear but would never, ever do so. I like the steampunk look or the lolita look or the fantasy/fairytale look, but dressing in clothes like that is a bit ridiculous. So, my dolls are the ones that get to do it for me (and look much better in them, believe you me).

As for personalities, well, I'm a writer. When these dolls come, they're blank slates. Some people express their creativity with sewing or giving them faceups and tattoos and piercings, I express mine in giving them lives. Names, histories, families. I don't think it's any different than somebody who is writing a novel or who is painting a picture. It's just yet another form of creativity, using one's imagination. I find that most of the people who own these dolls are highly imaginative individuals. They see these dolls as an inspiration to let it out, in some form or other.

And hey, how many of those who are really good at what they do can earn real money off it? Sewing clothes or giving faceups, for example. The faceup artist Evenstar and the seamstress Violet Fern are two examples. If you've ever heard of Kerli, she's a singer and her music video Walking on Air featured a Doll in Mind BJD. Evenstar was commissioned especially to create the look of the dollfie, to make it look like the singer. And they used one of Violet Fern's dresses to clothes her (and Kerli herself). And so I'd say these dolls are excellent for creating lucrative side-businesses, as well.