Momoko Doll
Encyclopedia
Fashion doll
Fashion dolls are dolls primarily designed to be dressed to reflect fashion trends. They are manufactured both as toys for children to play with and as collectibles for adult collectors. The dolls are usually modeled after teen girls or adult women, though child, male, and even some non-human...
, roughly similar in size to Robert Tonner
Robert Tonner
Robert Tonner is an American entrepreneur, fashion designer, sculptor, doll artist and owner of Tonner Doll Company, Inc. and the Effanbee Doll Company, Inc....
's Tiny Kitty Collier
Kitty Collier
Kitty Collier is a doll created by Robert Tonner and is marketed to mainstream doll collectors.There are two types of Kitty Collier, 18 inch Kitty with glass eyes and Tiny Kitty, a 10 inch version with painted eyes....
.
Momoko was created in 2001 as a side project by a Japanese software company called Petworks. (The creator was Namie Manabe (真鍋 奈見江), the art director.)
In 2004, Petworks handed the line over to doll-making firm Sekiguchi. Sekiguchi altered the doll somewhat and turned it into a mass-market item competitively priced with other fashion dolls, but retained the general concept of an "everyday" modern woman one might find walking down the street in Japan.
Petworks continues to produce a limited number of Momokos every year in their Close-Clipped Sheep (CCS) line, using the Sekiguchi body but a slightly different face paint style, and sometimes a slightly different head.
The Momoko doll, like most Asian fashion doll
Asian fashion doll
Asian fashion dolls are fashion dolls that are made by Asian manufacturers or primarily targeted to an Asian market. Some have received international attention, such as with Momoko Doll, and in 2005 the first annual Dollstyle convention was held in Tokyo....
s, has visible joints and good flexibility, able to tilt and rotate her head, bend and rotate the elbows, bend the knees, slightly flex and bend near the waist, flex the wrists and ankles, and so on. The Momoko doll is able to stand on her own without help, though a white metal stand is included.
Momoko outfits display a characteristic normality and simple elegance in a range of styles, such as a variety of modern casual looks, typically Japanese school girl uniforms, Japanese office lady
Office lady
An office lady, often abbreviated OL , is a female office worker in Japan who performs generally pink collar tasks such as serving tea and secretarial or clerical work. Like many unmarried Japanese, OLs often live with their parents well into early adulthood...
style, Western bridal gowns, Japanese summer yukata
Yukata
A is a Japanese garment, a casual summer kimono usually made of cotton. People wearing yukata are a common sight in Japan at fireworks displays, bon-odori festivals, and other summer events. The yukata is also frequently worn after bathing at traditional Japanese inns...
, and a variety of other looks. In addition to the main line of doll releases, Sekiguchi also releases numerous special edition dolls with apparently even more limited availability. These include such things as Isetan
Isetan
is a Japanese department store. Based in Shinjuku, Tokyo, Isetan has branches throughout Japan and East Asia, including Bangkok, Jinan, Kaohsiung, Kuala Lumpur, Shanghai, Singapore and Tianjin and formerly in Hong Kong, London and Vienna....
special Momokos, or collaboration pieces such as Gainax
Gainax
is a Japanese anime studio famous for productions such as Gunbuster, The Wings of Honneamise, Nadia: The Secret of Blue Water, Neon Genesis Evangelion, FLCL and Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann which have gone on to critical acclaim and commercial success, as well as for their association with...
Momoko dolls.
Momoko has the same Asian target market as the highly popular Blythe and Pullip
Pullip
Pullip is a collectible fashion doll created by Cheonsang Cheonha of South Korea in 2003. Pullip has an oversized head on a jointed plastic body, with eyes that can change positions and wink. Pullip was first marketed by Jun Planning of Japan, but since early 2009, it has been marketed by Groove of...
dolls, and is able to wear most Asian and some American fashion doll
Fashion doll
Fashion dolls are dolls primarily designed to be dressed to reflect fashion trends. They are manufactured both as toys for children to play with and as collectibles for adult collectors. The dolls are usually modeled after teen girls or adult women, though child, male, and even some non-human...
outfits, including a number of 1/6 scale Pullip
Pullip
Pullip is a collectible fashion doll created by Cheonsang Cheonha of South Korea in 2003. Pullip has an oversized head on a jointed plastic body, with eyes that can change positions and wink. Pullip was first marketed by Jun Planning of Japan, but since early 2009, it has been marketed by Groove of...
, Jenny
Jenny (doll)
right|thumb|Takara Jenny is a 10½ inch fashion doll produced by Japanese toy company Takara since 1982. The doll was originally known as the Takara Barbie, but became "Jenny" in 1986 after Takara ended their licensing agreement with Mattel. The differences between the Takara Barbie and the Western...
, Azone, Obitsu, Annz, Barbie
Barbie
Barbie is a fashion doll manufactured by the American toy-company Mattel, Inc. and launched in March 1959. American businesswoman Ruth Handler is credited with the creation of the doll using a German doll called Bild Lilli as her inspiration....
My Scene, and other such products. Although Momoko's audience is largely female, a few Momokos (such as one of the schoolgirl dolls) have had male purchasers.
As with other Asian doll fans, Momoko fans are known for proudly posting photographs of the doll posed in different clothing styles, in different situations, and in different countries.
Mame Momokos (豆momoko: literally, "bean" or "mini" Momokos) are cheaper and cartoony 9 cm (3.5 inch) dolls meant to allow Momoko creators the chance to inexpensively explore wild new outfits. Unlike their taller cousins, Mame Momoko dolls come in male and female, though there are no anatomical differences to speak of.