Smart Doll, the brainchild of Danny Choo, has been around since 2014. This 60cm vinyl doll has been on my personal wish list since they first debuted. Aesthetically, they appeal to the anime fan in me. I love BJDs that have an anime feel to them and Smart Doll definitely checks all those boxes: large round eyes, natural faces, colorful wigs and cute expressions.

Origins

Prior to starting Smart Doll, Danny brought Japanese culture to the masses through blog posts, YouTube videos and more under the brand Culture Japan. That brands mascot was Mirai Suenaga, so it was only fitting that she be the first Smart Doll released back in June of 2014. Here you can see their original packaging style.

I should point out, for anyone reading this at work, there’s a good chance there will be a lot of photos of Dolls in sports bras and panty’s in this post. It’s how the basic dolls are sold. As Danny said in a video, he was worried the dolls might get cold in transit and wanted to make sure they had something to cover up with. (I love that they come with something, since my dolls tend to never have proper clothing from the start!) If you’re at work reading this, though, I just wanted to warn you in case anyone sneaks a peek at your computer.

Part Robot? Part Doll? April Fools!

Now, I remember first hearing about these dolls as being part doll, part robot, hence the name “Smart Doll”. According to the Smart Doll website, the robot doll was more of a prank than anything, but the amount of attention he received after his April 1st, 2013 post showed him there was a market for his dolls, crazy terminator robot version or otherwise. While we have yet to see an android controlled Smart Doll, there was a prototype made. You can see it in the video below.

There’s a lot of information on the Smart Doll website about their origins and the intentions behind the line, so I highly recommend checking the website if you’re looking to do a deep dive into Smart Doll. Here’s the cliff notes version of some of the things I like about the company.

Kawaii Design

As I mentioned earlier, Smart Dolls are SD sized dolls. I put them in the BJD category, even though they’re not strung and have more of an obitsu body. They take inspiration from anime and manga in look, though there are some semi realistic dolls on the market, as well.

Interestingly, the doll line promotes a few things other brands might not. First, the dolls body’s may not be perfect. I imagine they won’t ship something that looks poorly made, but in their words, a doll might ship with “birthmarks, stretch marks or other blemishes”. This is due to the process they use to make the dolls. Second, the face paint is slightly asymmetrical, which gives them a natural look.

Smart Dolls are crafted with a few things in mind, specifically three of the seven zen aesthetic design principles stated in Japan’s Wabi-Sabi. Those three ideals are: FUKINSEI (imbalanced, imperfection, asymmetry), SHIZEN (naturalness, free of pretense) and DATSUZOKU (unconventional). I think it’s easy to see these ideals when you peruse the Smart Doll website.

Many of the dolls are more than just a pretty face. They have stories behind them. Some have birthmarks you wouldn’t normally see in dolls. Accessories like cochlear implants, insulin pumps and prosthetic limbs are available. Not only are these accessories available, but if you are an amputee, you can request a limb swap for your doll free of charge.

On top of that, if you don’t use a prosthetic limb, they’ll even do a custom job that is more relatable to your condition, as seen above. Not many companies go out of their way to modify their dolls like that for customers.

Placing Importance on Education

Another thing I admire about Smart Doll is the importance they put on education. For example, at one time they were offering Smart Dolls to teachers for classroom use. I’m not sure if they still do this, but at the time, I remember thinking that was a really nice gesture. Schools around the world use smart dolls in their curriculum. One school in the United States uses dolls to teach STEM concepts, while others in Japan use them in character design and drawing classes. I love that!

The Art of Play

The last thing I will point out about Smart Doll that I think makes them pretty special is that they haven’t forgotten that dolls are meant to be played with. I’m a huge advocate for dolls being able to be dolls. Doll collectors are not made by people saying, “No, kiddo, you can’t touch that doll.” That doesn’t instill love for dolls or the doll collecting hobby. Dolls are meant to be fun. Danny hasn’t forgotten this and you can tell from his website.

Now, I’m not saying my daughter will ever find a nearly $500 doll under the Christmas tree. I will never be that rich, nor would I want her to have something that expensive without working for it. If it did happen, though, I would encourage her to play with the doll and take her on adventures– to have fun with her doll, because dolls are meant to be companions to take on the world with. This is a concept especially lost in the world of BJD like dolls, in my opinion.

To make Smart Doll durable enough to stand up to play, the skeletal frame of Smart Dolls has “evolved over the years to include stress absorption structures minimizing the chances of a child breaking something. These structures are developed with the help of kids around the world living in different climates who give feedback during the development stages of each new design.” Adding to that, dolls have a one year warranty and there’s added aftercare, just in case the doll is in need of some TLC.

Some of My Favorites

Styles change regularly, it seems, and limited dolls are released every now and then that sell in a flash, like Supergirl and Spike (a doll I would have totally bought had I known he existed). Besides the dolls shown in this post, here’s a few more of my favorites on the site!

What Are Your Thoughts?

The future of Smart Doll is something to watch, especially as technology grows within the doll world. Really fun things have come out since they made their debut, including a 4 foot tall mannequin, which has unfortunately been discontinued. (And was the price of a new car transmission, if you were curious. Don’t ask me why I know that…) For a lot more information on Smart Doll, check out this page. There’s lots of interesting information!

Do you own a Smart Doll? Which one? What do you think of them? Let us know in the comments! And don’t forget to follow the blog and YouTube channel for more fun doll content!

The post Smart Doll appeared first on Confessions of a Doll Collectors Daughter.