I was first introduced to Asian Ball Jointed Doll by my friend Mary in 2004. I've been collecting dolls since I was ten years old. It started out with collector Barbies. I was a huge fan of the Classique, Great Eras, and Hollywood Legends series. In middle school, I collected Gene dolls. In high school, I collected anime dolls. In college, I started collecting Bratz and Candi dolls when they were still around. Asian Ball Joint Dolls seemed like pretty little things to look at. I did not think a college student like me could afford one. I thought I'd never get one. Neither could I take the acronym "BJD" seriously since it was the butt of many euphemisms and innuendo.

Did these dolls scare me at the beginning? Yes. At one point these resin children did scare me. I blame it on the Battle Royale director's cut. There was a scene where Mitsuko's pedophile stepfather (?) had a 1/6 scale dollfie and popped the head off. It was very disturbing that I would stay far away from any dealer that sold dollfies. Yet, after attending my first doll meet up at Anime Expo 2004, I slowly started getting into the hobby. However, I was slowly turned off by the hobby after a horrible experience at Anime Expo 2005. Yet, I did not want one event to turn me off right away. I started attending a few Bay Area doll gatherings with my friend Karisu.

It was not until Lunar New Year 2006 that I got my first resin kid, a Cerberus Project Nara. Right after Anime Los Angeles, a friend of mine ordered a ball joint doll for me for Christmas. She even did the face up! My resin friend was waiting for me at her place in Palo Alto. I vowed to only get one doll. Like anyone in the the hobby, saying that you will only have one in the beginning is such a myth! My second doll was a gift from my godfather and brother as a graduation present - a MSD Mika. Mary did the second doll's face up. My second doll has personal meaning to me because it was given by a family member that I have so much respect for and my friend who had introduced me to into this hobby.

Since then, I have been actively involved in this hobby. Around Spring 2007, Tom and I started making video stories. The concept was based around the fact that resin dolls scare the living daylights out of most people outside the hobby. The video stories were set in a Toy Story type world - when the doll owners are away, the dolls begin to play and create mischief. In 2009, I began to turn the series around by coining The New Adventures of Cosette & Eponine. Because of my love for musical theater, I am doing video stories set to Broadway shows - the first being "If Mama Was Married" from Gypsy. The new series will still feature the comedic antics of the dolly duo as well as feature their friend dolls.

I have done a few panels on Asian Ball Joint Dolls with a few key players in the doll community. Katie, Kellyhime, and I ran the Fanime 2008 doll panel. Hanyaan, Tom, Astro, Katie, and I ran the Doll's Tea Party at Sac Anime July 2007. In addition, I was also interviewed on Shoujo Beat about how I felt about the growing popularity of the dolls. I also assisted Aimee Major (Den of Angels) in her article about things to do around the Volks USA. The South Bay is actually a fun place!

Because of graduate school and limited transport, I do not go to as many doll gatherings as I used to. However, I have met many wonderful people in this hobby. Though we all treasure and love these dolls, the people that you share this fandom with make it even better. True, I have had my share of drama on Den of Demons, but whatever. Free publicity is free publicity (thanks for the hits, guys!). Not to mention, I got a few of my cosplay friends into these dolls. Because of the financial crisis, I'm not quite sure if I will be getting a new doll anytime soon. If I had the choice, it would be an Elf Doll June so she can be my Judy Garland doll (all the gay doll want to dress up like her!) and an Iplehouse Barron to be my Sicilian gent with a violin case.

Thanks for stopping by! If you have any questions, feel free to send me an email (v @ scarlet-rhapsody.com).

- Victoria (May 5, 2009)

PS: These dolls are approved by John Lloyd Young (Jersey Boys, Oy Vey My Son is Gay) and Lea Michele (Glee, Spring Awakening).