Who is Jenny doll?
Hello everyone,
In this new post I would like to talk about a doll named Jenny. Probably most of western doll collectors never heard of her, since it's a doll sold in Japan only.
Indeed, Jenny is a Japanese doll produced by the toy company Takara (now known as TakaraTomy after the fusion with Tomy, another Japanese toys producer). Do you know what's funny about her? Jenny was Barbie!!! Yes, this can make no sense but let me explain it. In 1981 Mattel, probably because of Barbie's poor sales in Japan, decided to give the license to produce Barbie to the Japanese toy company Takara. Takara was very successful in the Japanese doll market, since the number one fashion doll was (and it is nowadays) Licca-chan, produced by Takara itself.
Barbie was not really popular in Japan because of her western beauty standards: tall, adult, blonde and very emancipated. Japanese young girls preferred a more familiar fashion doll with more Japanese attributes when it comes to the body and fashion: tiny, cute and family oriented. Thus, Takara made her Barbie (named by collector simply Takara Barbie) quite different from the original one: big Anime-style eyes, a little shorter, wearing more Japanese-inspired fashion (including fancy Kimono).
Also Ken received a makeover by Takara, to make him more similar to Japanese men. Other Barbie friends or family members were not included in the Takara lines. Instead, Takara introduced two new friends: Flora and Ellie (now called by collectors Old Flora and Old Ellie, since these names were used for other Jenny's friends).
So, now that I told you about Takara Barbie... Where is Jenny? Well, in 1986 the license by Mattel ended and Takara re-named Barbie into Jenny! Since the doll was completely different from a Barbie by Mattel, Takara owned the right to produce her but they couldn't use the name Barbie anymore. Takara also created a story to explain the name's change: Barbie played a character named Jenny in a musical, this was so successful so she decided to change her name. Quite a weird story, but at least they tried to justify this change.
So, in 1986 Jenny was born. She was very popular and Takara made a lot of dolls, playsets and fashions through the years. One of the things I love about Jenny are her different Friends! She has probably around 100 friends, with different personalities, facemolds, style and origins. Each character is so unique and different.
Takara produced thousands of playline dolls, but also some great collector and limited edition dolls over the years. The playline fashion dolls (the one targeted for children) were produced until the beginning of 2010s with a last return of Jenny. Probably Jenny didn't sell well so it was discontinued. TakaraTomy still produces and sells Jenny and her friends doll in some specific stores, like Licca Castle ( a Licca-Chan themed park in Fukushima, Japan) and Licca Castle Small Shop in Tokyo. These dolls are more aimed to collectors, they are produced in Japan and they normally wear a simple white dress, since different outfits and accessories are available as well.
To conclude, I just wanted to share with you a little introduction to the beautiful Jenny fashion doll. If you want to know more about Jenny, please keep following this blog; I'm gonna post reviews of my doll, pictures and more.
You can also follow me on Instagram @Doll_Wonderland to see more Jenny and her friends pics.
Have a nice day!
In this new post I would like to talk about a doll named Jenny. Probably most of western doll collectors never heard of her, since it's a doll sold in Japan only.
Indeed, Jenny is a Japanese doll produced by the toy company Takara (now known as TakaraTomy after the fusion with Tomy, another Japanese toys producer). Do you know what's funny about her? Jenny was Barbie!!! Yes, this can make no sense but let me explain it. In 1981 Mattel, probably because of Barbie's poor sales in Japan, decided to give the license to produce Barbie to the Japanese toy company Takara. Takara was very successful in the Japanese doll market, since the number one fashion doll was (and it is nowadays) Licca-chan, produced by Takara itself.
Barbie was not really popular in Japan because of her western beauty standards: tall, adult, blonde and very emancipated. Japanese young girls preferred a more familiar fashion doll with more Japanese attributes when it comes to the body and fashion: tiny, cute and family oriented. Thus, Takara made her Barbie (named by collector simply Takara Barbie) quite different from the original one: big Anime-style eyes, a little shorter, wearing more Japanese-inspired fashion (including fancy Kimono).
Takara Barbie wearing a Kimono
Also Ken received a makeover by Takara, to make him more similar to Japanese men. Other Barbie friends or family members were not included in the Takara lines. Instead, Takara introduced two new friends: Flora and Ellie (now called by collectors Old Flora and Old Ellie, since these names were used for other Jenny's friends).
Takara Ken
So, now that I told you about Takara Barbie... Where is Jenny? Well, in 1986 the license by Mattel ended and Takara re-named Barbie into Jenny! Since the doll was completely different from a Barbie by Mattel, Takara owned the right to produce her but they couldn't use the name Barbie anymore. Takara also created a story to explain the name's change: Barbie played a character named Jenny in a musical, this was so successful so she decided to change her name. Quite a weird story, but at least they tried to justify this change.
Outdoor Jenny, from my collection
So, in 1986 Jenny was born. She was very popular and Takara made a lot of dolls, playsets and fashions through the years. One of the things I love about Jenny are her different Friends! She has probably around 100 friends, with different personalities, facemolds, style and origins. Each character is so unique and different.
Erise/Elise, a Jenny's friend from my collection
Takara produced thousands of playline dolls, but also some great collector and limited edition dolls over the years. The playline fashion dolls (the one targeted for children) were produced until the beginning of 2010s with a last return of Jenny. Probably Jenny didn't sell well so it was discontinued. TakaraTomy still produces and sells Jenny and her friends doll in some specific stores, like Licca Castle ( a Licca-Chan themed park in Fukushima, Japan) and Licca Castle Small Shop in Tokyo. These dolls are more aimed to collectors, they are produced in Japan and they normally wear a simple white dress, since different outfits and accessories are available as well.
To conclude, I just wanted to share with you a little introduction to the beautiful Jenny fashion doll. If you want to know more about Jenny, please keep following this blog; I'm gonna post reviews of my doll, pictures and more.
You can also follow me on Instagram @Doll_Wonderland to see more Jenny and her friends pics.
Have a nice day!
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