March 17, 2004

{ Junko Mizuno's Miznotic Fantasy Dolls }

Junko Mizuno is best known for her retelling of classic fairy tales in a cutesy-anime meets ultra-violent-psychedelica graphic novel style. So far she has tackled Cinderella, Princess Mermaid and Hansel and Gretel to much critical acclaim. Her take on these classics is often described as disturbing, and owes more to the original darker tellings of these stories than the currently prevailing Disney versions. Her mixture of perverse sex, bizarre yet strangely attractive character designs, violence and more violence has led to design contracts with clothing designer Fine, as well as the exquisite line of dolls that is the true subject of this review. The Miznotic Fantasy series includes original character designs rendered in a vinyl format. So far the line includes three different characters (Shiori, Chika and Fumi) in tall fully-formed versions like Fumi pictured here, and smaller super-deformed versions that have a more hallucinatory fetal look. In addition, Chika has been offered in 3 "flavored" color variants- grape, peach and mint. Each figure is deliciously detailed, and the tall versions come with clothing and tons of bizarre accessories. They are boxed in window-packaging that's suitable for display, but there's no reason to resist the urge to remove these lovelies from their cardboard prisons. Mizuno's design infuses a certain underage sexiness and a Mark Ryden-meets-Hello Kitty-on-acid feel to the dolls that you really have to see to believe. The dolls range in price from $40 for the large size to $30 for the smaller super-deforms, depending on where you can find them. I'm not a vinyl-toy fanatic, but I can tell you upfront that given the size of the figures (around 10 inches) and the number of accessories, as well as the detail in paint and clothing, that is one hell of a deal for collectible designer vinyl-toy-art. I ordered mine from sweatyfrog.com, who sent them promptly and well-packaged to prevent any damage. The dolls have an eerie presence and there's something that just seems so delightfully wrong about them- from their fetishized lingerie-like outfits, to their anatomically correct chests, or the absolutely whacked-out accessories (raw meat anyone?) these are not your little sister's Barbies. In fact, I wouldn't even leave Barbie in the same room with these dolls. They'd probably tie her up and molest her before cannibalizing her alive. They are that bizarre. So, scare a loved one today and make a gift of one, or at least pick up one of Junko's graphic novels. You won't be disappointed, but you may be unsettled and a bit oddly aroused.

     » Order Tall Miznotic Fantasy Dolls from sweatyfrog.com
     » Order Junko Mizuno Graphic Novels from ningyoushi.com
     » Visit Junko Mizuno's official website, link to Fine clothing, or just learn more about Junko

By Adam in Toys | Comments: