The History of Barbie in Japan

You've probably heard about Barbie, the iconic fashion doll, but have you heard about the history of Barbie dolls in Japan? In this video, we will be looking at how Japanese-exclusive Barbie dolls have evolved. There was even a time where Barbie looked like a manga character!
Want to learn more? Check out these links:
🌈 apnews.com/423582fb2e54499284...
🌈 www.nytimes.com/1996/12/22/we...
🌈 www.latimes.com/archives/la-x...
🌈 • Review of 1978 レディマリア ...
🌈 www.myvintagebarbies.com/taka...
🌈 www.barbigirl.com/maba.htm
🌈 www.flickr.com/photos/999doll...
🌈 www.flickr.com/photos/deanree...
Copyright Disclaimer:
Under Section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, allowance is made for "fair use" for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship and research.
Barbie and associated characters are owned by Mattel.
#barbie #japanesebarbie #mattel #takara #bandai #maba #mababarbie

[@chonkokong513]

So anime barbie was a thing before the videogames movie

[@HaveYouHeardDolls]

Haha, I was definitely surprised that Barbie had an "anime phase" in the 80s. Thanks for watching!

[@eileenduffy4984]

I collected Barbie dolls when I was younger and had the chance to purchase a Japanese version of Barbie in the mid '80s at a doll show. It's called Happy Bridal Barbie and has a pink wedding dress and looks a lot like Sailor Moon

[@Deva7]

I'm a fan of Takara Jenny and Licca, but had no idea Jenny doll actually originated from Takara Barbie! What a surprise, so you could say Takara Jenny is actually a spinoff of Mattel's attempt at creating Japanese version of Barbie. So cool! I think not many people know this, even in Japan, Jenny is just Jenny to them. Thank you for this amazing video, I believe you're the only one on YT who's making such content, so we need more of this! Slowly but surely you will find a wider audience, because you deserve it, and you're one of a kind creator :-)

[@HaveYouHeardDolls]

Thank you, you're so sweet! ❤️I was also surprised to see how intertwined Barbie and Jenny were. In fact, Takara would also bring Hiromichi Nakano back to design some Jenny dolls. Fashion dolls, like Barbie and Jenny, have so many interesting back stories that I want to research and share on this channel. I'm so glad to have viewers like you who also appreciate the rich, yet untapped history of these dolls! 😊

[@internetuser9773]

Imagine growing up with these

[@VanAkita]

The fact that Ricca-chan sold better than Barbie when they first were rival products only proves how Japan's culture was always filled with youthfullness and obsession over it.

[@orange-ranger7089]

you're forgetting these are kids toys. a doll looking young like the kids playing with them, yet still fashionable and pretty proportionate, would be more marketable for children, and i'm surprised western culture haven't picked up on that. licca-chan is also far more relateable to your typical japanese/asian kid than barbie, a white girl. there are just so many factors, unrelated to licca-chan's appearance, that made licca-chan #1 in japan

[@VanAkita]

@@orange-ranger7089 Kids' toys though are always victims of heavy marketing and it is undeniable that marketing varies across the world depending on the country. In Japan you are considered attractive if you have crooked teeth and a life routine that makes you look 10 years younger. Their obsession over youthfulness really shows in Ricca chan too. America on the other hand chooses to teach kids about adulthood and prepare them for it through toys. Barbie had a million jobs any young girl can relate to, a relatively settled up life but still doing more as the years go by. When a girl plays with a doll that looks like them currently, they act out the present. With Barbie, they act out the future.

[@Ri57490]

Japanese laws are lenient with p*edophilia, so it's not a surprise. You even see teen girls being 'sold' in the middle of Tokyo City centre and police do nothing about it. If companies want kids to relate to the dolls, they should make child dolls with child bodies (which exist in many countries) but these dolls have child faces with adult/older teen bodies - which is disturbing.

[@daviejz6698]

These dolls are not half as disturbing as American Bratz dolls.

[@VanAkita]

@@daviejz6698 Bratz are brilliant 😅they represent the edgy self we look back and cringe at as adults

[@dotdotdotdotdotdotdottod]

imagine back in the day they made a barbie with actual japanese features though. insted of just western barbie wirh japanese styled makeup and cloths i bet that would have ran over well, considering they keep pushing a blond doll when she obviously feel out of favor for japanese media said it themselfs they would rather have a dark haired doll insted of a blond hair doll (not to mention the childten therr marking too dont even have blomd hair. before anyone says blond barbie sold more its only because of suppliy and distribution as mattel really tried to push the blond barbie narritive and made only what was avalible to sell so of course the doll is gonna sell when shes the only one avalible. aslo i still dont get why mattel had to struggle to "balance" the beauty ideals when they could just make ethically japanese dolls like they do in the west themselfs with black barbie and kira,miko,lea,kayla

[@kyliee6406]

Omg the Takara Barbie/Jenny is so beautiful! Her face is so sweet now I want to get one someday hehe

[@sashazoprak3253]

I read about it but this is the first time i see the video about Barbie in Japan. I'm from Russia and as a child I had both western blonde Barbie and Jenny with brown hair. As being asian myself I felt Jenny is more relatable to me, with her softer features and pale skin tone, you know it's hard to get good tan in Russia, lol. But I loved them both! Thank you for posting the video!

[@HaveYouHeardDolls]

Thanks for watching 🇷🇺❤️! It's definitely interesting to see how different yet similar Jenny and Barbie are, and their histories are intertwined.

[@FerrariCarr]

I have a Hello Kitty Barbie from Japan, and I absolutely love her! She has the Superstar face mold, but her eyes are noticeably bigger and rounder, like anime eyes. They’re also brown, which coupled with her blonde hair, make her very striking.

[@kaitie648]

Yes! Finally, a comprehensive history of Barbie's Japanese Endeavors! I am lucky enough to have two Japanese Barbie dolls. I have a Takara Barbie, as well as one that was made by Bandai (MaBa) I also have the Japanese release of the Travellin' Sisters Playset.

[@4everbratz]

This video deserves more views. 😍

[@HaveYouHeardDolls]

Thank you!!

[@lil_wildboar]

It's only 4 months.

[@jacov127]

^But the Robovoice is spooky

[@kaitlynrice6626]

This is EXACTLY the type of channel I was looking for!!!

[@HaveYouHeardDolls]

Thank you so much!! As a doll collector, I really wanted to make a channel to compile this often scattered information into one place. I'm so glad that you enjoy it, Kaitlyn! ❤️

[@Zulf85]

TIL Jenny was literally originally Japanese Barbie. That explains a lot lmao

[@Junpeixizumi]

Lady Maria was so cute????

[@HaveYouHeardDolls]

I agree! Very elegant, yet slightly wistful. I hope to have a Lady Maria doll in my collection someday

[@norijean3279]

Wow, this short documentary you created was very informative and simply fascinating to watch. 😍 That story indeed is very complex and something every collector needs to know. I hope you create more like this! You could cover the interesting transition period for Mattell in late 60's/early 70's when they rebranded Barbie, cut production costs and created hugely successful Malibu Barbie line that led to the superstar era in the late 70's. I hope you cover that in your next documentary. Great work! ✌️💕

[@HaveYouHeardDolls]

Thank you so much for your kind words, and I'm very happy that you enjoyed this video!! It has been fun to research the history of Mattel's foreign activities, and some of the unique dolls and products that came out of it. Mattel during the 1970s - especially during the oil crisis - is definitely an interesting topic, and I will certainly consider it for a future documentary. I highly recommend (if you haven't read it already) designer Carol Spencer's autobiography, Dressing Barbie, which goes into detail about how Barbie was affected by the oil crisis among other things. I just love how much Barbie evolved within that decade alone and how the designers were able to cleverly overcome manufacturing setbacks to make such opulent fashions. 😊❤️

[@xiomarapena5020]

The original manufacturing was in Japan because costs were low as the country was still recovering economically from Hiroshima. How ironic that the movie Oppenheimer & Barbie were released on the same day and this fact never mentioned.

[@1merkd]

Could you please do a video on the history of Disney Princess dolls and a video on the history of mermaid dolls this video is really cool

[@doll326]

❤❤❤thanks for sharing such an informative history of jenny with valuable sources !!

[@AnzuMiruku]

This was so interesting! I love Japan and I adore Licca-chan dolls. Since childhood, I have always been attracted to sparkly big-eyed dolls. I lost interest in Barbie after the 90s because they made her eyes smaller and less sparkly again. My favorite Barbie dolls are the early 90s Barbie and Skipper dolls. Skipper especially had those big twinkling anime-like eyes and sweet round face. I wish they would bring that style back! Until then, I have Licca-chan. 💖 I also had no clue that Jenny was so connected to Barbie! I still need to get a Jenny doll.

[@HaveYouHeardDolls]

Thank you!! The Skippers of the late 80s and early 90s definitely remind me a lot of Licca Chan. It's very interesting to see how Barbie and the Jenny dolls' histories are intertwined

[@DannyoffireAwaken]

Absolutely agree!

[@Ri57490]

People who claim to 'love' Japan obviously don't know what a hell-hole it really is. If you lived there and got groped, nobody would bat an eyelid. Report to the police and they would do nothing, maybe even blame you.

[@AnzuMiruku]

@@Ri57490 I’ve been to Japan twice. I would not claim to love a country I’ve never been to. I’m very aware of groping issues in Japan and was lucky to not experience it. I empathize with anyone who has though and wish it wouldn’t happen. However, that has nothing to do with the video or my comment. No country is perfect or 100% safe unfortunately. I’m still allowed to love various other things about Japan. The people I met and came to know there were wonderful.

[@hookedonfandom]

Super interesting! The TTS struggled with a lot of the words, which made it difficult to follow and not very pleasant to listen to, even though the content kept me engaged. (I checked a more recent video and it looks like you have a different system? I think that's great.)

[@steven_ryan]

I have been wondering about this process for years!!! Thank you for making this video!

[@darrellwallace8491]

This is such fascinating information! I love this series on KZbin. It's EXCELLENT!

[@Rand0.Mality.74]

I've learned more about Barbie today (binge watching your videos) than ever I'm my life. Thank you for such awesome, informative content. I would LOVE to see you make a video about KENNER'S SEA WEES line of mermaid dolls with babies and pets from the late 70s/early 80s. 🧜🏼‍♀️

[@tabithaprovan957]

This is such a helpful video! I know a fair amount about Mattel's American Barbie market, but no matter how much I tried to learn with my limited experience in their Japanese counterparts, I got all of the brands and characters helplessly confused. This clears a lot up, thank you!

[@Stardustceiling]

I enjoyed this video, thanks for making it. You asked if the viewers were interested in any other doll videos. I would love to see one made about the Crissy and family and friends dolls.

[@liiann6]

Ahhh the music started at 7:50!! I was like OMG. THIS IS FROM OLD BARBIE PC GAMESSS! This was extremely informative and the music was icing on the cake! Subbed!

[@mjhedgehog873]

The Japanese dolls looks way more prettier

[@Ri57490]

Nah, it's creepy how some of them look like young children, even though Barbie is supposed to be an adult. Knowing how lenient Japanese police are with p*edophila, it's not a surprise.

[@teteahauchhum4079]

wtf you're saying MATTEL barbie is way more 💯better it's the original one too

[@haizelmesina6824]

True

[@itsbritneybyotch7471]

​@@teteahauchhum4079 original would be bild lily, but Barbie is still the best feminist when it comes to dolls

[@tomsanchez7556]

They are gorgeous

[@mschivas9356]

Beutifully put. Your footage and research are great.

[@xXSakura_KingscholarXx]

These dolls are so cute! I would have loved these growing up!

[@AN-inhSongMinh-]

great video, I really love Asian dolls especially Japan's, you should totally make a video about sailor moon dolls and their variations

[@StrykerMagnum]

So dolls are kind of on the far periphery of my interests, but I'm going to subscribe anyway because I enjoyed this video and would like to see you get a signal boost. There is definitely an audience for your content, much like PatMac's toy and nostalgia-related content. Hope to see you get more views!

[@angelsunlight]

This was an awesome video 🩷

[@throwbackdolls5415]

I remember seeing a Japanese Exclusive Barbie on a Teen Skipper body at Instagram. I think it was a joint collaboration with Sanrio specifically the Hello Kitty brand.

[@itsmich4el]

I would love to see the history for the Once Upon a Zombie dolls. They had so much planned and they just vanished

[@Eepop_stuffs]

This makes me wonder how It'd work out if Licca Chan ever tried to make their way onto the western market.

[@kittyallen5294]

I'm going to get at least one Licca Chan but they are all so gorgeous I don't know which to pick. Any suggestions on the quintessential Licca?

[@Ri57490]

Licca Chan looks like Skipper and Skipper was less popular than Barbie - so there you go.

[@giselletorres4156]

Japanese and Kawaii culture is much popular now in the west than it was back then. Especially with Licca-Chan's Sanrio and Anime collabs, the Nezuko doll is hella cute.

[@EeveelutionStorm]

@@giselletorres4156 Honestly, if they released them here, I bet they'd sell like hot cakes.

[@MissEddieBlueKawaiiKrafts]

I spy Azusa Barbie at the end 😸🎀💜🛼

[@HaveYouHeardDolls]

Good eye! 😁

[@kucheryavyisekas]

Thank you! That was actually quite interesting

[@darrellwallace8491]

Please do a video on the artist BILLY BOY* who in the 1980s, convinced the worlds most famous fashion designers to create one-of-a-kind fashions for the Barbie doll. He was also responsible for the Andy Warhol portrait of the Barbie doll during the 80s. Billy boy published a book on the Barbie doll titled "Barbie; her life and times". Billy Boy also created in 1989 his own high fashion doll Mdvanii. Would love to see how you'd give this your WONDERFUL touch. I love what you've done so far! It's amazing!

[@nicolassotomayor5940]

Wonderful video 💗😻🙀 what is the name of the song from 6:04 min?????

[@omarrodriguez-xu2wl]

Excellent and intersting info for Barbie doll collectors. Greetings from México!

[@kittyallen5294]

I would very much enjoy a history of Kurhn dolls (the first 4 anniversary dolls are my grail dolls) and I'm interested to learn about Korean barbie type dolls. Having grown up with western dolls, this 54 yr old white granma has developed an interest in collecting eastern fashion dolls

[@HaveYouHeardDolls]

Great suggestions! I hope to cover more Asian doll brands in the future

[@jamesprovost2602]

9:07 id like a more in-depth look into that doll line. That is amazing

[@mizuho0907]

本家米国のバービーとタカラのは余りにも違うわｗｗ タカラのが大人の事情でジェーに改名したのも納得

[@mizuho0907]

あと、解説が英語なのでなにいってるのかわかりゃん(´Д｀;)

[@bugieric97]

What a great video. You have a new subscriber.

[@darrellwallace4182]

This is completely FASCINATING!

[@Telekadolls]

Thanks for post this video

[@csillaghorcsog]

I love this video!

[@edvink5131]

AMAZING VIDEO😍 ALREADY SUBSCRIBED☺️ It would be very cool to learn more about the My Scene Barbie brand👌🏼

[@HaveYouHeardDolls]

Definitely planning for a My Scene video - stay tuned!

[@fashiondolldreamer]

My Barbie BFF's photo of the body comparisons to Francie is at 5:45! (Thanks for crediting him, BTW!! He will appreciate that. :) )

[@HaveYouHeardDolls]

That's awesome, please tell him I say thanks!! It was incredibly useful for the Lady Maria segment 😊

[@SRs2SM]

Great video !

[@icecreammm665]

the reason "blonde hair were seen as strange" is i think kinda weird? is this the actual reason? i think barbie being 16 or an adult is more of a reason, because at that time many manga characters were blonde.

[@icecreammm665]

maybe im mistaken though because maybe not until 70s blonde started to be a popular hair color in manga

[@kittycatcuties]

Mattel has had a pattern for a long time of not knowing their customers well enough

[@Oliviagebelcook]

Love how u used Barbie music in the background 😍😍😍

[@wazburg]

I love the Detective Barbie and Barbie Beauty Styler Music! P.S In Japan there's a "Barbie Award" Britney Spears won it in the early 00's plus other legends like Kyary Kyary Pamyu and Ayumi Hamasaki

[@lillyharleyfloreanoruiz1241]

Thank you 🙏💜

[@NPGLAMB]

Awesome video.

[@valerieguzman6645]

Can you do one on Tomy Cool Bratz all I know is they only released the 1st line of Bratz but not many people know this 😊👍

[@hannamills1985]

I love this very interesting 😀

[@darrellwallace4182]

PLEASE do a documentary on the Designer-artist Billy Boy* and his work in the 80s with Mattel and the Barbie doll as well as his own high fashion doll MDVANII in 1989.

[@HaveYouHeardDolls]

Please check out KZbinr Dean Reen's Lady Maria review (www.youtube.com/watch?v=hW-J4...) and their comparison between Lady Maria, Francie, and Tuli-Chan (www.flickr.com/photos/deanreen/50007702226/ ) as seen at 05:48, if you're interested in seeing an up close look of this beautiful, vintage doll.

[@NesNes1616]

Is that a Barbie song in the background at the end?? It sounds super familiar!

[@asuka-dd5im]

1980年代に、日本で「タカラのジェニー人形」に、そっくりな人形を「バービー人形」として、マテル公式が販売していた事がありました。 ジェニー人形にそっくりなバービー人形の販売するマテルに対して、 ジェニー人形を販売しているタカラが、そっくり過ぎると抗議しても、似てないので問題はないと主張して、ジェニー人形にそっくりな人形を「バービー人形」として販売を強行してました。 タカラは、新聞に『そっくりさんへ』という意見広告を掲載していました。 このときの「タカラのジェニー人形に、そっくりな人形を、バービー人形として販売した騒動」を知っていると、「バービー人形」へのマイナスなイメージが強いです。 日本語での書き込みで、伝わるでしょうか？

[@dollylinkera]

I didnt know about all this interesting story about ma ba dolls

[@lucia_13_]

wow if when I was little licca chan dolls have been sold in spain im sure i would have wanted them they are sooo cute

[@stay_in_paris5351]

I need the name of the song at 14:18?????????

[@chrisandlife.5768]

3:53, there’s a dollar store in where they sell dolls called Eri Chan.

[@sleeperholdASMR]

How cool would Licca-Chan Nana and Hachi dolls be

[@segantoycollector7735]

Can you make video about Barbie in other countries? Like Brazil and Saudi Arabia for example. I have some Japanese Barbie commercials, I just haven't uploaded it yet.

[@HaveYouHeardDolls]

Thank you so much for uploading these commercials, and I'm so glad you were able to come across this video! It was so useful when I was researching for this project. I definitely have plans for doing more country-specific Barbie videos.

[@layagaming7492]

I don't know this but I understand now

[@wilterfilho]

What’s the name of the song around 9:30? Loved this video 😍

[@HaveYouHeardDolls]

I think it's called "I'm Gonna Shine" and was featured in some Barbie PC games from the late 90s: kzbin.info/www/bejne/f5fJZWCqaLWJeKM

[@wilterfilho]

@@HaveYouHeardDolls Thank you so much, this song is so relaxing

[@MrKashifdon]

The music around 9:30 is pretty relaxing, wondering where it’s from

[@HaveYouHeardDolls]

I think it's called "Gonna Shine," it's from one of the Barbie computer games from the late 90s.

[@darrellwallace4182]

Please do a review of the high fashion doll MDVANII by billy boy.

[@unluckycharm1340]

Oml the anime barbie is soo cute like that faceculp is soooo sweet and i act live in philip and they this variant before heree like 2001!

[@epicvocalovrcat13]

What is the song playing at 14:09? Great video btw

[@HaveYouHeardDolls]

Thanks, that song is called "Hey Beauty, I Don't Care." It was featured on a couple of the Barbie PC games from the late 90s and early 2000s kzbin.info/www/bejne/ipOTaGifg951jNE

[@epicvocalovrcat13]

@@HaveYouHeardDolls That's where I knew it from! Thank you!!!

[@MayaCreations95]

3:54 how you spell her name? I love this doll!! 😍💕

[@HaveYouHeardDolls]

I love her too! She's Eli or Eli-chan in English. I think in Japanese, it's エリ and エリちゃん, respectively, if you're looking at Japanese auction sites. There's a video game character with the same name, so you might want to add 'Barbie doll' or 'Iki Iki' to the name to weed out other results.

[@dionneking8]

she's beautiful

[@bluesira]

This video really suffers from the computer generated voiceover. I usually turn videos with computer generated voices off immediately but I watched about half of this video because I was interested in the subject matter but I had to give up. There are a ton of proper names and Japanese terms that the computer voice cannot handle, including the very basic brand name of Mattel. It made the audio nearly incomprehensible. Accurate user-created subtitles might have saved it, but there weren’t any, so I had to use the auto-generated subtitles. Since this tries to automatically transcribe the audio, though, it made even less sense. About the fifth time the computer read out “show oh manga”, I had to turn it off. There are lots of ways to save this video from its current state. Even if you just re-record the computer generated voice but add in phonetic spellings of foreign words & names, it would be better than the current audio. Still, I have to believe that a human voice, no matter how bad, would sound way better than this. Or if you can’t do any of that, please at least upload your own actual subtitles so that the video can be understood. Thank you.

[@After4th]

A big cultural difference why Barbie doesn't sell well in Japan. International standards for women push them to be attractive and sexually appealing. Japanese standards value youthfulness, cuteness, and innocence. Also apply to toys in general. Difficult for major toy franchises to penetrate the market because Japan already has a thriving toy industry with makers include Takara Tomy, Bandai, and Sanrio. When a western franchise becomes popular in Japan, domestic makers will pick up the license rather than import.

[@kollontai4545]

cool video

[@TO-nl6bq]

女の子にはリカちゃん コレクターにはバービー 大ざっぱだけどそんな感じがします

[@osvaldopaulo3369]

Nice

[@dennyd2928]

I kinda wanna know more about the actual anime face barbir lkke not takara like thwy amde it them selve

[@prismatism]

The video is informative but man do I hate those computer voices…

[@merrillyu-gi-ohfan01king]

I think about get a Licca doll

[@everythingchrisprime1189]

I went to a Thrift store and saw Jenny dolls and thought they were licca chan ripoffs.😭

[@marioholzel2823]

Hi! Qual o Nome ads musicas que você usou no vídeo? So cutie 😄🌼🌹

[@michelineglendinning6298]

The pronunciation is Mat-tel. The emphasis is on the last syllable “tel”. 😀

[@Dhdjksjsnsnsnnsnsna]

This is clearly a text-to-speech ai generated speech, though?

[@mariekanker-iq2wv]

9:12 - 10:50 whats the song

[@HaveYouHeardDolls]

It's "Gonna Shine" from one of the Barbie PC games - kzbin.info/www/bejne/f5fJZWCqaLWJeKM

[@mariekanker-iq2wv]

@@HaveYouHeardDolls thanks! :^)

[@veronicnan]

Barbie Takara really luxuary when they decorate hairs...Look better than Jenny for scale that has too small head.

[@davida.1030]

the robotic voice is spooky nice vid tho

[@gabrielvieira9877]

What about barbies in Brasil???

[@Rell_World]

Some one get Trixie Mattel on the phone. She needs to see this.

[@christophermoshier]

What the heck is Metle? I thought Mattel made Barbies.

[@mrabidos2173]

Cute, but i think I'll just definitely be sticking out myself to Barbie ❤

[@isabelamartins4772]

Você que

[@baboon5988]

Thats pretty- but licca chan is kinda cute but staying 6000000000 miles away

[@pone.lovable337]

バイビーどうぞイズマイティーン

[@LoveKanye-yz7ly]

I wonder if bratz has ever been sold in Japan

[@LoveKanye-yz7ly]

Just found out they were released through TOMY and they were called COOL BRATZ

[@HaveYouHeardDolls]

They were released by Tomy and later Takara (now part of Tomy). I have a video about this coming up soon, so stay tuned!

[@LoveKanye-yz7ly]

@@HaveYouHeardDolls ahhh I’m so excited 😭🥳

[@britneybritney1449]

"Barbie goes to Japan"

[@Im_awesome]

I own a takara Barbie new In box