#18 and #19 - the Resurrection of Misaki

One of my very favorite dolls in my collection is Honey Harajuku Misaki.  She has been in my collection since 2006.

Honey has received more play and photo time than any doll I own.  Unfortunately, she keeps being pushed aside to allow deboxing and redressing of new dolls that arrive.  That doesn't mean I love her or the Misaki line any less.   

Maybe a little history is necessary here.

The Misaki (Nippon) line of dolls was created by Integrity Toys (IT) specifically for the Japanese market.   They were the predecessor of the Poppy Parker line created in 2009 for the American market.  Misaki dolls were the first IT dolls with the ankle joints.  The Poppy Parker body is very similar except it has larger breasts.  They can often wear the same clothing.

IT really pushed this line in its initial years.  Several U.S. collectors quickly jumped on the bandwagon, including me.   In 2006 there were 16 versions of Misaki produced AND a line of clothing separates!  I own eight of these and was ecstatic to add Tokyo Here We Go Marui One Shinjuku a few weeks ago.  (See blog entry: #10 of 2019 Tokyo Here We Go Marui  )

Nine Misaki were released in 2007, eight in 2008, eleven in 2009, ten in 2010, and then Poppy Parker took off!   Collectors have never been told this, but it seems that IT pushed Misaki aside for Poppy.   In 2011 there were only five versions produced, none were released in 2012, only two in 2013, two in 2014 (plus three dolls produced using the Misaki body for the IT Convention that year), two in 2015, two in 2016, and one in 2017.  There are still a few of us die-hard Misaki fans holding on (at least by our fingertips).

In 2017, IT did something it had never done before.  They included a Misaki/Amelie giftset as part of the IT Convention Collection - Drawn To You (photo by IT)

In 2018, the W Club had its first Misaki exclusive.  It seems that IT is testing the collecting waters for Misaki in the U.S. market.  In addition to the W Club exclusive, there were five other Misaki versions released and a OOAK doll presented at the IT Convention. (I added three of versions to my own collection last year.)

Here we are halfway through 2019, and only one version of Misaki has been released this year, and it was to the Japanese market.  Fortunately, I was able to get one!  Her name is Malibu Mood Misaki and she was created for Azone in an edition size of only 300.

I was born in the 1960's, so I remember playing with Malibu Barbies.  The purchase of this doll was a no-brainer for me.  Here is a closeup photo of #18 of 2019, Malibu Mood Misaki.

Like many collectors, I sell some of my dolls to fund the purchase of others.  Unfortunately, one of my girls, Patent Please Misaki from 2006, was adopted out several years ago.  I have missed her in my collection, and her secondary market price has kept her out of my purchase range.  ... Until recently.  I couldn't believe my fortune at finding one NRFB for a great price.

#19 of 2019 is Patent Please Misaki.  Although they are still NRFB, I hope to find a special display space soon for all my Misaki girls and get them all out together.