Manbun BMR1959 Review

A big part of me wishes that I’d ordered all of the BMR1959 dolls, but I simply didn’t have the budget to do so.  Sigh, money limits so much, doesn’t it?

That said, I had my favorites from the line, which is more than others, and I feel fortunate. I ended up with the curvy gal with gorgeous features and a dark skin tone, and, of course, the first two male made to move dolls that Mattel has ever released. 

How would you like to meet “The Manbun” today?  Well, thankfully the sun came out long enough for me to get a few pictures. Here he is:

One word:  Manbun – Haha, I couldn’t resist.  Who knew a hairstyle could be so divisive?

I know I’ve said it before, but I’m thrilled that Mattel is finally, finally giving us made to move males.  No more straight, unbendable limbs, or bent limbs that cannot be straightened – hurrah for articulation!  I hope that Mattel won’t make us wait too long for more of them.  More skin tones, more hair styles, please and thank you in advance :)

Speaking of hairstyles – I love this one.  Flocked hair on the sides with surprisingly long hair for the manbun – more than what’s necessary, really.  I’m so happy he has “real hair” (it’s synthetic, but at least it’s not hard plastic), and yes, it’s soft on both the flocked sides and the longer tresses.  I’ll be taking his hair down for you…I’ve already seen the picture – wince!  More on that in a bit.

Of the three dolls, this one’s fashion statement seems to be the closest one to actual 90’s wear.  As with the other reviews, let’s start with the accessories, shall we?

Unlike his two friends, this doll isn’t wearing boots, but sandals:

These sandals are the first shoes that I’ve reviewed from this collection that aren’t one, solid color.  I saw a lot of sandals in the 90’s, Birkenstocks mostly, and yes they were frequently worn with socks.  I’m not sure if it was fashionable or not.  I mostly wore mine during the warmer months without socks.

You know what I would have loved to have seen these dolls wear on their feet?  Clogs.  I’m not kidding.  I mean, what’s more iconic in footwear from the 90’s than clogs?  Clogs, a pair of jeans, and a flannel shirt with a loose woven cap.  Haha.  Perhaps I’m just not fashionable myself.  As with the other boots, I’m not wild about these, but they’re more in keeping with the era they’re meant to represent, so that’s something.

Next up, the fanny pack:

Here’s another cringey, but honest piece from the 90’s, I had one myself, too, when I was in my tweens.  In my defense, if there is such a thing, it was out of necessity.  My dad felt like I was too young and too forgetful to carry a purse, and I felt weird hauling a backpack around. 

To see a fanny pack on this doll actually made me laugh a bit because I’d actually blocked out that I had one.  I wish the one I’d had was as stylish as this one, it’s actually pretty cool.  As with all of the pieces from this line, it’s quite well made and I’ll undoubtedly use it at some point in the future.  Please note that the zippers and pockets are not real on this one.

Next up, the glasses:

Uh…I’m not really sure what to say about these glasses. They’re…odd.

I think a little confused because they seem to want to be glasses that double as safety goggles. They’re certainly not to my taste, but then again, very little of the fashion from the BMR1959 line is. Though the green-haired fellow had amazing sunglasses.

This brings us to my favorite piece from this doll; the over-sized hoodie:

That’s a very ‘90’s fit, I remember people absolutely swimming in their clothes. 

I so wish this didn’t have the “BMR1959” branding on it, because apart from that, I really like it.  I like the oversized fit and the colors – it just looks comfortable and inviting, something you could wear while snuggling up on the couch when it’s chilly outside.

As with the other pieces, this is well-stitched and, like the puffy jacket, this is nice on the inside as well as the out. 

The doll’s pose has a small plastic piece holding his hand in the pocket – yes, the pocket is real.  Carefully remove that with small scissors, don’t just yank, you risk damaging the fabric.

Lastly, he’s wearing a pair of long shorts:

There are people saying they don’t understand the length, but again, this was a very ‘90’s thing.  Longer shorts were everywhere on beaches, at pool parties, and so on and so forth.  The branding is still present and, as with most of the colors in this series, they’re not my cup of tea.

Like the dress on the curvy doll, this isn’t a double-sided piece.  I’d love to see these pieces made without the branding.

But what of the manbun doll himself?  The face appears unique, and this is the first time I’ve seen a Ken with a non-hard plastic manbun.

He has a non-traditionally attractive face; his features are sharp, but I’d like them to be more well-defined than they are.  Unfortunately, he hasn’t been given any sort of shading on his face, which has left him looking a bit bland and more than a little flat unless you get the lighting “just so” (and as you can see, I didn’t quite manage it).

His grey eyes are soulful, his brows have a lovely shape, and I like the shape of his lips.  That said, they are a little too dark for his skin tone and it just seems “off” to me.  Yes, I’m well aware there are people – both male and female – with naturally dark lips who have very light skin, but in the case of this doll, it just doesn’t seem to work.  It’s that aesthetic thing again, it all comes down to personal taste.

Something a lot of folks aren’t fans of is his manbun, because, for whatever reason, they don’t like manbuns in general.  I’m fine with them, in fact I find them rather appealing, but I know they’re not for everyone:

His flocked hair on either side of his face is extremely soft to the touch and the manbun hair itself appears to be deceptively longer than what I was expecting, with quite a bit of “extra” sticking out of the bottom. I thought about trimming it down, but I wasn’t sure and held off.

Unlike the curvy girl, with this one, I decided to take this one’s hair down…and instantly regretted it.

Dafuq…

It's been in the manbun for a bit too long and, frankly, looks bonkers.  I’m going to give it a quick rinse, comb it down, and see if I can’t style it a little bit before he’s sent off to experience some magic of his own.

There are some people who have transformed him into quite the rocker, which I think is kind of great – might do the same with him, make him quite a funky rocker.  We’ll see.

But what about his figure and flexibility?

His body, much like his green-haired friend from the same collection, is again more muscular than fashionista Kens, but not as bulky as the Superman doll.  He’s exactly the same articulation as made to move females, again not lacking the bend at the elbow like the curvy females (yes, I’m still griping about that).

Unlike the two other dolls I’ve gotten from the BMR1959 collection, this fellow has no manicure to speak of:

That said, he still has a very nice pose to his hands and I, for one, am really happy that Mattel is moving away from the basic, made to move hands that I dislike so very much.

I was asked on Facebook how dark his skin was, compared to the vampire Barbies from the Twilight series. The only doll I have is “Bella”, post vampire transformation. I decided to show a picture of the two of them next to each other.

As you can see, while he is quite pale, he has a warmth to his skin that the Bella doll doesn’t. I hope this is helpful.

As I’ve said in my last couple of posts, I’m well aware that nude doll photos can be somewhat controversial (my comment section had some … less than happy words waiting for me on my first post).  But my view is pretty simple on this:  everyone has a body, they’re nothing to be ashamed of, and children don’t sexualize bodies – adults do, and then they teach children to do the same.

Thanks so much for stopping in, I hope you enjoyed this review.If I’ve missed anything, just let me know in the comments.Sadly, this is the last review of the BMR1959 dolls you’ll see from me…unless I crack and order more.I have been eyeballing the doll with the braids…the question is, can I sell this as an early Christmas gift…hmmm.