This week, a new sub-brand graced us with its presence: GRACE OF FANREAL. The Kumadoll vendor-exclusive, Grace of Fanreal, launched yesterday with a small selection of 3 dolls. As the name suggests, the heads and bodies are made by Fanreal, but with an extra perk: the makeup is done by a Japanese workshop called CUTEMORE. Known for their doll supplies, wigs, and special makeup, CUTEMORE levels them up in terms of cuteness and realism.

Grace of Fanreal’s heads (and one of the bodies) are designed by aotan, a relatively famous Japanese doll photographer. Most likely, you’ve seen one of his photosets before. The biggest question is whether Grace of Fanreal will be exclusive to Japan – or will they appear on Kumadoll’s English website one day? Although Fanreal ships globally, the custom head makeup from CUTEMORE could potentially limit them, but only time will tell.

168F Sakurako (Z02)

Grace of Fanreal launched with 3 heads, representing 3 generations. The first is Sakurako, a beautiful Japanese face of an “adult woman.” Paired with Fanreal’s 168F body, she’s super pretty, a little mature, and has a meek smile that’s between shy and seductive.

157E Nao (Z01)

The next head is Nao, as we bring in the “fashionable college girl.” While her style doesn’t really exude “college girl,” she looks interesting and realistic, nonetheless. Her face reminds me of Top-sino’s style.

156D Wakana (A07)

Last but not least, Wakana arrives with a brand-new (and exclusive) 156D body. A girl in her “final teens,” she’s the cutesy and youthful one of the bunch. The new body seems pretty proportional, and the legs aren’t as stubby as Fanreal’s 155F, though there isn’t a clear view of her body. Expression-wise, she looks shy and playful.

Conclusion

Overall, Grace of Fanreal utilizes the manufacturing prowess of Fanreal and makeup skills of CUTEMORE to bring aotan’s vision to life. While many brands have Japanese-inspired dolls, I assume most aren’t designed by actual Japanese people. Aotan definitely brings a more authentic Japanese experience, expanding the Fanreal line with grace. As previously mentioned, they’re exclusive to Kuma-doll and is only available in Japan at the moment. Maybe one day, the rest of the world can experience them, and hopefully, they’ll have more heads and bodies by then. However, it’s typically uncommon for a vendor-exclusive brand to keep growing (due to limited reach), but only time will tell.

Thoughts on the Japanese-inspired Grace of Fanreal brand? Comment below!