Obitsu VS Barbie Made to Move

Many of you know that I love BJDs. I had never heard of Obitsu dolls until I did a review on them. Obitsu dolls come in many different sizes and their popular line is the 1/6 scale dolls. They appear very similar to other fashion dolls and can even use their clothes and accessories.

On the other side Barbie is so iconic and has been around for years! Recently Barbie made this really cool doll called ‘Barbie – Made to Move’. She is supposedly the ultimate poseable Barbie. 

So, I thought about making a comparison post between the Obitsu 27cm body vs Barbie‘s Made to Move. I won’t go into the history and background of Barbie or Obtsu and just focus on the dolls. Although, I would like to mention that Barbie has been evolving greatly within the past few years. They’ve been making different kinds of Barbie dolls which I think is fantastic. They now have a line of Barbies that come in different sizes, shapes, and colors. 

Obitsu Dolls have been around for a while as well. They are well known for their customization. You can buy anything from bust sizes, different heads, and different heights. There are other replaceable parts such as the hands that you can change as per your liking. 

So let’s get into it. Which doll is better? We are going to look at everything from the packaging to the posability. We’ll be counting the score for both dolls as we go along.

Let the comparison begin!

1. Packaging

I love how Obitsu dolls are shipped. They usually come in small bags. All the different parts you order come in separate little bags of their own too. Since they are made of plastic there really isn’t any cushioning. Its just them in the bag so it makes it easy to open. 

Barbie chains the doll up like a prisoner in a box. You have to spend like 30 minutes taking her out. Barbie makers, why did you tag her head to the back of the box? There was a tag similar to shopping tags that mounted her to the box. I had to cut it off to free her.

I understand that maybe you do it to prevent theft but man let’s not make people sweat to take the doll out!

Thanks for not giving me a headache when opening your product Obitsu…point goes to you.

Barbie 0:1 Obitsu

2. Hair 

You can buy Obitsu dolls with or without rooted hair. Rooted hair means the synthetic hair on the doll’s head is already attached to her. They can not come off unless you de-root them which takes time and knowledge. You can also get them without rooted hair and buy wigs of your own choice to change their look. This feature is similar to the larger BJD friends where you can also switch out wigs.

Barbies, for the most part, come with hair attached to them, in other words they have rooted hair. You can not change them unless you go through the de-rooting process. However that takes time and knowledge on how to do it properly as well.

For having hair variety, I award the point to Obitsu.

So, Barbie 0:2 Obitsu

3. Clothes

I was surprised when I removed the clothes off the Barbie and saw they had sculpted on underwear. One thing that always kind of baffles me for BJDs is why is there a need to have anatomically correct parts sculpted on. Personally I usually just cover them up anyway. So having this already built into Barbie is nice because it’s one less article of clothing I have to worry about layering on.

Also when you buy a Barbie they ALWAYS come with a outfit of some sort. It is nice because essentially you are getting a full set doll.

Obitsu dolls, on the other hand do not have any underwear sculpted on. The standard Obitsu actually doesn’t come with any clothes at all. It’s just the naked body.

So this point for clothes goes to Barbie.

Barbie 1:2 Obitsu

Bodies

I also have to give another point to Barbie for throwing in a mid torso joint. This helps her go from side to side. This is a default to the body. Obitsu dolls have them as well but I felt like barbie’s was easier to move.

Another point for Barbie there for a smooth moving torso joint. 

Barbie 2:2 Obitsu

Barbie has an interesting gap in her hips. It is there so that the Barbie can take her leg all the way back. This extra thigh gap basically helps her leg be able to move further up.

On the Obitsus you can move the leg in the same way but it doesn’t have that gap. But since we are talking about the ability to move both get a point for that since they can achieve the same pose.

Point to both Barbie and Obitsu for both having great motion with different mechanics in the hips.

Barbie 3:3 Obitsu

You can actually remove hands to help with changing clothes on both dolls. When I tried to take off Barbies hands though it was a bit of a tug. Obitsu dolls are intended for switching out certain parts like hands so they come off very easily. I am not sure if it was intended with Barbie.

Both the dolls have an elbow joint. The Barbie has it a bit higher on her arm. Both can bend the elbow to 90 degrees and push it further so they can touch their face.  

When twisting the wrist of the hand on both the dolls, the ball section is more prevalent on the Obitsu. It looks more like a cuff on a shirt. The range of movement on both of them is pretty much on point. 

Put side by side, both dolls do have very different busts, torsos, and overall appearances.

4. Body types and skin types

Obitsu can be purchased in a lot of different body types. They make different heights, bust sizes, and material types (hard plastic/ soft vinyl)

Barbies in the Made to Move style have changed since I did my video review. They have released 3 different types but the bodies are still in a hard plastic with the same joints.

Point goes to Obitsu for the large variety in bodies.

Barbie 3:4 Obitsu

Obitsu dolls only come in normal and white skin tones while Barbie has a variety of skin tones in their line. 

Point goes to Barbie for the variety in skin colors.

Barbie 4:4 Obitsu

5. Replaceable Parts

On the Obitsu, all parts are removable. You can buy other hands that you swap out. There are also some hands that are made to hold things (like cups/props)

Like I mentioned earlier the barbie’s hand did come off but I don’t think they were intended to come off. As per my knowledge, Barbie doesn’t really make alternate parts.

I think this could be a positive and a negative by having replaceable parts. Any time you are removing a piece of a Obitsu you are wearing the plastic down. It becomes loose essentially. I have a doll whose foot comes off very easily now because of so much replacing. 

Point to Obitsu for replaceable parts.

Barbie 4:5 Obitsu

6. Thigh, Knee and Foot Movement

Barbie has the ability to twist her entire leg. The Obitsu doesn’t have that capability. On the Barbie, you can turn it all around and it has a stopping point as well. The feet rotate to a certain degree outward and it then stops when the leg turns inward. 

The Obistsu, on the other hand, has a rotating joint down at the knees. Barbie doesn’t have that rotating joint.  

Point for Barbie for the rotating leg.

Barbie 5:5 Obitsu

The articulation on the knee joint is pretty much spot on for both of the dolls. The Obistu’s joint is pretty much inside while Barbie’s joint is on the outside for some reason.  

Going down to the feet, both can turn upward. The Obitsu feet are pretty flat as compared to Barbie’s which are very curvy. 

One positive for Obitsu on the feet is that you can order a body that will have little magnets attached to her feet. These allow the doll to stand on a metal plate that comes with the doll. It creates a sort of auto-doll stand. 

Point goes to Obitsu for the feet.

Barbie 5:6 Obitsu

It easier for me to make the Obitsu doll stand as it has flat feet. Barbie was a little harder to balance. Since the Obitsu comes with magnets at the bottom you can make it stand on pretty much any pose you like. The metal stand adds a lot to the doll. 

Barbie can do all the poses as well but she can’t stand on her own too well. To make the Barbie stand you can get a doll stand and it will help holding most of her poses. 

Point goes to Obitsu for ability to stand.

Barbie 5:7 Obitsu

7. Pricing

I bought the 2016 yoga version of the Barbie doll for my video, it cost me around $35 on Amazon. Updated to now, I found it for an average of $16 on Amazon.  

On the other hand, for Obitsu you can’t really label just one number when it comes to the price. You pay for what you get. Since there are so many options available it’s tricky to give you a number. 

It is pretty much cafeteria-style pricing, you decide what you want when it comes to Obitsu dolls. You decide the body, the material, the head, the bust, the feet, the hands and all those contribute towards the price of the doll.

So in terms of affordability Barbie is the winner.

Barbie 6:7 Obitsu

It was a close race!

I hope this post was helpful to you. Barbies are technically not in the BJD realm but then again the smaller Obitsu’s are not considered to be in the BJD realm either. I thought it would be nice to give you a comparison of what to expect from both the dolls feature-wise. 

If you would like to buy your own Obitsu doll, a great place to check out would be the Junky Spot [www.junkyspot.com]. They sell the body parts and all the accessories there as well. Junky Spot is US-based so it should come to you pretty quickly if you are also in the US. All the items they have on the website are in stock items.

You can also purchase them Parabox too and see a large variety there.

Whether you want a Barbie Made to Move or Obitsu, they are both great dolls. While Barbie has 6 positives, Obitsu had 7 positives. You can see they both were really close!

If you are interested in affordability overall, I think the Barbie Made to Move may be your doll.

But if you are more into customization, Obitsu dolls might be your flavor!

What do you prefer? Tell us in the comments section down below!