Jenny. That's what this site is all about. Let's face it, she's an awesome doll. This is my story of how I got hooked on the fantastic plastic charm called Jenny.

I had received my first doll back in 1979 when I was almost 2 years old... Back then, Jenny was still under Takara/Mattel rights and she was Barbie. I remember she was a cheerleader doll. She came in a pink white and purple cheerleader outfit with a big ol' froofy shaped "B" on the skirt. I had gotten her while I had to stay in the hospital overnight at my hometown, Yakota. She kept me company in a pretty scary place. She was the first doll I ever had.

Now she's sitting on my doll shelf in a place of honor next to her friends which I received not long after I had gotten her. She is worn out; her joints no longer bend and her hair is a bit ratty and the paint is fading off of her face. But I loved her so much. I played with her and her 3 friends (another Barbie, a suntanned Barbie and a Flora) day and night. My mother spurred me on, buying many accessories and clothes for the four. I remember staring at the catalog that came with my Barbie, circling over and over the ones that I wanted my mother to buy.

But that was Takara Barbie...

I received my first real Jenny a few years later, after I had moved to America. She was special to me because she was sent to me by my aunt as a Christmas gift. Along with Jenny came a fancy MaBa Barbie and a wide-eyed Takara Ken. My Jenny was a Kimono Jenny. She wore a beautiful purple kimono. I took special care of that kimono so I wouldn't ruin it. It wasn't the first Jenny kimono I had, but it was the newer of the two.

Although Kimono Jenny was cuter, her body didn't last like the others. Her limbs snapped inside and could no longer bend and she just wasn't as fun to play with as MaBa Barbie who's body could bend and pose with ease. My MaBa Barbie had the honor of wearing the "Ms. Daicon" Bunny outfit to beat up the baddies (who were mainly Mattel Barbies). Takara Ken was head-over-heals for MaBa Barbie. They would go on dates as many times as possible, but only if there weren't any bad guys around.

And of course MaBa Barbie never revealed her secret identity to Ken. Only Kimono Jenny knew who MaBa Barbie really was. Why wouldn't she? She was her little sister...

But that was so long ago...

Several years later, I had asked my aunt to buy me another Jenny. She sent a box back filled with Hello Kitty stuff. The only thing within the package that was Jenny was a colored pencil box with a picture of Jenny on the front. The letter with the box said that Takara stopped making Jenny. After I had heard the news (and got over it) I had pretty much stopped playing with dolls.

It wasn't until the Fall of 1998 that a family friend had come to visit from Japan. He had lived with us quite a few years back while I was still playing with my dolls. He remembered that I always wanted more Jenny dolls. When he came to the U.S., he brought three presents: A Licca-chan (much different from the old one I had) another Licca (cycling Licca) and a Jenny doll.

A Jenny doll!

Oh I was so happy that day. She was a simple Hajimemashite Jenny but she was a Jenny none-the-less. I stared at her for the whole day. Apparently, my aunt couldn't locate any Jenny dolls and therefore thought that they no longer made them. But Jenny was still alive and kickin'. And kickin' she was.

Now that I knew that Jenny was still around, I jumped online to see if anyone had any Jenny pages. And lo and behold, I found a whole slew of them. I had found an online store that sold Jennys. Since it was almost Christmas time and my birthday, I asked my mother if I could "borrow" her charge card.

I bought 5 new Jenny dolls that day: Street Pop Jenny & Mitsuki, and Super Model Club Ellie, Flora and Naomi. I got a big kick out of Flora. She looked so different from my old Flora doll. And all of these dolls sported the SAJ body. Now I am very fond of the SAJ body because it closely mimics the pose-ability of the MaBa doll I had.

From there, my Jenny population grew. I pulled out my old Kimono Jenny and all my Takara Barbies and put them on display. Even though I no longer play with them. It's still a great joy to look at them and pet them once in awhile. They bring me comfort. Hey, even my older brother likes to look at my dolls (but he'd never touch them, noooo!)

Now I seriously collect Jenny and her friends. I haven't counted my dolls yet. Maybe someday I will. In just a year, the number has grown tremendously (which is impressive for a dirt-poor-ramen-eating college student). Hopefully soon, I will make a little picture book of all my Jennys for this web page.