Sailor Senshi Generator Lineup

On a whim, I decided to create a "lineup" of all the Sailor Senshi KiSS doll generators that I have (if there are more out there, point me at 'em!). For the sake of simplicity, I opted to create Sailor Moon since, duh, she's the main character. I wanted to create her Season 1 outfit, which meant I was looking for a blue collar with two white stripes, a blue skirt, red bows (front and back), glove rings, choker, and boots with crescents. Her tiara would be gold with a red gem.

The various generators I used (almost all of which were downloaded [link] here) are listed in "bubbles" above Sailor Moon's head(s).

It's clear to see which generators, regardless of age or status (many are on permanent hiatus), have strengths and weaknesses. For example, I like Eph's generator for all the accessories it offers-- none of the others offer earrings, chokers with symbols, boots with the crescent moon on them, etc. But Eph's was extremely limited in the number of combinations you could create, and the hairstyles were limited to the existing Senshi. Sometimes existing Senshi (like Pluto) couldn't even get their own "real" hair color!

Sailor Orion's Portrait Shoppe was original in that it wasn't made to make dolls of the Sailor Senshi, but "otaku senshi." It was one of the first of its kind that really offered a full array of options (including some VERY unique hair styles, like the French Roll). Still, the color palettes, facial expression, and "extras" (like proper boot shape) left a lot to be desired with this doll.

The Jamie Synder Scout Maker was clearly basic-- the collar, brooch, skirt, and back bow color were linked together, so there was no way to get a "real" Sailor Moon using this doll without using an image editor. As you can see, I left it exactly as the KiSS doll generated it, which means a BLUE brooch, rather than Sailor Moon's proper yellow/gold one. Her hair is also the most "off" of all of them, mainly because it's way too short and looks more like pigtails that aren't connected to her buns at all. But the doll has a very interesting pose-- almost contemplative. Her skirt, on the other hand, looks like it's made of cardboard, and the front bow is far too tiny.

Sailor X basic was absolutely revolutionary in its first inception, offering the ability to create unique colors with just a few clicks. It also offered many different poses and eye shapes, so one could feasibly create a Senshi that might look like she was holding something, or an evil-looking Senshi with a malicious gaze. Her face was a bit mannequin-ish, but considering KiSS dolls are essentially "digital paper dolls," it's plenty forgivable. Not every doll needs to blink, blush, or make noises when you click on or near her. Moon's hair in the Sailor X basic looked a bit weird, though-- fanning out in a very strange way. It's more her hair style than, say, the Jamie Snyder doll, but I still think Eph and Orion's dolls do the best job at getting Sailor Moon's hair down, with Orion being the absolute best. Also, there was no option that I could find for a "standard" bow length, so Sailor Moon's got a "super" bow length here, even though in SMS, she would have had a pink-colored bow (and Sailor Moon's bow when she's in Super form doesn't look like the other Senshi's bow in Super form). She also has a very distinct "navel" impression on her suit, which I find extremely odd. I know the Sailor Suits are revealing, but are they honestly THAT tight?

Of them all, Sailor X is also the only generator still being updated on a regular basis, which means it's made leaps and bounds in terms of possibilities. The next incarnation featured a whole new system for creating colors, though it was a bit complicated. It never got updated to the point where Sailor Moon's hair was an available style, so I made do with what I had. Notice the very bright colors available for the 2.01 doll.

The next inception of Sailor X skipped a few numbers-- Sailor X v 2.07 revamped the entire system of coloring, and was updated recently enough to introduce Sailor Moon's hair, though I have the same problem with it that I did with the original Sailor X basic doll-- it doesn't look like Sailor Moon's hair THAT much. To be more specific, the Sailor X basic Moon's TOP of her head was great, but by 2.07, it seems to get "lumpy," and her part doesn't seem right to me. Her buns seem too far back on her head, as if they're not on the TOP of her head, but on the back. But her fringe looks a lot better, and not "pastede on yey!" The colors seemed a bit more muted here, though that may have been my selection rather than the doll itself (I attempted to pick the brightest colors available). 2.07 also heralded the introduction of metallic colors, which could be used not just for brooches and tiaras, but for EVERYTHING colorable, highly extending the possibilities with Sailor X v 2.0x.

By 2.08, more bright colors were added, making it possible to differentiate between Moon's blonde, Venus' bright blonde, and
Uranus' sandy blonde. But the hair styles are still a bit off, especially for the shorter-haired Senshi like Mercury and Uranus, or those with buns (like Moon).

Of note is that NONE of them offered the option to give Sailor Moon her "bun gems." This might be a possibility in the future for Sailor X v 2, though, something I'm looking forward to greatly (especially if the colors can be changed for the gems).

In summary, any decent Sailor Generator should, at the very least, be able to replicate the original (Season 1/first appearance in manga) outfits of the Sailor Senshi. It doesn't even have to be ALL the Senshi, such as Cosmos, Iron Mouse, etc., but at least the "Big 10" (Moon, Mercury, Mars, Venus, Jupiter, Uranus, Neptune, Saturn, Pluto, Chibi-Moon). A better generator would offer the ability to replicate the outfits from any version of the anime or manga of those Senshi, e.g. the Super Sailor outfits (and Moon and Chibi-Moon's differ from the other Senshi's), and include those manga-only additions such as masks, feathers in the hair, or special belts (like Mars' gem, Venus' chain, or Jupiter's pink ball of flower petals).

It's a challenge in itself to make KiSS dolls, and I applaud those who put all the effort into creating them, especially =DianaHold for still working on Sailor X v 2.