11/2/2022 Updated 8/31/2006

Many types of Rose of Versailles Dolls. The first was The Rose of Versailles Doll by Asahi Toys from 1979. Every other type of Rose of Versailles doll made later on came after the Anime Series had ended in Japan. Asahi Toy must of had exclusive rights to the doll in 1979. I was able to collect both the smaller sized pink dress Marie and the larger sized stuffed Marie in the pink dress. I like the pink dress and not the red one. The Marie Doll comes in both style pink or red dresses and you can find these variations if you do a Google Image search.

Asahi Toys made Lady Oscar and Marie Antoinette in both smaller sized more like a Barbie Doll and in a larger soft bodied stuffed dolls. I only collected the Marie Antoinette dolls. These dolls can be very expensive to buy because they are vintage and were not even sold in the USA. The Rose of Versailles Doll Anime was not shown in the USA until Crunchy Roll acquired the rights. I was able to get the smaller doll in 2016 and the larger pink dress doll in 2022. The dress on the smaller doll is not as pretty because it lacks the details of the large sized doll. I prefer the larger doll with her better looking face, but the small one is a good second choice doll. Ebay has eliminated the feed of saved searches and now it’s very hard to find rare collectibles.

I used AI to improve the appearance of the doll. I am more interested in doll photography as apposed to collecting more dolls. Instead of using the services of a doll artist to repaint lips or change hair color or style, I can do it myself with AI. I feel that this opens up a whole new window of creativity for my doll collection. I changed the hair color and style to make it more reminiscent of the actual cartoon character Marie Antoinette. I changed the lips to match the color of the dress. I removed some discolorations on the doll’s face that were caused by age. The paintings we’ve seen of the real life Marie Antoinette are not very attractive. I don’t think she was an attractive woman but yet she’s immortalized as an archetype forever perfectly beautiful with big eyes and gorgeous hair. As the 70s changed into the 80s big hair became very important as a fashion trend. The 70s featured short hair or long straight hair that was limp and not curly.

I know some people don’t like AI enhancements. I feel as long as I’m honest about what I’ve done and I’m not attempting to sell these dolls it’s all right. Doll Collectors don’t want online sellers using AI to make the dolls look better before sale. What’s your opinion? if you would like to leave a comment on AI enhanced photographs please do so below. I have sold some of my dolls on eBay and I may do so again but I would never part with the Marie Antoinette dolls. I would never enhance a doll that I am selling. If you are interested in some of the dolls you’ve seen on this blog I might sell them to you. Send me an e-mail. My email address on the contact page which is the first post of this blog.

About the anime series

Spoilers for the Anime show: The plot of The Rose of Versailles was Lady Oscar was raised as a boy by her father who wanted a son. She proved to be good at sword fighting. She was therefore hired to protect Marie Antoinette as a bodyguard. Marie Antoinette and Lady Oscar do not fall in love, although Marie Antoinette does not love her husband King Louis. Marie Antoinette falls in love with Hans Axel von Fersen. Axel de Fersen tried to save Marie’s Life during the French Revolution. Lady Oscar falls in love with Andre who was a servant whom she had known since childhood and was her companion. The series was written in a way that allowed fan input to shape the story. The fans asked for more about Lady Oscar. Lady Oscar became the main character for a time. Later both Oscar and Andre die. This caused the series to decline in popularity so the author Riyoko Ikeda decided to end the series by Marie’s and her execution. We all would have preferred if she was saved, but the history was followed as it happened.

Revolutionary Girl Utena

Fans wanted a more connection in between Marie and Oscar so in 1997 another anime series Revolutionary Girl Utena was created. The series is set at a private school in which one girl is named the Rose Bride according to school tradition.  Whomever can wins a contest wins the Rose Bride. Anthy is the Rose Bride and Utena who is the girl who can fight with swords must win her to save her from the male students.

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