Kira: The History of Barbie's East Asian Friend!

This video is made for ADULT doll collectors and gift givers. Viewer discretion is advised.

00:00 - Intro
02:40 - Kira Overview
03:56 - the origin of the Kira face mould
04:48 - Barbie’s East Asian Friends before Kira
06:07 - Kira
11:58 - After Kira
14:07 - End

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Thanks for watching! Please let me know what you think of the dolls in the comments!

[jacqueline]

Nguyen is a common Vietnamese surname, hence why people believe that Kira is Vietnamese. The fact that she could be either - Vietnamese, Japanese (as per the book you cited), or just "vaguely Oriental" indicates where Western society was at the time with regards to understanding and recognizing nuances and diversity within Asian cultures! I had both Kira and Nia, and they were among my top three favourite Barbies that I ever owned. I especially loved Nia because of her outfit and earrings. I always wondered if Nia was supposed to be Native American.

[Misslou]

Kira was my first Barbie. I left her outside one day...the day before Hurricane Gilbert hit my island in 1988, Sept 12. She washed away. This video reminds me....l must repurchase her.❤

[firefly]

I had to go back to the beginning of the video to make sure I wasn't going insane cause I remember you did do a video on Kira a bit ago, I thought I was turning into Madam web for a second

[dolljunk]

Ng is actually a distinctive sound in Vietnamese, similar to Th or Ch in English. Nguyen is broken into Ngu and Yen in Vietnamese. Since it is hard to have Vietnamese sounds in English I prefer to say Noo-en for myself as people can wrap their heads around the word, though some people say Win (as Ng can sorta be said with a W sound ) depending on which english speaking country you're in and it suits an American accent more than a British or Australian accent I find.

[kearosene]

Hi Joey! I love these videos and what they represent to me. I am actually Southeast Asian but I had a few Kira dolls, and I love them all. It made me feel seen in a way, also Nguyen is pronounced "Wen" :)

[sanspie]

I wonder why Kira never had her own Asian Ken. Christie has Steven and I think there is a Hispanic Ken for Teresa. I wondered what could have been?

[dannyphillips]

Kira/marina was allways my fave as a kid.

[dameneko]

My Scene Nolee! She was my girl, along with Jade from Bratz. I was bummed that Mattel had to discontinue the My Scene line.

[THEKINGSKAB]

id love a video touching on every single friend barbie has ever had

[franzlim]

I would love to see you make a video dedicated to fashion Fever line and all the dolls in that line 😭❤️

[Lulaa_the_human]

Nguyen is the last name of the character Diane from Bojack Horseman. She is Vietnamese, so I assume that is why many Barbie fans say that Kira is Vietnamese.

[Heyitsbrittany]

6:15 this was my first Kira and the first doll I LOVED. I was blonde with blue eyes as a kid and Barbie was not as pretty to me as her friends. I had 3-4 Kiras and they were always my fave.

[PlatinumCyGirl]

Aw those Barbie books 😢 something so nostalgic 😊I miss that. Remember the Barbie magazines 😢😮

[clos]

Great video! Even though Christie and Teresa are my favorite Barbie friends, Kira is the one that rounds out the group real well. I would love to see a video on Steffie, her history in the Barbie world and how her face mold has been used by so many different Barbie characters (Teresa, Midge and Christie).

[AmberBrooklyn]

Oh I loved Kira! Growing up, besides the regular white and black Barbie, Theresa and Kira were my absolute favorites ❤

[tabithap]

I love the movie-themed Kira in the Barbie Rewind line.

[dameneko]

I appreciate the care you take with these videos. It's clear you are truly passionate about what you do. I've seen other comments mentioning this, but I'd love for you to do a video about PJ! My older cousins had this doll. I think she was Barbie's cousin. She was a bit before your time and mine, but she's just lovely.

[SoaringSparkles]

Great video! A little correction, 2:59 Lea is a different character. In the Amazing Nails commercial, it's stated that "Barbie has new friends, Kayla and Lea." Furthermore, she debuted with a brand new face sculpt named after her and Kayla, the "Lea/Kayla" sculpt, Kayla uses the same sculpt. Fun fact: Lea and Kayla appear in the 2004 game Barbie Fashion Show!
6:46 another small correction, Kira appeared in Barbie Beauty Styler CD-ROM from early 2000s (forgot what exact year, sorry!)

[coleXao]

I remember the kira from the 90s with the purple bikini, , , I also have the Kira Princess...iin my opinion the character Kira is one of the most beautiful molds done by mattel.

[romonaelrod]

Hi Joey, your microphone is working well. I don't hear the rain. I love the Kira and the other asian dolls.