Ultra-realistic dolls bring characters from Japanese folklore to life.

There's been quite a bit of surprise at how "creepily" realistic Japanese "love dolls" have become in recent years, but the blend of hyper-realism and fantasy aesthetic in what Japan calls "Cast Dolls" might surpass that of their romantic counterparts. Cast dolls, or ball-point dolls, use spherical joints to recreate life-like human poses, and often come with customizable parts and clothing. Now doll retailer DOLK and "beautiful doll" maker SWITCH recently teamed up for a release inspired by Japanese folklore hero Momotaro that straddles the border between real-life and fantasy.

The collaboration takes two existing doll models from DOLK, "Haseo" and "Soseo Holy" and applies makeup and clothing inspired by the popular Japanese folktale in the form of a "Momotaro" and "Oni" (Japanese demon or ogre) characters.

The two take on a different look than in most popular picture books depicting the story of Momotaro. The titular hero Momotaro himself is re-imagined as a glamorous and handsome man with a gentle expression.

Momotaro

The Oni character is also a departure from the classic storybooks, and rather than a club wielding brute, takes the form of a handsome albino man. His horns and teeth are removable so that he can transform back into a human.

Oni

Models are 65 centimeters in height and available from the official webstore collaboration page, but only in limited capacity (20 for each doll). They're priced at 123,200 yen ($1,122) each.