Na Na Na Sparkle Series 1 - Mermaids and Pirates

The Na! Na! Na! Surprise Sparkle Series 1 dolls were released January 12, 2021 and standard retail here in Australia is $32.00.

I managed to grab a whole set for on-sale prices of between $22-$24 each back in June of this year.

Each box is an identical teal sparkly bunny-eared pillow puff plastic case, the only difference between each is the sticker symbol indicating who is inside.

When cracked open, inside is a balloon bag, straw, and instructions. You inflate the balloon bag with the straw, tear back the tab on the top of the bag. Then squash the bag and the top pops out shooting confetti everywhere.

Of all the Na Na's I've opened, I've only done this to ONE. There's lots of cute confetti, yes, but it's just so messy and I wanna keep it all for crafts.

There's a notch in the top of the balloon bag where you pop the confetti out, that you rip open to reveal the Pom, and 'mystery' accessory bags. The accessory bags also have a tear notch to rip open.

I also don't do this one, I don't rip the bags. I cut them carefully. Crafts, of course, lol.

Inside the Pom is the nude Na Na ready to be dressed with the accessories from the blind bags.

And that's it, you're all done! You've got your doll and your Pom (and your ridiculous amount of plastic waste D: )

All small Na Na's have been like this, in their mystery packaging, ending with this series. The next series, 'Glam', are windowed, completely eliminating the mystery, reducing the waste, and probably leading to increased sales because we can now see what we're buying.

Yay, less waste! I appreciate MGA is moving away from mystery packaging in their larger products that aren't actually a mystery anyway.

In this series, there are 6 dolls, Andre Avalanche, Krysta Splash, Marina Jewels, Becky Buckaneer, Sailor Blu, and Daria Duckie. This set has a loose aquatic/sea/ocean theme.

Most of these are absolute hits, and some of them are complete misses.

Andre has a winter, snow-gear penguin theme. I get the correlation that penguins are aquatic and the set theme but it's very loose. There are no indicators on any of the outter clothing that he's connected to penguins, only his jocks and socks, that's hidden when dressed. He's the only boy in the set and is very 'normal' looking in comparison to the very dress-up looks of most of the others. He's my first ever boy, I haven't been able to get any of the boys from the previous sets, I've not been a fan of any but Jeremy Hopps.

Andre's symbol: Penguin

Andre's Birthday: July 26th
Andre's Phrase: I was cool before it was cool.

Krysta is a modern beachgoer with a very loose dolphin theme. I can't say she has a very 'normal' look like Andre, because what the hell are those shoes.

Flipper Heels. Design team? Hello? What the hell?

Can't walk in heels. Can't walk in flippers. Can't walk at all lol.

Besides this abomination, Krysta has a very uncoordinated beach look. Without all her clothes on she's got her wetsuit and hat. She looks great. But then you put the clothes on it's just a mess, man. Too many patterns clashing, granted the patterns have the same theme, but one of these pieces should have not had a print at all, maybe a little iron on logo somewhere. If you put just one piece on at a time, not both, she looks alright, but both together, gross. There's just so much wrong with her design.

Her hair is very thin, unlike any other straight-haired Na Na I have in my collection. What's happened there?
I'm going to have a crack at 'redesigning' her look and keeping as many original elements as possible without completely ruining her aesthetic. I'll include that here when it's done, and also perhaps on my Instagram.
Krysta's symbol: Dolphin

Krysta's Birthday: January 7th
Krysta's Phrase: Sun. Sand. Waves. Repeat.

Marina Jewels, oh man. A show stopper, history maker for the line. When the set first dropped here she was the ONLY ONE I wanted, and the ONLY ONE I couldn't find! She was the most sought-after doll in the set. She's the line's first Mermaid, non-bipedal humanoid, and, AND first small Na Na that has a completely rooted head of hair, not seen before except for in the larger, more expensive Teens.

I'm not biased 'cause she's a mermaid... nope I AM biased because she's a mermaid LOL

Okay but actually though, she's got loads of springy hair, two tops, sunnies, and her tail - it's posable 👀
The same way the Teens limbs are posable, her tail is too. SO COOL. Her hair will absolutely need brushing/styling right out of the case. A slight problem with her character tag is that it's been clipped into her rooted hair. I may be cutting mine off to make shaping her hair easier.
Marina's symbol: Clamshell

Marina's Birthday: March 29th
Marina's Phrase: I can't be a mermaid without making waves

Becky is probably the best designed on the set. She's a pirate, eyepatch, wooden leg, parrot Pom, and a touch of 'cat' in her print details. I think she was MEANT to be cat-pirate-themed, but cats aren't aquatic related. Neither are parrots, but they ARE pirate-related, so that's where that probably came from. Her thick red hair, her gold details on her dress and hat 👌 Despite the little bit of a Pom-doll mismatch, I still stand by my 'best in the set' statement. Whoever designed Becky did an excellent job.
Becky's symbol: Kitty and crossbones

Becky's Birthday: September 19th
Becky's Phrase: Yo ho, yo ho, a party life 4 me!

Sailor Blu, she's got a nice design, and it's fairly simple, a little too simple? I'm used to a little more detail than she has based on other Na Nas. Perhaps she is overshadowed by Becky for me. She's a real cutie don't get me wrong, but there's room for more detail. Her shoes are fine, in fact, they're the best thing about her... but the paint is awful! I'll be taking acetone and paint to the areas that need... fixing... At least her hair is okay. Natural colouring, fairly average thickness - not thin but not Marina or Becky level thick - with a little bit of a curl. Definitely needs brushing as soon as it's out of the case.

Blu's symbol: Anchor
Blu's Birthday: February 8th
Blu's Phrase: Goin' overboard on cuteness

Daria's theme, genre, look - it's all cohesive and makes sense. She's a duck, and what do ducks love? Water, and rain too. Her little ducky underwear, ducky gumboots and rubber raincoat are just darling. Of the 'normal' look dolls in this series (Andre and Krysta) I think Daria my fave, and is bright and a little obscure enough to fit in with this line. Oh also yellow is my favourite colour 😊

Daria's symbol: Duck

Daria's Birthday: April 22nd
Daria's Phrase: Singin' in the rain, dancin' in the puddles.

Categorically, in order of MY favourite to least favourite goes:

Marina, Becky, Daria, Blu, Andre, Krysta.
In order of, in my opinion, best designed/most detailed goes:
Becky, Marina, Daria, Blu, Andre, Krysta.

Just a little switcheroo for the first two there.

Sadly I think I'll be parting with Andre and Krysta, as they just don't do it for me. They're simply not interesting enough. 😞 Andre's a cute little guy, don't get me wrong, but he's kinda meh. Krysta's designs are incredibly cursed, whoever okayed her should be reprimanded.

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That's all. Happy collecting ^u^

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Who's your fave Na Na in Sparkle Series 1?

Don't take my words as an unbiased judge for this product. I'm very picky. Do some more research! Check out others' reviews, check out their homepage below, or purchase one to discover it for yourself!

Na Na Na Surprise Product Home Page

If you have any questions or additional information about this product, please comment!

That's all. Happy collecting ^u^

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