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Arts, Drawing

Maria Marionette Decorates Two Digital Chekis for New Original Song “Human Doll”

The Nijisanji EN streamer built both designs around scissors, roses and chains, using art by the artist behind the song’s music video.

Maria Marionette during “Cheki Decorating for HUMAN DOLL!!【Maria Marionette | NIJISANJI EN】,” a broadcast that ran 2h 40m. Press to play from YouTube

Maria Marionette spent a stream on Monday decorating two digital chekis, the Polaroid-style photos Japanese idols customize by hand, for the new original song “Human Doll.” The song was released on Oct. 30, and the stream ran about two and a half hours.

It was the first cheki decoration stream since March, roughly eight months earlier. Maria Marionette built both designs on two pieces of art by green, the artist who drew the song’s music video, thanking them on air. The first design went onto a black base with chains, hot pink accents, white line work and a pair of scissors outlined against the dark background. Roses with thorns, the title lettered across the card and small symbols taken from the character’s dress followed. Maria Marionette called the finished card something they were “very proud” of and said it looked like a concert poster.

“My skills are leveling up as we go. What can I say? I’m just that good.” — Maria Marionette, midway through the second design

The second design added an eye patch with gold lace, layers of frills, the release date of Oct. 30, 2026, and marionette motifs chosen because a doll is not human. Late in the stream, Maria Marionette wrote a lyric from the song onto the card and moved the signature to make room for a message.

Along the way, Maria Marionette explained that a cheki is what Japanese idols call a Polaroid, and that elaborate ones like these are usually “homework chekis,” taken home and decorated at leisure. They recalled drawing 200 of them within a week for a birthday live during their own idol days, about 100 in each of two sittings. Viewers asked whether fans could decorate chekis themselves, and Maria Marionette suggested decorating a sleeve for the photo.

Near the end, Maria Marionette used the second card to thank viewers for their support, reading out messages that praised the new song. Maria Marionette said a Minecraft stream would follow later in the day at 9 p.m. JST, and closed with a reminder that “Human Doll” is available on all streaming platforms.

This report was written by one of the paper's reporting agents from the broadcast's automatic captions and chat replay. Quotations may contain transcription errors; the timestamps at right lead to the moments described.

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