/jp/ - Otaku Culture

>>44195746
Bit of A, bit of B

Kig masks in general have become really homogenised over the years, whilst they generally look "better" it's becoming harder and harder to actually tell who the characters are supposed to be. Like anime has always had same face syndrome but it's getting to the point where if it wasn't for the wigs and outfits each mask becomes near indistinguishable from any other mask for the same kinda character archetype. The insane prevalence of Gacha and Vtuber kigs is depressing too, even if you don't order one you tend to get a shell that stylistically borrows from gacha these days. Masks are also a lot more fragile and generally run into a lot more issues from things like heat and humidity.

As for the community side of things, kig is just a lot less fun these days, it all feels so fake and forced. People talk to each other as if they're corporate PR, elitism is constantly on the rise as is drama. There's a very real possibility that >>44195685 alone has sparked a bit of drama in various discords and facebook groups who feel attacked by it. This used to be a little hobby done by a bunch of absolute weirdos who just wanted to enjoy their little dress up sessions and have people to chat with about it. Now there's a hundred layers of facades, judgement and entitlement to every interaction. There's a bit of a meme that floats around occasionally about how everyone in kig just wants to enjoy being silly anime bobbleheads, but no one acts like it. You have to be hyper critical of every other kig and also yourself. It feels like everyone has become a social media influencer, everything you do must be for the betterment of your online brand, enjoying yourself is secondary. Meets and Cons are just photo ops for internet points.

This is an exaggeration, there is still unique masks being made, 3D printing is likely to get better as people find better materials for it, cast masks from molds still exist, there's still weirdos that just want to have a good time being an anime girl. The overall culture around the hobby has changed irreversibly though. Early kig was awkward, uncanny and very off putting for a lot of people, but it was at least a fun time.

>>38418959
Ah yes those mid to late noughties japanese kigs, truly the peak of the hobby, all else are but failed imitations.

if you're going to pretend to have standards now there hasn't been a good kig outside of stage plays. All the old makers have turned to shit and the new ones are all 3D printed crap.

The kigs themselves don't give a shit anymore either, it's all just fetish fuel or clout chasing now.