i have no answer for you OP but you reminded me that people can make anime figures entirely out of paper (origami?) and they look like the real thing from a distance, unless it's one of the crazy gundam one which are AMAZING!!!
i downloaded a miku swimsuit figure but it seems to be super duper hard to make （ ´,_ゝ`）

I too feel this sense of regret, that something is missing - teh spirit and teh specialness of teh media. Age might be a factor, but for certain, anime is mainstream today. Sadly AI is killing creativity more and more. As there are less reason to learn and create something which AI is already better than you are. There's also teh side of big corporation only wants your money...

Only solution as I see it, is to create a community based in real world - which wasn't uncommon before either. To either set a goal to create something together, or to drawn cute 2D girls with pen and paper. Anything you can touch today is real, made by humans. I too been wanting to try clay modeling and maek my own figures. While I only blame for my own laziness for now.

I also do believe that teh newer generations are less keen to make things on your own, as everything is so much available to us than it was 20 years before. Teh internet made everything less separated, which is both good and bad. Anime isn't niche, thus there's no need to do it on your own. Japan might still haev strong doujinshi communities, but thats been build over decades. Just as I think any small live band in teh west would be happy to play for 20 people.

I... don't know. I too feel sad that it has changed to say teh least. But it's not gone. Also, if you stick in teh past, its all good!

ironic i posted a 2015 img

I think you should make your own website. I don't know how to do this in person... that's hard outside of nippon. But if the landscape for it is now digital we should make it small and underground by using our own sites and making webrings. My idea at least.

I mean , having imgboards like thesee could be the last thing for weebs like us

i have this book from the 80s that shows how to make your own figures

>>4582
now you must scan it!

OK, you'll forgive me, because this is srs business. OP, it's simple, but difficult to explain. Have you seen those "the internet used to be a place" kind of videos? It's like that.

Things used to be mostly physical. Phones had lots of chrome, and they were designed like objects. Nowadays, they are made to be as invisible as possible. They're made to be sleek, sure, but the focus is no longer on the object, but on what's inside of the screen.

You can extrapolate that notion everywhere. The world is becoming more and more digital, so it's no surprise that it's killing creativity. It makes you live in your head more and more. Like a VR reality that hijacks your imagination to establish itself. No need for complex hardware.

Of course there are many other factors. But I think this is key.

We need to go back to a physically centric focus in the way we relate to our objects and spaces, and stop living in our own heads. The Japanese traditionally have been better at this, probably because of their animistic worldview?
IDK but we really need to keep the digital demons on a leash.

>>4583
i don't own a scanner

>>4586
photographs!??

>>4587
i'm sorry but it's too much trouble ;-;

>>4588
heyuri stole my photo

i just dont think its possible anymore. the economic situation doesnt support people making things for fun and passion because everyone is struggling to survive, communities in western countries are too decentralized into suburbs and car dependence makes it hard to actually occupy physical space together (and also renting places to do art trade events is too expensive), the puritanical western christian ideology makes sharing things harder too. just, theres much too many factors that make it impossible and will never happen again sadly

We must force people to engage as creators ｷﾀ━━━(・∀・)━━━!!

>>4592
starting with you

>>4591
I mean, wasn't the economy in Japan complete garbage at the height of Akihabara, too? The lost generation or whatever.

>>4578
I get these images just so i can read what i can and search back, and reverse search what i cant, hehe

>>4596
somehow its even worse now, and especially then things like consumer goods were expensive but necessities like food and housing were cheap. now its the opposite.

>>4576
I don't know anon. I skipped a trip to Japan because I know the Akihabara I wanted to go to peaked in 2005 and died in 2014. This is what the current face of anime looks like. Good luck.

>>4620
this is how i feel. i've wanted to go to japan for my entire life but now it seems that the japan i wanted to go to is gone forever.

>>4620
stop going to youtube, go to nicovideo instead. even if you can't understand a word they're saying it's still better

>>4620
why does everyone hate that image so much?

>why does everyone hate that image so much?
Cuz it's Western moralfagging "video essay" AIDS and has Rule 8 in it

>>4626
>has Rule 8 in it
Shouldn't rule 8 be applied to the image in its entirety? The image makes a statement in line with site culture, so effectively citing an image to make that statement (a small citation at that) shouldn't break any rules.

It's not "in line with site culture" cuz Heyuri's culture isn't "moaning about SJWs in Western anime communities" - and if an image includes soyjaks then it's outto regardless of what the statement is

Heyuri is about having fun on teh interwebz and sharing our enjoyment of various Japanese/otaku media - not lamenting over those who fail at it

>>4630
oh okay. We come to Heyuri to ignore the problems staring at us, despite the fact that the OP is addressing the same thing I am.

We come 2 Heyuri 2 show everyone else how it's done

>>4634
sure dude. The deletion might've been justified but it was a retarded application of rule 8

>>4633
Tou have the rest of the internet to do that onii-chan

>>4576
Make things
Just cuz people arent enjoying the intetnet/life the way we do, doesn't means we can't keep enjoying it.

Back in 2004 I was obsessed with Japan and would've killed to go there, but nowadays it looks like any other asian country to me.
Heyurizens who went there at that time, was the otaku world depicted by Chaos;Head and Steins;Gate really like that?

>>4960
why u posted booba?

>>4960
Yes it was
Even though it's changed a lot today, I'd still recommend going because it's only going to get more mainstream and commercialized the longer you wait (some people say Ikebukuro is the new Akiba, but idk if I actually believe it yet). And, truth be told, it's not that bad if you walk farther from the station and main streets--though that's also true for the rest of Japan
I went recently and was walking down a big street in Kyoto with all these high-end brands and stores I didn't recognize. I just picked a random side street and started walking. Around a half a mile in, I found the most quaint retro games store, it was great

The energy still exists, it's just different. Compared to even just a decade ago anime/manga became super mainstream. It's normal to love it now. As such, the otaku culture we grew up with (or look back at fondly if you're not that old) became very sanitized as more and more companies were seeking to make profit off this stuff. It's basically the same story with video games. Consoles like Xbox 360 and PS2 came out, then their sequels, games became pretty accessible and mainstream and now we see how that impacted them.

But that's where the indie stuff or smaller game/animation/manga studios come in. There are a growing number of small groups or even individuals that are "bringing back the past". I think that's the best we can get now. The overall culture has changed, so all you can do is try to seek out little niche corners of otaku stuff. Also, time alone will just warp your perception of how you view things. I'm 38 so the way I view and appreciate the things I enjoy is way different than it was at 18 or even 28. It can make newer stuff not feel the same, even if it is...if that makes any sense?