With the global pandemic, COVID-19, the western world has finally joined in with donning face masks. I’ve always wondered why we didn’t wear them, when it just seems like the smart and compassionate thing to do. To be honest, it looks like they will be a part of our daily lives for a while yet, so I figured I’d buy some nice ones. For me, I wanted some anime-inspired face masks. I didn’t want anything that was over-the-top (e.g. I didn’t want a character on my face), but I wanted something that was subtle while still proclaiming my weebdom to a trained and discerning eye.
RedBubble: π
I started with RedBubble, a platform for independent artists, but after doing some digging found that while there were many different designs and the prices relatively inexpensive, several customers and sellers found the masks of poor quality. The designs were blurry or bled, the fabric flimsy and thin. Ultimately they were described as feeling cheap. Just recently, they finally started offering two sizes: a small in addition to the regular, but that doesn’t make up for the quality. It’s a shame, because I generally like RedBubble merch— it’s where I got Cowboy Bebop, Noragami and Gomen NASAi sweatshirt:
Etsy: π
There are some options on Etsy for anime face masks, with more being added each day it seems like. As you would expect, the price, quality and sizing all vary, so do read the item details and what not to find out sizing and shipping stuff.
BAUHAU5Store
This was one of the first shops I found selling anime masks. They’re $12.00 each. Honestly, they probably have the best designs I’ve seen, and include a couple of series: MHA, Tokyo Ghoul, Demon Slayer, Haikyuu!!, Dragonball and AOT. Here are some examples:
Shipping was probably the biggest downfall here, and the reason why I ended up not going with this seller. It’s $15.00 to the USA since it ships from India. From what I can tell, there were no promotions for if you bought multiple masks. Another downfall is that it only comes in three sizes: R (regular), L and XL. However, if you don’t mind waiting a bit and are a standard size, I’d recommend them.
My purchase: π
I purchased two Demon Slayer masks from pamsfabrication on Etsy: Nezuko for me and Giyuu for Jamage Ctrl. She also has Tanjiro and Shinobu designs to choose from as well. Price was $17.96 each, free shipping to the USA when you purchase $35.00. A pretty steep price to be honest, but I was hopeful.
Her masks looked high quality, had excellent reviews and came in five different sizes. Most of the masks I’ve seen only come in two sizes: adult and child. I’ve got a pretty small face but the child sizes are still too small for me, so when I saw the different options here, I was pretty excited. When a mask fits better, it works better. The only downside was that there were no pockets for filters. We’ve rigged a way to attach our filters without pins, so it’s not a big deal if you’re willing to be a bit creative.
She has some other designs as well: MHA, Promare, Avatar, Steven Universe, Miraculous Ladybug, DC comics, Percy Jackson, Pokemon, and Disney. Most are less expensive than the Demon Slayer masks, not sure why. Some of these were added after I made my purchase, but I’d probably still go with my two I ordered. Here are some of the listings:
I will say that the masks took much longer to arrive than expected. This was because Etsy had a shipping issue where they charged all shipping labels 10x what they were (e.g. $11.53 became $1,153.00). Etsy caught the issue, but it had taken a lot of time to resolve it, and Etsy hadn’t communicated well with their sellers on the issue. She therefore paused all shipping until it was resolved. During this time, my order was sitting in pre-shipment (with the date changing several times) and I received no updates or communication as to what was happening and why. However, once I reached out for clarification, she responded immediately. I would have preferred if she had told me sooner what was going on, rather than me needing to chase up my order, but things do happen. I still gave her 5-stars even with this communication hiccup.
Ultimately, I’m very happy with my purchase! 5/5 teacups from yours truly.
Stay safe, annieme-niacs!
Annie
Annieme 