Anastasiya Shpagina, Real-Life Anime Girl, Hangs Out With Real-Life Barbie Valeria Lukyanova [PHOTO]
The Internet is abuzz with news of the latest young woman to dramatically alter her appearance to look more like an unattainable entertainment ideal.
Anastasiya Shpagina, a 19-year-old woman from the Ukraine, is quickly gaining fame as the "real-life anime girl." She uses heavy make-up and brightly-colored hair dye to alter her look and become a living, breathing Japanese anime character.
Anastasiya Shpagina Most Convincing Anime Girl Looks [SLIDESHOW]
Shpagina has drawn comparisons to Valeria Lukyanova, who made news earlier this year as a real-life Barbie doll.
Shpagina's fan base is quickly growing. Her Facebook profile presently has more than 10,000 likes, and that number is increasingly continuously. Still, the "anime girl" can't compete with Lukyanova. The breathing Barbie doll has amassed nearly 500,000 likes on Facebook.
Despite their similarities, the two women don't see themselves as competitors. In fact, they have even spent time together.
Shpagina posted a photo on her Facebook profile of the two heavily made-up women posing together in a wooded park. Shpagina added the caption, "Another one with Valeria."
See more photos of Valeria Lukyanova Living Barbie Doll
Comments on the photo are either strongly positive or negative. One user complimented the pair's irregular look by saying, "Non human humanoid robots ;) gorgeous ones though."
Some of the more critical comments included statements about the women looking too fake and processed.
One user left a lengthy comment about the frivolity of spending so much time on one's appearance and acquiescing to a male ideal for what women should be.
"All I see is the objectification of women into the plastic, lifeless, submissive roles that a male dominated society would LOVE us all to follow," the user wrote. "You are probably intelligent women underneath this persona, why not utilize your skills to a bigger goal/ project?"
According to reports, Shpagina has said she spends more than half an hour on each of her eyes as she applies make-up to make her anime transformation. She is even allegedly considering cosmetic surgery to go even farther into becoming a true anime character.
