>>7667140I believe they fit criteria for good design:
—both Pepe and Wojak have distinctive, recognizable personalities. they symbolize winner and loser
—they are also very relatable to 4chan auditory and to gen Z as a whole, with Wojak being a melancholic introvert and Pepe being a smug troll. they reflect 2 stereotypes of people browsing the boards and this makes them likeable
—they are instantly recognizable
—the designs are very simple, flexible and adaptable, to the point of spawning many different off-shoots (with new ones like Clown and brainlet Wojak still being made and keeping the meme relevant)
Finally, they were also awkward/ugly enough and associated with enough controversial things to naturally repel normies. Thus they never really fell prey to being appropriated by a disliked group of outsiders. This is a good thing for counterculture.
