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Americans Shouldn't Cosplay
morbidoptimism.com — Japanese nerds pull it off better than Americans
gratefulspread- 734 diggs
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- migvel, on 10/11/2007, -14/+18Because they will look like a ´tard?
- Renton, on 10/11/2007, -6/+49No, because when Japanese cosplay, they automatically turn into 3D CGI. At least I think that's what the article is trying to say, judging from the pictures.
- nixonrichard, on 10/24/2007, -9/+74The thing about the Japanese is, even if they are ugly as sin, they are generally skinny. You can be ugly and thin and pull off skin-tight spandex, but there is no chance in hell you can be fat and pull it off. It's not that fat people can't dress up in costumes, but for the love of god, make it something loose.
- CraigCarlyle, on 10/11/2007, -18/+112No one, under any circumstances, should ever cosplay.
Unless, you know... you're a hot chick or something.. - leontes, on 10/11/2007, -29/+8I consider myself fairly well informed.
It blows my mind how often a subculture stumbles in front of me that I have never heard of before. - retral, on 10/24/2007, -4/+19"The Good" Rikku is the best (female) on that page IMO.. But damn, this is just plain ragging.. Comparing fat americans dressing up in cheap costumes to hardcore 'other' people who spend tons on their costumes and actually have decent pictures taken of themselves. The "American" ones look like mugshots.
- knulpm, on 10/11/2007, -6/+13"The thing about the Japanese is, even if they are ugly as sin, they are generally skinny. You can be ugly and thin and pull off skin-tight spandex, but there is no chance in hell you can be fat and pull it off. It's not that fat people can't dress up in costumes, but for the love of god, make it something loose."
I have to agree here. Did anyone ever see the article Seanbaby did about cosplaying? Basically he threw on a white dress shirt, black pants, and a red vest and went as a King of Fighters character. Simple costume, but he looked better than most American cosplayers I've seen since he's not a big fat slob wearing inappropriate attire.
I have seen some good/funny ones though. Someone once linked me a video of a guy who went as Kefka from FF6 to a convention and weirded people out by acting crazy and...well, like Kefka. - EXreaction, on 10/11/2007, -25/+7No, saying fat whores shouldn't cosplay is more accurate.
I know quite a few girls here in the US who would be so sexy in cosplay you'd have a heart attack. Of course girls that look as good as that are a very small minority here in the US.
The majority of Cosplayers here are ugly as hell because the majority of women here are ugly as hell. - screamokid, on 10/11/2007, -11/+2omfg when i saw the american yuna i think i died alittle inside......
- RonPaulPres2008, on 10/11/2007, -10/+9No, I think the real difference is that anime is part of mainstream Japanese culture, therefore regular people and nerds alike will cosplay whereas in America it's more part of under-age (cartoon network) or nerdy culture. It's not that they magically do it better, it's just that most Americans who cosplay are kind of nerdy so they don't look as good.
- lostboy, on 10/11/2007, -7/+13@EXreaction stopped taking you seriously about here:
"I know quite a few girls" - iFungus, on 10/11/2007, -8/+2Comment from page:
"Hey genius, your example of Cloud, Sephiroth and Vincent are from the Advent Children movie, they arn’t people dressed up, no doubt they look good."
I guess he doesn't know that the movie was completely done in CGI. - Modizzle, on 10/11/2007, -7/+2***** mom and pop's hosting service. Dead.
- MillionsLivio, on 10/11/2007, -14/+11As a fan of the "mature" side of anime (Hellsing, Berserk, Gankutsuou, Bebop, Evangelion, Ect) I have to say I really dislike a lot of what is thought of the fandom. Now I find it humorous kids on digg are calling anime fans "nerds" in itself. However, I really disagree with a lot being said here and in general. Now as some people have mentioned the guy just took some of the best and compared them to the worst. Some of the better cosplays I've seen were actually in the US (dead on Vash, Seras Victoria, Gendo Ikari, and others come to mind). I dislike how if you cosplay you are instantly a "nerd" and it's only to "see who can do it best". Which are both wrong, it's done for fun really, and for the love of the character/show. Not all anime is Dragonball Z or Naruto; there are a lot of brilliant shows and movies in anime. Many of which focus on psychological and philosophical aspects that could really never be touched so efficiently in film. Stop being childish and open your eyes. A friend of mine used to hate anime with a passion, which is understandable because a lot of people in his area liked a lot of the more immature shows and he grew to dislike anime because of it. However he would not give any new shows a chance, even ones that I highly recommended. So after a while I finally got him to watch Evangelion and he disliked it at first. I pushed him to watch it until the last episode and he was amazed and in awe of it, after that I got him to watch End of Evangelion and the word "hooked" would be an understatement. I then got him to watch Cowboy Bebop and he liked it so much he watched it all in two sittings (only to break for work). Now I've gotten him to watch close to a dozen series and he's still going and loves every bit of it. An entire world has opened to him, one in which he never thought would exist, and he could have missed out on all of that for not simply giving it a chance. So once again, I say open your eyes and don't be so blind and naive to the world and what it can bring you just because of the “cover” or what people might think. I’m a hockey player (in the US) who watches anime and is a Nihilist; I stopped caring about what people thought years ago and I’ve never been happier.
- themastersb, on 10/11/2007, -4/+6I cant see because it's dead but I'm assuming it has something to do with Americans being fat.
- Rivetgeek, on 10/11/2007, -5/+1any mirrors catch it?
- Herolint, on 10/11/2007, -2/+3@nixonrichard
What a stupid thing to say. Japan has ugly women and very beautiful women, just like every other place on Earth. - echonull, on 10/11/2007, -0/+6Interesting that this showed up just a bit after the GaijinSmash article on Cosplay:
http://www.gaijinsmash.net/archives/cosplay.phtml
- McTendo, on 10/11/2007, -32/+126No one should cosplay
- arcticblue, on 10/11/2007, -29/+7Agreed, but you can't deny that those Japanese chicks looked smoking hot. Can't say the same for the Americans though...
As a side note - I think there might be some defensive cosplayers in here that will digg everyone down. I dugg you and migvel back up to +1 digg. - Scheissen, on 10/11/2007, -12/+36Those aren't "Japanese chicks," they're just japanese men.
- Nobi-Wan, on 10/11/2007, -12/+10Now THAT would explain why every Japanese "hero" looks like he would fit right in at any gay bar.
- rnwen2750, on 10/11/2007, -19/+14No one should play FPS. See how idiotic your comments sound when another hobby is substituted for cosplay? I have never participated in cosplay or played a FPS, but I think it is ridiculous to make a blanket statement that disparages something that has nothing to do with you.
- mouthster, on 10/11/2007, -15/+8I disagree, it makes for good population control. Surely cosplayers don't get laid, and therefore don't breed.
- vvargoal, on 10/11/2007, -6/+50I disagree. http://www.francescadani.com/cosplay/cosplay.htm (probably nsfw)
- wolferz, on 10/11/2007, -5/+8@rnwen2750
blanket statements are not a good thing, i will acknowledge you are right about that. However your comparison is fundamentally flawed.
To say that no Americans should cosplay is as to say no one who has less than 4 fingers and no thumbs on both hands should play fps games. Thats a much more accurate comparison.
Cosplay is all about recreating the characters appearance and persona. Fps is all about rapidly dealing with opponents in a computer or video game. The article claims that Americans are not capable of pulling this off because they do not have the physical features necessary. While this is inaccurate at best your comparison of stating that Americans, or actually any one any where in the world since you failed to qualify it beyond "no one," should not play fps games is irrelevant. While obviously true in and of itself, it fails to relate to the authors claim in any way that helps prove the original claims inaccuracy.
Btw people with no thumbs still can and do play video games, hell they don't even need hands. Theres one girl who has no arms at all, so she plays games and types on the keyboard with her toes. She didn't even need special equipment. This supports your actual point that blanket statements do not work (even when it seems like they would) much better than offering an inequivalent statement for comparison.
Of course you could also cut right to the chase and point out that some Americans are of Asian heritage, which blows the original claim out of the water without any comparison at all. And Asians will have a hard time cosplaying Cid from FF7 very well since he was tall and clearly Caucasian and had blond hair. - wolferz, on 10/11/2007, -3/+2hmm seems i need sleep... i totally mis-read that.
- Ariolander, on 10/11/2007, -6/+3@vvargoal
Dude when talking cosplay NEVER bring up Francesca Dani! You are inviting CosDrama! (tis actually quite funny)
She is despised within the cosplay community (yes there is a community) for her horribly photoshopped photos and is one of the 3 more frowned upon 'popular' cosplayers whom threads about them always degrade to drama debates or downright flaming. - nateabel, on 10/11/2007, -3/+1Haha, yes!
- TheWriteGuy, on 10/11/2007, -1/+9While Francesca is hot, she's not American.
- arcticblue, on 10/11/2007, -29/+7Agreed, but you can't deny that those Japanese chicks looked smoking hot. Can't say the same for the Americans though...
- Fritz6, on 10/11/2007, -10/+2Wanted: American Cloud Cosplayer.
Charge: Banana Theft.
Reward: The dignity he once had hiding behind his computer, unseen by the world. - rauz, on 10/11/2007, -8/+14My eyes are bleeding. I'm suing you, submitter.
- nixonrichard, on 10/11/2007, -8/+3Me too. I really don't need to see a gallon of fat in that location below the waste but above the groin . . . and it's highlighted by spandex. Gross.
- otakushark, on 10/24/2007, -12/+53Nice, fair comparison here. Pick out top Japanese cosplayers who probably spend big bucks putting together their costumes and compare them with some of the worst, low budget gaijin cosplayers you can find. Buried for being BS.
- rnwen2750, on 10/11/2007, -3/+14Agreed. As long as they don't show up to your wedding wearing that, I really don't see why people can't just not look if they find it gross. I think it is sweet when the anime club at my university has sewing meetings, where these big tough guys are trying to work a sewing machine. They usually fail miserably, but it is very sweet to see people engaged in a nonviolent, nondisruptive hobby.
- berb, on 10/11/2007, -19/+9Buried for using the word "gaijin", and defending cosplayers.
- nateabel, on 10/11/2007, -8/+2delete
- fisj139, on 10/11/2007, -10/+30"Hi I am huge and gross"
"Oh have you ever heard of cosplay?" - Lososaurus, on 10/11/2007, -4/+13I'm sure the American's hearts in the right places and really tried, but they just don't have the production values the Japanese cosplayers have. Plus American cosplayers don't have as much of a community that the Japanese ones do, while cosplaying isn't exactly celebrated in Japan, it's not really as looked down upon as it is in America.
- yarukizero, on 10/11/2007, -3/+4I might be spoiled living in northern California (where there's lots of cosplayers who are various kinds of Asian, amongst other things), but it always seemed to me that there have always been some fairly accomplished American cosplayers out there. Now, granted FanimeCon has also had Fat Nami, Giant Priss, and of course the infamous Man-Faye, so the bottom end of American cosplay is definitely much lower than that of the Japanese. But I've also seen stuff like a jaw-dropping Fei-Yen (the pink robot from Virtual On), an amazing Soifon (Bleach), and a perfect Pochi (Animal Magnetism).
- browwiw, on 10/11/2007, -9/+8Americans have the best Mandalorians:
http://www.thedentedhelmet.com/forums/index.php- Scheissen, on 10/11/2007, -5/+5That looks like Star Wars? If so, then the armor suits are the only ones I have found "cool."
- bjornski, on 10/11/2007, -0/+7Dressing up in Star Wars costumes is just as much CosPlay as anything in Japan.
- Iolite, on 10/11/2007, -3/+8Urg. Anyone got a mirror for this site? Or am I better off not knowing?
- eezzzz, on 10/11/2007, -4/+5"Why you shouldn't submit articles to Digg" ...Transferring data...
- heresy0, on 10/11/2007, -11/+7hahahah. I simply cannot stop laughing.
...
And vomiting. - Vitius, on 10/11/2007, -7/+4Damn the site just died on me. Does anyone have a mirror? I don't think duggmirror got it.
- digitaltrav, on 10/11/2007, -4/+32Americans and anyone else who wants to should Cos play. Does it hurt you? No. Stop being spiteful towards people trying to have a good time. Buried for "uber" nerds trying to bully and judge "lesser" nerds.
- over9, on 10/11/2007, -19/+3It sure hurts my eyes.
- choopie911, on 10/11/2007, -22/+8Cosplay is the lamest, nerdiest, stupidest crap ever.
- alexpnx, on 10/11/2007, -19/+17google's cache:
http://72.14.209.104/search?hs=sUq&hl=en&lr=&c2coff=1&q=cache%3Ahttp%3A%2F%2Fmorbidoptimism.com%2Fforums%2F2007%2F05%2F03%2Famericans-shouldnt-cosplay%2F&btnG=Search- twigboy, on 10/11/2007, -2/+9that mirror is useless without pics!
- cycledance, on 10/11/2007, -3/+32geez. i never cosplayed and i prolly never will but...its their fun. there is nothing wrong with it. why do u guys keep attacking them? if they are ugly to you...why not be polite and keep it to yourself? giggle. let it out. fine. but plz be more tolerant. we are all nerds. everyone is a nerd or a freak for something thats socially accepted more or less.
- canarchy, on 10/11/2007, -9/+2its kind of like a manly dress up
- cycledance, on 10/11/2007, -2/+7i really hate how the website portraits the western cosplayers like a freakshow while the japanese are "so nice looking". id even say some of those american cosplayers are better than the japanese ones. the japanese simply have the better camera angles and poses. look at it for yourself!
- CanceledCzech, on 10/11/2007, -1/+7If I was ever going to "cosplay", it would be as Gordon Freeman, and it would be for Halloween, and Halloween only (plus, I could actually pull off Gordan freeman, just give me some black, thick-framed glasses)
- s14sh3r, on 10/11/2007, -29/+2http://Duggmirror.com
- ricree, on 10/11/2007, -2/+20At least check on the mirror before you post it.
- CommissarVlad, on 10/11/2007, -2/+15Wow, that site was so horribly biased it wasn't funny.
- Beatmiser, on 10/11/2007, -5/+13Neither Duggmirror nor Google Cache caught it. Perhaps I should count my blessings.
- stakepie, on 10/11/2007, -3/+19This is a really insulting article
- Sutanreyu, on 10/11/2007, -1/+24Biased. I mean, they're like handpicking the best and the worst, to prove a non-existant point.
- reddevil3, on 10/11/2007, -6/+5Time to bring "democracy" to Japan.
- Ariolander, on 10/11/2007, -1/+11Buried for being a ***** article. Horribly bias and real shallow look into the world of cosplay. Would never do it myself but if you look @ many of the Japanese pics better lighting and a bit of photoshop does wonders. Plus you come to question how many of those shown were home made.
Personally if an American is willing to drop $100s in materials and 50+ hours on a costume then they deserve props. Not all American cosplay is bad and not all Japanese ones are awesome. Like some sorta bell curve a majority of it falls under mediocre. - cryptomystic, on 10/11/2007, -19/+3Here are the reasons why they can pull it off.
Japanese nerd chicks = skinny and cute (but with crooked teeth)
American nerd chicks = fat ,ugly and smelly (no redeeming qualities)
No self respecting guy should ever cosplay though.- Hindu_Wardrobe, on 10/11/2007, -2/+18Thank you for stereotyping us American nerd chicks. (Actually, I'd consider myself more of a geek, but you get what I mean.)
- Urusai, on 10/11/2007, -9/+4I prefer stereotyping because it's easier than individually judging every person in the world. Sue me.
- dengzhi, on 10/11/2007, -16/+2white ppl should NOT do cosplay. ***** ugly
- Ventolin, on 10/11/2007, -4/+9Buried as lame.
- Sinizar, on 10/11/2007, -1/+8You can do this with any country. I have seen some great Cosplay in the USA but taking the worst of one country and comparing it to the best of another country is just wrong.
Just check this link for great Cosplay around the world including people from the Americas. http://images.cosplay.com/ - Bonedaddy659, on 10/11/2007, -5/+0what happened to all the good mirrors I only get like 4 pics whats up with that
- Kardlonoc, on 10/11/2007, -5/+1He also compared FF7 the game cosplayers with FF7 THE MOVIE cosplayers. Thats like comparing the graphics of ten years ago todays standards. Cosplaying sucks but its an unfair article.
- Sixcolors, on 10/11/2007, -1/+5Aaaaaaand dead website! Buuuuurrn!
- daiguitar, on 10/11/2007, -4/+7This world needs more cosplay.
Proof Cosplay is great: http://catsonmars.com/otaku/cosplay/ - MikiSuzaki, on 10/11/2007, -2/+7so japanese cosplayers look like japanese characters?
zomg! - Frostfox, on 10/11/2007, -0/+6Here is a link to a Cosplay video I took in Taiwan. http://one.revver.com/watch/108643
- justelite, on 10/11/2007, -5/+8403 forbidden... nice
- Rickard, on 10/11/2007, -8/+3What the hell is cosplay? Kids dressing up as video game characters?
- MillionsLivio, on 10/11/2007, -1/+6Cosplay is for fans of any media to dress up as a character of their choice.
- MadNuke, on 10/11/2007, -10/+8Buried as inaccurate: no one should cosplay.
- BobSutan, on 10/11/2007, -5/+6Agreed. Why can't they wait for Halloween like everyone else.
Still this is pretty well done:
http://images.cosplay.com/gallery.php?cat=63921&member=1
- BobSutan, on 10/11/2007, -5/+6Agreed. Why can't they wait for Halloween like everyone else.
- phroztbyt3, on 10/11/2007, -2/+5I believe that people should be limited to cosplay a character they can 1/2 be. If you are a really short guy trying to cosplay a super tall anime character, it doesnt make sense. Unless you are going for a chibi character. If you are a really fat guy cosplaying a super skinny character, that too should not happen. The color of the skin doesn't make a difference, that is complete bs. Most anime characters are not even human, they are aliens. For example, if someone cosplays a Link from Zelda, I don't really think it matters if he's Japanese or not, HE'S A FRIGN ELF!!!!
- bjornski, on 10/11/2007, -3/+3And fat girls in spandex should never happen either.
- bjornski, on 10/11/2007, -3/+3And fat girls in spandex should never happen either.
- Defkon, on 10/11/2007, -5/+0This is the only good cosplay I have ever seen... o and kefka owns, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_c6EkWp79co
- coffeeserpent, on 10/11/2007, -7/+1christ what a BS article! first and foremost, ive been reading these comments and a good portion of people here seem to think that because anime is mainstream in japan that its ACCEPTED to walk around in costumes. are you insane? these people are shunned as much as americans who do the same thing are! why else would they hide it? why else would they only be doing it at conventions and their own group parties? once again people get some rosey idea of what its like to live in japan, i do live here and we laugh at cosplayers if they are american or japanese. whats even funnier are americans who cosplay in japan thinking they have found " the holy land" as if for some reason this place has just been waiting around to accept them and their eccentricities, HAHAHA! no it doesnt work that way, foreigners are tolerated and given a phoney polite face in most cases, when the back is turned though the japanese have something different to say.
as well, in the other hand, who cares? they arent hurting anyone, and if you dont want to see it, dont look.
and finally in some degree japanese put alot more effort into costumes because of the culture, that is true, but there have been great looking americans in costumes as well. for example, i have no picture, but i did see an american dressed as solid snake once upon a time here in japan ( maybe russian?) anyhow try getting a twiggy anorexic japanese male to look like solid snake haha! impossible, the only reason you seem to think they fit so well in the costumes is also because it comes from their culture, but that certainly doesnt make them any more or less authentic than an otaku in another country.
personally if there was an american all buffed out and dressed as the guy i saw as snake, and then a scrawny ass japanese guy trying to do the same, id tell the japanese guy to go home and dress like one of the other ambigously gendered male characters from anime or video games. - charlietuna, on 10/11/2007, -1/+6This girl can cosplay with the best of them! Though the site has been inactive since '04
http://www.alisachan.com/- radial, on 10/11/2007, -0/+5umm she's not inactive, she's only moved over to alisakiss.com (nsfw)
- Joopndufus, on 10/11/2007, -1/+1Sick dude.
- offwithyourtv, on 10/11/2007, -0/+4Alisa still makes costumes, just not nearly as often as she did back in high school. I went to GHS with her and know her fairly well. She has a myspace page as well if you're interested in more recent pictures that are SFW, I believe by the same name as her site.
- duddles, on 10/11/2007, -1/+8Mister Donut
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=okeq0uuldy0- microbefox, on 10/11/2007, -0/+2lol that was brilliant!
- Phillbo88, on 10/11/2007, -4/+4It's down
- nherdboi, on 10/11/2007, -4/+2i click on the link, but nothing happens. what's wrong??? false advertising!!!
- majinosity, on 10/11/2007, -3/+6Geez, I hate these posts... Talking about who is "better" and someone should and someone shouldn't.. Most of the time they are biased.
Most of the japanese cosplay images I've seen are shopped.
"What did you say!" *gasp*
Yes they shop it, and guess what, it looks better... OH MY GOD!?!?!
Please get a life and stop looking down on American cosplayers. At least they have the balls to do it.- bubba9999, on 10/11/2007, -2/+2And that's just the women...
- CurlyHayami, on 10/11/2007, -6/+1True that.
But they'll NEVER pull off Star Wars outfits as well as us...let them let look queer in their little anime outfits-Darth Vader'll own 'em anyday. - GunOfTheMartyr, on 10/11/2007, -7/+2No one should cosplay. At all. Ever.
- londubh, on 10/11/2007, -5/+1sadly Cosplay is coming to our local sci fi con. I looked it up. and it's just ***** hall costumes. That's it. with a bit of role play. we already have young goth wannabe geeks playing live action role play games LARP. They pulled that term cosplay out of their ass. and they want people to take pictures of them. bleargh!
- londubh, on 10/11/2007, -2/+1My previous comment was dugg down by some overly sensitive cosplay fans.
Cosplay is retarded. and it's nothing but ***** hall costumes.
- londubh, on 10/11/2007, -2/+1My previous comment was dugg down by some overly sensitive cosplay fans.
- MurphyWatson, on 10/11/2007, -8/+3No.
Cosplaying is lame and nerdy regardless of how open your eyes are.
End of discussion. - WRYYYZARD, on 10/11/2007, -0/+0mirror to this article pls?
- KhanneaSuntzu, on 10/11/2007, -1/+2I think in a few years we will have *fabulous* Cosplay-Gorean blends, hopefully IRL.
I can't wait for 40 y.o. cosplay-hookers who have received rejuvenation treatments to look 16, ferried in with Dubai-built electric Roll's Royces with nigerian yakuza. Bukkake on those silks will cost doubleplus extra, but it's worth every Adjusted Dollar.- KhanneaSuntzu, on 10/11/2007, -2/+1However lets just hope these hookers aren't post-op.
- Yondelldude, on 10/11/2007, -0/+2Check this out as well:
http://www.gaijinsmash.net/archives/cosplay.phtml -
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