Is Japanese cosplay REALLY that good?

[Moe SahChan]

Unshooped Nell looks cuter than shooped Nell, even if the shooped does look more accurate. Doesn't change the fact that shooped Nell scares me to hell and back D:

A lot of people in America who are exposed to Japanese cosplay end up having a really biased opinion on who is "good" at cosplay and who isn't. That's coz most of the Asian cosplay photos that make it over here are the really polished ones that have been done at professional photoshoots or whatnot. Unfortunately, the stigma that "American cosplay sucks" is spread around because people end up posting of unpolished photos that some person randomly took at a convention, not to mention cosplay is far more of a casual hobby in America than it is in Japan. You'll get more kids who just want some attention at a con in American photos than you will from Japanese ones, where the subjects are models/professional/serious cosplayers. Also, I think the Japanese cosplay community is a bit more discreet than the American one, so you'll find less crappy photos than good ones... But I have nothing to back that up. That's just what it seems like.

Really, people who post stupid, biased blogs about how much American cosplay sucks while posting a 2-year-old photo taken by a one-use camera and comparing it to a professional photo print are worse than the people they're making fun of.

[ParisRoyale]

Angathol

Yahoo Auctions - D.Gray-Man
You can figure out the conversions yourself since I'm not sure which costume you need.

If love is surrender...

0_0

Thanks alot Angathol! ^ ^

::goes searching::


Oh and P h 1 s h y,

Quote:

Really, people who post stupid, biased blogs about how much American cosplay sucks while posting a 2-year-old photo taken by a one-use camera and comparing it to a professional photo print are worse than the people they're making fun of.

Quoted for truth~
Srsly =X

... Then who's war is it anyways?

[rweghrheh]

There are great ones and some that are decent or not so great. There are good cosplayers all over the world and yes, alot of pictures online could of been photo shopped.

Though Japanese have an bit easier time with cosplay since there are shops with costumes already made and they have offical props and items they can buy without having to order them only. Plus they have special cosplay magazines that gives them tips and patterns for costumes.

Out here we would have to special order or import items and costumes or make them ourselfs (which is more impressive since it's takes alot of time,work, and some turn out great).

[xiatara]

Ugh, I really dislike Japan vs. America cosplay topics. It's usually somewhat biased. Last one I've been to bashed Asians altogether.

Almost everything's photoshopped (or should I say *program edited) these days. Japanese cosplays and Non-Japanese cosplays.

[october cupcake]

。。。hello there, the angel from my nightmare。。。

Everyone has brought up valid points.
But I am sort of surprised by the
different attitude westerners have towards
home-made cosplay versus bought.

Maybe it is a little off topic but, I think
it is interesting that in Japan I found that
home-made cosplays are not as accepted
as it is in the US. (Don't get me started on
the elitism in EGL---eep.)

。。。the shadow in the background of the morgue。。。

[Ouiaboo]

<style type="In addition to the Japanese cosplay community being more discreet, as P h 1 s h y mentioned, the Japanese cosplay community is also a little more critical when it comes to looking like the character. So, because the image is a little more important to a number of Japanese cosplayers, people are less likely to see "crappy" Japanese costumes because it's not something most of them would be willing to post for everybody to see.

But, regardless of whatever the reason is for us not seeing nearly as much "crappy" Japanese costumes, it's ignorant to think that race or nationality has anything to do with the quality of a costume.">

[Wicked Ruu]

P h 1 s h y

Really, people who post stupid, biased blogs about how much American cosplay sucks while posting a 2-year-old photo taken by a one-use camera and comparing it to a professional photo print are worse than the people they're making fun of.

Couldn't have said it better myself
3nodding

Is it just me, or is shooped Nell less accurate than unshooped? Isn't her hair supposed to be bright freaking green? Correct me if I'm wrong, of course. I've been reading the manga and haven't seen the episodes with Nell in them yet.

[7thDragonHarle]

october cupcake

。。。hello there, the angel from my nightmare。。。

Everyone has brought up valid points.
But I am sort of surprised by the
different attitude westerners have towards
home-made cosplay versus bought.

Maybe it is a little off topic but, I think
it is interesting that in Japan I found that
home-made cosplays are not as accepted
as it is in the US. (Don't get me started on
the elitism in EGL---eep.)

。。。the shadow in the background of the morgue。。。

I like home made cosplays better.. I just feel like buying a costume is a cheat, and making it yourself is half the fun. At the cons, if you tell someone you made your outfit versus buying it, the reaction is much better.

[Moe SahChan]

Wicked Ruu

Couldn't have said it better myself
3nodding

Is it just me, or is shooped Nell less accurate than unshooped? Isn't her hair supposed to be bright freaking green? Correct me if I'm wrong, of course. I've been reading the manga and haven't seen the episodes with Nell in them yet.

Well, I'm guessing shooped Nell is colorized for 'artistic effect' or something. You know, to set the mood and make it look like an artistic portrait or something. But her face and figure would probably be more accurate to the character. The hair color in unshooped Nell is closer to the manga, but because of how colors work in anime, there's a good chance that they'll downplay the vividness of her hair and make it more like shooped Nell's hair or something... Just speculation, though.

[Wicked Ruu]

P h 1 s h y

Wicked Ruu

Couldn't have said it better myself
3nodding

Is it just me, or is shooped Nell less accurate than unshooped? Isn't her hair supposed to be bright freaking green? Correct me if I'm wrong, of course. I've been reading the manga and haven't seen the episodes with Nell in them yet.

Well, I'm guessing shooped Nell is colorized for 'artistic effect' or something. You know, to set the mood and make it look like an artistic portrait or something. But her face and figure would probably be more accurate to the character. The hair color in unshooped Nell is closer to the manga, but because of how colors work in anime, there's a good chance that they'll downplay the vividness of her hair and make it more like shooped Nell's hair or something... Just speculation, though.

You have a point. I still like the second one better.

[rweghrheh]

7thDragonHarle

october cupcake

。。。hello there, the angel from my nightmare。。。

Everyone has brought up valid points.
But I am sort of surprised by the
different attitude westerners have towards
home-made cosplay versus bought.

Maybe it is a little off topic but, I think
it is interesting that in Japan I found that
home-made cosplays are not as accepted
as it is in the US. (Don't get me started on
the elitism in EGL---eep.)

。。。the shadow in the background of the morgue。。。

I like home made cosplays better.. I just feel like buying a costume is a cheat, and making it yourself is half the fun. At the cons, if you tell someone you made your outfit versus buying it, the reaction is much better.

The only why I see it as cheating is if they tried to enter a contest and claimed that they made it instead of buying it or having someone else make it for them. Otherwise I don't care if people make or buy them (i've done both), though making them is more impressive.

[nagisaxseiran]

well as an asian (but not a japanese!) we maybe 90% look-alike some animes (obviusly the 10% are some ahmm ahhh you know!) craftmanship is still important not all are bought some items are sure must need to be made! sometime the costumes are also hand-made! just to be triefty sometimes we just recyle some of our dress not knowing that its still looks ok! so the americans should not judge asians cosplay photos co'z not all are photoshoped! there are some that are natural! im not insulting or anything but americans way of cosplaying seems like just a trip. the characters that they being cosplayed are just uhmmm rolleyes rolleyes

[Yomei]

nagisaxseiran

well as an asian (but not a japanese!) we maybe 90% look-alike some animes (obviusly the 10% are some ahmm ahhh you know!) craftmanship is still important not all are bought some items are sure must need to be made! sometime the costumes are also hand-made! just to be triefty sometimes we just recyle some of our dress not knowing that its still looks ok! so the americans should not judge asians cosplay photos co'z not all are photoshoped! there are some that are natural! im not insulting or anything but americans way of cosplaying seems like just a trip. the characters that they being cosplayed are just uhmmm rolleyes rolleyes

So, what's the difference between the American way of cosplaying and the Asian way? I thought the whole point was to dress up as a character you like. From what I've noticed here, people cosplay for several different reasons: To compete in costume competitions (craftsmanship), to get attention/photo ops, to support a character you enjoy, or sometimes even just because it's funny (you get a lot of purposefully bad cosplays sometimes). So I'm not sure what you mean by "it's a trip". You don't want people to criticize heavily photoshopped photos, and then come right back and make fun of our cosplay? neutral

I wasn't bashing Asian/Japanese cosplayers. I was just saying that people are stupid to say that Americans aren't as good as Japan's cosplayers because of these images. Almost always, when they use "proof", their evidence is merely these photoshopped images. And heavily photoshopped images are a lie, simply because that's NOT what the cosplayer looked like to begin with, and oftentimes is not as accurate as one would think.

Seriously, where in my post did you come up with my judging Asian cosplay? I never once said it was bad, in fact, several times in my original post I said that I wasn't dissing them at all. I merely stated that it's unfair to bias American cosplayers as bad when they're comparing them to retouched images. That was kind of the entire point of the post, and apparently you missed it or didn't read it all the way through.

[october cupcake]

7thDragonHarle

october cupcake

。。。hello there, the angel from my nightmare。。。

Everyone has brought up valid points.
But I am sort of surprised by the
different attitude westerners have towards
home-made cosplay versus bought.

Maybe it is a little off topic but, I think
it is interesting that in Japan I found that
home-made cosplays are not as accepted
as it is in the US. (Don't get me started on
the elitism in EGL---eep.)

。。。the shadow in the background of the morgue。。。

I like home made cosplays better.. I just feel like buying a costume is a cheat, and making it yourself is half the fun. At the cons, if you tell someone you made your outfit versus buying it, the reaction is much better.

。。。hello there, the angel from my nightmare。。。

See, I can't quite understand how people
in America get so worked up or bitter about
commissioned or store-bought cosplay. I
don't think of it as cheating (unless they
obviously try to pass it off as their
craftsmenship.) I am a cosplayer
that strives for accuracy and quality.
When I don't feel my skills are good
enough to pull off exactly what I want,
I am going to go out and find someone
who can.

。。。the shadow in the background of the morgue。。。