Thanks Internet (For Not Sucking) 2: Cosplay Version

Cosplay: The bane of every cynical geek's existence, the endless entertainment for EVERY fan who "isn't that serious about it", and one of the primary sources of mocking for outsiders. (That, and the whole "complete lack of social skills" thing.)

In my case, cosplay's just a thing that other people enjoy doing. It's amusing to me to watch--I'm only ever annoyed when it sucks.

So yes, if your costume is made of cardboard, or you made it yourself but you've NEVER sewed ANYTHING a day in your life...I probably dislike your costume. Easiest way to tell? If I think you made a good costume, I will tell you. "Great costume." If I don't say that...your outfit probably fails in some way.

I'm getting sidetracked. (As I tend to do.) We've all seen the terrible cosplay outfits. The fat dudes crossplaying, that one idiot in the cardboard box who wrote "Gundam" in capital letters at the top of the box as if some form of moron magic would "henshin" him into a decent outfit.

If you want to see crappy cosplay, all one has to do is type that exact term into Google. Most people would easily lose an afternoon, based on the fact that people enjoy mocking stuff.

But despite my penchant for occasionally ranting about this or that, Jumping in Headfirst is about being positive. In that vein, I'd like to point everyone to the website Cosplay Holic.

Thanks to my friend angelicnoir for pointing me to this place, which is completely devoted to the most awesome cosplay. Credit to the site's creator, who scours the internet and brings everyone some of the coolest costumes ever.

There's male cosplayers:




Female cosplayers:




There's also everyone's least favorite version, crossplaying, which on this site takes it from the strangeness it has in reality to the proof that women are better cosplayers than men. Just with these two pictures:




My reaction to the Wing pilots all perfectly cosplayed (by women, no less), was this article. I'll save everyone my reaction to the Kurama/Hiei cosplay--other than to say it was not very cool.

Just in case there are those that are too lazy to visit the site, a couple more awesome cosplay pictures:



I'm still kinda angry that one of the first black characters that didn't make me want to kick the writer in Japan turned out to be evil, but the maker of this costume did an excellent job.



The new FMA is anime crack at it's best. And this cosplay is...well, it WOULD be the best cosplay I'd ever seen. But this next photo tops it:



Pants. Need new ones. This is a brilliant replication of the beautifully designed Gundam Exia. I have no idea who created this, but I feel like they deserve an award.


When we see cosplay, average ones make people think that what works in animation absolutely cannot work in real life. But excellent ones make us realize just how fantastic the worlds these characters live in are, and why we're attracted to those worlds enough to watch these shows to begin with.