This new generation of "geeks"...It doesn't add up, not one bit! It's suddenly a fad to be a geek now? Is this what hipsters felt like when they became mainstream? Is it going to be looked down upon, once again, after it passes? It's not big, yet, but I've noticed quite a bit of it in the section of the cosplay community that I'm familiar with, let alone daily life. Why just a few months ago, I heard the worst conversation at an anime convention!
So here's the scenario, I'm sitting in the main panel to see the cosplay contest this year, and to my disappointment, it's worse than the year before. No music, a very nervous, awkward MC, and people who need to get out. Many of them.
*MC walks on stage and introduces herself and tries to make jokes regarding her Maka cosplay*
Girl 1 (behind me): OMG MAKA. I LOVE YOU!!!!!!~
Girl 2 (next to girl 1): Who is she?
G1: Maka, from Soul Eater!
G2: What's that?
G1: An amazing anime!
G2: Oh, I wouldn't know, I hate anime.
What.The. Hell. Why are you here? Are you here just to look cool? Are you wearing a cosplay that your little friend talked you into because it looked cool and people liked it? Have you only ever seen Naruto and the latest episodes of Pokemon or Bleach or something? This is ridiculous. Much like the post before, I will say it's all for attention. Plenty of girls are showing up in slutty cosplays calling them "alternative versions" or "sexy _____" I understand versions of, say, Panty and Stocking, or the like, but there's a broad line between "I put loads of effort into this and I love it no matter what," and "Hurr ai-m sexii."
I won't use visual examples as I'll cite things wrong and piss people off (Screw the MLA Handbook!), but I'll try to paint a mental picture with more examples, this time with Yoko Littner from Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann I'll make it to the point:
Loads of effort to make it look good: nice, reasonable materials are used. It's very
detailed, It's clear how carefully each piece was made and it's not falling apart. Shorts are just the right length, not too short, not too long, and the bikini top is enough to cover your damn chest, not only to make it defy gravity. Posing is very modest, to the point it may just be battle poses from the anime.
Whoring yourself out : The shorts are far too short to the point that panty shots are entirely
possible. The bikini top shows too much. Yes there is underboobage, no that doesn't mean we want to see 70% of your boobs (mostly females wouldn't but still, want a bad rep from us?). The costume is poorly put together and looks like it was just a bunch of underclothes torn up and
thrown on at the last minute. Posing is one of the largest
offenders here. Cleavage shots, slutty poses, "Myspace photos", and so on. If you're
doing this as a joke with friends...it'd be nice if you kept it that way, between friends.
Not everyone wants to see this.
Get my point? It's pretty obvious when you compare side by side, but sometimes it's just that clear. I've seen it a lot lately, I even have friends into anime just for the erm...revealing outfits, and it's absurd; sometimes they haven't even seen the series, they just pick it because they like the look of the outfits. Not saying that's not the way to choose a cosplay, but it'd be a little less awkward if someone called you by your character's name and after taking a picture, chose to talk about the series, and you can actually say something about the series. Something more than "I like the artwork" =w= Before I run off subject....Cosplay is for fun. I won't judge you if you can actually say why you chose the character you cosplayed and what you liked about the character other than you liked the outfit, but if you can't even tell me what series you're cosplaying from, just leave with your "picatchu" before you anger this little Asian girl
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