In everything there is- as Clint Eastwood found out- the good, the bad, and the ugly. In the world of American Cosplay, however, that ugly can as well be downright horrible and disturbing.

So why is American Cosplay, or rather all Cosplay that leaks its way out of the anime motherland- Japan, so lackluster in comparison to those who brought us anime and loveable video game characters to begin with?

The reason could lay in the question itself. Are the greatest games America has to offer all about football and some ex-NFL star who screams mottled mojo-jumble about it? Are the best shows we have to provide for our youth filled with sexual perversions and not so carefully crafted innuendos? We don’t Cosplay Ren and Stimpy or SpongeBob. But what makes the characters in Japanese anime and video games so Cosplayable?

I spoke to someone about it, and they told me what I’m sure a lot of fans would tell me: “The characters are innocent, even the dirty ones aren’t half as bad as the dirty things you see on American television. They make you laugh and cry and you really get attached to the characters until the very end. That’s another thing wrong with American cartoons, they just go on and on with no character development. Even the funny/spoof anime shows have character development. There is often no end to the American cartoons until they just get pulled off of the air. I’ve played video games with more sustenance than an American cartoon.”

So that explains the love for anime in general, but not why Japanese Cosplay better. Many people say that the Japanese are naturally more resourceful and creative than Americans- who have had everything served on a ‘silver plate’. They say that Americans lack the drive and attention to detail it takes to make a stunning Cosplay uniform. Is this because we are a fast 1 minute nation, and if anything requires our devoted attention for more than a day then we discard it? Anyone who participates in Cosplay will tell you that it takes many months to gather what you need for an outfit and assemble it. But Americans are known to like a quick fix and are willing to buy a pre-made costume online or worse- modify a Halloween costume- regardless of how silly it makes them look.

This goes to say, we CAN do some things right… *looks at Comic Con and Star Wars conventions…*

America and Japan united