Blackface in CosplayDuring the year hotels, convention centers and other high-capacity venues transform into a social haven and meeting point for fellow Otaku and cosplay fans or, in short, cosplayers. The act of cosplay, the shortened form of "costume play", is defined by the Oxford Dictionary as "the practice of dressing up as a character from a film, book or video game, especially one of the Japanese genres of manga and anime". . However, there is much more to a cosplayer than this simple definition leads you to believe. To its most devoted patrons, cosplay is an art form that incorporates limitless mediums, such as textile making, woodworking, clay sculpting, resin casting, and even theatrical makeup. Some enthusiasts take cosplay much more seriously than a weekend social hobby. While some would be content purchasing a commissioned piece or mass-produced costume for their convention adventures, others won't be satisfied until they've handcrafted a masterpiece with 100% accuracy. These cosplayers will spend weeks or months and hundreds of dollars ensuring that their costume is a perfect fit of the selected character. Yet for some this is still not enough. There are those who will not be happy until they have become the living embodiment of their chosen character. They become the methodological actors of cosplay, memorizing the personality, walk, quirks and vocality of the characters. Going even deeper into the realm of cosplay, there are still those who are so obsessed with becoming a character that they paint their skin, be it pink, grey, green, or any color in between. Here a delicate debate explodes. Coloring yourself gray or pink for your Marceline or Princess Bubblegum Adventure Time cosplays will be... middle of paper...ver America has chosen to censor and alter the appearance of some anime characters who appear to resemble the Minstrel men in blackface. For example, Dragon Ball Z's Mr. Popo, a primitive-speaking servant, has jet-black skin, large bug eyes, and large red clown lips that are iconic features of minstrel show actors. Another example is the Pokemon Jynx, which also has large bug eyes, pink, bulbous clown lips, and shoe-shiny black skin. To combat controversy, the American version of Mr. Popo was recolored blue and his lips were modified to be smaller. The Englishman nicknamed Mr. Popo, as stated at the beginning, cosplayers will use real makeup to change the skin color according to the selected characters. While unnatural skin colors are accepted, the only time a cosplayer can paint their skin black with approval is when they are playing Dark Link or other shadow characters..