When it comes to cosplay, Adella is my lady, but I have to admit that Kipi does a fine job; in addition to looking great, she's extremely prolific. She's also worn every outfit Haruhi Suzumiya has ever sported, so maybe if we just politely ask her to look insane and get a bored-looking guy to stand next to her for a little while, we can pretend  that we actually got a second season of Haruhi (not that I want one.)  I only kid because I love.

However, as the above video demonstrates, some of Kipi's cosplay-goodness is created in post-production.  It seems like the main thing she does digitally is doctor her eyes a bit to make her look more like an anime character.  Kipi's digital-dolling up has prompted a divisive discussion on the ethics of cosplay- well, at least among cosplayers. I think everyone else is still in the process of wrapping their brain around the fact that cosplayer ethics now exist.

Personally, I cast my vote for Team Kipi.  If she didn't look that great (and that in character) to begin with, no amount of Photoshop trickery would do much for her.  I do understand that at some point, extensive photo-manipulation starts to defeat the purpose of cosplay, which is to see how much a real person (emphasis on real) can look like a fictional character, and somehow manage to look awesome instead of ridiculous.   But I think if you have a zero-tolerance policy on that sort of thing, it can take you to a dangerous place. If touching up the eyes in a picture is enough to ruin the authenticity for you, then frankly you shouldn't be okay with cosplayers wearing much makeup either. I don't think it should all come down to what basically amounts to genetic bingo; that you just have to be born with the right features, because altering your own is considered cheating. What do you guys think?  

[via Sankaku Complex]