Otaku Links: cosplay critiques and Chrono Trigger

• It’s ridiculous that in 2012, race in cosplay is still an issue. Here’s Chaka Cumberbatch’s story. I wonder if the racist fans digging in to Chaka’s cosplays realized she’s FUNimation’s brand manager. 

• On a related note, I just discovered Not Bad Cosplay thanks to Steven Savage. Basically, an experienced cosplayer sifts through Tumblr’s “bad cosplay” tag to find a lot of great costumes that people derided because the cosplayer didn’t look conventional enough for them.

• I just started watching Magic: The Newsening on a recommendation from a friend. I especially like the “Real World: Ravnica” segments. But don’t be fooled by the name; this is more of a comedy spoof than an informative show.

• A sweet and personal essay from the founder of Geekadelphia: Everything I Know About Love I Learned From Chrono Trigger.

• Over at the Daily Dot, Aja Romano bravely questions the lack of women in Bronies, the My Little Pony documentary

• I love meta-fandom, and there was lots of it this week! First, people who are Hetalia fans and Homestuck fans called a truce, and immediately began personifying and shipping various fandoms together. Check it out using Tumblr’s “Fandomstuck” tag. Then, anime companies Crunchyroll, Viz Media, and Funimation began doing the same thing as a marketing stunt! The practice of turning non-human things like fandoms and companies into attractive human avatars sounds strange but is actually well documented—check out moe anthropomorphism on Wikipedia.

• Finally, if you like Internet-spying on peoples’ living spaces (r/RoomPorn anyone?), you’ll love this peek at otaku spaces.

(Photo via Princess Mentality Cosplay.)