How much of a good thing is, well, too good? That’s the basic premise behind the debate surrounding a voluptuous Taiwanese model recently marked as “too sexy for cosplay.”

While the goal of any cosplay is to portray your character to the best of your ability, just where should fans draw the line when it comes to dressing as characters whose special ‘assets’ may bring some questionable costumes into the real world? We welcome your thoughts on the matter after reading through this recent cosplay incident.

The source of the debate occurred at a cosplay event on August 16 in Taichung City, Taiwan when 23-year-old bikini model and self-professed lover of anime Ma You Rong (馬友蓉) decided to attend dressed as one of her own favorite characters–Naruto‘s butt-kicking kunoichi (female ninja), Tsunade.

For those of you unfamiliar with Masashi Kishimoto’s internationally best-selling work (which celebrates its 15th anniversary this year!), Tsunade is a perpetual fan favorite who’s highly skilled in medical ninjutsu and also possesses brute physical strength to boot. As one of the ‘Three Legendary Shinobi’ from Konohagakure Village, she’s actually an older woman who uses a technique to mask her true age and outwardly appears as a young woman instead. But most importantly, she’s currently the Fifth Hokage (village leader) of Naruto’s hometown and mentor to the series’ main female protagonist Sakura. She’s also famous for her explosive temper, and her other, shall we say, ‘well-endowed’ attributes.

▼Don’t let her looks deceive you–this is what she’s really capable of!

▼And here we have Ma You Rong’s take on Tsunade:

Needless to say, her appearance at the venue caused quite the excitement. The resemblance between fictional, 2-D character and living, breathing human being is beyond uncanny–it’s dead-on. And we’re not just talking about that blonde wig she’s wearing.

But here’s where things start to get a little hairy. Reportedly, staff members with large black cloths were on hand at the event to escort any ‘distasteful’ cosplayers away from the public. While the day eventually ended without a hitch, after the fact a staff member supposedly criticized Ma You Rong’s ‘outrageous appearance’ online, to which the shocked cosplayer voiced her objections, touching off the start of an intense battle of thoughts.

Since she’s a bikini model by profession, one of the main arguments against Ma You Rong (besides being too hot to handle) is that her choice of cosplay outfit seemed too much like personal marketing for a cosplay event, which is supposed to be a place for fans to display their love of certain characters and not to advertise for business. It didn’t help that she was often seen lowering one of the sleeves of her tunic over her shoulder for nearby photographers. On the other hand, others see no problem with her costume, as one of the goals of serious cosplay is to represent your character in real life as well as possible, a task which Ma You Rong certainly does to perfection.

Here are some photos of her from the event. There’s even a YouTube clip available:

▼Here are some of Ma You Rong’s other past cosplays:

▼Ma You Rong is the Goku cosplayer on the left

Which school of thought do you belong to regarding Ma You Rong’s Tsunade cosplay? We know one thing for sure–we’d sure rather look at her dressed as Tsunade than Mr. Sato’s version any day!

Original article by Meg Sawai

Sources: ET Today 1, 2, Apple Daily, Facebook

Top image: ET Today

Insert image: Narutopedia

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