New guidelines against showing too much skin spark parody at annual Hong Kong

The Animation-Comic-Game Hong Kong (ACG) was already packed with visitors in its first afternoon on Friday, even before people flocked there after work. Many were cosplaying as their favourite fictional characters.

Among the sea of people in colourful wigs and elaborate costumes, five rotund blobs attracted more attention than perhaps anyone – or thing – at the yearly gathering of animation fans. The armless cartoon astronauts, from the American multiplayer game Among Us, saw a non-stop stream of visitors wanting to take photos with them.

A sign printed by the Among Us cosplayers read “boobs hidden, legs covered, nothing pornographic, [we] abide by the organisers’ rules.”

Their slogan accurately reflected their oversized, inflated polyester costumes, which covered them from head to toe. Two holes on either side of the costume were just wide enough for them to stretch out their hands and promote their Instagram meme page on their phones.

Held at the Convention and Exhibition Centre in Wan Chai, the ACG is Hong Kong’s largest annual event for fans of anime, comics and games. The gathering attracts thousands of visitors, as well as exhibitors selling themed artwork and merchandise.

For the first time since the ACG was held in 1999, the organiser of the four-day convention introduced guidelines for cosplayers’ attire. They called on female cosplayers to avoid showing their underboob and wearing stockings that revealed “too much skin,” while male cosplayers were told their bottom costume must be “larger than briefs.”

The Chief Executive Officer of the ACG, Leung Chung-poon, said in a press conference ahead of the event that the guidelines were made because there may be families with children at the fair. He added that cosplayers were consulted in the making of the guidelines, which would not be enforced as rules.

The Among Us cosplayers, a group of senior secondary school students, told HKFP they had ordered their costumes online the day after the guidelines were announced.

Wing, who was part of the Among Us crew but was not dressed in the costume himself, said he believed cosplayers should be allowed to freely portray the essence of a character.

“Of course I know that some people have worn relatively revealing clothes [at the convention]… but they were trying their best to bring the characters to life and maybe take pictures with other sub-culture lovers,” Wing said, adding that their enthusiasm “should not be erased.”

The student said the core message behind his action was that “outsiders should not dictate what insiders do.”

One of the Among Us cosplayers, dressed in a…