Katsucon, the first big cosplay show of 2017, was held last week, and amongst all the other cool stuff on display was a collection of Overwatch cosplayers wearing, well, not very much at all.
They were part of a group effort known as Underwatch, which was the brainchild of cosplay superstar Stella Chuu. Inspired by voyeur-style boudoir photography, and a love for Overwatch cosplay itself, Underwatch got its start when Chuu was streaming games on Twitch one day and started doodling images of Overwatch characters wearing fancy underpants.
She’d soon made designs for every hero in the game, and after showing her friends in the cosplay scene a group of them decided to get to work and bring the designs to life, with the goal of meeting up at Katsucon in 2017.
Some of Stella Chuu’s original design sketches for Underwatch.
Underwatch wasn’t a competition, so there weren’t any rules on who was coming dressed as who, which is why some folks came as the same character (you’ll notice a lot of Zaryas), and others made optional (and in those cases wonderful) adjustments to the original designs. “I wanted everyone to feel comfortable in their skin and to find strength in numbers”, Chuu tells Kotaku.
Katsucon was held between February 17-19, and the Underwatch meetup was a massive success, drawing huge crowds before the public side of the get-together was shut down. “An hour into the meetup, the convention staff very kindly and discreetly asked us to disperse and cover up since we were violating their dress code rules”, Chuu says. “I could tell that they weren’t upset about it and actually enjoyed us.”
“This was totally fine because we had already planned to move to a suite at MGM Grand, generously provided by our friends at Hashtag Studios and Con Collective. So we all caravanned over up the road and set up a full studio in a gorgeous corner suite. This ended being the most successful shoot I’ve ever produced.”
You’re seeing the results of that shoot here, with photographs taken by Anna Fischer and Elysiam Entertainment.
“The most wonderful thing to come from this group is that many of the cosplayers approached me afterwards to express how confident it made them feel”, Chuu adds. “They were worried about showing their bodies and being judged. I always want people to find strength in themselves and in each other.”
Given the success of Underwatch, and Overwatch cosplay in general, this definitely isn’t the last time we’ll be seeing something like this. A similar group effort will be taking place at Anime Expo in LA in July, only there the theme will be Formalwatch, ie Black Tie Overwatch. Please, someone, do Winston.
Photos below. As suggested in the headline, these are a little NSFW, so be wary if your employer/teacher is not understanding of cosplay butts or a very sexy Genji.
Also note: credit has been given where known, but if you know (or are!) any of the unlisted cosplayers below, let me know and I can add a name/link!)
Cosplay by 89Styles | Photo by Anna Fischer
Cosplay by Vickybunnyangel | Photo by Anna Fischer
Photo by Anna Fischer
Cosplay by Stella Chuu | Photo by Anna Fischer
Photo by Anna Fischer
Cosplay by Vanity Fox | Photo by Anna Fischer
Cosplay by Bindi Smalls | Photo by Anna Fischer
Cosplay by kawaiibakanekodesu | Photo by Anna Fischer
Cosplay by Stella Chuu | Photo by Anna Fischer
Cosplay by Brian Lee, costume by Dangrrr Doll | Photo by Elysiam Entertainment
Cosplay by Meevers Desu | Photo by Elysiam Entertainment
Cosplay by Bindi Smalls | Photo by Elysiam Entertainment
Cosplay by Senesas | Photo by Elysiam Entertainment
Photo by Elysiam Entertainment
Cosplay by omystephaniemichelle | Photo by Elysiam Entertainment
Cosplay by Jennybelly | Photo by Elysiam Entertainment
Cosplay by Gaius Cosplay | Photo by Elysiam Entertainment
Photo by Elysiam Entertainment
Photo by Elysiam Entertainment
Cosplay by Vanity Fox | Photo by Elysiam Entertainment
In addition to the shoot, here’s some video shot by KevinTheDirector of Underwatch’s brief hour on the showroom floor. Please note the multiple Torbjörns.
Comments
21 responses to “NSFW Overwatch Cosplay Was The Star Of The Show”
Ahem. Hmm. Mmm.
Well… I do like cosplay… *cough*
Lucio gets a ‘you tried’
I can’t believe they didn’t take that photo with his cock hanging out. That would have been perfect. Same expression on his face and all 😀
Can’t stop, won’t stop!
i’m just happy nobody used any makeup to try and match a characters appearance, otherwise we wouldn’t have this photo shoot
I want to see blizzard turn these into in-game skins just to see the reaction.
I can tell you what my ‘reaction’ would be…
“Profits from loot-box sales have tripled sir!”
The reaction would be a massive increase in Overwatch searches on a very famous “certain website”.
Wow, that tapey Stella Chu with the horns one, wow.
Gonna get in trouble for saving that to my phone
Needs more Roadhog.
Pretty sure he goes commando, same as 76.
Bravo! Well played, sir.
I wouldn’t have known most of these were derived from Overwatch if not told, so I think that is a bit of a fail.
Granted, I’ve always thought cosplay is a stupid pastime, but this comes off as nothing more than desperate attention seeking.
Less is not always more. I wouldn’t even call these ‘costumes’, more like Victoria’s Secret billboards.
Yeeeesh! And this isn’t objectification becaaaauuussseee….they wan’t to do it?
Sorry, this seems like a massive double standard.
K.
I’ll be in my bunk.
I find it amazing how all the commenters seem to have never seen a naked woman before.
Well, to be fair, they still haven’t…