For people who are commenting on why some US cosplay looks like the unidentified-gunk-beneath-your-sneakers... well... in Japan, or for various countries in Asia for that matter, anime/cosplaying is a part of mainstream culture, while in the US it's definitely fringe...
So if you consider the subset of anime cosplay population...
<flame shield ready, begs for mercy>
There are plenty more normal/decent-looking people (guys and girls) in Japan doing cosplaying, so there are far more good cosplay pics.
In the US, your average cosplayer, being from the fringe population (and may I venture to say *outcast*), is, mathematically-speaking, more likely to turn out to be a "fatass-no-jitsu" just because of sociology and the law of averages (% of overweight people in US > Japan)... and might I mention less cute girls on average are willing to cosplay as well... :-(
<peeks behind flame shield>
Sorry I just wanted to say it as it is... this is just my honest opinion of living in the US for 2 years after coming from Asia... ^_^ ;