dugtrio

They say anything is possible in the world of cosplay. While some cosplayers have started getting creative when it comes to background photo effects, others have branched out into recreating renditions of popular fan art. So, it shouldn’t be a surprise that a group of particularly ripped guys decided to make a costume of the Dugtrio Pokémon masterpiece above that hit the web in response to the question “What exactly does Diglett look like underground?”

Although the trio original debuted their cosplay at last year’s Fanime convention in California, they revived it again at Anime Expo 2015, which was held at the beginning of the month. Following this year’s convention, pictures of the famous cosplay started appearing on Japanese sites, leaving netizens both laughing and scratching their heads at what they deemed a uniquely “American” style of cosplay.

For those of you that missed the original macho Dugtrio cosplay from last year, here’s a quick recap:

dugtriofanime

This year at Anime Expo in Lost Angeles, they outdid themselves by teaming up with Diglett and Sudowoodo to create the best Brokémon cosplay we’ve ever seen.

brokemoncosplayax

But as pictures of the new and improved version started making their way across the net with the tagline “Pokémon cosplay overseas shows us a stranger side of culture,” Japanese netizens who had never seen the original fan art couldn’t help but react with both amusement and confusion.

“Oh…”
“They look pretty strong”
“Gotta catch ’em all!”
“Somewhere down the line they became fighting type Pokémon”
“They’ve got it all wrong, it’s not that… I’m not sure what it is, but it’s not that!”
“(In all seriousness) This version is better lol”
“They might as well have cosplayed Machamp lolol”
“I’d say they’re about Level 80?”
“Maybe they just wanted an excuse to strip? lol”

At least one user seemed to be familiar with the original meme, though:

“Isn’t this a cosplay of some fan art that went viral on the net? lol They still haven’t shown what the bottom half of Diglett looks like”

As for the Western side of the web, overall the reaction has been positive, especially from the ladies. With their “attract” attack, they could even give Magic Mike a run for his money.

Source: Hamusoku
Top image: Know Your Meme
Insert images: FlickerHandsIntheAir.net