Nezuko Cosplay - Kimetsu no Yaiba (Demon Slayer)
The popularity of the Kimetsu no Yaiba (Demon Slayer) franchise, both manga and anime has made a significant impact on Japanese culture. As Kimetsu no Yaiba was one of the most popular anime when it aired during the spring 2019 anime season, many people who were not yet aware of this series grew interest causing it to gain more popularity. Since it was one of the most popular anime, of course the fans would choose to cosplay as the characters who appear in the story. Despite being the main character Tanjiro Kamado was not the most popular character to cosplay as. Instead his younger sister Nezuko Kamado is the most popular character that fans cosplay as. Many youtubers, bloggers, and cosplayers chose Nezuko to make content.
Outfit
The main outfit cosplayers use to dress up as Nezuko is the outfit she is seen usually wearing in the series. A pink kimono with a geometric star pattern on it with a much lighter pink color lining it. The obi is a red and white checkered pattern with an orange rope being tied around the middle of the obi and a green cloth that is tied around her upper body, directly above the obi. She also has a black haori that is the same length as the kimono and comes down to her lower shins. Around her shins are black cloths used as leg covers which are kept in place with light pink string. Many shops sell clothes, shoes, and wigs separately. The shoes are either geta or zori. These types of shoes are both Japanese sandals but zori and made from rice straw or lacquered wood, these sandals have a flat bottom. These are usually worn for formal occasions with a kimono. The geta is a sandal with a raised wooden clog with teeth, these sandals are also worn with a kimono but are most commonly worn with a yukata during summer. In the series, Nezuko is drawn wearing zori made from rice straw but many cosplayers use geta instead. The geta are wooden based, usually a lighter brown with varying shades of pink for the straps. The wigs for the Nezuko cosplay all have very long black hair coming to chest length with the shades of vermillion coming even lower. Just like her design the wigs also have curls in the lower half of the hair, many cosplayers choosing to restyle the wig themselves and adjust the curls as well as adding a pink ribbon to complete the look.
Many cosplayers also choose to cosplay as Nezuko wearing a school uniform which is seen in the omake Kimetsu Gakuen which is a different version of Kimetsu no Yaiba (Demon Slayer) telling a story of, what if the characters were just students and/or teachers going to school in a parallel universe. In this omake Nezuko is drawn wearing a sailor uniform. The uniform is mostly black in color, with a black pleated skirt coming to about knee length. The black shirt has red lines around the edges and a large lime green ribbon. The socks are also black and are below the knee. The shows are the standard black school shoes many real Japanese students would wear.
Versions
- Nezuko Cosplay (Kimono version): This version is the standard cosplay many dress up as. It is how Nezuko is usually depicted in the series, wearing her kimono with the signature bamboo gag around her mouth.
- Nezuko Cosplay (Demonic version): This version has many variations due to the differing levels of ‘demonic’ cosplayers choose to go. In the series Nezuko has different levels of demonic she goes through when fighting and enhancing her powers. The cosplayers decide on whether having the demon marks on their bodys, protruding vein marks, a horn growing from the forehead, and sharp pink and red tinted nails.
- Nezuko Cosplay (Student version): Seen from the omake drawn by the author, Nezuko appears wearing a black sailor uniform showing an alternate world of Nezuko as a student. Some cosplayers also chose to dress up as a demonic student Nezuko.
Makeup
It is not a proper Nezuko cosplay without the finishing touches of makeup. Nezuko has distinct pink eyes making pink eye contact lenses indispensable for this cosplay, if the cosplayers choose to dress up as her Demon form then contact lenses with a pink iris and a vertical slit is needed. She is not drawn with makeup on her but many female cosplayers use the pink theme and wear pink eyeshadow and fake eyelashes to make their eyes look bigger for the anime-like appearance. Many cosplayers also cover up their own eyebrows and draw on thin black eyebrows to further look just like Nezuko.
For special effects makeup many of the cosplayers also draw veins mainly protruding from their forehead and eyes but also all over her body as seen in the manga when Nezuko gets serious and fights with her Demon form. Some cosplayers also draw on vines on their body to further enhance the Demon look. To perfect the Demon form of Nezuko many would have a horn on their forehead, just like Nezuko grew during one of her battles.
Cosplayers
Many popular cosplayers such as MONPINK1111, VICTORIAFRAY007, VAGUELYCOSPLAY, and NAOMI.MOONZ have posted on their various instagram, youtube, and twitter accounts.
If the cosplayers have a youtube channel then most of them would post makeup tutorials showing their fans how they transform themselves to look just like the character they chose. Some cosplayers also post unboxings and reviews about the Nezuko outfit they had bought online.