Square Enix sells a lot of merchandise related to its popular video game series like Final Fantasy, Kingdom Hearts and Dragon Quest. Now the company is expanding into merchandise themed for your beloved pets. The items were created under the supervision of character designer Tetsuya Nomura. The line is called SQEX Pets, and while it hasn’t revealed prices or an on-sale date (the site just teases “coming soon”), it has started to roll out images of the adorable pet goods. For example, Cloud’s Buster Sword from Final Fantasy VII is now — a dog’s chew toy! Paopu Fruit from Kingdom Hearts has als ..read more

Back in August, we reported that Japan’s Top Cosplayer (TM) Enako would be releasing a book (er, MOOK) of cosplay that pays tribute to Keisuke Inagaki’s Baki. Now it’s out, and to remind Enako/Baki fans that it’s on shelves, some extra photos from the book have just been revealed. Check ‘em out! Whew, don’t try that one up top at home unless you’re pretty confident about your flexibility. Here’s what Enako herself had to say about the experience: We shot various characters and situations from the Baki series, which I love! The staff and I came up with ideas of what kind of scenes would be f ..read more

Gaming and cosplay are two big things in the realm of otaku interests, but how about cosplaying historically while gaming? Let me be more specific: how would you like to dress as an actual samurai warrior and dance along with a game like Dance Dance Revolution? Because that’s being offered at an inn in Japan. Takasago Onsen, which can be found in Asahikawa, within the Hokkaido Prefecture, is a ryokan, which is a type of old fashioned Japanese inn. Think communal baths, walking on tatami reeds, sleeping on a futon, etc. Sometimes these ryokan also offer arcade video games, though they tend to ..read more

Japanese politicians are known for sometimes cosplaying, but that’s much more rare in America. However, Sylvester Turner, the mayor of Houston, has made a point to cosplay at Houston’s Anime Matsuri convention annually for the past six years. Each time he wears a different costume that his team picks out, and this time he cosplayed as Luffy from One Piece. Turner won’t be mayor for much longer, and Luffy was chosen on purpose to connect with this. Mayor Turner explained, “As my term as mayor draws to a close, they [my team] thought the costume was a perfect fit because Luffy embodies unwaveri ..read more

The World Cosplay Summit, billed as the world’s largest cosplay competition and event, takes place every summer in Nagoya. Various world events have made the last few years tough — 2020 took place entirely online, while the last two years were held in person but with many restrictions in place. 2023’s event, however, looks to be bringing things back in full swing. It was just announced this year’s World Cosplay Summit will take place from August 4 to 6 in Nagoya, with teams from 34 countries and regions participating. The event will include the WCS Eve Festival, the championship itself, photos ..read more

The 26th Detective Conan anime film, Detective Conan: Kurogane no Submarine, opens this Friday in Japan, and to keep the hype train rolling the folks at Weekly Shonen Sunday enlisted the help of Japan’s top cosplayer Enako. Naturally, that means we get to see another impressive new cosplay from the fan-favorite performer, who donned the gear of the beloved pint-sized star of the Detective Conan series. Check out the incredibly authentic results: Here’s the synopsis for the Detective Conan: Kurogane no Submarine anime film, which opens in Japan on April 14: This time’s location is set in the ..read more

Professional cosplayer Enako was recently on the Japanese TV variety show Honma Dekka!?, and it wouldn’t be Enako if she weren’t dressed up like a character with otaku ties. She decided to dress as Yor Forger from SPY x FAMILY, and you can see her spot-on costume here. マンガ特集だったので、SPY×FAMILYのヨルさんのコスプレで出演してました#ホンマでっかTV pic.twitter.com/Ywl7o62Tfd — えなこ (@enako_cos) February 1, 2023 She looks good enough to be in the live-action stage musical as Yor! (To see what the actual actresses hired to play Yor look like, click here.) Comedian Akira Kawashima and Daisuke Sakuma from the group Snow Man ..read more

COSPA brand Cospatio is getting in on the fun of the new Urusei Yatsura anime, and it offers up the perfect chance for you to join in too! Among the brand’s latest items are reproductions of Tomobiki High School’s girl’s uniforms, as seen in the anime adaptation of Rumiko Takahashi’s classic manga, and they’re available in both winter and summer styles. The winter uniforms ship out in mid-March, with the navy skirt going for ¥18,700 (about US$129) and the long-sleeved jacket going for ¥24,200 ($166).  The summer uniforms consist of a pleated skirt for ¥18,700 ($129) and a short-sleeved ..read more

Mika Kano, who is part of the Kano sisters, is famous for her fashion, and sometimes her fashion includes cosplay. On the sisters’ Instagram page, Mika shared images of herself as Makima from Chainsaw Man. She released this one day ago, to coincide with the debut of the anime adaptation. You can see she got the hair down, the eyes down, and even the pose down. Here’s a figurine of Makima, to show how much they match up: Of Kano and the figurine, who do you think got the look better? Kano put several images of herself in this pose on Instagram, and while she didn’t share the Makima figurine ..read more

There are reports that a Chinese anime fan got in trouble with police in Suzhou, China for dressing like Ushio Kofune from Summer Time Rendering. The issue was that she wore a kimono, which goes against the current Chinese government’s nationalistic sentiments, and is also seen as a reminder of the human rights abuses the Japanese army committed against Chinese people in World War II. According to the fan, she and a photographer were minding their own business when they were swarmed by police. Some of the encounter was caught on video. A police officer is seen yelling, “If you come here weari ..read more