Cosplaying as Musicians

Cosplay is not a hobby contained only to anime and manga fans. There is huge amounts of western comic book and video game representation at conventions. Even certain alternative fashions, both eastern and western, make their appearance. If you’re into steampunk, visual kei, cyberpunk, lolita, decora, any subset of Japanese fashion, etc, you can throw your con badge in the air and be pretty certain that the person you hit could be your new best friend. If you take into consideration the overlap of so many interests in one place, it’s not so strange that people also choose to cosplay as Japanese musicians!

Kyary Pamyu Pamyu is an obvious contender for most cosplayed j-pop artist. Not only does she have a memorable, unique image, but her fame has spread overseas in ways no other pop musician from Japan has! Every new video she puts out showcases bold new looks that cosplayers who love a challenge gladly take on.

Perfume has had time to rack up a huge fanbase over the past 14 years. While Kyary eats pseudo-kawaii Harajuku fashion for breakfast, Perfume takes on a more high fashion approach to their coordinated idol outfits. This doesn’t mean their outfits aren’t as ambitious; I’d love to see some Spring of Life cosplays at a convention someday!

We take a departure from the pop scene and get into the intersection of rock music and goth fashion with this cosplayer. Although it’s slightly less mainstream, visual kei and goth fashion is still as prominent as ever amongst fans of bands like GazettE.

A lot of visual kei arists are known for having wild (i.e. amazing) hair and makeup, making it a challenging and appealing cosplay endeavor.