Secret otaku certification test: Can you see the perfect anime cosplay hidden in this H&M ad?

An iconic anime hero, hiding in plain sight.

Generally, putting together a cosplay outfit involves spending a lot of time, a lot of money, or a lot of both. But really, it can’t be helped, can it? Even with otaku culture being bigger than ever, the number of people out there who genuinely want to dress up like their favorite anime or video game character is still a drop in the bucket compared to the clothes-buying public at large, so cosplayers either have to make their own clothing from scratch or bite the bullet and pay for custom tailoring work.

But in a surprising discovery, it turns out that mainstream fast fashion retailer H&M sells a thoroughly convincing, ready-to-wear cosplay outfit of one of anime’s most popular protagonists, and it can be yours for just about 25 bucks. Here, take a look at this photo from the H&M online store.

Sure, to the non-otaku eye, that might just look like some woman wearing H&M’s dark green cropped tank top. But anime fans know that she’s really cosplaying as…

…Heero Yuy, the dreamy teen soldier and main character of Mobile Suit Gundam Wing.

▼ They’ve even got similar physiques and moody eyes.

The tank top is reasonably priced at just 699 yen (US$6.30), while the high-waist twill shorts, in black, are still pretty easy on the wallet at 1,799 yen.

The top can be ordered online through H&M Japan here, and the shorts here. Sadly, while the shorts can be purchased through the brand’s U.S. store here, the cropped tank top seems to be unavailable in the States, so American fans will want to add it to their shopping list when they next visit the country and pick one up before making a pilgrimage to Tokyo’s life-sized Gundam statue.

Sources: Twitter/@zz_acerola_BC, H&M
Top image: H&M
Insert images: H&M (1, 2)



Credit:
at 21:14

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