There’s more to cosplaying across genders then just dressing up in costume.
While cosplay is always a great outlet for indulging in fantasy scenarios and expressing love for well-known characters, it’s also a unique way to break down conventional walls and boundaries, with men dressing up as women, women dressing up as men, and a bit of everything in between.
Perfecting a look when cosplaying as a character with a different gender to your own isn’t always easy, but for Japanese cosplayer @18_27_Ruccika, it’s a challenge she takes on wholeheartedly.
So far, she’s accomplished a number of female looks with the greatest of ease, cosplaying as characters like Touka Kirishima, a ghoul from Tokyo Ghoul.
トーカちゃん宅コスなう💕💕
— 猫宮 のえる🐾 (@18_27_Noel) May 29, 2017
何回やっても自分が幸せになれる…☺️✨✨#るちこす pic.twitter.com/x5CEUXrcq1
She’s also been known to celebrate Maid’s Day when it rolls around on 10 May every year.
#5月10日はメイドの日
— 猫宮 のえる🐾 (@18_27_Noel) May 9, 2017
幸村最後にやったの去年の八月だよ…そんな前なのか… pic.twitter.com/lACjPoZo13
While she brings a natural femininity to each of these looks, @18_27_Ruccika also knows how to bring out her more masculine side when cosplaying as some of her favourite male characters.
▼ Here she can be seen as Okita Sougo from Gintama, and Kyoya Hibari and Belphegor from Reborn!
他にも、こっちは割と最近にしたけど
— 猫宮 のえる🐾 (@18_27_Noel) May 7, 2017
沖田総悟/銀魂
ベルフェゴール/家庭教師ヒットマンREBORN!
雲雀恭弥/家庭教師ヒットマンREBORN!
もやりたいです(切実)#るちこす pic.twitter.com/IxPhWWwNBY
She’s also dressed up as Eren Yeager from Attack on Titan, vocaloid Kaito, Nick Wilde from Zootopia and Isaac Foster from Satsuriku no Tenshi, or Angel of Slaughter.
またやりたい男装まとめ。
— 猫宮 のえる🐾 (@18_27_Noel) May 7, 2017
エレン・イェーガー/進撃の巨人
KAITO(マトリョシカ)/VOCALOID
ニック・ワイルド/ズートピア
アイザック・フォスター/殺戮の天使
もともと男装レイヤーだからね!
やりたい男装まだまだあるじぇ!#るちこす pic.twitter.com/ZyiqCMbmjV
One of her most interesting roles to date is the character of Midare Toushirou, an anthropomorphised short sword from the hugely popular online web browser game Touken Ranbu. Midare is a male character who looks like a girl and dresses in women’s clothing.
https://twitter.com/18_27_Ruccika/status/862654040248799232With so many styles and characters under her belt, @18_27_Ruccika has done a lot of experimenting with poses and has come up with some winning techniques that she now wants to share with other cosplayers.
僕はいつでも応接室で待ってるよ。 pic.twitter.com/4N6jg9UvCB
— 猫宮 のえる🐾 (@18_27_Noel) February 17, 2017
According to @18_27_Ruccika, the number one tip to perfecting any look comes down to posture. In order to illustrate her point, she’s shared this sketch with her followers online, demonstrating the different pelvic positions for females, (on the left of each picture) compared to males (on the right).
素晴らしく下手な絵で申し訳ない、伝われぇ〜 pic.twitter.com/aBFLqSDrrQ
— 猫宮 のえる🐾 (@18_27_Noel) May 9, 2017
What this means in the real world is that, if you’re a woman cosplaying as a man and you retain your usual posture, with your bottom out and chest raised, people will instantly know that you’re a woman.
Having found some side poses in her collection, she displayed them side-by-side in order to further highlight the importance of posture in cosplay. On the right, where she cosplays as the effeminate male character Midare Toushirou, you can see her chest is raised, her spine is curved, and her bottom is pushed out.
On the left, where she cosplays as vocaloid Kaito, her back is stooped, her shoulders dropped, and she’s activated her pelvis, pulling it in so that her bottom doesn’t jut out. The red exclamation points illustrate the ideal position of the pelvis according to each look.
丁度横向きのがあったので解説!!
— 猫宮 のえる🐾 (@18_27_Noel) June 6, 2017
男装レイヤーさんに気をつけてほしい立ち方!
男装してるのに胸を張ってたり、お尻が出てたりすると、女性だ…ってなってしまいます…
出来るだけ体の凹凸が無くなるように意識すると男らしく見えるのです!
(スタンプの❗は骨盤の角度のイメージです) pic.twitter.com/zLbZIVo0xB
@18_27_Ruccika always adopts this stance when dressed up as male characters like Kaito, a vocaloid originally developed by Yamaha Corporation and distributed by Crypton Future Media, Inc., the same company behind the aqua-haired vocaloid Hatsune Miku.
【#アコスタ #Acosta 】#Vocaloid #ボカロ #KAITO #コスプレ
— 猫宮 のえる🐾 (@18_27_Noel) June 5, 2017
ああ、吐きそうだ。
私の全部受け止めて。
photo…@hiro_camera1 #らぶりつ下さい #るちこす #ボカロ好きな人RT pic.twitter.com/teVVSulQRO
マトリョシカはしっかり出したけど、通常衣装出したことないし、せっかくオータメイドで作ったんだからやっぱ一回はやりたいよーぅ(´;ω;`) pic.twitter.com/S1PDBgYJvz
— 猫宮 のえる🐾 (@18_27_Noel) March 6, 2017
It’s also the key to bringing Kyoya Hibari to life from the anime and manga series Reborn!
は???もう2次元でいいじゃん???雲雀恭弥まじピヨピヨ pic.twitter.com/MI1cZfyMy7
— 猫宮 のえる🐾 (@18_27_Noel) February 18, 2017
は???まって???これ自分なのがすごくしんどいんだけどちょっと雲雀恭弥可愛くない????お口ちゅんってなってるし頭のピヨピヨまじピヨピヨ pic.twitter.com/B4iowon6sY
— 猫宮 のえる🐾 (@18_27_Noel) February 18, 2017
Fellow cosplayers have been thanking @18_27_Ruccika for her advice, saying they’ll be using the pictures as a reference when completing their own looks.
Whether you’re wanting to cosplay across genders, or simply wanting to bring a sense of authenticity to a portfolio of animated characters, perfection is always in the details, so don’t forget to add posture to your look next time you cosplay!
Source: Twitter/@18_27_Ruccika
Featured image: Twitter/@18_27_Ruccika
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