Kibutsuji Muzan
Demon Slayer
Photographer
Brian Boling
Why I chose to make this costume:
Ever since I rewatched season 1 of the anime earlier this year, I’ve been obsessed with the idea of cosplaying the progenitor demon from Kimetsu no Yaiba, and creating some hellish moody images with Muzan. The hype surrounding the Mugen Train movie led me to reread most of the manga as well so my brain has been just full of Demon Slayer imagery. My main goal for this project was creating a photo set befitting Muzan so most my how-to will surround that aspect.
How I made this costume:
So I actually recorded the full process of how I built the photoset and did the photoshoot! You can watch the video on my YouTube channel!
After a year of cosplaying in quarantine, I set aside a permanent spot in my warehouse to build sets for my cosplay photoshoots and it has completely revitalized my creativity. This set is my most elaborate to date and I spent months collection set pieces and decor for it. Some pieces like the crane room divider were lucky finds on Facebook Marketplace, others I had to order on Ali Express months prior.
I spent about three solid days decorating the set, and a 4th day doing lighting tests on it. Brian and I are not properly trained photographers and most of what we do it trial and error. I definitely studied up on lighting and editing in my spare time in order to be prepared for this shoot.
As for the costume, I thankfully didn't have to make it as well, or it would have pushed back the photoshoot for several weeks. DokiDokiCosplay kindly sent me their R version Muzan costume and a wig. It is their lower tier cosplay products because sadly they don't offer the higher quality version anymore, so I still am considering making the kimono and obi myself for future wears. I think it's passable for photos but not for extended wear. I styled the wig a bit with the wavy bangs but it is a bit fussy and I will style a lace front Muzan wig soon. However, I am really grateful to get the costume in time so I could do the photoshoot while my obsession for Demon Slayer was at an all time high.
Sometimes when I make a costume, it takes so long that by the time I'm finished, my interests may have shifted onto something else. It's really nice to have the option of ready-to-wear costumes these days.
Onto the accessories! I loved being able to use a set of Extreme stiletto nails from Onyx Nails Design for Muzan, I think they look perfect with the cosplay.
I also spend time making the one thing I could not get - spider lily flowers! I ued the crepe paper floral method and made 3 stems with 18 flowers ultimately. It was a long process but I used them a lot during the shoot so it was definitely worth it. I just... really needed to show Muzan with the legendary blue spider lily lol
I had fun doing the makeup and posing with all the props! I'm so glad we got a little time to take some video because Muzan is definitely a fun character to cosplay as!
Thoughts on this costume:
Oh man, what can I say? I'm really happy to be able to do these fully immersive cosplay projects where I not only dress up as the character but create the environment and the imagery! It is a lot of work though, and I probably should hire a video editor soon to help alleviate some of those late night youtube video editing. I'm so pleased the lighting ideas I had for Muzan worked, and I'm excited to see how far I can take set building next.
I hope Demon Slayer fans can appreciate this set of photos, I certainly am not done cosplaying from this series and I can't wait for season 2!
