Video games like Final Fantasy go hand-in-hand with cosplaying. Unique, memorable characters that players interact with for hundreds if not thousands of hours can leave long-lasting impressions, and in appreciation of this, fans will dress up as these characters at conventions that celebrate games, comic books, and nerd culture in general. And while generally all gaming characters are welcome, certain series tend produce more favorable - and unfavorable - options for cosplaying than others.
Cosplay can be limiting in of who is and isn't represented. While certain fans may think outside of the box - like an Elden Ring player who dressed as Turtle Pope Miriel - most video game cosplayers will dress up as a humanoid character whom they feel they can accurately represent. Since cosplay has become so popular that influencers like Hana Bunny have been able to make careers out it, choosing well known and interesting characters can be important.
Nevertheless, more and more people are cosplaying now than ever, so there are bound to be a larger variety of video game characters and series represented at events. According to characters to cosplay, from Elden Ring's Malenia to Darth Vader, and their favorability and unfavorability ratings. The results are particularly interesting for video game characters.
Most Popular Video Game Characters To Cosplay
It may come as no surprise that out of the top 30 most popular characters to cosplay, League of Legends and Final Fantasy characters took up 6 spots. Final Fantasy's Tifa was particularly beloved by the cosplaying community, as she was the second most popular character overall (highest in of video games) with the second highest favorability rating at 29.7%. Following her for most popular video game character was League of Legends' Jinx, who at 26.2% only falls behind Tifa by 3 points. Aerith (as "Aeris") from Final Fantasy 7 also appeared at 23.1%, and Ezreal and Ashe from League at 22.7% and 22.2% respectively. Genshin Impact cosplay was also fairly popular, as Paimon, Shenhe, and Amber all made the list with favorability ratings in the low 20's and nearly negligible unfavorable ratings.
What is most notable about these results for video games is that most of the characters who made the top 30 are female - Ezreal from League of Legends being the only exception. In comparison, manga and anime had a much more diverse array of characters represented in the list, with My Hero Academia's Bakagou being the most popular, favorable, and unfavorable character in the entire list. While the reason behind this lack of diversity in video game character representation at cosplaying events is unclear, hopefully the popularity of male characters from League of Legends, Final Fantasy, and Genshin Impact will encourage people from different backgrounds who are interested in cosplaying to participate in the future.
Source: Ebuyer
