Heisuke Toudou
Hakuouki: Demon of the Fleeting Blossom
Western version
Status: Retired
Cost: ~$50
Made and worn in 2012-2015
I enjoy visual novels a lot--especially history-inspired dating sims aimed at women! Hakuouki had just about everything I wanted. A cool female main character who grows? Check. A cast of attractive men who are all different? Check. Swords? CHECK, CHECK, CHECK!
I first cosplayed Heisuke with my friends at Otakon, who were Souji, Hajime, and Chikage. I brought the costume out again for the very first Ellicott City photoshoot, and then in 2015 I decided to give the costume one last hurrah with my Shion wig and cosplay the fury version.
Heisuke's western outfit was a cinch to make. I already had the white button-up and pants, and I bought the riding-style boots online (they really sucked in my calves, but DANG, they were hard to zip up). I made the vest from scratch as well as the purple gradient bottom piece. I've never known what it actually is, so I call it a "butt wrap." This is the only time I've gradient-dyed fabric, and I really liked the effect! I stuck the dark purple part in the dye bath first, and in increments of 20 minutes or so, I moved more and more of the fabric into the dye. Then I freehanded the white designs with fabric paint. (I should have made a stencil, but oh well!) The yellow waist wrap to hold the swords was made from some leftover yellow cotton fabric I had. The sword is a wooden bokken that I painted, and I wrapped the handle.
I bought the wig from an ebay seller, and the only thing right about it was some choppiness in the back and the color. The length was way off, so I cut it up quite a bit. I'm really happy with what I did back in 2011 for this particular wig!
Another plus of cosplaying from Hakuouki was that I had already been learning Japanese swordplay, so I had no problems posing properly. If you ever have questions about your form when posing with a katana, please send questions my way!
Photos by Soulfire Studio, Smile Jade Photography, Headphone Studios, Yenra Photography, and White Specs Photography.
