I cannot tell you HOW many times I have gotten comments comparing me to Tsumugi Shirogane, the Ultimate Cosplayer from DanganRonpa V3. "You are the irl Tsumugi", "OMG I thought you were cosplaying Tsumugi!", "You remind me so much of Tsumugi!", "Guys omg she's real!" my YouTube comments have echoed over and over for a few years now. At first it was interesting... Then a little annoying. Still, I appreciated the sentiment of what everyone was saying! Even if I had no idea who this character was yet.

     I hadn't stayed caught up with things in the DanganRonpa fandom for a few years by that point, and I hadn't even really looked into the third game at all. It makes me feel weirdly old to think about the time back when I WAS more involved with this fandom. Back in 2013, the first two games had not officially been translated into English yet, and we experienced the game through text based threads of fan translations on Something Awful. In the fall of 2013 I did my first DanganRonpa cosplay, Souda! But since then I hadn't really kept up with it or continued to be involved with the fandom at all.

My Souda cosplay from AAC 2013

    So when I started getting a ton of comments from people saying how much I reminded them of this one particular character, I had to know what had been going on with this series since I had last left off with it! Unfortunately I had already been spoiled about a few major things in regards to Tsumugi's character just from the copious amount of YouTube comments I was getting about her, and just how many of them talked heavy spoilers about the character. It didn't matter if the video wasn't even a DanganRonpa related thing, I'd still hear it! But still I picked up V3 and started playing through it, quickly falling back in love with this universe and it's wacky characters! But also quickly being reminded about how painful this series can be 😭

    As I went through V3 I enjoyed the characters, and while Tsumugi wasn't one of my top favorite characters (that would be Kaito and Maki) or the character that I saw the most of myself in (Himiko... Oh Himiko. I could say so much about this character), I still really loved her! Whether it was just the connection I felt because of the comments I had seen on my past videos, or the fact that we were both cosplayers, I just thought she was a great character! And I definitely related to her feeling "plain" while doing something as amazing and creative as cosplay! I myself feel "plain" sometimes even though I dress crazy and do a lot of unique things in my life. 

    When I placed my last large cosplay order from Bhiner I figured now was the time. Time to finally listen to all of those YouTube comments and cosplay the Ultimate Cosplayer herself! My Tsumugi cosplay was $28.80 and I ordered a size Small, and the wig was only $8.48! This entire cosplay was SO affordable, and I couldn't recommend it highly enough! Though ordering from Bhiner can sometimes be a pain- their shipping is very expensive and usually takes a very long time, I always find it's worth it to place a large order so I can get a bunch of stuff sent to me at once. 

My first time wearing the Tsumugi cosplay!

    The wig was nice! I'm honestly surprised I was able to get something like that for as low of a price as I did! The wig fibers are SUPER long and feel pretty soft! This wig feels like it might tangle somewhat easily, but that might just be because of how long it is. I was a little worried at first that the wig was too blue, but trying everything on together I really love how it looked! The only thing I wish I could change about this wig is the middle part area. And by that I mean, actually giving it a middle part. Because of the way the hair is layed in to this wig, if you just split the hairs you would easily see the tracks of the wig showing through. It's easy enough to hide with a little bit of styling and hair clips though!

    The cosplay itself came with almost all of the parts needed for Tsumugi! The only things needed for her that it didn't come with were her glasses (I'm just using my own real prescription glasses) and her socks and shoes (which generally most cosplays don't come with shoes anyways). It is a relatively simple cosplay in terms of design and construction, so not much to go wrong on but also not much to really impress you. I had a few extremely minor fitting issues with this cosplay. I felt that the shirt was a little too boxy, not fitting the curves of my body correctly, and the sleeves on it were just a little too short. I also found that the straps on the skirt didn't sit how I would have liked them too, and I just wish the strap was adjustable. Overall I would rate the cosplay itself as very standard and basic. Nothing too notable about it. I guess it's fitting for Tsumugi... plain. 

Don't mind how wrinkly the skirt is here lol... This is me trying it all on for the first time- straight out of the bag!

    But I don't mean that in a bad way! One of my favorite things about the resurgence of the DanganRonpa fandom I've seen in recent years is the way that the cosplayers in this fandom always put their own creative spins on the characters! We all know the stereotype of the DanganRonpa cosplayer with their kandi beads, Demonia shoes, and butterfly hairclips- but I really do mean it! I love those things! And all of the other ways that people personalize their cosplays! something that I think is unique to this particular fandom is that cosplaying the characters isn't about perfectly recreating their on screen appearance, but more about embodying the character and the attitude and personalities of the characters. So I think that a relatively "plain" DanganRonpa cosplay is a great place to start since you can adjust and personalize parts of the cosplay however you want to!


The Tsumugi cosplay without the blazer on. So cute!!!

    Putting on this cosplay for the first time was wild. I seriously was not expecting to love it as much as I do. When I got this cosplay I thought, "eh... Tsumugi is cool but I don't feel super strongly about this cosplay. I'm mostly doing this because so many people have asked for it." but immediately once I had the cosplay on I realized how right those comments were. Maybe they were on to something here... 

    I still feel a little bit nervous about the DanganRonpa fandom, it is like a huge crazy insane beast of a thing, but wearing this cosplay definitely reminded me how much I love all three of the games, and made me feel so inspired with ideas for other DanganRonpa content I want to do in the future! I obviously have done a whole YouTube video unboxing and reviewing this cosplay for those wonderful people that left me all those comments, but I also spent a lot of time filming Tsumugi videos for my TikTok page and taking photos too!

    I have at least one other DanganRonpa cosplay in the works right now that I will probably have a video on soon, so if you are a fan of the series you should definitely keep an eye out for that in the coming weeks! I feel so excited to have added another cosplay to my wardrobe, and to have done another review video for you guys! If you are someone who is looking to cosplay as Tsumugi I hope that you found some of this helpful!

    As always, I love hearing from you guys! If you ever think of a character that I remind you of or that you want to see me cosplay, please let me know! I would say that following the advice of you guys has led me to a great success right now, and I'm so happy that so many people ended up suggesting this character to me!

- Aesthel


Note: This video was not sponsored, I bought this cosplay & wig myself! But I do have a referral link you can use if you want to order from Bhiner! After placing your first order you will get a 35 CNY coupon to your account!!

Sign up for your Bhiner account at ➡ https://cosplay.bhiner.com/r/6bDB