But high-quality cosplay isn’t always easy or cheap. Beyond the hair, clothes, eyes, and other exotic quirks of appearance, you may need to replicate an iconic weapon to complete the look—and a well-crafted weapon can have a huge impact on the final result. Here are some of the coolest cosplay weapons we’ve found that you can craft with a little bit of effort and materials. Prepare to turn heads at your next cosplay convention!
10. Fusion Sword (Final Fantasy VII)
This iconic sword of Cloud Strife—from the Final Fantasy VII spin-off games and the Advent Children film—will help you bring the character to life, even if you only have the pants and shirt. This sword is so large and recognizable that it’ll do most of the heavy lifting, instantly letting everyone know that you’re cosplaying Cloud Strife. At first glance, the sword looks like a single large sword—but it’s actually several swords and blades of different sizes. One of the best battles where he used the Fusion Sword and all of its blades was his battle against Sephiroth and his long-blade Masamune in Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children.
9. God Arcs (God Eaters)
These ridiculously large swords from the God Eaters anime series are one of the coolest cosplay swords. Sword-type God Arcs feature different types of blades and edges. Though the God Arcs are quite detailed and will require a good amount of work if you want them to look good, it’s quite rewarding when you manage to craft a perfect replica. This model is of Soma Schicksal with a toothed blade. There are a lot of God Arcs in the series and all of them are one of a kind.
8. Gideon (Seven Deadly Sins)
With this weapon, you won’t need to be a giant to show that you’re cosplaying Serpent’s Sin Diane from the Seven Deadly Sins anime series. The sacred weapon Gideon is the giant Warhammer of Diane that makes her Earth-type abilities reach maximum potential. With the Gideon, she can summon a towering pillar of diamond and even makes combination techniques with other members of the Seven Deadly Sins. You can see the Gideon hanging by the side of the giant Hawk Mama when not in use.
7. Chastiefol (Seven Deadly Sins)
Here’s another cool weapon from Seven Deadly Sins: the Spirit Spear of Fairy King Harlequin, the Sloth’s Sin. It has different forms that adapt to the kind of battle he’s in—it can be a spear in its first form or a stuffed bear monster in its second form. The Spirit Spear also adapts to King’s magic power and transforms into a True Spirit Spear, gaining another set of forms that resemble the original forms but with enhanced abilities.
6. Chainsword (Warhammer 40k)
The chainsword is the weapon of choice for melee fighters in Warhammer 40k because of its powered toothed edges. It may look similar to Captain Lindow Amamiya’s God Arc in the God Eater anime series with its toothed edge that runs like a chainsaw blade.
5. Sandai Kitetsu (One Piece)
Roronoa Zoro, the swordsman of the Straw Hat Pirate crew, owns a set of three swords that he uses during battles. He unsheathes these swords depending on what sword style he’s gonna use… …and the most popular one is his Three-Sword Style: Onigiri, where he uses Sandai Kitetsu and two other swords to perform the devastating move all at once.
4. Night Sky Sword (Sword Art Online)
One of the swords of Kirito from Sword Art Online is the Night Sky Sword, which is made from the branch of the Gigas Cedar. It’s also called the “Black One” because of its pitch-black color. It’s a single-handed long wooden sword that can grow longer and be used in double-handed sword techniques.
3. Blue Rose Sword (Sword Art Online)
If you aren’t into simple black sword designs like the Night Sky Sword, there’s another sword from the Sword Art Online anime series you might like: the Blue Rose Sword. This sword has fine details of white and blue that resemble its ice-based abilities, like summoning mountains of thorny ice walls and encasing targets in ice while draining them of their life.
2. Arm Cannon (Final Fantasy VII)
Next to the Fusion Sword of Cloud Strife, there’s another cool Final Fantasy VII weapon you can use for cosplaying: Barret Wallace’s Arm Cannon. After he loses his arm in an unfortunate event, the remainder of his limb was modified to equip weapons for combat. His Arm Cannon is iconic, and it matches his large physique and brutal attitude.
1. Omni-Directional Mobility Gear (Attack on Titan)
In Attack on Titan, soldiers can only fight Titans by using omni-directional mobility gear—devices that can shoot grappling ropes and use the environment to perform aerial maneuvers. ODM gear is powered by refillable gas canisters. The firing and retraction of the grappling ropes is done via triggers on the sword handles—swords that can also disconnect their broken blades and reconnect with replacement blades. Although ODM gear is used for mobility via high walls, trees, and towers, a user must be trained to have perfect control over their gear so they can make smooth transitions and directional changes. Some of the best ODM users are Mikasa and Levi Ackerman, who prove themselves as they aggressively cut down and kill Titans. Read next: Beginner’s guide to cosplaying your favorite character
