Cosplay ideas for beginners!
If you’re new to cosplay, I understand where you’re coming from. There are so many characters you could potentially cosplay but they’re all so hard to do! And sometimes it’s not even just about buying a cosplay; wearing a complex costume can be difficult to do.
But fortunately, we have many options for cosplaying! And that includes cosplaying characters that are easy to do.
So in this post, I’ll give you 25 cosplay ideas for beginners that can be easily done by anyone. You’ll find this list very diverse from a variety of fandoms including Anime, video games and comics. You’ll definitely be able to cosplay some of these characters, even if you’re a complete beginner.
Without further ado, let’s get started!
1. L from Death Note
Of course I want to start off this list with probably the easiest cosplay you could ever do. Who would that be? L from Death Note! If you don’t, L is one of the protagonists, who is a smart detective with an oddball personality (and his love for candy). L is a memorable character from the past that many people love. And best of all, you only need a white t-shirt and light blue jeans to cosplay as L!
2. Attack On Titan
From my observation as a congoer and cosplay event organizer, I can see a lot of new cosplayers love to dress up as Attack On Titan. And it’s not surprising why. It’s a great series with a ton of viewers, and it happens to be a favorite among many viewers. So it’s only reasonable to want to cosplay from Attack On Titan. Not only that, it’s really easy to find an AoT cosplay online and wear the signature brown jackets.
So if you’re a beginner and want to try cosplaying for the first time, then Attack On Titan is a great place to start. And it works well if you’re bringing friends along to a convention; they can cosplay from Attack On Titan as well!
3. Kiki from Kiki’s Delivery Service
I do promote Kiki on this blog a lot and for good reason. Kiki is a memorable character from Kiki’s Delivery Service by Studio Ghibli. It’s a wholesome film worth watching and Kiki herself is definitely worth cosplaying. All you need is her navy blue outfit, red heels and broom. She’s definitely one of the easiest cosplays to do, so her outfit is beginner-friendly.
4. Haru from Beastars
Haru is a relatively new character from the series, Beastars. It’s about a group of human-like animals coexisting with each other, with predator and prey being together. Haru is a fun character because she is quite feisty for a hare, a prey animal. Her outfit is pretty casual, so she’s definitely easy to cosplay. If you have a partner, I highly recommend cosplaying as Haru and Legoshi for a cosplay couple idea.
5. Naruto
Naruto is another popular series to cosplay from for beginners. I think it’s safe to say that everyone knows about Naruto; it’s one of the most popular Shonen of all time! Naruto has reached mainstream levels of popularity. So is it a surprise that for many cosplayers, Naruto is their first ever cosplay? It’s been around for over 20 years, so I’ve seen generations of cosplayers cosplay from Naruto to this day!
As for which characters, the original members of Team 7 are the most popular. Those characters would be: Naruto, Sakura, Sasuke and Kakashi. And you got a whole slew of Naruto characters worth cosplaying as well such as Hinata, Rock Lee and Gaara!
6. Bloom from Winx Club
Now here’s a character that’s not from an American or Japanese production company. Bloom is the main character from Winx Club, a magical girl series from Italy! Although the main characters are fairies, I consider the series part of the Magical Girl genre, because they do transform like most magical girls do!
Although Bloom’s magical girl outfit is pretty difficult to make (especially the wings), if you’re looking for something beginner-friendly, go for Bloom’s casual baby blue outfit pictured above. That one is a lot easier to do!
7. Mary Jane Watson from Spider-Man
I would say Mary Jane Watson is probably the easiest comic book character to cosplay as! All you really need is a white tank top, blue jeans and dark red wig. If you didn’t know, Mary Jane is one of the main characters from Spider-Man. She is the one helping out Peter Parker when he’s not web slinging and fighting off enemies. I highly recommend cosplaying as Mary Jane Watson as she is beginner-friendly!
8. Keqing from Genshin Impact
I wanted to include at least one Genshin Impact on this list. After all, Genshin is by far the most popular series to cosplay from. But of all the Genshin characters out there, I would say Keqing is the easiest to dress up as. Not only does Keqing look great, but she has a far simpler design compared to other Genshin characters. Keqing is just one of many handful of characters who look amazing. She’s definitely one of the favorites in the game!
9. Kirisu Makise from Steins;Gate
Although Stein’s;Gate is an older series now, there are some characters still worth cosplaying even to this day! And of course I’m talking about Kirisu Makise. Her outfit is just so wonderful, who wouldn’t want to dress up as her? Best thing is, Kirisu is easy to cosplay as. Her outfit is basically all regular clothing.
10. Love Live!
What can I say that hasn’t already been said about Love Live!? It’s now an iconic series and the poster child for everything with idols. The original series came out a while ago, but there are still many spin-offs of the show.
I decided to include Love Live! because cosplaying an idol is relatively easy. Their outfits are readily available online on several cosplay websites (click here to find out the best ones). And if you have a few friends cosplaying with you, you can form a Love Live! cosplay group together for a convention!
11. Any sports Anime (e.g. Rei from Free!)
If all you want to do is wear a sports jacket or jersey for a cosplay convention, then you should definitely wear a sports Anime cosplay! I’ve cosplayed a few times from sports Anime and I can tell you how awesome it is. Not only are they super comfy to wear, but the outfits are also dirt cheap to buy or make as well.
Therefore, sports Anime cosplay = cheap and easy = perfect for beginners!
12. Wednesday Addams
Ah yes! Wednesday Addams was always a fun closet cosplay before. But with the relatively new series coming out on Netflix starring Wednesday, her cosplay has only shot up in popularity. And why not? She is a wonderful character to dress up as. If you’re into horror or that type of genre, Wednesday Addams is the best character to cosplay.
13. Tifa Lockhart from Final Fantasy VII
If you want to cosplay a character who kicks a lot of ass, then Tifa Lockhart is your girl! She’s one of the main characters from Final Fantasy VII. You can either cosplay her original FF7 outfit or go for the modern version from the remake. I recommend her remake version, as it’s hotter and better looking in my opinion.
14. Cells At Work
Cells at Work is one of the newer series out. It’s quite interesting, as it’s a human-like version of blood cells! And what’s great is that it’s easy to cosplay from Cells At Work; it involves wearing regular clothing. For example, to cosplay Platelet you just have to wear a long blue shirt and white baseball cap!
15. Kyoko Kirigiri from Danganronpa
Danganronpa has been a popular series to cosplay from for many years. Although Junko is by far the most popular character in my opinion, I would say her hair/wig is pretty difficult to style. That’s why I recommend doing Kyoko Kirigiri instead. Her hair and outfit are much more casual and beginner-friendly to wear.
16. Yor Forger from Spy X Family
Oh yes, we have probably the hottest character to cosplay at the moment. Yor Forger is one of the main characters from Spy X Family. She is a convert assassin in an arranged marriage with Loid Forger. Although her job is fierce, she has an interesting personality! Yor has a great outfit that’s easy to make and wear. It’s basically a modified black dress with boots!
17. Lust from Fullmetal Alchemist
I’m surprised a lot of people don’t cosplay Lust as often. Not only is she a beautifully evil character who is from one of the best series of all time (Fullmetal Alchemist), she is ridiculously easy to cosplay as well. You just have to wear a long black dress, a long black wig (or use your natural black hair) and perhaps some sharp claws! Highly recommend if you want an easy and sexy cosplay to do.
18. Rin Tohsaka from Fate
One of the OG tsundere girls of all time, you probably heard of Rin Tohsaka. She is a staple character from the Fate series. If you like wearing a skirt with heels, then Rin is your character you should cosplay as! Her red outfit is iconic and well-known in the Cosplay Community. She’s probably the easiest character from Fate to cosplay as.
19. Starfire (NASA edition)
Starfire is a popular character from DC Comics. She is a heartwarming heroine that everyone loves. You can cosplay her original outfit. Or you can go for the easier casual NASA version, which I recommend more because it’s easier to do. Very beginner-friendly
20. Luffy from One Piece
When it comes to Shonen, Luffy is the poster boy for long-running Shonen. With over 1000 manga AND over 1000 Anime episodes, One Piece has been around for a VERY long time!
There are quite a few One Piece characters who are easy to cosplay, but we’ll stick to Luffy, the main character. All you need is a red vest, blue shorts and a sombrero hat. And if you don’t want to cosplay Luffy, you could also do Nami as well. She’s just as easy to cosplay!
21. Ouran Host Club
If you know this blog, you know I’m a huge fan of Ouran Host Club! It’s a wholesome Anime with wonderful characters. It’s so light hearted and fun to watch on an off day.
In terms of cosplaying, Ouran is really easy to do. You just basically need a white dress shirt, black dress pants and a black tie. As for which character, it’s up to you! If you want to be a blond character, go for Temaki. Black hair, you can do Haruhi or Kyoya!
22. Sebastian from Black Butler
Black Butler was another popular Anime to cosplay from as well. I can tell you that cosplaying Sebastian is a lot of fun! Who doesn’t want to be a butler? 🙂
Sebastian basically wears a black suit with modified chains on the blazer. If you’re planning to go with a group, you can bring a Ciel, Grelle and/or Mey Rin.
23. Asuka from Neon Genesis Evangelion
If you didn’t know, Asuka is a legendary character from the legendary series, Neon Genesis Evangelion. She’s that spunky redhead who is super confident in her abilities. You can either cosplay in her bodysuit or you can go for her casual schoolgirl outfit.
24. Kim Possible
Let’s add some more cartoon characters to this list! And one character I can think of that’s beginner-friendly is Kim Possible! If you don’t remember, Kim is that highschool girl who also fights crime when school is over.
Her outfit is very casual and easy to do; you can just use regular clothing to dress up as Kim Possible!
25. Misty from Pokemon
One of best beginner cosplays of all time, Misty is from the popular Pokemon series. Although she is just a gym leader in the original Red and Blue video games, Misty is prominently known for her appearance in the Pokemon Anime with Ash Ketchum. After getting her bike destroyed by Pikachu, Misty decides to follow Ash on his journey until he repays her (which he eventually did).
Misty will always be remembered as one of the original characters in the Pokemon Anime. Almost everyone knows who she is, with her recognizable orange hair, yellow tanktop and blue shorts. She’s really easy to cosplay. If you decide to cosplay as Misty, be sure to bring a large Togepi plushie with you!
Summary
To summarize, here are the 25 cosplay ideas for beginners you should try if you’re new:
- L from Death Note
- Attack On Titan
- Kiki from Kiki’s Delivery Service
- Haru from Beastars
- Naruto
- Bloom from Winx Club
- Mary Jane Watson from Spider-Man
- Keqing from Genshin Impact
- Kirisu Makise from Steins;Gate
- Love Live!
- Any sports Anime (e.g. Rei from Free!)
- Wednesday Addams
- Tifa Lockhart from Final Fantasy VII
- Cells At Work
- Kyoko Kirigiri from Danganronpa
- Yor Forger from Spy X Family
- Lust from Fullmetal Alchemist
- Rin Tohsaka from Fate
- Starfire (NASA edition)
- Luffy from One Piece
- Ouran Host Club
- Sebastian from Black Butler
- Asuka from Neon Genesis Evangelion
- Kim Possible
- Misty from Pokemon
And there you have it; 25 cosplay ideas for beginners to get you started in cosplaying! I hope you found this post exciting and motivated to work on your next (or possibly first) cosplay. 🙂
If you enjoyed this list, check out some of my other cosplay idea lists including:
Which character(s) on this list are you planning on cosplaying as? Let me know in the comments below. I’d like to know. 🙂
My name is Roger Senpai. I’m a cosplayer that’s been in the community for well over a decade now. I’ve traveled all over the world to Anime and Comic conventions and hosted my own cosplay events. Now I’m writing articles for new and experienced cosplayers like you to help inspire, save you money and improve your cosplays!
