With the help of social media and growing number of pop culture conventions happening all year round, cosplaying has become more mainstream than ever. But have you wondered what is the most popular anime cosplay today?
To see which fictional characters are the most popular to cosplay right now, online retail store Zavvi took a look at the most frequently used hashtags on Instagram, and the results of its research found Harley Quinn to be the most famous character to portray amongst cosplayers.
Joining Harley in the Top 10 are her fellow DC characters the Joker (in third position), Batman (in fourth), Wonder Woman (in eighth), and Poison Ivy (in tenth). Marvel, which is DC’s lifelong rival, only secures two spots in the Top 10: Spider-Man in the second place and Deadpool in the sixth place. Completing the Top 10 are characters from the manga and anime series My Hero Academia. They are Deku (in the fifth spot), Todroki (in seventh), and Bakugou (in ninth).
Though Marvel has become a domineering presence in the entertainment industry ever since the 2008 release of Iron Man that launched the uber successful Marvel Cinematic Universe, it is clear that DC also maintains a strong fanbase who are eager to celebrate their favorite heroes and villains through cosplay. According to Google Analytics, DC has seen a 48% growth in search volume from 2019 to 2021.
“Our customers have consistently shown a love and passion for DC Comics characters,” Zavvi Marketing Manager Declan Murphy said in a statement. “We’ve seen a substantial demand for our DC-based products, and we expect the brand will remain a pillar of the pop-culture community for the foreseeable future. These recent findings are clear evidence of that.”
Five Disney Princesses also made it to the Top 30 most popular characters to cosplay. They are Elsa (in the twelfth position), Ariel (in fifteenth), Belle (in twenty-third), Rapunzel (in twenty-fifth), and Anna (in twenty-eighth). The Star Wars franchise, meanwhile, only scores one spot in the Top 30, and that belongs to Rey, who was played by Daisy Ridley in the Star Wars sequel trilogy.
In addition to My Hero Academia, five other anime franchises made it to the Top 30. Those are Naruto, Attack on Titan, Demon Slayer, and Tokyo Ghoul. Check out the detailed infographic below for the full breakdown:
