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Goblin Slayer is one of my favorite cosplays of all time. I am sure I am not the only one who has enjoyed this anime, and I have seen a lot of Goblin Slayer cosplay on my Instagram feed in the last few years.
If you want to cosplay as Goblin Slayer himself, I must warn you, this cosplay is not for beginners. You are going to need quite a lot of props to make this costume work to its fullest, and anything less than either a professionally made costume, or one you spend hours making yourself, is going to look out of place and sloppy.
Luckily, there are a lot of different characters from the anime (and the manga, and the light novel) you can cosplay. The bad news, however, those side characters are pretty unknown. The big man himself – Goblin Slayer – is by far the most iconic and takes most of the spotlight. No wonder if the main character has the same name as the show.
There seems to be no stopping Goblin Slayers’ popularity, and with over 5 million volumes sold and a bunch of new manga and light novels on the way, according to Crunchyroll, there is no better time to start making or buying your Goblin Slayer cosplay.
What do I need to cosplay Goblin Slayer?
Odds are you are going to read this Goblin slayer cosplay article to know what you need for his costume. I am going to go quite in-depth into what you will need to do a great Goblin Slayer cosplay.
It doesn’t matter if two things are missing from this cosplay, so do not stress it. You will need to have the helmet; this is the most iconic part of the Goblin Slayer costume. Otherwise, it is going to be a long night of people asking, “So who are you cosplaying as?”.
Helmet:
The goblin slayer helm is the most recognizable part of the entire Goblin Slayer Cosplay. You will probably have to buy one or make one yourself. Buying one is probably the easiest way to get it. Making a helmet is going to take quite a lot of time. If you are crafty like that, a great way to do this is by using EVA foam.
This is a pretty often used foam and is pretty strong. You do need to have quite some experience crafting things like this, and the Goblin Slayer helmet is pretty difficult to make and not for beginners. You are going to need chrome paint here to make sure your armor looks like actual armor and not like foam. Not only that, but you can also use a silver color spray.
The red-eye:
You will need to have red-eye. While this is optional, it will make your costume so much better. You are not going to get away with just contact lenses. You will probably need a red LED light under your helmet. This will be a great addition to your costume and is sure to steal the show when you are in a darker spot.
Do watch out for your eyes! Make sure the light is external, is not too close to your eye, or you could seriously get hurt. Finally, make sure the light is pointed away from your eye and do not use it too long, just a few seconds at most.
Jacket and Vest:
You are going to need a thin black vest or a black jacket to wear under your armor. Another good option is a long-sleeved shirt. This will help you recreate the dark look that the Goblin Slayer armor has. Make sure you check the weather before opting for a vest or a jacket about the long-sleeved shirt. Due to the foam armor, your body is quite well insulated. This can cause you to overheat or sweat a lot, so look out for that.
Breastplate:
The Goblin Slayer breastplate is pretty hard to make, too. You are going to need quite some foam to make sure you can make an entire breastplate. You are going to need chrome paint here too. A silver spray can also be used for the breastplate.
To make the armor complete, you will need to have a bit of fur. It is best to use faux fur not made of animals. This is a lot more durable and cheaper, and you will need quite an unnatural color of fur. You will make the fur white or silver-colored anyway.
Shoulders:
You need to have shoulder pads too. Even though they are the smallest part of the armor, they are pretty hard to make. You will need to take into account that there are quite a lot of details. If you have somewhat of a budget to buy armor for cosplay, I would recommend you to buy the shoulder pads and the arm guards. The hardest part about making shoulder guards is the 90-degree angle you need to make sure that your shoulders fit and you can actually use the armor.
Shield:
If you have no experience making armor out of foam for your costumes, then I would recommend you start with the shield first. This is the most straightforward part of the costume, and messing it up won’t set you back a lot. Making the shield is going to teach you a lot about working foam, and you do not need a lot of it. This way, you can practice a couple of times. Just like the rest of the armor, you will need to have
Arm Armor:
Armguards or arm armor can be as hard or as easy to make as you want them to be. If you want them quick and easy, you just need to use a single piece of foam and cut it to a curve, so you can wear it on your arm. Then you can add the paint spray to the arm guard.
However, if you look at the armor that Goblin Slayer wears in the anime, you will see it is very detailed and has quite some decoration. You have two options here. You can try to make it out of one piece or use multiple different layers of foam. This is one of the armor pieces I would recommend you buy. It is not expensive online, and you can use any armor piece that has that anime look, as it is not a crucial part of the costume.
Pants and Leg Armor:
Your pants should be dark green or black. You are best off wearing light pants made out of a thin, easy-to-cool fabric as the foam armor is going to feel pretty hot after a while. The leg armor is very easy to make, and you should just go for normal shin guards. You can also buy this piece of costume online at quite a lot of places.
Belts, Pouches, and Accessories:
These are not as important. You can use any cool belts, pouches, and accessories you have. However, make sure they are not too flashy. Goblin Slayer is a dark fantasy anime, so go for a dark and brown ragged look when picking your accessories. The pouch should be attached to your belt. If you do not know how large the pouch should be, a good measure should be that your fist should fit in it.
Sword:
Buy a sword. Talking from experience, if you are going to go to a convention – and especially an anime convention – as a warrior or just anyone with a sword, you are going to clash swords, want it or not. This is why I recommend you to buy at least a sword made of wood and just paint it silver or chrome it. A foam sword is just not going to last long, and they take quite a while to make. If you are a great woodworker, you can, of course, make one yourself.
When picking a sword or making one, I recommend you look at the Roman Gladius. That is about the size you need for the sword. The blade itself should be around 25 to 30 cm and the handle about 15cm. The entire thing should not be longer than 45 cm.
Under the helmet:
The goblin slayer helmet is hot, in a literal way. It is made out of foam, and you are pretty well isolated. If you are cosplaying in hot weather or a non-air-conditioned place, you are going to want to take it off at one point. So your face will be shown.
For those who have watched the anime, you know this is kind of a big deal, as only in the final episode there is a partial face reveal. We know that the Goblin Slayer has gray/white hair and very pale skin. So if you want to keep cosplaying and not break the immersion, dying your hair or getting a wig is a good idea.
Extra tip: The armor and sword of Goblin Slayer are dirty. The guy runs around in underground tunnels slashing up goblins day in, day out. Your armor is bound to get dirty. So it is a great idea to add a bit of a rough, dirty look to the armor. Most armors you buy are going to look shiny and new. This is wrong if you look at the anime or the manga, so get it dirty!
Extra bonus tip: Cardboard and paper are a good alternative if you don’t know where to get special foam or want to make the armor quicker (but less detailed). You will need to have some wire, a lot of glue, paper, and cardboard. The downside is that the armor just isn’t going to last very long.
What you need to know about Goblin Slayer for this cosplay
While a costume is the most important aspect of great cosplay, knowing a lot of things about who you are cosplaying is what makes it perfect. If you know the personality, the background story, and how they act in general, cosplaying a fictional character is so much more fun! This is why I will include a short synopsis about the backstory and personality of Goblin Slayer.
Backstory
Someone who has made it his life goal to kill goblins is going to have a pretty interesting backstory.
When Goblin Slayer was a child, a goblin horde invaded his village. They slaughtered everyone. He had to witness his sister get murdered by goblins while he was hiding away underground.
He only has one friend left after this massacre in his village, Cow Girls, a farmers’ daughter who was on a trade trip with her uncle when the attack on the village took place.
After the attack, Goblin Slayer – still a child – went wandering and came across a master that taught him how to fight.
Only years later he came back to the village, swearing to protect it, and kill any goblin that might ever come his way.
Personality
If you want to be a good Goblin Slayer, you will need to be stoic and calm. You are going to have to mention killing goblins in almost every conversation to make sure you are a convincing Goblin Slayer.
He has an absolute obsession with killing them, and it consumes him whole. Due to his obsession, he often forgets to take time for the human relations in his life. He is generally able to talk, but goblins and killing them is bound to pop up in the conversation.
Despite being focused on goblins, he has things he wants to protect, and he will go to great ends to do this. Even if the foe he needs to kill is not a goblin, he will fight them.
Lastly, Goblin Slayer is a pretty curious individual. He is interested in learning new things and is intelligent enough to put that new knowledge into a practical solution–to kill goblins!
Final thoughts about this Goblin Slayer cosplay
If you are a beginner at making cosplay costumes, I advise you to buy a large part – if not everything – online. The helm is especially difficult to make yourself and very important for cosplay. So if you want to have a jaw-dropping, eye-turning costume, you will need to buy a thing or two if you are not skilled with arts and crafts.
If you are very skilled, you can make most things yourself. This can be a bit tricky for the more detailed parts like the helm and the arm guards if you want to get them exactly right. You can also buy those two parts and make the rest yourself; you do not want to take a risk.
All in all, Goblin Slayer is an amazing cosplay costume and is bound to be a lot of fun! It is pretty recognizable, and the helm, with a red light, makes it very impressive.
Frequently Asked Questions about Goblin Slayer Cosplay
Question: Are there any other awesome Dark Fantasy anime I can cosplay as?
Answer: Yes, there are quite a lot of dark fantasy anime that you can cosplay. I have found 3 dark fantasy anime that are very similar to Goblin Slayer and seem to have the same vibe judging from online reviews and the anime compilations.
- Berserk: The author of Goblin Slayer is known to be a massive Berserk fan. If you are looking for dark cosplay, then there is no better option than the classic amongst classics, Berserk. The cool thing is, if you have the Goblin Slayer armor, you already have 80% of the things you need for a Guts cosplay. All you are going to be missing is his huge sword!
- Ubel Blat: If you take off your helm, and you have dyed your hair or are wearing a silver wig, then you are over 90% of the way for a great Ubel Blat cosplay. Again, here you are going to need to trade out the sword. You have to replace the roman Gladius goblin slayer uses for a longer medieval knight sword.
- Claymore: If you made a female version of the goblin slayer armor, you can use it almost 1 to 1 for a claymore cosplay. This badass cosplay is one of my favorites for women. It looks really badass and is one of the best dark fantasy cosplays there are. All you need is the goblin slayer armor you made, and replace the helmet for a blond wig with long hair, or you can dye your hair. You will also need a different sword, but this is optional for this cosplay.
Question: Is a Goblin Slayer cosplay controversial?
Answer: While the series (and even more so the uncensored manga) is definitely controversial due to the violence, the controversial topics, and the gore, the Goblin Slayer cosplay itself is not. He is one of the obvious good guys in this world and has not been involved in anything really controversial – unless we are talking about killing goblins – so nobody is going to look at you funny or think you are doing something completely out of place.
Question: Does goblin slayer have a name, or do I just go around calling myself Goblin Slayer?
Answer: If you have seen the anime or read the manga or the light novel, one of the first things you will notice is that nobody is referred to by name. Literally, nobody in the entire series has a person’s normal name. Everyone is described by their job or a certain feat. Goblin Slayers best friend is named Cow Girl since she is a dairy farmer, the girl behind the counter at the guild is referred to as guild girl, and so on…
If you are getting sick of being called Goblin Slayer, there are two alternative names he has in the anime. The Elves refer to him as Orc Bolg, the dwarves as Beardcutter. The meaning of those names in the common tongue is, you guessed it, Goblin Slayer!