[Ellen Joe cosplay] Zenless Zone Zero's Shark Maid Strikes

Today's outfit is Ellen Joe from Zenless Zone Zero. The black-and-white color-blocked maid costume has truly abundant details, and the upper-body effect is fantastic. The tailoring of this costume leans toward a techwear style; to fit the body shape closely at the black-and-white splicing joints, I made some minor waist-cinching adjustments. The layering of the skirt hem, along with that outer black half-skirt featuring cross-star patterns, plus various belts and metal buckles, indeed requires a bit of effort to put on and take off.

Regarding the display of the legs, I chose matte-textured Stockings paired with chunky-heeled Mary Jane shoes, which both elongates the leg lines and matches the overall dark maid tone. Since Ellen Joe's character is set as a shark, I deliberately focused on highlighting the red-and-black highlights in the wig and the red eye makeup, along with that iconic small jagged sticker, while the shark tail prop was also perfectly recreated.

Shooting was actually quite a test of physical strength. That mechanical greatsword prop is not light; to capture those low-stance and sitting poses with a sense of exertion seen in photos 1 and 2, I privately practiced adjusting my core strength multiple times, terrified that my facial expression management would collapse. Photo 4 was shot close-up using a wide-angle lens, where the depth-of-field effect magnifies the weapon with strong visual impact, but I had to keep my facial proportions looking normal, which severely tested facial expression control.

Overall, wanting to portray Ellen's lazy yet slightly dangerous vibe comes down to gaze and micro-expressions as the keys. The shooting location was chosen as a hall with cool-toned light sources; paired with strong light hitting the body, it perfectly highlighted the texture of the costume and the sheen of the Stockings. In terms of posing, I tried my best to relax my shoulders so the movements wouldn't look too stiff. Holding the weapon also required clever leverage rather than relying purely on wrist strength; I had to utilize my torso to support the center of gravity. This time preparation was thorough, and I am quite satisfied with my performance across all angles.