[Saiba Midori cosplay] Blue Archive 2nd Anniversary: A Little Kitty Sneaking Away with Sensei's Shirt

For this Saiba Midori cosplay look, the focus was on recreating the subtle gesture of "stealing Sensei's shirt." Because the cat ear headpiece is relatively voluminous and paired with the Sailor suit cut, lying down during the shoot makes the facial proportions look much better, which is why bedsheets were chosen as the backdrop.

Let's first talk about the hair, makeup, costume, and prop details. The golden straight-bangs wig was trimmed relatively thick, which, combined with the green contact lenses, better brings out the character's cat-like gaze. The contacts were specially chosen for high pigmentation and large diameter, so when peeking over the shirt at the lens, they convey that adorable daze mixed with a hint of playfulness. The cat ear headpiece features a black-and-yellow color scheme with an internal support structure that prevents collapse. Wearing it adds some weight to the head, so to keep it steady, head movements during the shoot couldn't be too abrupt.

The outfit is a classic Sailor suit design—a white base with dark blue stripes, a green bow tie stitched at the collar with purple fabric accents, and green trim along the skirt hem. The fabric is relatively structured and holds its silhouette well, so it doesn't lose shape easily even when lying down. The white shirt clutched in my hands is soft, perfectly covering half my face to evoke that shy "caught in the act" feeling. The legs were paired with Black stockings, which looked particularly slender against the pure white bedsheet.

During shooting, manual mode was mainly used to control depth of field. With light coming from the side, the face was intentionally kept soft, while gripping the shirt with slight force created fabric wrinkles to add visual depth. For the theme of "a little kitty sneaking away," I deliberately focused on my gaze—peeking over the shirt toward the lens felt much more lively than staring straight on. This was also my first time trying this style of photo shoot on pure white bedsheets, and the entire process went smoothly.

This shoot coincided with Blue Archive's 2nd Anniversary. Although I have cosplayed other characters before, Saiba Midori's everyday charm and subtle mood fit the anniversary vibe exceptionally well. The slit on the skirt's hem is fairly high, requiring careful pose adjustments when lying down to keep everything covered cleanly. Additionally, green colored contacts reflect easily under harsh lighting, so the overall indoor brightness was dialed down. The details of the Sailor suit were faithfully recreated, especially the bow tie shape at the collar, which I adjusted five or six times. If I shoot this character again, I'll prepare some small props like mint leaves or little bells to make the look even richer.