[Reze Cosplay] That Rain in Chainsaw Man—Actually, I Kept Our Promise

On the steps of the old street that day, the light pierced just right through the gaps in the old brick wall. I held the white flowers against my chest and looked down for a long time. Honestly, Reze from Chainsaw Man has always been a character with a subtle sense of distance to me—she has her mission, her tenderness, and the choices she was forced to make. That's why for this cosplay photoshoot, the photographer and I specifically chose these old alleys in Chongqing. With the moss, iron railings, and mottled concrete ground, we wanted that sense of reality found in a faded urban corner.

For the outfit, I chose a sleeveless white shirt with a black bow tie, along with high-waisted shorts and over-the-knee black stockings. The platform loafers were very stable on the stone steps and made my overall body proportions look sharper. The purple short hair showed a bit of luster under the outdoor natural light, which, paired with light-colored contact lenses, visually brought out the character's cold and detached vibe. We used a Nikon Z52 for the shoot; the in-body image stabilization and color reproduction were quite impressive, especially in preserving shadow details. The contrast between the white flowers and black stockings under the overcast soft light felt very comfortable. The post-processing didn't rely on excessive color grading, basically restoring the original cool aloofness within the gray tones of the scene.

The shot I'm most satisfied with is probably the one where I'm walking down the steps holding the flowers. The stride is natural, and the bouquet isn't deliberately raised high, focusing the attention more on the overall posture of the figure. There is also the shot looking back while sitting on the concrete guardrail, where the leg lines are beautifully proportioned by the long stockings, and with the added height from the platform shoes, the visual extension is very strong. Actually, many people asked me why I insisted on shooting in such a dilapidated place. I think this contrast is precisely part of the character's temperament—she never belonged to some glamorous stage; she exists in the cracks of the world, yet holds pure, clean flowers in her hand.

For this outdoor shoot, we ran around several spots, from flights of steps to narrow alleys, climbing up slopes and going down ridges. Chongqing's terrain definitely tests your physical endurance, but the resulting images were truly worth it. Fortunately, the silhouette of this outfit is quite sharp and easy to move in, so I didn't feel too restricted even after shooting the whole day. Regarding light and shadow, we deliberately avoided direct sunlight, relying entirely on the soft light of the overcast sky or building shade. Consequently, the skin texture looks very even without strange oily highlights or shadows, which saved a lot of trouble during post-processing.

Speaking of props, that white bouquet was actually handpicked by myself. The fresh floral material provides the best pop of color against the dim background, requiring no extra light sources or fill lights. When shooting close-ups, the photographer brought the flowers closer to the lens to blur them slightly, creating depth. Combined with the look in my eyes directed past them, I feel it has much more storytelling flavor than a simple face-centered close-up shot.

All in all, I really like this set of photos myself. It has the accurate restoration of cosplay while preserving the aesthetic value of photography itself. If you also enjoy this kind of outdoor location portrait capture that carries emotional weight and iconic local landmarks, feel free to pay more attention to this style of Cosplay photography.