[Ikuyo Kita cosplay] Bocchi the Rock!: Subculture Custom-Styling Experiment

This time, I took on a subculture-inspired custom styling for Ikuyo Kita from Bocchi the Rock! In the anime, Kita usually gives off a bright, cheerful, and sunny energy, but I wanted to break past that stereotype and try a fierce, dark-rock direction. For the outfit, the outer layer is a high-texture cropped black leather jacket with a subtle sheen that reflects crisp, edgy highlights under stage strobes. Underneath, I wore a fitted black camisole accented with a metal heart cutout and chain detailing across the chest, infusing a dash of punk flair. For the lower half, high-waisted black hot pants are paired with black leather thigh straps and platform combat boots—not only elongating the leg lines, but also flawlessly matching the subcultural aesthetic.

For makeup, to maintain character recognition, I specifically chose bright green contact lenses and deepened the outer eye shading to give my gaze a sharper, piercing edge. Her iconic red hair and twin side-ponytails were kept intact, styled with slightly disheveled, piecey texture to channel the effortless swagger of a rock musician.

The shoot took place in a rehearsal studio equipped with crimson velvet drapes and full band gear, with Roland amps and Yamaha drum kits in the background dialing up the atmosphere instantly. You can even see my bandmates in the photos—the blue-haired bassist and pink-haired guitarist backing me up from behind. While this light-blue electric guitar isn't the canon model from the original anime, its eye-catching color creates an incredible visual contrast against the black ensemble. During shooting, I tried numerous high-tension poses: pointing directly into the camera lens, interacting with the red microphone, or leaning low into an aggressive strumming stance. The shot holding the microphone is my absolute favorite; I usually play and sing rather than front as a standalone vocalist, but in this getup, I instantly felt like the frontwoman commanding the entire room.

To look natural before the lens, I practiced holding the guitar and adjusting my fretting hand posture extensively in private, wanting it to look genuinely authentic rather than like a prop for show. The leather jacket looks cool, but it got quite sweltering baking under the hot studio lights, leaving me drenched in sweat after several sets of poses. Maintaining leg muscle tension for the full-body shots was also surprisingly exhausting. Still, fusing Kita's signature traits with hardcore rock style was a fresh interpretation of her character for me. I hope this slightly dark, rebellious vibe shows everyone a whole new side of Kita!