[Zhao Cosplay] The Bunny-Eared Girl in Zenless Zone Zero: Another Full-Energy Day

This time I did Zhao cosplay from Zenless Zone Zero. From the wig to props and this set of plush animal legs, preparation took nearly a month back and forth. The wig features long light-pink braided hair; to keep those two orange balls at the hair tips from collapsing, I stuffed lightweight support frames inside. The headset hair accessory can actually light up, but lighting at the venue that day was too chaotic, so I left it off—otherwise the effect would have been even more cyber-esque. I spent a long time stitching details for the small crossbody bag and pinafore dress against the original art, especially choosing matte fabric for the orange stitching and zipper texture on the skirt hem to prevent reflections.

What caused me the most breakdown were those large plush feet. To ensure I didn't slip while standing, I added anti-slip pads to the soles, but the interior padding was so thick that walking was severely restricted—I could basically only shuffle with tiny steps. To take dynamic-looking shots in Cosplay photography, I leaned my body forward and sideways as much as possible, using the heavy sword's center of gravity to find balance. This prop sword was custom-made by a studio; I'm very satisfied with the color separation on the hilt and the pendant restoration at the tail. Holding it in hand weighs about three pounds—holding it up single-handed for photos made my wrist sore after a while, but for the sake of good photos, I gritted my teeth and pushed through.

The venue was a large exhibition center in the city. Its steel structure ceiling and overhead lighting spots were actually perfectly suited for shooting wasteland or sci-fi styles. My photographer friend helped desaturate the background, turning the chaotic crowd into black and white so my teal top and orange pleated skirt popped out with strong visual impact. I particularly love the hands-on-hips pose in Photo 3; although the fluffy tail behind was quite heavy, standing tall actually modified the waistline and elongated the overall body proportions quite a bit.

Regarding facial expressions, I consciously mimicked the character's slightly lazy yet playful vibe, as her setting is that soft-moe type who doesn't hesitate to pick up weapons. Thus, instead of deliberately widening my eyes to act cute, I slightly narrowed my eyes with a slight smile, which paired with fluffy Anime animal ears felt more capable of restoring her inner cleverness. I sweat a lot while shooting this set because ventilation in the venue was average and the plush legs with thick top were quite suffocating, but seeing the bright color blocks and clear material textures in the final photos made everything feel totally worth it.

The makeup this time wasn't overly heavy either, focusing on warm eyeshadow tones and distinct eyelashes; since the character has pink hair, warm eyeshadow makes one look more lively. The lipstick was a orange-toned glossy lip glaze to echo the skirt's orange color. The whole set of photos wasn't excessively skin-smoothed, retaining real skin texture and lighting shadows, which is my preferred style—the dissonance of combining 2D anime settings with 3D real-life material textures is actually very fun.

When wearing this gear to the anime convention, many passersby turned to look, and someone even asked if I was there just to act cute. I immediately hoisted the heavy sword into a slashing posture, cracking everyone up. To be honest, doing a character with heavy plush pieces and heavy props is always a double test of stamina and patience, but being able to freeze that character's moment before the camera brings an indescribable sense of satisfaction every time I see the shutter click. Hope this set of photos lets everyone feel this character's vitality as well as the small details we poured into the costumes and props.