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I got into Monster Hunter at a time where I was always in public transit daily, and often with friends, so discovering a game we could all play on the way to college or work was awesome! I started with Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate, but when Monster Hunter Generations came out and I ran into the Mizutsune for the first time, I fell in love with the monster. When I decided to try making a Monster Hunter costume, I picked Mizutsune due to the armor looking rather feasible at my skill level, as someone who hadn't made a full suit of costume armor yet.

Mizutsune was completely patterned by hand save for the kimono chest panels, and sewn out of white polyester twill and the pink gradient painted on with diluted fabric paint. The yellow markings were added as fabric designs sewn on top. The costume has multiple layers: The burgundy underskirt, then the kimono top, the pink obi which velcros closed in the back, the petal overskirt, with the second white skirt sewn together. This overskirt clips at the front, where the large bow tacks on over the attachment point and hides it. The back bow also similarly used velcro to be detachable. Separate from the main outfit's assembly is the sleeves (which use a anti-slip rubber grip elastic at the top to stay up), the hood (with has alligator clips to attach it to the wig), and the scarf, which features four clips to keep each piece of armor in place. The armor pieces are EVA Foam carved into segments and horns with a trim of fur glued to the edge. I made the matching Sword and Shield combo, with an EVA Foam fan on a piece of PVC pipe with popsicle sticks, and a beautiful beaded bracelet with tassels (Yep, that's the shield.)

I first wore it to Otakuthon 2018, where I had everything except the boots. Nobody recognized it, which was actually pretty accurate to the sentiment at the time; the series wasn't as popular before Monster Hunter World released. It was the first time I cosplayed something obscure enough that no one really took notice of it, but nevertheless I really enjoyed the experience. The armor made me feel so badass! I re-wore it the next year, having added a pair of boot covers made out of leftover twill to match. The second time around some friends offered to take photos of me, which became my first photoshoot experience since Madoka! Monster Hunter was also more recognized by then, as MHW had come out by then, so I met other people in armor and had a lot more fun!

At the time I made this costume, I considered Mizutsune my most complicated costume. It still feels like one of my biggest achievement and it's one of my favorite yet to this day. I remember being so excited that, for once, I was cosplaying myself, or rather my hunter, instead of an existing character. It was pretty sweaty though, especially at the torso, from all the layers. I remember hiding a waist bag under the obi and pulling out my wallet at some point to find it absolutely drenched in sweat.

Thinking back as I write this, I think part of the appeal was trying to translate those 3DS low-resolution models to real life, with all the room for interpretation. I remember making the burgunday skirt with tassels before later games revealed that whole part was... Fur. I haven't felt the urge to revisit a MonHun armor since, between the hyper-detailed models of new games, and the weird competitive vibe that has fallen over Monster Hunter Cosplays as "Big Contest Armor Build" mindset has swept up a lot of the activity around it online. It just doesn't feel the same anymore.

Trying out a mascot monster or a palico costume, though... is tempting.

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