Bakugou Cosplay

LarpLikeRae has successfully made 68 cosplays of Bakugou since 2020. Rae has not updated all of them nor taken photos of each one, but here are all the updated versions and photos of each version of their Bakugou Cosplays and the thought process behind each one!

LarpLikeRae explains:

“Back in 2020, I was very new to anime. Due to the lack of anime watching I was exploring new shows and characters to possibly cosplay as. I had first watched My Hero Academia in the early months of the year and grew attached to the character Deku. Little did I know, that that cosplay was NOT going to be the one I would make 68 cosplays of, instead it was going to be his best friend: Katsuki Bakugou.”

“I was told then, by a stranger, that I wouldn’t make a good Bakugou cosplay. With someone telling me that, I knew I had to prove them wrong and at least cosplay him and a hero outfit atleast once. That’s when I got carried away. My first true cosplay of Katsuki Bakugou went viral as “The Princess Bakugou” cosplayer and my life pretty much changed. And that’s how I started challenging myself to make more cosplays of him.”

“The fun fact about this is… I don’t even like Bakugou! He’s not my favorite character, but because someone told me not to do it, I had to prove to them that I could and I would.”

The thought process and creation of Rae’s most popular Bakugou cosplay:

Princess Bakugou

“Back in 2020, I was scrolling on TikTok to find a video on my for you page of the video game: My Hero One’s Justice 2. In the video, it had show cased a Princess Hero outfit of Katsuki Bakugou. I was so intrigued and knew at that moment, I needed to make that outfit. Without knowing much sewing skills or anything about props, I whipped up the original outfit in 3 days, working on it 10 hours a day to get it done AS FAST AS POSSIBLE. Once I was finished, I didn’t waste a second to post it, and there it went…. it became my most viral cosplay at that time. I became The Princess Bakugou Cosplayer.“

"After the success of Princess Bakugou, I challenged myself yet again with the idea of now creating more Princess themed MHA Cosplays, now creating the new subtitle: My Princess Academia. By 2023 I had created 11 Princesses in the My Princess Academia tag and even ran a panel with 11 total people who played out each character. It was a dream come true that one glittery version of Bakugou created a whole story line and had brought countless of people smiles and inspiration."

”This was my first true cosplay (not costest) of Bakugou, so I've grown rather attached to it. I competed for the first time and won Best Novice at Tucson Comic Con 2022. This outfit has changed countless of times within the past several years and I plan on changing it more later on. There’s always more room for improvement!”

Award Winning Mandalorian Bakugou and the creation of Rae’s most intense Bakugou cosplay:

Mandalorian Bakugou

”This cosplay has to be one of my most insane builds I’ve done yet, due to the sheer boredom and wanting to challenge my own limits... Let me explain!!!”

“2022 was a hard year since July of that year I was scheduled to have knee surgery on my left leg. After the surgery, I was told that I technically wasn’t able to stay in my own 2 story apartment because of the healing process. So I stayed at my mothers during this time and the recovery process felt like years. Within 1 week, I was so bored out of my mind that I decided, that I needed a new cosplay project even though I wasn’t able to sew (since my sewing machine was at my own house) so I wanted a challenge with foam. Using the Saran Wrap and tape method, I covered my body in stencils, cut them out and traced them on foam. I cut out over 300 individual foam pieces on my moms floor, dremeled, glued, painted and primed each and every one of them. After my 2 months of healing and an immediate second knee surgery later…. I was done.“

“Since then, I’ve added so many more details and add ons. Such as: A Camel-pack, Fans, Ice Packs, 3D printed helmet, Jetpack and Storage packs! This cosplay is MEANT to be worn down and used in hot weather now. And in all honesty, is very very COLD to wear due to all the hot weather add ons and accessories I’ve added! This cosplay has won Best Journeyman in Monkey Paw Entertainment's 'Connichiwa' cosplay contest of 2022.”

"Cloud and I both have put so much effort into these cosplays, not just the outfits themselves of mandalorian Bakugou, Deku and jedi Todoroki, but the backstory of each and every character in the crossover."

Versions 1, 2 and 3 of Fantasy Bakugou and the growth of LarpLikeRae's tattoo skills:

Fantasy Bakugou

"Each and every version of Fantasy Bakugou that I have created all have something in common.... fake silicone man abs. Now I know that sounds crazy, and for those that don't know what those are: Silicone prosthetics come in all forms, especially for Cosplay and effects. I have purchased a silicone man chest from amazon ($300 worth) and took it upon myself to tattoo it to flow with my already existing tattoos. I first purchased the abs in late 2022 and did my first tattoo on it in spring of 2023. From then, the more I tattooed my own body, the more I tattooed the fake man chest to look more and more realistic. This ties into my Fantasy Bakugou cosplays, since the original art has Bakugou shirtless with only a tattoo on his shoulder, I thought it would make the cosplay a little more natural to have the tattoos on my fake man chest stand out more. So now you know my secrets to how realistic my Fake man abs actually look and how I got it to blend seamlessly for my fantasy Bakugou!"

"Regardless of the fake man abs, I wanted to add details that were each so vastly different yet the same for each version Horikoshi created and produced. Such as the fur cape, knee pads, boots and sleeves. Not all versions have all of these, but I figured it was a nice detail to add for each of them."

"I have yet to create more to these cosplays such as the sword, but I did with what I could with space, material and sanity with how many Bakugou's I already have in store. Reusing what I already had for my other Fantasy Bakugou's were my first and top priority rather than remaking knee pads a tad bit different."

"Fantasy Bakugou will always have a place in my heart since it is the cosplay I first met my partner Cloud in. He was the fantasy Deku of the group as I was the fantasy Bakugou, as we all joined in a huge fantasy MHA group at the Arizona Ren Fest in 2022. 2 years later on the same date, at the same ren fest, in the same location of first meeting each other, cloud proposed to me in the same cosplays and asked me to be his for forever and eternity. (gay.... I know)"

Version 67 of LarpLikeRae's Bakugou cosplay journey aka Firelily Demon Bakugou:

Firelily Bakugou:

"With this being my 67th version of Bakugou, you would've thought that I already had a Demon Bakugou.... you'd be surprised what came first before this."

"I had planned to make this cosplay in the beginning of 2024 for Isekai, Salt Lake City, Utah and Katsucon, Maryland, DC. So I knew I had to travel with the wings, tail and horns carefully in a suitcase. I didn't care much for the wig, shirt, pants and boots since those could easily be stored tightly and smushed down to travel size. However, the props would be a challenge. So I started out a rough sketch of what I expected myself to create, and created wings out of PVC pipe, trash bags, fabric, hot glue and EVA foam clay. The horns were made out of tinfoil, EVA Foam clay and paint. Lastly the tail was made out of EVA Foam dowels, wire and paint. Each were dremeled, sanded, primed and painted. (These 3 were done in 3 days)"

"Lastly, the shirt, pants and sleeves were made in 2 days with nylon for the gloves and YayaHan Hexagon fabric for the clothing. The gloves were not made by me, however I bought them off of Amazon and dip dyed them with RIT synthetic dye with 2 separate batches after dried. I wanted to go with a very dark pallet for the clothing and have more color and focus on the wings, horns and tail. The shirt was based on Bakugou's normal hero suit logo with the X (but gray instead of orange for more of a subtle look) as for the pants, I wanted to go with more of tactical gear pants due to the Fan fiction this cosplay was based off of. So patterning out the pants myself, adding 4 pockets per leg and sewing everything together, I came up with the best pants Bakugou would ever wear (plus added his X logo to the knee caps)."

"Even though this was never a cosplay I thought I would catch myself doing, I am still INSANELY proud of it and am happy that the props (Wings, Horns and tail) alongside the Pants can all be used for countless of other cosplays such as Rafael from Boulders gate (click here) or my own OC's!"

LarpLikeRae's most comfortable and laid back version of Bakugou meant for relaxed hours of Conventions:

Tactical Bakugou

"Since 2021 and going to my first convention, I have gone to several conventions whether I am a guest or attendee, there are moments at conventions where I prefer to be in more comfortable outfits and cosplays. That's how I first thought of the idea of making Tactical Bakugou, a comfortable version where Bakugou could look like he's undercover or working on the low, by still cosplaying. Using the same Tactical pants I made for my Firelily Bakugou, and adding a turtle neck, I wanted to use what I made for other cosplays.... Especially the VEST."

"For the vest, I originally made it for hawks (Keigo Tamaki) with 2 holes cut out of the back, lined with bias tape for the wings to fit through the back seamlessly. I plated it with an armor base of EVA Foam Worbla with velcro sewn into the back to attach the silver plates when the wings are not placed in the sockets."

"When I do make cosplays, I try to best (if the cosplay and the uniqueness of it allows it) Make the cosplay as versatile as possible for any character. With this cosplay, it can be worn by nearly every character and still be a solid outfit and cosplay such as Blitzo from Helluva boss."

One of LarpLikeRae's most rare occassions: Gender-Swapping and combining an alternate universe to a new and improved cosplay:

Female Viking Bakugou

"One of my favorite things to do while making cosplays, like mentioned above, is to make cosplays versatile and use items from other outfits into new ones. This new and improved Viking version of Bakugou came from a single idea, 'How can I use a breastplate that I made for another character?' So after brainstorming I decided to use the old breastplate originally planned for Flareon from Pokemon to a Viking version of Bakugou."

"Because Bakugou has so many separate barbarian fantasy outfits, I honestly figured that using things I already had for the other cosplays like his cape, belt/gear, sleeves, armor, boots and pants, I could definetly create this cosplay in just one hour. I restlyed one of my long lacefront blonde wigs at an angle so that my shaved side could be seen with my head tattoo."

"This cosplay was one of my fastest cosplays I've put together from what I've already made. So I honestly had no idea how this cosplay would turn out since I was combining so many attributes into one character. After putting on all the outfit, I tried a different style of makeup with cream based face paint and eyeshadow. Making Bakugou's headpieces as makeup near my eyes and side of face, I incorporated several attributes of Bakugou and his cannon hero outfit into this makeup for the finished look!"

What is considered too far gone when you combine two fandoms into one cosplay, is it possible to be perfectly in the middle or too far fetched, LarpLikeRae would be a perfect example of combining the anime: My Hero Academia and the viral 2020 video game: Among Us.

Among Us Bakugou

"During the pandemic, nearly everyone I knew online were playing the game 'Among us' and inviting me to play within my own discord server. Every time I had played, I would choose the orange character since it was my favorite color and I wanted to make an OC Cosplay from it, little did I know that the same astronaut suit, helmet and props would also be used for an Alternate Universe with Katsuki Bakugou."

"Since the Orange astronaut outfit was already made for my own OC, putting a Bakugou wig on was quite easy and literally one of my fastest cosplays. Among Us has died down now that its been several years since the release and popularity of it, so I'm honestly unsure if I would bring the cosplay of Among Us Bakugou back unless requested!"

When you have run out of 'Rave Outfit' ideas for a convention and result to putting the Hot Headed character Katsuki Bakugou into a cheerleader uniform:

Cheerleader Bakugou

"2023 was an interesting year full of new conventions and being able to travel more out of the Arizona state to newer and bigger events. While processing what cosplays I should wear for conventions, I normally have to create a list of what cosplays work best for the weather, time of year, other cosplay plans and comfortability during that weekend. There were 2 conventions I was going to in 2023 that were weeks apart in the summer, Phoenix Fan Fusion (Phoenix, Arizona) and Metrocon (Tampa, Florida) both being hot locations. Deciding what rave outfit for Saturday night of both weekends, was a tad bit tricky to achieve a conclusion of something I could either easily make or buy so that I can have enough time to finish other outfits (I was also moving the weekend of PFF). I decided to purchase the UA Cheerlead Uniform so I didn't have to have the hassle of sewing or making it."

"This cosplay became a crowd favorite at conventions, but due to the winter months I had to switch to a different cosplay of Bakugou to stay warm and comfortable at conventions."

Due to the 2023 year of the rabbit official art from Horikoshi of My Hero Academia, the new trends started to pop up all over social media with the cosplays of MHA characters in Pro Hero Mirko's outfit:

Mirko Outfit Bakugou:

"What better way to start off 2023 with the year of the rabbit, and taking inspiration from the official art of MHA! I decided to hop onto the bandwagon everyone else was doing on social media by putting My Hero Academia characters into the Mirko hero outfit. This cosplay has not yet made an appearance at a con and may never make an appearance! I have so many other cosplays of Bakugou that I have hand made rather than bought that I would love to show off. There is nothing wrong with buying a cosplay at all! I just love being able to show off some of my bigger designs at conventions."

My Villain Academia has been a very popular AU of My Hero Academia, forming a very creative outlook for cosplayers and artists to design and give new perspectives on characters such as:

Villain Bakugou

"One of the most requested and sometimes most popular alternate universe in My Hero Academia is the villain side to each hero character.... or vise versa. With the popular command and lots of requests, I was asked to produce my own version of what villain Bakugou would look like, such as thought process behind the outfit and why he even became a villain in the first place."

"For Villain Bakugou, I decided to design him with his normal skull shirt only ragged from blood, explosions and of course dirt. The pants and boots were simple and black, and as for the gauntlets, I wanted to use his normal smaller green bracers. I didn't want to use gloves to show off the raw power of Bakugou's explosions, and as for the hair, I decided to go with my own natural hair at the time. Knowing IF Bakugou had ever turned into a villain, it probably wasn't by choice. So painting on a huge explosion burn on half of his face with his hair missing and bits of his ear ripped off was my top priority for this cosplay."

Nothing like a good ol' gender swap for the tempered Katsuki Bakugou, and the differences it truly makes in the outfits:

Female Katsuki Bakugou

"Something that I am not really the fondest of and only really do by request of followers is to gender swap characters. I was given the challenge to create a female version of Bakugou back in fall of 2020 for a photoshoot with friends, so within a day I was able to make a quick closet cosplay of the fem version of Bakugou."

"For this new cosplay, I decided to stay away from looking too much like Bakugou's mother, Mitsuki. To avoid looking like her, I changed up the wig to a longer and wavier hairstyle with barrettes on the side of the head to resemble the mask Bakugou wears on his hero suit. The shirt was an easy process by painting on his skull and hemming it up to be a crop top. Next the bracers and belt were made easily by taking account of his hero suit. Lastly, the pants were from a military surplus store that I have had since 2017."

"Altogether, this cosplay was one of my comfiest outfits at the time and became popular with TikTok for a short while. I'll probably bring back this cosplay in the future and challenge myself to change up a couple more aspects of it."

When challenged the question, "What anime character should I steampunk for a convention" LarpLikeRae decided to bring steampunk Bakugou to life by creating real uses to their gadgets and inventions.

Steampunk Bakugou

"Steampunk Bakugou was a very liked design by myself and countless others from the official art. I fell in love with it but didn't decide to create the outfit until 1 year later when announced as a Fan Table Guest at Wild Wild West Steampunk Convention in Tucson Arizona 2023. This convention was a steampunk exclusive opportunity to own a table and show off all of my cosplays, so I decided to bring none other than a new version of Bakugou to guide me along the process and journey of making a new genre in my cosplay career: Steampunk."

"Using what cosplays I had already made for WWWC 2023, I had used the same belt and gauntlet for Bakugou as I did for my steampunk Evie Frye from Assassins Creed Syndicate. I made use of researching what most men would wear in the industrial era and easily patterned out some slacks, making kneepads onto the pants as if Bakugou had his cannon kneepads embedded in them (including 4 pockets since I'm obsessed with having pockets)."

"The other props and add on's were made using the references of the original art of steampunk Bakugou such as the goggles, other gauntlet, trench coat, vest and scarf. For the gauntlet made exclusively off the fanart, I added Velcro to his spikey bit to remove for other characters (for versatile needs). As for the goggles, I added hinges to pop open the lenses and make it more realistic. This cosplay was a hit at WWWC 23' and became a favorite on social media for the effects and actual use of the hidden blade/grappling hook add on's to the gauntlet."

A version of Bakugou that has turned heads by the sheer lack of development and newness to the series:

Middle School Bakugou

"In 2023, I took it upon myself to really want to create as many Bakugou cosplays as possible even if it meant barely making items and just using what I already had in my closet or wardrobe. The idea of Middle School Bakugou was on my mind as I saved a green plastic bottle from a soda just for photos and content. Even though this version of the hot headed character what lacking much detail and pretty plain, I wanted to add as much depth into it with props and emotions."

Sometimes the most comfortable cosplays that are recognizable can be cannon outfits from the show or series, such as school uniforms:

Gym, School and Band-T Uniform Bakugou

"When I first got into My Hero Academia in 2020, I had no desire to buy the cannon uniform jacket from Amazon and actually create it myself to the best I possibly could with what I could find or thrift. Going to GoodWill, I found a gray jacket, white shirt, red tie and green pants. After purchasing all of it, I went home and painted on the green stripes and hot glued buttons on the jacket. It was personalized by ME! About a year later, I ended up caving in a purchasing the actual jacket off of amazon at the same time as the gym uniform."

"The band-t from the concert au of MHA was a very simple addition to my Bakugou Cosplays, I had just painted on the white logo onto an orange shirt and wore a black shirt underneath it. It was a very special cosplay to me, even if it was a small costest of it due to the shared talent of playing the drums. So I had filmed a whole video of me playing the drums in my parents garage."

What is better than to cosplay a Halloween version of a character ON Halloween?!

Werewolf Bakugou

"To be completely honest, this cosplay was made in a complete rush and done in practically 1 day. I think the longest part of this cosplay though, would have to be getting my long nails done like his haha! The cosplay has a very simple pallet of color and texture to it with fur and cotton. So I took it upon myself to add as many tiny details to make the plain cosplay a little more special. The ears and tail were simple enough to make (since I sell them as merch!). The trickiest part would honestly be the black chain since I was unable to find actual thick black chain, so I had to plastidip thick silver chain and attach it to the collar and wrists."

"Cloud and I went to a carnival for a photoshoot of this cosplay as were made fun of by several teenagers (being called a furry) and they even had the audacity to come up and touch the tail I was wearing, but I am glad that we were still able to make content and enjoy ourselves. Cosplay is about having fun, and if you aren't having fun.... why are you doing it?"

How many hero versions of Bakugou can LarpLikeRae make that are NOT cannon without even making the official hero outfit? Is is out of sheer spite or pettiness to make an Easter Bunny hero outfit?

Easter Bunny Bakugou

"In 2022 I honestly thought it would be a hilarious add on to my already enormous collection of Baku-Cosplays to do more hero outfits that were jokes and hilarious like my 'Princess Bakugou'. I started out with a rough sketch of what I wanted to add to the cosplay to make it look more unique, such as easter eggs as grenades on the belt, Pastel fabric for the clothing, easter bunny ears and especially a huge decorated easter egg grenade blaster (oh and of course a little bunny tail). This cosplay was already looking cursed by the sketch and I knew I just HAD to make it a reality."

"This cosplay barely got any content of it and to be honest, I would love to update it in the near future to give it more uniqueness to it, but we will see!"

My Hero Academia has been popular with not only the show, but movies as well, which leads to the formal version of Bakugou.

Formal Bakugou

"After watching the My Hero Academia movie 'Two Heroes' I was very inspired to not only create the Formal outfit of Bakugou once... but twice. I wanted to make a version where he had 2 red sleeves and was more fitting, and another version where 1 sleeve is cut off and burnt at the seams like the movie. I still have both shirts for this cosplay just incase I want to do either version."

"The vest was bought from goodwill but painted on with white acrylic paint with traditional style roses (tattoo like) on the sides. The tie was also bought from goodwill. This cosplay is very interchangeable for different moods (before or after battle) content."

A new and quite difficult challenge for LarpLikeRae as it was their first attempt to add electronics into clothing to recreate Bakugou's World Heroes Mission Stealth Suit.

World Heroes Mission Bakugou

"Let me start off with saying... Why is his stealth suit only shown in the movie for 2 minutes AND why is it glowing if its a stealth suit?!"

"I had created this cosplay with one of my great friends Sheasama as WHM Kirishima (he/they). Shea had given me tons of advice how to work with LED's in cosplay as this was my first time attempting it. The only snip bit I got of the outfit of Bakugou's was from the official trailer art, so I worked with what I could... little did I know it was nearly NOTHING like what was shown. Shea and I met up in October in Arizona to watch the movie together in theaters with our cosplays of World Heroes Mission Kirishima and Bakugou. We were given little limited edition manga books of the movie as well as the WHOLE BREAK DOWN OF THE BAKUGOU OUTFIT THAT I NEEDED WHEN MAKING IT!"

"I was pissed to say the least. I spent weeks making a cosplay that I didn't even have the cannon photos for until after it was done. So after making content, photos and videos, I trashed the cosplay and look forward to possibly remaking it again with the actual booklet and breakdown of the entire outfit and design without losing more braincells."

Being able to be inspired by artists and other creators can produce some of the best content and most memorable moments.

Cowboy Bakugou

"2021 was a very interesting year full of content and creating more Bakugou au's and cosplays. My mutual Neal_Illustrator (she/her) had began posting an AU of western My Hero Academia and I fell in love with their design for Bakugou and Kirishima. I had asked permission from LeAnn to cosplay as her design and once I had received the 'OK' I reached out to Sheasama (he/they) to join me on the journey of making Cowboy KiriBaku."

"Buying most of the cosplay at Goodwill and Walmart, I pieced the cosplay together quickly including the separate cowboy hats and sewing my own Baku-scarf. I made my own cowboy boots with details of Bakugou's hero outfit and did my best to get the cosplay as accurate to LeAnn's drawings!"

"A while later, Shea had come to Arizona to visit and cosplay as Cowboy KiriBaku. I had booked an appointment with a local Horseback riding center and we headed over to ride and make content. Afterwards we headed to Old-Tombstone to take more photos. This cosplay of Bakugou was so rewarding to see everyone's hard work of creation and artistic ability come to life."

When Christmas is coming around the corner, the best present one can give their followers is the chance to choose a character and cosplay.

Santa Bakugou

"Every year when I did have a Patreon account, I had my subscribers pick what character and outfit they would like to recieve as a present that year. One of the cosplays for Christmas in 2021 was Santa Bakugou. I had originally made the coat for a Santa FatGum cosplay but also made it interchangeable so it could be flipped inside out for other characters."

"Santa Bakugou only made one appearance online but was genuinely a very easy and comfortable outfit that I would wear again if given the chance!"

Ho Ho How can you make Bakugou look so much more cursed? LarpLikeRae creates a Christmas hero suit for Bakugou made with crushed velvet, tears and glitter.

Christmas Hero Suit Bakugou

"This cosplay has 2 versions, one that I made in 2021 and one that I made in 2023, both are similar yet different in colors, fabric choices and templates. The 2021 version was made with YayaHan's white hexagon fabric and dyed horribly pink instead of red by a mistake. After the terrifying dye job, I decided to remake it in 2023 for Holmat and use crushed velvet for the suit and actually taking my time."

"The second suit is by far much greater in my opinion and I am much more happier with the outcome!"

How can one person have so many casual versions of one cosplay?

All casual versions of Bakugou

"Because of my now obsession of creating Bakugou Cosplays, I had taken myself aside to really ask myself if I wanted to go 'too far' by creating every casual outfit of Bakugou from the shows, movies and games. and the answer was... yes. I created every outfit, shirt, pants and shoes I possibly could that Bakugou wears up to season 5. There is no absolute answer to why I did this other than to prove to a random stranger that I was capable to pull off a Bakugou cosplay and I guess I got carried away."

Combining both jobs of tattooing and cosplaying as a reality for the artist and the client, LarpLikeRae exceeds all expectations and 'wows' audiences across social media with the two combined skills.

Tattooer Bakugou

"I started my tattoo journey in 2018 as an apprentice for nearly 4 years, and once I became full time, I started to combine both jobs of cosplaying and tattooing into one! Making it possible to tattoo clients in a cosplay they recommend and request. I first started off cosplaying and tattooing with my friends and by popular request, began offering it to clients. Bakugou and Astarion have been my top 2 highly requested cosplays to tattoo in. With this being said, I had sewn my own custom Bakugou apron to tattoo in where I put buttons and items my fans, followers and clients gave me on as decorations."

"This is not only an AU but an actual possibility in real life, where you can get tattooed by Bakugou and have his personality react to him giving you a tattoo. It's honestly such an honor to be able to do this for people and I look forward to doing more of it in the future."