{"id":473967,"date":"2025-12-27T01:25:46","date_gmt":"2025-12-27T01:25:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/473967\/"},"modified":"2025-12-27T01:25:46","modified_gmt":"2025-12-27T01:25:46","slug":"the-best-phoenix-cosplays-and-costumes-we-saw-in-2025","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/473967\/","title":{"rendered":"The best Phoenix cosplays and costumes we saw in 2025"},"content":{"rendered":"

\t\t\t\t\"\"
\n\t\t\t\t\t\tArizona cosplayers, from left: Jess Santos as Bumblebee, Tauri Icenogle as Optimus Prime, Ad\u00e1n Garcia as Kylo Renn, Ronin Kasai as Hawkman, Kyle Appel as The Lich King, Nick McGuire as Wolverine, Kenn Brobst as Blaster, Jeff Seager as a Sandtrooper and Ben Wheat as a “Halo” Spartan.\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

Carlos Arias<\/p>\n

Arizona cosplayers <\/a>showed up in force at local conventions and geek gatherings in 2025. And their costumes matched that ambition.<\/p>\n

Artistry was everywhere at events like Game On Expo<\/a>, UwU Con<\/a> and Phoenix Fan Fusion<\/a> this year. Local creators rolled in with intricate and exhaustively crafted gear that doubled as a fandom flex and skill showcase.<\/p>\n

The staples were all there. Superhero icons from comic books. Anime and video game favorites. Meme references and pop-culture deep cuts that went viral on social media.<\/p>\n

Then came the KPop Demon Hunters wave.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\tPhoenix, make your New Year\u2019s Resolution Count!\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tWe\u2019re $14,000 away from our End-of-Year campaign goal, with just a five days left! We\u2019re ready to deliver \u2014 but we need the resources to do it right. If New Times matters to you, please contribute today to help us expand our current events coverage when it\u2019s needed most.\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\"\"A trio of sisters as the heroines from the Netflix animated film \u201cKPop Demon Hunters\u201d at Saboten Con 2025 in August.<\/p>\n

After the blockbuster animated film dropped on Netflix in June, its look spread fast. Cosplayers flooded Arizona cons dressed as its neon-soaked characters, including Rumi, Mira and Zoey, the film\u2019s trio of heroines and singers from the fictional K-pop act HUNTR\/X.<\/p>\n

In other words, it was one of 2025\u2019s most visible cosplay trends.<\/p>\n

\u201cEveryone was dressing like \u2018KPop Demon Hunters\u2019 this year,\u201d says Phoenix geek Jessika Ros, who cosplays as Jinx. Herself included, as the local cosplayer and co-host of YouTube series \u201cCosTalk Live\u201d attended UwU Con as Zoey. Her co-hosts and fellow costume creators ThermoCosplay and Amber Brite also dressed up.<\/p>\n

\u201cI felt a lot like Zoey\u2019s personality and mine matched quite closely,\u201d Ros says. \u201cOne of my favorite aspects of cosplay is cosplaying with friends. So when Thermo announced she was doing Rumi, and Amber Brite announced Mira, I knew I\u2019d have a blast as Zoey.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"Tucson\u2019s Kyle Appel as The Lich King.<\/p>\n

Phoenix\u2019s best cosplays of 2025 pulled from deep wells of geeky source material.<\/p>\n

Tucson resident Kyle Appel, known as Ravenscraft Cosplay, recreated a jaw-dropping suit of shining silver armor inspired by the Lich King from the World of Warcraft franchise. The intricate build turned heads at Phoenix Fan Fusion and other Valley events, thanks to its scale, polish, and painstaking detail.<\/p>\n

Phoenix\u2019s Andre Washington, who cosplays as Ronin Kasai<\/a>, stacked win after win with his costume builds this year. We first spotted his epic Hawkman suit at Superhero Saturday in January, complete with massive, hand-feathered wings. Weeks later, he shifted gears as a fearsome Yautja from Predator. By October, Washington stunned crowds at UwU Con as the Destined One from Black Myth: Wukong.<\/p>\n

Another standout cosplay in 2025 were a group of towering mechs from Warhammer 40K that he marched into Fan Fusion\u2019s packed cosplay masquerade. They were both impressive and astounding.<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s a look at photos of Phoenix\u2019s best costumes and cosplayers of 2025.<\/p>\n

\"\"Local cosplayer Emkinscos and her impressive cosplay of Perona from the popular anime \u201cOne Piece.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"Lar White of Phoenix as the Kyrptonian criminal Mala, left, with his wife Lee White, right, as DC Comics superheroine\u00a0Liberty Belle.<\/p>\n

\"\"Glendale cosplayer Jagger Leon made a mashup of Sub-Zero from \u201cMortal Kombat\u201d with Spartan armor from the \u201cHalo\u201d series.<\/p>\n

\"\"Kyle Appel of Tucson as the Green Goblin from \u201cSpider-Man: No Way Home.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"Bleeding Fingers Cosplay, left, and Amy Does Cosplay as two versions of\u00a0Shadowheart from\u00a0\u201cBaldur\u2019s Gate 3.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"Las Vegas-based cosplayer Silver Pigeon brought Velkana to life, an original Githyanki character inspired by the world of \u201cBaldur\u2019s Gate.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"Voltron made an appearance at Phoenix Fan Fusion 2025 on Friday and Saturday.<\/p>\n

\"AA pair of Gamorrean Guards spotted at Phoenix Fan Fusion 2025.<\/p>\n

\"\"A contestant in Phoenix Fan Fusion\u2019s cosplay masquerade dressed in Ocean Master armor.<\/p>\n

\"\"Cosplaying Beetlejuice\u2019s creepy carousel outfit from the first film.<\/p>\n

\"\"Local cosplayer Chloe Adams as a Rafi billboard at Phoenix Fan Fusion 2025.<\/p>\n

\"\"Local cosplay armorer Joe Ramirez built four hulking armors from the \u201cWarhammer 40,000\u201d game series.<\/p>\n

\"\"Jim Nowlin as The Shoveler from 1999\u2019s \u201cMystery Men\u201d at Fan Fusion 2025.<\/p>\n

\"\"A local dog dressed as a Sith Lord at Fan Fusion 2025.<\/p>\n

\"\"Corwin Schultz of Florence showed off this amazing-looking cardboard Gundam on Friday at Phoenix Fan Fusion.<\/p>\n

\"APhoenix\u2019s Ronin Kasai impressed fellow UwU Con attendeess with his excellent cosplay of the Destined One from the video game \u201cBlack Myth: Wukong.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"Husky Hubby Cosplay as Edward and Alphonse Elric from \u201cFullmetal Alchemist.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"ACosplay action took place during all three days of UwU Con 2025 in Mesa.<\/p>\n

\"\"The members of the Mando Misfits.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Arizona cosplayers, from left: Jess Santos as Bumblebee, Tauri Icenogle as Optimus Prime, Ad\u00e1n Garcia as Kylo Renn,…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":473968,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5131],"tags":[5229,5643,1587,6588,1589,67,586,132,5230,68,2969,1572],"class_list":{"0":"post-473967","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-phoenix","8":"tag-america","9":"tag-arizona","10":"tag-az","11":"tag-cosplay","12":"tag-phoenix","13":"tag-united-states","14":"tag-united-states-of-america","15":"tag-unitedstates","16":"tag-unitedstatesofamerica","17":"tag-us","18":"tag-usa","19":"tag-year-in-review"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115788929617824819","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/473967","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=473967"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/473967\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/473968"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=473967"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=473967"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=473967"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}