It’s that time again! Convention time; when all of the fantasy, video game, anime, and cartoon fans rise from behind their glowing screens and enter into a world that is ill prepared for their fancy. If you’re a frequenter of these conventions, then you know how much time and effort goes into some of the costumes you see at these events. Known as cosplay to the uninformed, practitioners put hours and hours into these costumes. If you consider yourself a cosplayer, then you know how much a single accessory can make or break your depiction of a character. But items such as their sword can really help solidify your portrayal. A character’s sword is often an extension of their personality so it’s important to choose the right blade! But how do you go about choosing the proper sword style?

Choose Your Character

Before you can pick your sword, you need to know who that sword belongs to. It would make little sense to be cosplaying as Samurai Champloo’s Mugen while holding Link’s Hyrulean Shield. Although it could definitely get some laughs, and maybe some confused looks, unless that’s your intention try to stick to one character.

Now that you’ve chosen your character, what kind of weapon do they have? Do they have a standard katana? Or maybe they have a katana with a very specific hand guard? Or they might not have a standard sword at all. Characters like Sora or King Mickey from the Kingdom Hearts series wield a unique weapon known as the Key-blade. As mentioned before, the sword you choose can be the soul and identity of whatever character you choose to portray.

The Size

Anime and manga swords have a reputation for being pretty sizable. The issue with that is sometimes the swords are longer than the person! It can become uncomfortable fairly quickly if you are walking down the convention floor and you feel the tip of your sword of choice dragging along the ground. It can also be annoying trying to enter rooms and the sword on your hip or hilt gets caught in the door frame. Trust us, it happens more than you think. On SwordNArmory.com, all of the weapons measurements can be found conveniently in the item description.

Be Honest With Yourself

There’s a reason why anime and manga characters are in ridiculous shape; swords are heavy! Even if they aren’t as heavy as the real thing, foam weapons can become cumbersome to lug around after being on the convention floor for hours. So be honest with yourself and choose the blade you feel comfortable having with you at all times.

These are some of the best tips to have when considering which foam swords to purchase. Completing your cosplay by receiving that perfect sword in the mail is feeling that’s unparalleled. Happy cosplaying!