Move over Raiden, the original Metal Gear Solid cyborg assassin is in town.
Along with convoluted plots and giant bipedal robots, cyborg ninjas are something of a hallmark of the Metal Gear Solid series, and while Konami might be giving Raiden – who became a cyborg after MGS2 – his own game, for many people the first Ninja, also known as Gray Fox, is the quintessential cyborg assassin. Unfortunately, with a detailed and skin tight bodysuit, sword and full face mask, Ninja isn’t the easiest character to cosplay as, but that just makes cosplayer Omi Gibson’s near-perfect version all the more impressive.
In the original Metal Gear Solid, Gray Fox – who had suffered terrible wounds after a fight with Solid Snake in Metal Gear 2 – wore a cybernetic exoskeleton that made him faster and stronger than he had been when he was just flesh and blood. Unfortunately, the same procedure that had saved his life had often caused him excruciating pain. Ninja was a brutal and efficient killer, taking out entire squads of soldiers with just a sword.
Omi’s costume recreates the exoskeleton almost perfectly, with all the contours, joins and details intact. The helmet is also amazingly detailed, although Omi said that it was incredibly hard to see out of, and that it only got worse when the fake blood was added. All she could do, she said, was to listen to the voices of the photographers and watch for flashes to make sure she was facing the right direction.
Ninja isn’t the first Metal Gear Solid character that Omi has cosplayed as either. In fact, she’s dressed up as a pretty significant portion of the MGS cast, both male and female, as well as characters like Catherine from the Atlus’ upcoming game of the same name. You can see more of her cosplay pictures on her blog.
Source: Kotaku
