A few weeks ago, I mentioned upcoming conventions Animeland Wasabi Con and Colorado Animefest, but with the upcoming venues, it can be hard to decide what to wear…

Should I do a repeat of last con? Maybe I do a group cosplay? Will I have the time or the budget? What’s going to be popular? Will there be a group meet up?

Many questions get asked, but what should you do?

If you want to do a group cosplay, the best options right now are Fairy Tail, One Piece, Naruto, Haikyu!, Danganronpa and Pokemon.

At every convention, you will see people cosplaying Fairy Tail in group, with multiple Natsu cosplays, Erza, Gray and Juvia among others. Each outfit can either be bought or made. If you are considering Natsu, I recommend buying the scarf online but making everything else yourself. Websites such as Arda Wigs is great for finding the right wig for Natsu, since it looks better than dying and gelling your hair to get the spiky look. You can also visit a fabric store such as Joann to get the vest or make it yourself, and make sure you get the orange trim. The hardest part would be the shorts Natsu always wears. If you want to make that yourself, then it is an easy enough job to do if you get enough fabric, however, you can also thrift shop for shorts that are similar to his and then modify them and add the trim you need to complete the look.

Erza, on the other hand, tends to have cosplayers buy the Grand Magic games purple outfit or the samurai outfit with the bandages and flame pants. Whether you want to do those characters, or others from Fairy Tail, you can find the outfits online or by thrift shopping at places such as Arc, which are a good way to get inspiration and pieces for your anime character.

Last time, I also mentioned Haikyu! and the ability to buy outfits from sports anime. Sports outfits tend to run for around $35 online and are the easiest thing to do. The only additional expense is buying a wig, unless you can shape or dye your hair in a way that fits the character you’re going for. I’ve seen both, when it comes to conventions.

If you are looking for other easy and cheap options, a lot of people enjoy doing their own Pokemon cosplays. Recently, Pokemon Sun and Moon were released, and fans are sure to come to upcoming conventions in their Team Skull cosplays. The outfits are fairly simple, and each piece can be bought at a thrift store or you can buy similar apparel online, or you can get fabric and a stencil to make the skull and other necessary trinkets. If you want to do a Pokemon cosplay but not be a Pokemon trainer from Pokemon Go or Pokemon Sun and Moon, other options include recognizable trainers such as Misty, or get a group together to do Team Rocket or Team Galaxy. There are so many options in the Pokemon universe that you can be as unique as you want or celebrate your love for the recent installment by dressing up as a member of Team Skull or one of the many new trainers.

If Pokemon and Fairy Tail aren’t your kind of cosplay, there are tons of new anime this season that offer good choices. In YURI on Ice, it tells the story of Yuri, a Japanese figure skater who gets coached by his idol so he can make it to the Grand Prix. Doing a cosplay from this anime would be best by buying a wig and then getting a lot of glitter and fabric to make a skating outfit from the show. While expressing your love for the show, it would be hard to get what you need at a thrift store because the most recognizable aspect of the show stems from the various colorful outfits you see figure skaters wear. If you have time to make the outfit or can find someone to help you, this is definitely a good choice because it is one of the most popular shows this season.

Another show this season that offers a fun, unique outfit to make is FlipFlappers. When cosplaying Papika or another character, you’ll want to use the outfits from when they are in Pure Illusion rather than their school uniforms. The outfits are another example of something that will require more work with a thread and needle rather than thrift shopping or online shopping. The outfits contain a lot of white as well as long dresses and long shoes that help to make the piece work. You won’t have to get too intricate with the various add-ons that the characters have when they fight, but by getting the wig or dying your hair as well as buying a LOT of white fabric to complete the piece, along with some black trim for the boots and in areas of the dress.

If making your own costume based on a character from this season is too much for you, another good option is dressing up as a character from RWBY. With the season still going on, fans will be dressing as their favorites, and each outfit can be created from thrift shopping or buying the basics online. The hardest part will be adding trim to your outfits, as well as making a weapon. Cinder is an easy cosplay because you need the red dress she has, a short black wig and gold trim to complete her dress, since she doesn’t have a weapon like Ruby or Blake. Another option is getting pieces to dress as Blake, who has a new outfit this season.

Character options are endless, and with so many new shows that have come out, don’t feel discouraged by the options. If you want to be your favorite character but they are the opposite gender, gender-bent cosplays are always great to see at conventions, and gender bending your favorite character from a new show would be unexpected.

Otherwise, the best thing to do is buy your outfit online for a cheap option. Regardless with everything available, you should have a better understanding of the options available to do this con season. If you are still unsure, re-wearing your outfits are great and always an option to save money. If you have some to spend and enjoy sports anime, then buying some of the various options available online is always an option. If you want to make your own, though, and have the time, then I encourage making something from the new anime season because there are a lot of great shows and options that people enjoy. Even obscure anime characters are welcome at conventions. Sometimes people recognize you and the feeling you get from that is great, because there will always be sports and Fairy Tail and One Piece, but not everyone cosplays from Mikagura School Suite, among other shows.

Collegian blogger Kevin Avis can be reached at blogs@collegian.com. Leave a comment!!