Bayonetta is the eponymous main character and protagonist of the Bayonetta series of video games. She is a coquettish and mysterious Umbra Witch, who possesses a remarkable talent for the Bullet Arts, and is the bearer of the Left Eye, which oversees the darkness. She is also incredibly sexy, calm and collected in battle, occasionally aloof, but always with a sly and wry sense of humor. Not one for modesty or to shirk away from her deadly sexuality. If this description sounds familiar, it’s because Bayonetta is in many ways the spiritual little sister to the stylish and insanely popular bad boy of the Devil May Cry series, Dante Sparda. This is by design, as the director of Bayonetta and Bayonetta 2 also directed the first Devil May Cry and was inspired by Devil May Cry 4 in his research for Bayonetta.
Bayonetta is known for her fabulous signature style, her incredible hair, her magic abilities, prowess with her four guns, and – for better or worse – her beauty. Even though she’s hundreds of years old, Bayonetta is a modern witch with a modern look. Going against the grain of the “typical, tiny and thin limbed” female protagonists, Bayonetta was given long, strong limbs. Likewise, her beehive hairdo and glasses differentiate her from her female video game peers. In the second Bayonetta game, the developers again bucked typical trends by outfitting her with a pixie cut (though in truth her hair isn’t actually cut. It’s restyled by magic and still very much there). Her hair is more than just stylish and cool – it’s also the embodiment of her power, and what clothes her.
Because of her hair-based fighting techniques, Bayonetta’s magic outfit becomes more revealing when she uses “Wicked Weave” techniques. When summoning demonic limbs, the inner section of her suit which runs up the middle and back of her body remains, but the rest of the suit and sleeves of hair vanish. When summoning full demons, the entire suit disappears, leaving only her gloves, shoes, watch, and her four guns.
Bayonetta as a character has been praised more for her “honest sexuality” and humor than she’s been derided. Sega did some pandering to her male audience by putting Bayonetta look-alike contests into both Playboy and Maxim Magazine. What’s infinitely more important is that many female gamers and have praised her look, personality, and body-positive attitude.
It’s the attitude as much as the her look that makes Bayonetta so awesome to cosplay. Cosplayer Arienai Ten shows off that attitude and more in her super badass take on Bayonetta. Here, we see Arienai sporting the ruffled cuffs and color, along with the perfect pixie cut, from Bayonetta two. There is some expert editing and photo manipulation going on in this series of photographs, bringing Bayonetta to life mid-Wicked Weave. There’s excellent craftsmanship going on as well, in the form of Bayonetta’s four guns – Parsley, Rosemary, Sage, and Thyme. And, of course, one absolutely couldn’t cosplay Bayonetta without her glasses. Arienai looks beautiful, sexy, proud, and fierce. For any fan of Bayonetta, this cosplay is a dream come true.
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