Merely whisper of “platform video games” and the first game everyone will think of is Mario Brothers. The plucky little Italian plumber hopped from arcade machines to the console to everywhere else, in a franchise that now spans four decades. Yet the Mario universe is still quite simple. There’s a couple of brothers, a princess, a few other minor role-fillers milling about, and the chief villain, Bowser.
Of all the characters to gender-flip, why Bowser? Hosts on IGN have actually discussed this very question on the air. Some theorize it was a playful way to culture-jam Nintendo, by stumping their social media handlers. Others theorized that it’s the age-old debate about gender roles in video games. What if you’re a female Mario fan, but you don’t want to play a helpless waif who’s always getting kidnapped?
The solution is Bowsette, a fan-made creation which has taken on a life of her own and works work women of all shapes and sizes. Starting from a 2018 cartoon creation, it’s gone viral and forced Nintendo to at least partially acknowledge it, the way Hasbro had to face the fact that there were hundreds of middle-aged male My Little Pony fans. The character has now been cosplayed by some of the most popular cosplayers in the world.
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@clavaria
Now, this model should teach a university class on Cosplay 101. Costume: perfect, Attitude: boss.
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@krissyvictoryy
The other end of the scale, but still good. Note a lot of costumes sometimes include a tail and Koopa shell.
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@morritas_ahegao
If you do a Mario-themed wedding, you have to have the Bowsette character do it like this.
Of course, somebody had to take it all the way back to Moe.
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@themagicworldofcosplay
She’s here to remind us exactly why we created the Bowsette character.
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@husky_mountain
A very original take, with the fireballs being a nice touch and a sense of humor. Pose is on point, glasses say “nerdy side.” This is a deeply thought-out cosplay.
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@minuchancos
Whoa! The fire puts it into orbit.
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@murdernurse
This is cool because she takes it over to Nordic opera. If there isn’t a Super Mario opera yet, there should be, and then they have to work Bowsette into it.
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@scars.and.garters
Getting a little too scary for the villain in a children’s game here. Still, what a top effort!
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@vampirekanoe
Even though this isn’t the most elaborate costume, there’s something about her that captures what you expect the character of Bowsette to be.