Unique Sora is a cosplayer from Texas, known to friends as Jasmine, whose side-by-side "costests" show just how far makeup, wigs and careful styling can carry one face. In a single run of photos she becomes Domino from Deadpool 2, Nani from Lilo & Stitch, Storm from the X-Men comics, Missandei from Game of Thrones and more than a dozen other characters from Disney films, Saturday-morning cartoons, video games and anime.
Each picture below pairs her version with the original character, which is exactly why the series spread so widely in 2018. She was reported at the time to be about 23 and studying fine arts. She describes herself as a queer Black/PoC cosplayer, and part of her mission is to show that Black fans can play any character they love, from a Disney princess to a manga goddess.
That message became sharper when some accounts reposted her photos without permission and, in certain cases, edited them to make her skin look lighter. The most useful thing a viewer can do is enjoy the work at the source. You can follow her on Instagram and Twitter, or buy her a coffee on Ko-fi to support new costumes.
Who Unique Sora is, before the wigs
This bare-faced selfie is the starting point for everything that follows. Seeing her without a wig, coloured lenses or contour makes the later transformations easier to appreciate, because every change in jawline, eye shape and skin finish comes from technique rather than editing apps.
Her feed mixes polished convention looks with quick at-home tests. She has said that some of these were last-minute costests, and she regularly returns to favourite characters years later to redo them with better wigs and props.
Live-action heroes and video game characters
Domino from Deadpool 2
Domino is the mercenary whose superpower is luck, played on screen by Zazie Beetz in Deadpool 2 (2018). Sora matches the film's huge natural curls, the dark tactical vest and the pale patch around one eye. She has said she will never get tired of cosplaying this character.
Storm from X-Men
Ororo Munroe, better known as Storm, was created by Len Wein and Dave Cockrum and joined the X-Men in 1975 as one of Marvel's first major Black heroines. Sora's take uses a silver wig, a black bodysuit and pale contact lenses to echo the white, glowing eyes Storm has when she calls up the weather.
Missandei from Game of Thrones
Missandei, played by Nathalie Emmanuel, is the translator and adviser at Daenerys Targaryen's side in HBO's Game of Thrones. The draped grey-blue halter dress and the small gold circlet in her curls are lifted straight from the Meereen-era costumes, and her calm expression suits the character's quiet authority.
Chloe Frazer from Uncharted
Chloe Frazer first appeared in Naughty Dog's Uncharted 2: Among Thieves (2009) and later led her own game, Uncharted: The Lost Legacy (2017). The worn red top, layered necklaces and loose dark hair turn a simple outfit into an instantly recognisable treasure hunter.
Amanda ("Manda Panda") from Dream Daddy
Dream Daddy: A Dad Dating Simulator was released by Game Grumps in 2017. Amanda is the player character's teenage daughter, newly moved to the town of Maple Bay. Sora reproduces her yellow headscarf, olive bomber jacket with pins, choker and even the freckles drawn across her cheeks.
Black Rose from .hack
Black Rose is a sword-wielding player character from the .hack franchise, a series of games and anime set inside a fictional online role-playing game. The pink wig, pink face markings and crimson-and-gold armour show how much of cosplay is crafting as well as makeup.
Disney and DreamWorks heroines
Nani from Lilo & Stitch
Nani is Lilo's older sister and guardian in Disney's Lilo & Stitch (2002), a young woman juggling jobs and a chaotic little sister in Hawaii. The orange top with its red heart, the denim and the slightly exhausted side-eye make this one of the most convincing matches in the set.
Esmeralda from The Hunchback of Notre Dame
Disney's 1996 film adapted Victor Hugo's 1831 novel and made Esmeralda its bold, kind-hearted lead. Sora uses bright green lenses, a pink headscarf, large gold hoops and a loose white blouse, the details anyone who saw the film would recognise.
Princess Kida from Atlantis: The Lost Empire
Kidagakash, or Kida, is the princess of the sunken city in Atlantis: The Lost Empire (2001). Her white hair, blue facial markings and glowing crystal pendant are hard to fake, so this simple wig-and-paint version, done as a quick test, still lands well.
Roxanne from A Goofy Movie
Roxanne is the girl Max tries so hard to impress in A Goofy Movie (1995). Sora pairs a long red wig with a teal T-shirt and painted beauty mark, then copies the shy, sideways pose from the film.
Princess Jasmine from Aladdin
Jasmine, from Disney's Aladdin (1992), is one of the most cosplayed princesses in the world. This red version recalls the outfit she wears while captive in Jafar's palace, complete with a voluminous ponytail, armband and tasselled earrings.
Chel from The Road to El Dorado
Chel is the quick-witted local who outsmarts two con men in DreamWorks' The Road to El Dorado (2000), voiced by Rosie Perez. The pink bandeau, white wrap skirt, turquoise earrings and blunt fringe capture her look closely.
Chel, redone
Sora has said she likes going back to characters she has already tried. This second Chel focuses on the face: sharper eyeliner, fuller lips and the character's famously unimpressed expression, mirroring a well-known frame from the film.
Childhood cartoons from the 1990s and 2000s
Spinelli from Recess
Ashley Spinelli is the tough girl of the gang in Disney's animated series Recess and its 2001 film Recess: School's Out. Pigtails, a knitted beanie, a red dress under a dark jacket and a scowl are all it takes to bring back a whole generation's school playground.
Reggie Rocket from Rocket Power
Regina "Reggie" Rocket is the skater and zine writer at the centre of Nickelodeon's Rocket Power, which ran from 1999 to 2004. The purple hair, magenta T-shirt with a yellow rocket and pink sunglasses perched on her head nail the beach-town style.
Marceline from Adventure Time
Marceline the Vampire Queen is the rock-playing vampire of Cartoon Network's Adventure Time. To match her grey-blue skin, Sora uses full-face greyscale paint, red lenses and pointed ear tips, a good example of body paint used to suit a non-human character.
Kuki Sanban from Codename: Kids Next Door
Kuki Sanban, known as Numbuh 3, is the sweet, rainbow-monkey-loving member of Cartoon Network's Codename: Kids Next Door. Sora has said she watched the show a lot as a child, and the oversized green sweater with sleeves that swallow her hands is a fond nod to it.
Lance from Voltron: Legendary Defender
Lance is the joking, confident pilot of the Blue Lion in Netflix's Voltron: Legendary Defender (2016 to 2018). This is a crossplay, meaning a woman playing a male character, and Sora gets there with a short brown wig, blue lenses and his green jacket.
Anime and manga favourites
Yoruichi Shihoin from Bleach
Yoruichi is the former captain and master of speed in Tite Kubo's manga Bleach, famous for also taking the form of a black cat. Sora first cosplayed her in 2015 and came back to the character in 2017; the striped sleeves, patterned top and purple ponytail are all in place.
Urd from Oh My Goddess!
Urd is the older half-sister of Belldandy in Kosuke Fujishima's long-running manga Oh My Goddess!. Her silver hair, purple triangle and facial markings and gold choker are reproduced here with careful face paint.
Ochaco Uraraka from My Hero Academia
Uraraka is the gravity-cancelling student hero of Kohei Horikoshi's My Hero Academia (Boku no Hero Academia). Sora chose a battle-worn version, adding a short brown bob, wristbands and makeup scrapes that match the character after a tough fight.
How a cosplayer becomes so many people
The word cosplay was coined in 1983 by Nobuyuki Takahashi of Studio Hard, a blend of "costume" and "play". Today it covers everything from hand-sewn armour to quick at-home tests like many in this set. Sora's photos show the main tools of the craft working together:
- Wigs and styling. Almost every look starts with hair, from Storm's silver mane to Uraraka's short bob. Cutting and shaping a wig is often what makes a cartoon silhouette read in real life.
- Coloured lenses. Contact lenses change eye colour and can mimic the large eyes of anime. Only use lenses from a licensed supplier and talk to an eye doctor before wearing them.
- Contour and face paint. Shading changes the apparent shape of a face, while paint adds markings like Kida's or Urd's, or a whole new skin colour, as with Marceline.
- Expression and pose. The side-by-side format works because she copies the exact pose and mood of a reference frame, not just the clothes.
Why credit, consent and skin tone matter
Cosplayers of colour often face comments that their version of a character is "inaccurate", even when the outfit is spot on. That is one reason Sora's work struck a chord: she plays characters of every background, and many of them, such as Nani, Storm, Missandei and Domino, are people of colour whose fans rarely saw themselves in costume galleries.
Editing her photos to lighten her skin erased exactly that point. Reposting without asking also cuts the artist off from the people who enjoy her work. Since 2013 the "Cosplay Is Not Consent" movement has pushed conventions to remind visitors to ask before taking photos, and the same courtesy applies online: ask, credit, link back and never alter someone's face or body.
If you enjoyed this collection, the best response is simple. Follow Unique Sora directly, share her original posts rather than screenshots, and support the hours of work behind every wig, lens and painted line.
Sources: photos by Unique Sora on Instagram; Bored Panda; AIPT Comics; SoraNews24; Wikipedia: Cosplay; Wikipedia: Dream Daddy.
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