Studio Ghibli cosplayer goes viral as Spirited Away’s Chihiro

A Studio Ghibli cosplayer went viral on Instagram after sharing an incredible true-to-life take on Spirited Away’s protagonist, Chihiro Ogino.

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Spirited Away hit theaters in July 2001, and forever changed the landscape of anime films. The Hayao Miyazaki-directed project has been critically acclaimed worldwide and won Best Animated Feature at the 2003 Academy Awards. 

A cosplayer celebrated the groundbreaking movie by transforming into its lead protagonist, Chihiro. The artist’s portrayal looks so much like the character, it’s almost as if the heroine stumbled out of the screen and into real life. 

Studio Ghibli

The kind-hearted protagonist is the star of the hit 2001 film, Spirited Away.

Spirited Away cosplayer becomes Chihiro

The Studio Ghibli film follows 10-year-old girl Chihiro after she is forced to move to a new city with her parents. Reluctant about the change, the protagonist then stumbles into the world of the spirits, and is forced to work at a bathhouse to save her mother and father.

Prolific cosplayer Zekia ‘aru.rinh’ went viral on social media after bringing the young heroine to life with her faithful costume. The artist pulls off the perfect recreation in an Instagram post that’s gathered almost 100,000 likes at the time of writing.

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Photographer ‘oyasuminabye’ captured the creator posing in the character’s iconic pink bathhouse work uniform. Zekia perfectly captured the 10-year-old’s look, effortlessly mirroring her brown ponytail hair, and even including the parted bangs that frame each side of her face. 

Despite being released over 19 years ago, the Miyazaki film is still one of the most influential animes of all time. The story is so beloved, it’s the highest grossing movie of all time in Japan – a record it’s held since its release way back in 2001.

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In 2019, Ghibli signed a major deal to bring all of its films to streaming service HBO Max. Those interested in watching Spirited Away can catch it there now, and can also buy it on digital services such as Apple TV.