Sword Art Online cosplayer snipes enemies as real life Sinon

A Sword Art Online cosplayer went viral on Instagram after sharing her transformation into popular anime character Sinon. The artist’s stunning take brings the Phantom Bullet heroine to life.

Originally written in 2002 by novelist Reki Kawahara, Sword Art Online exploded in popularity a decade later with its animated adaptation in 2012. Viewers around the world have fallen in love with its creative take on massively multiplayer online role playing games.

Prolific cosplayer Sarah ‘hendoart‘ Hendo made waves on social media when she shared her costume based on the anime’s second season arc, the Phantom Bullet. The talented artist brought the beloved blue-haired sniper Sinon to life with an insanely accurate take.

A-1 Pictures / Netflix

The blue-haired sniper stars in Sword Art Online II.

Sword Art Online cosplayer becomes real life Sinon

While the series starts off with protagonist Kazuto Kirigaya getting stuck in the virtual world of Aincrad, the show’s later seasons take place in a different online video game. In season two, Kirito meets a fierce sniper with a deadly aim named Sinon.

Bringing the heroine to life, cosplayer Hendoart shared her mind-blowing transformation into the character on Instagram. Photographer ‘nerdypictures‘ captured the artist posing in her signature outfit. The costume is full of meticulous detail, and includes a cut out black and white bodysuit which runs under her green jacket and leggings.

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Sarah recreated a scene from the anime, and mirrored Sinon’s battle stance by holding her iconic sniper rifle behind her head. The life-size prop weapon was created by ‘airsoftevike‘ and is so accurate that it looks as if it could have come straight out of the screen.

In another shot posted to social media, Hendo gave viewers a closer look at how faithful her Sword Art Online cosplay actually is. Not only did she mirror the heroine’s giant blue and silver belt buckle, she also created Sinon’s white scarf which she uses to wrap around her face to protect herself from the elements.

While Sword Art Online’s anime has been a massive hit, its Light Novel adaptation is one of the most popular series in Japan. The franchise is so beloved, it’s been made into various games on the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One as well.

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Those interested in checking out the MMO-based show can catch all episodes on streaming services Funimation and Crunchyroll. Netflix also currently has seasons one through three available right now.