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Unable to afford the real deal and being too tall for a store-bought replica, one Belgian man by the name of Danny has crafted a suit of samurai armor for himself. And, while there are lots of amazing cosplay costumes out there, this one may very well be the best I’ve ever seen.

A fan of warriors of various cultures, from vikings to the samurai, Danny seems to have had a great affinity for armor, helmets, and weapons from a young age. In fact, he started collecting Japanese swords at the tender age of 16. (Quite a bit more productive than 16-year-olds these days.)

After seeing The Last Samurai, he decided he simply had to have his own samurai armor. Unfortunately, authentic armor is expensive. Like new car expensive. No problem, though, there’s always replica armor!

▼FEAR ME, GRASS! AND MY YARI OF DOOM!sa5

But replica armor, though cheaper, is also not built for Danny’s nearly two-meter-tall size (around six and a half feet for those of us still living in the dark ages).

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“Fine,” thought the now 42-year-old bank teller, “I’ll just make my own!”

And, like a boss, that’s exactly what he did.

▼Riding horses LIKE A BOSS!s6

With assistance from a friend involved in metalworking, Danny assembled his suit from about 3,000 pieces of small, metal bars, just like authentic samurai armor. Strung together with 225 meters of cord, the armor took about two years to put together. But I think we can all agree that the time and effort was totally worth it.

▼Probably has a hard time catching a taxi home though.sa1

Having dubbed Danny, “Armor Man,” local media has already made the cosplayer a bit of a celebrity. He regularly attends cosplay events focused on Japan, populated by ninjas and kimono-clad women. Fortunately for Danny, his wife is not only supportive but also does cosplay herself and enjoys dressing as a medieval Japanese princess.

▼Seriously. This is just freaking awesome.sa4

In addition to wowing the world, he’s planning to start an NGO related to Japanese culture. I definitely want him to let me know when that’s up and running, because I would love to join!

Hopefully member benefits will include getting your own suit of armor.

For more pictures, you can check Danny’s website. (Currently Dutch only, though an English version is planned.)

Source: LabaQ, the Golden Dragon