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Without question, one of the hardest video games you can play right now is Dark Souls 2. The entire series is known the world over for its brutal, unforgiving gameplay, and while some may argue that the sequel isn’t as hard as the original, there’s no question that this a game you couldn’t pick up and beat in a Sunday afternoon.

It’s only fitting, then, that when Japanese Twitter user @nanonanonano set out to make the Astora Elite Knight Set for cosplay, he made it by hand…and spent eight months creating the incredibly faithful armor replica!

Using nothing more than some home tools and various pieces of metal objects, @nanonanonano did the amazing job of putting together a truly realistic-looking Astora Elite Knight Set armor. But even more amazing than the final results is how he got there. He apparently worked on this cosplay costume for eight months and documented everything with a video. When you see the process, we think you’ll understand why it took him so long!

▼ It all starts with a bowl.

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In the video showing the construction of his costume, @nanonanonano starts by revelaing how his helmet was made using the bowl you see above. Pounding with a hammer and using a blow torch to soften the metal, he first rounded out the bottom and then welds it together with another cut-up bowl to make the back of the helmet. With a ton more metal working, he then constructed the faceplate and used rivets and welding to bring the whole thing together.

▼ It’s a victorious victory for a victor!

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Next, @nanonanonano set to work on the armor gloves, using hinges, pieces of metal he curved by hand, leather, and rivets.

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The entire process takes only a few minutes in the video…but we’re sure it took hours upon hours of work to get everything looking just right. And that’s for only one glove!

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Using a similar process of pounding, riveting, and welding, @nanonanonano also created magnificent leggings. We’re not sure how comfortable they are to wear, but we definitely wouldn’t want to bump shins with him!

▼ Cutting up and pounding an old can for the base of the leggings

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▼ The final, gorgeous finished product

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Now, the next step was putting together the chain mail. If you’re a normal cosplayer, we imagine you just buy this — no one but the guys who made that armor for Lord of the Rings would sit down and actually make chain mail from wire, right? Right?!

▼ Apparently not.

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Yep, @nanonanonano made the chain-mail shirt for himself, starting with thick wire, coiling it, and then cutting individual rings all by himself. We can’t even imagine the zen-like patience it must have taken to complete this…

▼ But it looks amazing!!

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Finally, combined with a surcoat made with help from his mother and more armor, the chainmail looks real enough to stop at least a few enemy attacks.

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And here are the final stats for @nanonanonano’s mammoth undertaking:

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Construction: 8 months
Total weight: 20 kilograms (44 pounds)
Cost of material: Unknown
Comfort while wearing: Horrible
Defensive power: Zero

While it might not be the most comfortable, lightweight, or practical cosplay costume we’ve ever seen, it’s also one of the most impressive we’ve ever seen! Be sure to check out @nanonanonano’s full making-of video below, complete Dark Souls 2-style graphics.

We sincerely applaud @nanonanonano for all his hard work and excellent execution. We can’t wait to see what he comes up with next! Though we imagine he’ll want to take a long, long, long break first…

Sources: niconico douga via Netarabo, Twitter (@nanonanananono)
Images: niconico douga