Pair perfectly recreates look of the human stars of the beloved Studio Ghibli anime.

While there’s definitely a lot of work that goes into complex, elaborate cosplay projects, they a least come with sort of a built-in blueprint. Strap a giant sword to your back, dye your hair canary yellow, and spike it up with a whole tube of gel, and most people will recognize you as Final Fantasy’s Cloud, for example.

What can sometimes be even more challenging is for a cosplayer to transform into a character with a down-to-earth, but still iconic, design. Take sisters Mei and Satsuki from the Studio Ghibli classic My Neighbor Totoro. Their “costumes” are just run-of-the-mill jumper skirts, and Mei’s pigtails are about as outlandish as any of their physical traits get either.

And yet Japanese cosplayers Tamawo (as little sister Mei) and Chirimen Jakota (as Satsuki) recently completed a photo session in which they managed to perfectly duplicate the look and feel of the human stars of the 1988 Hayao Mitazaki anime.

It’s not just the costuming or hairstyling that creates the atmosphere, but the two cosplayers’ body language, which immediately conveys the personalities of effervescent Mei and maturing, though not yet entirely mature, Satsuki. Then there’s the beautifully retro building and lush garden in which the pair posed for photographer Shindo.

https://twitter.com/takiotwinkle/status/896033933137035264

So convincing is the cosplay that some online commenters initially thought the cosplayers themselves might also be young children, but their Twitter profile pictures show that’s not the case.

▼ Tamawo

▼ Chirimen Jakota

And to make things extra-authentic, they even recreated the bento boxed lunches that Satsuki is seen making in one scene from the anime film, complete with grilled fish, pickled plum, beans, and sakura denbu powdered fish.

If you’re thinking that sounds like a pungent mix of ingredients, you’re right. “The bento stank like fish and tasted bad,” tweeted Chirimen Jakota, which makes us glad that cosplay remains a visual, non-olfactory medium.

Source: Twitter/@jakotas2
Insert images: Twitter/@takiotwinkle, Twitter/@jakotas2