T5W#585-Top 5 Most Unexpected Otakon 2026 Cosplays

Well it’s that time again Dear Readers.  With Halloween just around the corner it’s time to jump back in time a few months to highlight some more awesome cosplays from my favorite con of the year.  This year, however, we’re doing something a bit different.  A lot of the cosplays that make my lists come not just from how well they’re crafted but how they stand out, how out of left field the choices are.  Ergo, the more obscure the better.  And this year, the obscure was everywhere.  I didn’t get a photo but when I learned someone was doing a photoshoot as a character from Code Lyoko of all things, I had no idea that wasn’t even the tip of the iceberg.  So for this years Cosplay Halloween centric Top 5 Wednesday, I’m looking at the wildest, most eye popping cosplays of characters from things you would never expect to see at a con, much less Otakon.  These are my Top 5 Most Unexpected Otakon 2026 Cosplays.

Street Fighter (2026)

Ryu and Ken Masters.  Once inseparable brothers of the fist, now sent on different paths after the death of their Master.  Those paths have reunited them at the Second World Warrior Tournament, hosted by the maniacal M. Bison.  For some, it’s a matter of honor.  For others, it’s a matter of proving who is the strongest.  For Ken and Ryu, it’s about settling old scores and confronting the past that drove them apart.  Together, they answer the call to see who will be crowned the world champion Street Fighter.

Something about the way the new Street Fighter movie was marketed got me right away.  It didn’t look like a generic but goofy 90s action vehicle for Jean Claude Van Damme or a far too serious to be taken seriously Dark Knight wanna be with a terrible Chun Li.  The trailers looked colorful, humorous and unafraid to embrace the craziness of Capcoms’ legendary fighter.  The end product certainly is all of that and when you switch your brain off, it is a great time.  Putting it up against most recent Video Game adaptations though, you can tell Street Fighters heart and energy is in the right place.  It’s just a shame the script is in desperate need of a few rewrites that keep it from a perfect Round 1.

FIF#268-Lord of Mysteries

Suddenly plucked from his world, young Zhou Mingrui finds himself transported into the body of the recently deceased Klien Moretti, who has been resurrected thanks to Zhou’s arrival.  In this world, those who hold power to rival the Gods are called Beyonders.  As Klien, Zhou discovers he might be one of these all powerful beings and is at the center of a race to prevent the return of forces the Beyonders have been struggling to battle against for ages.  To return home, Zhou must unravel of the mystery of Kleins tragic demise and unlock a power greater than either could ever have imagined.

 
Oh boy. Won’t lie, I picked this one a random with zero knowledge of what it was about.  And it’s rare that I say this but I think coming out of the first episode I now know less than I already did…which was nothing.  What looked like a cool, bloody, horror centric action romp proves to be something almost as intimidating and impenetrable as Fate/Stay Night.  That said, Fate/Stay Night at least can explain the rules of its world and how it works in basic terms that allow viewers to jump in and try to keep up.  Can’t say the same about Lord of Mysteries.  The name of it’s game is in the title and it is not a fun mystery at all.
 

T5W#584-Top 5 Hottest Sailor Moon Villainesses

Usagi Tuskino and her fellow Sailor Senshi may be some of the most glamorous Magical Girls in all of Anime but some of the Monsters and major Villains they face off with aren’t slouches either.  For every fang bearing demon from Hell, there’s a gorgeous as all get out deceptress who can more than easily tempt any soul to the dark side.  With Halloween just around the corner, this weeks Top 5 Wednesday is looking at the alluring Witches, Temptresses and Sirens who can haunt our dreams any time of day from the wide world of Sailor Moon.  These are the Top 5 Hottest Sailor Moon Villainesses.

Street Fighter IV: The Ties that Bind

The peace brought about by the fall of Shadaloo quickly disappears when several powerful fighters from around the world begin to vanish without a trace.  Chun Li, Guile and Cammy’s search for answers leads them to an inevitable conclusion: Ryu is the primary target of this series of abductions.  A new evil is rising to take Shadaloo’s place and Ryu’s dark powers are the key to their success.  Once more, Ryu, Ken and their allies step into the ring to test their strength against this threat.  But this is only the beginning.

Street Fighter IV: The Ties that Bind is a special bonus feature that came with Special Editions of the SFIV Video Game at launch and is meant to be an animated prequel to the games main story.  Why these couldn’t have just been integrated into the game as Anime cutscenes, I don’t know.  At the same time though, even though I haven’t played a lot of SFIV, I’m glad these aren’t in the game.  The Ties that Bind is an absolutely boring, tedious and lackluster primer for a game that just lets you get to the nitty, gritty, right away like any proper fighting game should.  Seriously, if you never got a copy of the game with this with it, you’re not missing much.