The best anime clothing, accessories, and merch to buy and wear out

Whether it’s the flamboyant outfits of Jojo’s Bizarre AdventureOr the elegantly tailored school uniforms of series like Sailor Moon. The mainstay is eye-catching fashion in manga and anime. Because anime is so fashion forward, there are bound to be anime-inspired fashion trends. The past two years have seen record breaking movies and best-selling manga. This has been particularly true for anime and manga as well as all of the merchandise that surround it.

TikTok is a popular platform for anime clothing and merchandise. Streetwear was created for Manga by smaller vendors, where official merchandise was more difficult to find. Chainsaw Man. Others looked for T-shirts or replicas of their favorite characters’ accessories, like earrings. Others just wanted cute products inspired by their characters’ outfits, which is where the popular Shinobu Kocho swimsuit came in.

There was so much merch available and plenty of content. The videos of individual influencers showed how to style anime merchandise and they also posted outfits inspired by anime. Together, the popularity of anime apparel and merchandise grew rapidly. Now even larger companies are likely looking to cash in on the anime merch boom — Shonen Jump even launched a clothing store in January. Given the pervasiveness of it all, Polygon staff happened to pick up some anime merch over the years — so we decided to write about our favorite anime merch and why we like it so much.

Creep Illusion limited edition Akira shirt

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My extensive graphic shirt collection gives me a clear idea of my interests and tastes in movies, books and music. Surprisingly though, not a lot of anime-themed shirts, with the exception of one anime in particular that should surprise no one who actually knows me personally: Katsuhiro Otomo’s 1988 apocalyptic sci-fi epic Akira. The series, both the six-volume manga and its aforementioned anime adaptation, left an immeasurable impact on my fledgling love of the medium back when I was a teenager and as such, my favorite piece of anime apparel — a limited edition screenprint I copped from the Indonesian T-shirt shop Creep Illusion, complete with a vinyl capsule logo — is dedicated to Otomo’s magnum opus. I don’t wear it often, but I absolutely love it. —Toussaint Égan

Hunter shirts x Gon and Killua Hunter

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Only in the past year have I started to watch anime. Asking friends for suggestions, they gave me a few options. Hunter x Hunter kept coming up — so I decided to take the plunge. The show was so enjoyable that I watched the entire series in a matter of weeks. Heavens Arena had ended, and by the time I finished it, I knew that I needed a shirt. I also knew which style I preferred. Zumiez stocks a wide range of products. Hunter x HunterThis is merch. I really like the look of one of my favorite characters’ eyes. The rest of the shirt has a matching color scheme. It was a difficult task to choose who I would like to be a part of.

I was struggling between Killua, Kurapika, and Hisoka — my personal favorites — or just buying all of them, honestly. My boyfriend and anime-watching buddy came up with the perfect solution. He would get me a Killua shirt while I would get him a Gon one. They would look disgusting together and we could celebrate our favorite boys by wearing them together. (Don’t talk to me about Chimera Ant). They have been fun to wear so far. Hunter x HunterFans, to remind them that both rubber gum and bungee gum have the same properties. —Nicole Clark

Demon Slayer Giyu Cardigan

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Steady Hands produces some of the most subtle and elegant anime merchandise on the internet. But their cardis stand out. They are extremely popular and only available for purchase during monthly drops. It takes two months for them to ship. It’s worth the wait. In the fall, I invested in my first Steady Hands cardi — the one based on Giyu’s haori in Demon Slayer — I was immediately a fan and this became my favourite outfit. The quality is absolutely fantastic and I’m constantly getting compliments on it from people who don’t even know the reference.

This cardigan was my favorite. I purchased it a month later. Tokyo Revengers’My husband and Draken ordered their own Giyu cardigan. Since then, Steady Hands has already released even more new cardi designs and I know it’s only a matter of time before a third finds its way into my closet. —Sadie Gennis

Kurapika’s Earrings from Hunter x Hunter

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I like these earrings a lot because they’re subtle. There are many clothing pieces that have more obvious anime characters. I confess, I own several pairs of these earrings. Hunter x HunterThese earrings can be worn with many outfits, including pajama trousers. They look great with formal wear and can be paired with nice dresses to pay tribute to my favourite characters. These were bought as cosplay items. Maybe, maybe so — but I also just wear them whenever I can.

Within the show, we only ever see Kurapika with one earring, which means that the other one doesn’t necessarily HaveTo be a red gemstone. The seller I got these from had a few options available, but I went with the dagger design, because I just think that’s neat! —Petrana Radulovic

Evangelion Fourth Angel Soccer Jersey

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Evangelion, god-like monsters called “angels” wreak destruction on the world. Characters like Shinji Ichari are subject to their existence, causing them pain and suffering. They make the perfect accessory to my every day outfit.

One of my favorite pieces of anime clothing is this “Evangelion Fourth Angel Soccer Jersey” from Atsuko. This lightweight shirt is streetwear at its best. This shirt is a standout in streetwear. I love the bold red and black color schemes, as well as the gigantic Sachiel depiction. The extra large size allows me to layer the shirt over either a long-sleeved shirt or a black jacket in the winter. In the summer, I’ll wear it as it, and pair it with black bike shorts and black Dr. Martens. It’s so intense you can’t do all that much with it, but you also don’t really need to.

As a child who grew up around sports like soccer and football, it’s fun to finally have a jersey of my own to wear. (Even if I’m not rooting for the angels to win.) The jersey is high quality — it’s an actual soccer jersey with the shiny sticker and all. Unfortunately, it’s sold out at Atsuko at the moment and it’s unclear if the store plans to restock. —Ana Diaz

Soma Yukihira’s diner shirt from Food Wars!: Shokugeki no Soma

I once thought that cooking was my passion, but then the pandemic showed me that it is actually something I enjoy doing with my friends. It’s also a pleasure to watch cooking competitions. Cooking for myself, on the other hand, is a complete chore — and when left to my own devices I will often just eat a weird pantry snack meal, foraging from bits and bobs like a raccoon.

I was hoping to find something to play in the background of cooking, basically as encouragement, after I’d burned out on Chefs to Watch. I’d initially chosen Food WarsBecause it fit the bill. However, I was wrong. This is the show. Not a background watch — boarding school students fight each other to make the tastiest dishes, and also people’s clothes burst off in a horny flight of passion whenever the food is really good. The show hasn’t just re-ignited my desire to cook — it has also made my cooking better. So I ordered this long-sleeve crewneck from Etsy, the one that Soma Yukihira wears when he’s cooking in a food war. Sadly, it hasn’t arrived yet. But I look forward to wearing it while cooking, which will give me plentiful opportunities to shout “ORDER’S UP” and “YOU’RE WELCOME.” —NC

Bakugo crop top

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I love a crop top, and now that I’m working remotely, they make up a startling portion of what I wear. That’s why I was so excited to find TheOkakuStudio on Etsy, which carries a small selection of anime-inspired crop tops. While Bakugo isn’t my ultimate favorite character in My Hero AcademiaThat honor goes to Aizawa, the sleepy King.

I love merch that’s on the more subtle side and was surprised by how versatile the shirt turned out to be. You can wear the shirt as a workout top. I love to style it with leggings or black skinny jeans. For low-key cosplay, you could even add a blonde or giddy wig to it. (I have done 100 percent of that). The Bakugo croptop is a great choice. —Sadie Gennis

Pokémon Gengar Backpack

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This Gengar backpack is really just a ruse to allow me to take a really cute Pokémon plushie with me everywhere. The bag can be used as a purse or a plushie and allows me to take the adorable chonky ghost-type anywhere. For how cute it is, it’s surprisingly practical. I can store my keys, wallet and phone in the internal pocket. It’s not the best for errands, it is a little clunky in size and it can take a moment to fish out the right item from the pouch inside. It’s great to have around while you are out and about with your friends. It is so easy to have it on my lap while I chat, eat or watch TV.

Blacks are my favorite color so I like to have some variety and something lighter that will soften the outfits. In the winter I’ll usually wear long skirts with tights and long jackets. Gengar looks adorable hanging from the sleeves. I make sure that my straps are long enough to hang a bit lower than normal. I’ll wear like a dozen different textures from flurry headbands to wooly scarves at once, so I like throwing it in the mix. I also love… I just adore Gengar. I count the ghost in the high ranks of my “favorite Pokémon” list so I’m especially happy to have it along for the day. —AD