The « Kigurumi Animegao » cosplay is a kind of mask-based cosplay which includes features typically close from manga and Japanese style in order to get the look as close as possible from the cosplayed character. People practicing this kind of cosplay uses to call them « Kigurumi » or « Kig » in short. A full flesh-colored bodysuit come to complete the costume, in order to remove every human-like feature (Such as nails, body hairs...). These bodysuits are called « zentai » or « hadatai ».

Etymologically, the Japanese word Kigurumi (着ぐるみ) come from the verb kiru (着る, dressing up) and the name nuigurumi (ぬいぐるみ, plushie). The word animegao is, in a similar way, a contraction between Anime (アニメ) and Kao (かお, face).

This kind of cosplay, which find its origin from Japan, is used both by professional to promote their products (One Piece mascot during the Japan Expo or Hatsune Miku during concerts for example) but also by a constantly increasing number of independent amateurs.

By wearing both the zentai and the mask, the kigurumi cosplayer get as close as possible from their character look. Many kigs are based on characters from known franchises of manga, animes or video games whereas some others prefer to embody characters from their own imagination (this is named « Original Character »).