Megan Thee Stallion continues her anime cosplaying streak by transforming herself into the beautiful Snake Princess Boa Hancock from One Piece.
Megan Thee Stallion has been anything but shy in her affection for anime. Through her social media accounts, the hip-hop artist from Houston, Texas has now revealed her latest anime cosplay, this time inspired by the world of One Piece.
On Instagram, Stallion uploaded various photos of herself in a risqué outfit that bears an unmistakable resemblance to Boa Hancock from One Piece. While a few liberties were taken with the outfit to reflect Stallion’s personality, the hairstyle, costume and snake motif are all clearly based on the beautiful Snake Princess.
In addition to the One Piece shoutout, Stallion’s cosplay photos — seen below — are all designed to look like physical copies of PlayStation 2 video games. Stallion capped her posts with a playful comment: “Are you ready to play?”
Launched by Toei Animation, fans get an early preview of America’s first and only official One Piece café, with the menu and some food on display.
Megan Thee Stallion’s New One Piece Cosplay Also References the PlayStation 2
Long-time Stallion fans know that the Houston rapper is one of the biggest anime fans in the music industry and isn’t afraid to flaunt it from time to time. Before appearing as a presenter for the 2024 Crunchyroll Anime Awards, Stallion transformed herself into a dazzling rendition of Satoru Gojo from Jujutsu Kaisen. Shortly after the awards ceremony, Stallion wore an outfit inspired by Jolyne Cujoh from JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: Stone Ocean.
This is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to Stallion cosplaying as anime characters. She has previously disguised herself as Death the Kid from Soul Eater and did a gender-swapped cosplay of Shoto Todoroki from My Hero Academia as well.
Perhaps most famously, Stallion turned herself into Rumi Usagiyama, the Rabbit Hero from My Hero Academia. An art assistant working on the manga even used Stallion as a photo reference for his fan art of Mirko.
Resurfaced storyboards for the One Piece Film: Red anime movie by creator Eiichiro Oda breaks down Uta’s impact on the series’ timeline.
One Piece Fans Discuss the Deeper Meaning Behind Megan Thee Stallion’s Boa Hancock Photos
While Stallion’s Hancock cosplay can be seen as an easy attention-grab for her new snake-related singles, “Cobra” and “Hiss,” One Piece fans on Reddit have picked up the deeper meaning behind her makeover. Although snakes are often seen as a symbol of danger or death, they’re also seen as a representation of rebirth through their association with death and the shedding of their skin.
Stallion is currently going through a ‘rebirth’ in her music career, as “Cobra” and “Hiss” deal with heavier subject matters, such as the rapper confronting her suicidal thoughts, the passing of her mother, and the physical and emotional damage of having her foot shot by Canadian rapper Tory Lanez in 2020. Lanez was convicted for the assault on Aug. 8, 2023, and is currently serving his 10-year sentence at the California Correctional Institution.
The One Piece anime series is available on multiple streaming services, including Crunchyroll, Hulu and Netflix. The live-action One Piece TV series is currently in production for Season 2. Viz Media handles the official English distribution of the manga.