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Darth Vader samurai costume: The Force meets feudal Japan

Japanse warriors combine with "Star Wars" for Darth Vader and Stormtrooper costumes designed to look like samurai in space.

Amanda Kooser
Freelance writer Amanda C. Kooser covers gadgets and tech news with a twist for CNET. When not wallowing in weird gear and iPad apps for cats, she can be found tinkering with her 1956 DeSoto.
Amanda Kooser
2 min read

Samurai Stormtrooper and Darth Vader
This is what would happen if you combined Kurosawa and Lucas. Costume Craze

It's hard to stand out from the crowd when you're engulfed in a sea of look-alike, screen-accurate Darth Vaders and nearly identical Stormtroopers. If you don't have the costuming skills to craft your own Darth Vader/Batman mashup or Lego minifig Darth Vader duds, then you might want to check out the samurai Darth Vader costume currently available for preorder from Costume Craze.

Every Galactic Empire leader needs an army, which is why a samurai Stormtrooper costume is also coming soon. Each costume costs $188 (roughly £110, AU$199) and is available in either an adult standard size or an extra-large size. The costumes consist of a jumpsuit with samurai-style armor attached, shoe covers, and a helmet.

The Stormtrooper costume looks pretty nifty, though the helmet appears to be a bit bulbous. The Darth Vader costume, however, is really tough-looking with a gold seal on the top of the head and subtle red accents. It's menacing and immediately identifiable as everyone's favorite Sith Lord. The shape and mouth-grill of the helmet really lend themselves to a samurai design.

If all is right with the universe, someone will buy these costumes and craft a short film retelling the classic "Star Wars" tale in the setting of feudal Japan. There must be a way to combine the features of a katana with those of a lightsaber for a crackling, spitting, clanging battle between Darth Vader and young samurai-in-training Luke Skywalker.

We will need samurai versions of Yoda and C-3PO for this genre-crossing effort to truly be complete. Plus, Princess Leia really should be an onna-bugeisha. That's a costume I would truly love to see.

(Via Geekologie)