The Halloween Costume Problem: When Your Big Brother Has Already Been Everyone

Halloween costume planning with six kids is never going to be simple. But this year, Will presented us with a particularly specific challenge.

He wanted to be someone from anime. Or Squid Game. Something cool. Something recognizable. Something with a little edge.

Easy enough, right?

Except there was one very important rule: He couldn't be anyone Dylan had already been.

This was apparently nonnegotiable.

And as it turns out, having a twelve-year-old big brother who has been celebrating Halloween for twelve years really limits your options.

We started brainstorming.

What about Gojo from Jujutsu Kaisen?

Nope. Dylan had already been Gojo.

Okay. What about one of the masked guards from Squid Game? The triangle mask would be pretty cool.

Also no. Dylan had already done that one, too.

At this point, I was beginning to wonder whether Dylan had somehow managed to dress as every male character in the history of anime.

Will, meanwhile, remained completely committed to his vision. He wanted a costume that was cool, preferably involved some kind of weapon, and absolutely had not been worn by his older brother.

There were other requirements, too. It had to be a boy character. It had to be something he actually liked. And it had to pass whatever mysterious eight-year-old standard determines whether a Halloween costume is sufficiently awesome.

Then we thought of Tanjiro.

Tanjiro Kamado from Demon Slayer.

The green-and-black checkered jacket. The sword. The earrings. The whole demon-slaying situation.

And, most importantly:

Dylan had never been Tanjiro.

I don't think I've ever been so relieved to discover that a fictional character hadn't already been claimed by another member of our household.

Of course, once we had settled on Tanjiro, I couldn't resist imagining what Will would actually look like in the costume.

So we made a picture.

And honestly? The kid looks pretty fantastic.

The little forehead scar. The checkered jacket. The sword. That slightly mischievous expression that suggests he's about to save the world or possibly chase one of his siblings around the living room.

Very Will.

I love that he has his own opinions about these things now. He knows what he likes, he knows what he doesn't want, and he is very clear that being the younger brother does not mean he wants to repeat everything his older brother has done.

Although, to be fair, he does seem to want to be exactly the same kind of character.

Just a different one.

And I love that, too.

There's something sweet about watching the boys develop their own identities while still sharing so many interests. Dylan introduces Will to things, Will gets completely absorbed in them, and then Will insists on putting his own spin on everything.

Even Halloween.

So this year, barring any last-minute changes of heart, we have our Tanjiro.

And Dylan's extensive costume history can remain safely retired.

At least until Ash gets old enough to start asking for anime costumes.

Then I suppose we'll have to decide whether the no-repeat rule applies to all the brothers.

With four boys in this house, we may eventually run out of fictional characters entirely.