In short: Sniper Mask is one of the killer masks in High-Rise Invasion (Netflix, 2021), armed with a Mosin-Nagant rifle able to hit a target at 200 metres. His real name is Yuka Makoto, brother of Rika Honjo and half-brother of the heroine Yuri Honjo. Unlike the other masks, he regains awareness of himself when his mask cracks, and from then on only kills in self-defence.
Click the image to watch the trailer on the official Netflix Anime channel.
Who is Sniper Mask in High-Rise Invasion?
Sniper Mask is the nickname given to Yuka Makoto, one of the "masks" hunting survivors in the skyscraper world of High-Rise Invasion. Kuon Shinzaki, one of the few characters who spends time near him without being killed, simply calls him "Mr. Mask". He is introduced as the brother of Rika Honjo, and therefore the half-brother of the series' heroine, Yuri Honjo, which goes a long way towards explaining why he never truly takes aim at her.
Black suit, white shirt, tie and fedora: beneath the smiling mask, Sniper Mask's silhouette stands apart from the sportswear and school uniforms of the other masks. That hitman look, rather than plain masked assassin, is what comes up most often in fan searches, on a par with questions about his real identity.
Why is the smile on his mask so unsettling?
In High-Rise Invasion, every mask follows a protocol called "Despair, Murder, and Suicide": drive survivors to despair, kill them, or push them to take their own lives. The fixed smile, stitched onto practically every mask in the series, is part of that psychological device as much as of their disguise. Sniper Mask is no exception, but he is one of the only ones to break away from it as the story unfolds.
When his mask cracks during a fight against Yuri, Sniper Mask gradually recovers his sense of his own identity, lost along with his memory. That return to awareness sets him apart from the rest of the masks, who remain unquestioning enforcers from beginning to end. After Kuon's apparent death, he even becomes what the series calls a "candidate for godhood", a status reserved for only a handful of masks.
Has Sniper Mask's face ever been shown?
No, never directly on screen. In the anime as in the manga, the camera systematically looks away at the moment his mask comes off. The scene fans cite most is the one where Yuri Honjo sees his bare face (episode 10 of the anime, chapter 121 of the manga): she describes him as surprisingly handsome, with a scar under his left eye, without the viewer ever seeing any of it.
That staging choice, repeated across several episodes, deliberately keeps the mystery alive rather than resolving it. It is also what feeds the "sniper mask face reveal" search, one of the most typed queries about the character according to the searches leading to our own product page: viewers want the visual confirmation that neither the anime nor the manga gives them.
What weapon does Sniper Mask use?
A Mosin-Nagant, a Russian bolt-action rifle in 7.62 x 54 mm, able to hit a target at 200 metres according to scenes in the series. Sniper Mask is not limited to long-range shooting, though: he also killed Axe Mask, another mask armed with an axe, in a fairly brief close-quarters fight. The full skill set makes him one of the most versatile masks in the story, far from the lone-sniper-on-a-rooftop archetype.
He is not the only one of his kind either: White Feather Mask, a marksman identifiable by the white feather on her hunting hat, shares exactly the same long-range fighting style. The series implies she develops an interest in him that stops her, at the decisive moment, from pulling the trigger.
Sniper Mask against the other masks in the series
The official Netflix Anime trailers and clips give a sense of the variety of masks populating High-Rise Invasion, each with a weapon and a way of killing of their own.
| Mask | Weapon or method | What is known about them |
|---|---|---|
| Sniper Mask | Mosin-Nagant rifle, long-range fire and close combat | Regains awareness when his mask cracks, becomes a candidate for godhood |
| White Feather Mask | Sniper rifle | Rival with the same fighting style, holds her fire against him |
| Chef Mask | Cleavers and butcher's saw | One of the most violent close-quarters fights in the series |
| Batter Mask | Baseballs thrown at lethal speed | Faces Rika Honjo, Yuri's brother, in the early episodes |
| Axe Mask | Axe | Killed by Sniper Mask in one of the story's very first clashes |
Where High-Rise Invasion comes from, and where to watch it
High-Rise Invasion adapts the Japanese manga Tenkuu Shinpan (天空侵犯, literally "heavenly judgement"), written by Tsuina Miura (also the author of Ajin: Demi-Human) and drawn by Takahiro Oba, published by Kodansha from December 2013 to April 2019 and collected in 21 volumes. A sequel, High-Rise Invasion Arrive, ran from July 2019 to April 2021 across 7 further volumes.
The anime adaptation, produced by studio Zero-G and directed by Masahiro Takata, runs to 12 episodes released all at once on Netflix worldwide on 25 February 2021, subtitled and dubbed in both Japanese and English (Yuichiro Umehara voices Sniper Mask in Japanese, Jonah Scott in English). In English, the manga exists digitally through the North American publisher Seven Seas Entertainment. One limitation worth knowing before starting the series: the anime stops before the end of the manga, on an in-between point that leaves several plot threads open.
It is that setting of skyscrapers linked by makeshift bridges, where Yuri Honjo finds herself trapped from the first episode, that gives the series its name: a vertical world where running away never means going down.
To see Sniper Mask in action in another standout scene, the official Netflix trailer remains the best way in before starting the 12 episodes.
How do you pull off a Sniper Mask cosplay?
Three pieces are enough to be recognised as Sniper Mask at a convention: the white mask with its fixed smile, a black suit with white shirt and tie, and a fedora. It is one of the most accessible cosplays among the series' masks, since it rests on ordinary city clothes rather than armour or a school uniform to recreate.
At Bakashop, the Sniper Mask cosplay mask sells for 24.99 euros, rated 5 out of 5 across current customer reviews. The black suit, tie and hat are not included in the parcel: they are easy to find as generic pieces, in our manga cosplay accessories range or elsewhere, and there is no need to hunt for an exact replica for the character to be recognised. As with the rest of the cosplay range, budget 7 to 21 days for delivery depending on destination, with returns possible within 14 days if the mask does not suit.
For a first cosplay built around a single strong accessory rather than a full costume, our selection of ten easy cosplays for beginners covers other characters in the same spirit. And to assemble the rest of the outfit piece by piece without getting the order of priorities wrong, the ultimate cosplay guide lays out the method, from starting budget to finishing touches.
Frequently asked questions about Sniper Mask
Is Sniper Mask really Yuri Honjo's brother?
Half-brother, to be precise. Sniper Mask (Yuka Makoto) is introduced as the brother of Rika Honjo, Yuri's brother, which makes him the heroine's half-brother through that side of the family. The exact relationship between the three is only developed in detail later in the story.
Is Sniper Mask an ally of Yuri Honjo?
Neither a standard enemy nor a declared ally. Once he has regained awareness of himself, Sniper Mask only kills to defend himself or protect someone, which at times brings him closer to Yuri's side without making him a regular travelling companion.
How much does the Sniper Mask mask cost at Bakashop?
24.99 euros, rated 5 out of 5 across current customer reviews. It is a resin mask to wear on its own or with a generic black suit to complete the character's full look.
Does High-Rise Invasion have a season 2?
No sequel has been announced by Netflix to date. The 12 episodes released in 2021 cover part of the manga's story, which runs to 21 volumes for the original series and 7 more for its sequel, High-Rise Invasion Arrive.
Where can you watch High-Rise Invasion?
On Netflix, with subtitles and dubbing available in Japanese and English. All 12 episodes of the first and only season were released at once on 25 February 2021.
Why do some masks have job-based names, like Chef Mask or Batter Mask?
Fans and the English-speaking community generally nickname them after their weapon or their method of killing rather than a real name, which most of them never reveal. Sniper Mask follows the same logic: the nickname comes straight from his rifle.
Antoine, founder of Bakashop. Information verified on 9 August 2026 from the product page and real customer reviews of the Sniper Mask cosplay mask, and from cross-checked sources on the manga and anime (Kodansha, Seven Seas Entertainment, Netflix). Images: ©Tsuina Miura, Takahiro Oba, Kodansha / Zero-G, via Netflix Anime.
