Season aired: Winter 2022

Number of episodes: 12

Genres: Romance, Comedy, Slice of Life

Thoughts: In a season littered with sequels, My Dress-Up Darling stands out from the newly airing anime. Marin Kitagawa is plastered all over social media with her blonde to pink ombre hair, long pink nails, multiple piercings, and sly smile. Videos on YouTube have sprouted, explaining why she is the best girl of the season. Marin has skyrocketed her anime to fame through her presence alone.

The protagonist, however, is not Marin. It is Gojo Wakana, a high school boy who lives with his grandfather. Growing up underneath his grandfather’s tutelage, Gojo loves hina dolls. In particular, he loves to design them — their faces, their postures, and most importantly, their clothes. He hopes one day to become a professional hina dollmaker just like his grandfather. Unfortunately, Gojo has no one to share his passion with. At a young age, a friend turned on him after discovering his hobby — calling him disgusting for liking dolls as a boy. Gojo’s lonely life changes when Marin crashes into his desk and discovers his hobby. As a hardcore cosplayer, Marin sees mutual interest in their passions and begs Gojo to help her make cosplay costumes.

I know everyone’s wondering: is My Dress-Up Darling, an anime that dominated Anime Trending polls and anime social media, really that good? I think it is good in many ways, but it isn’t the most incredible story to have come from the medium.

Ironically, my biggest gripe with the story is with the girl herself — Marin. I understand why Marin is appealing to people as a whole. She’s a diehard otaku with no shame, she’s confident in her body, and she’s bubbly without being stupid. She’s the perfect package of likeability, and she’s the type of person that many of us wish we could be: confident, quirky, and kind. However, at the end of the day, she has no flaws. This makes her stand out, narratively, in a bad way, especially when all other important characters are given time to explore their insecurities and faults.

Gojo’s growth as a character makes perfect sense — he’s the main character. However, when two supporting girls get episodes dedicated to expressing their issues and working past their own internal obstacles, Marin having none sticks out like a sore thumb. I want to clarify that this does not mean I dislike her. Still, from a story standpoint, I cannot deny that she lacks the complexity other characters around her have shown, and I wish she was given even just one moment in the series to showcase her own internal or external struggles.

The overall narrative arc follows a typical romcom. Two characters meet, they fall in love as they explore new things, shenanigans happen in their journey, and, in good anime fashion, it ends at a festival with beautiful fireworks. What makes My Dress-Up Darling stand out in comparison to those who utilize the same formula is twofold: the thread tying the two protagonists together and the animation quality.

Otaku-focused storylines are common in anime, but the specific spotlight on cosplay and by extension, fashion designing, is not. Gojo struggles with loneliness because of his love for designing clothes and dolls, and that’s something that will resonate with people across cultures — men are still largely looked down upon for loving things that are considered inherently feminine. Additionally, cosplay is almost never mentioned in anime that feature otaku characters for a reason that I simply do not know. Having the two mold together with the characters’ developing relationship is perfect. I genuinely adored the scenes where the two discuss the details behind crafting a costume, choosing the correct makeup, and styling wigs. It also builds their relationship in a believable way. I completely understood why Marin fell for Gojo, and I laughed at Gojo’s hormonal teenage panic moments as he spent time with this gorgeous girl.

My small gripe is that I wished the anime explored more of cosplay and fashion designing. The series featured four different cosplay costumes, but at a certain point, the narrative focused less on the actual process behind making the cosplay and skipped right to the final design. In the grand scheme of things though, I think their cosplay and “boy loves fashion design” themes were done very well and do a great service to the story and characters.

I also firmly believe that Marin wouldn’t have attained such a massive following as a character if it wasn’t for the production value placed behind her and the anime as a whole. Despite a few lackluster episodes, the majority of the anime remained consistent in its dedication to minute body language, expressive faces, and visual framing. One episode features one of the most beautiful beach scenes I have ever seen in anime. The lapping of waves against characters’ ankles can seem very mundane, but My Dress-Up Darling’s animation felt different. Whether it was the foam curling against their skin, the unevenness of the actual waves, or the ripples left behind as the wave sinks against the sand, it accomplishes something magical I can’t fully describe. The episode is compounded by the fact that the animation creates this special moment for him as Gojo moves forward in his character development. As he drinks in the beauty of the waves, he observes out loud that he can’t hide himself forever and only focus on his passion — it is through experiencing life outside of his bubble that will propel him to become better as a hina dollmaker.

In fact, the animation is so good that I didn’t even mind the fanservice. When animating the fanservice, the animators actually followed the laws of physics. Boob bounces happened simultaneously rather than one at a time, a small feat of success for me after watching so many years of anime with improbable boob mechanics. Regardless, the fanservice around Marin genuinely makes sense to her character. Her body confidence is one of her shining features, so it doesn’t feel out of place to feature her curves, her chest, or her legs — she herself wants them featured.

Finally, despite my critiques on Marin’s character, I love the seiyuu voicing her. Hina Suguta just debuted in 2019, and she embodies the character in a way I did not think possible. When I heard Marin, I only saw her as Marin. There wasn’t a professional behind the colored contacts, and it’s wonderful to see a newcomer like Hina Suguta perform at a veteran level. A special shoutout as well to the localization team who translated Marin’s Japanese casual speak into the relevant English casual speak — a feat not easily done.

As a whole, My Dress-Up Darling is a good anime. There’s a full package of animation, visuals, voice acting, characters, and a believable love story. However, I just can’t help but wonder — will My Dress-Up Darling ultimately stand the test of time? As I write, I am already seeing the anime community move on to a new anime with another loveable female character sporting a beautiful character design. If Marin is the only thing this anime is remembered for, I don’t believe it will last in people’s hearts for long. There are plenty more romcom anime with flawless female love interests out there to air.

Rating

Plot: 7 (Multiplier 3.5)

Characters: 8 (Multiplier 3.5)

Voice acting: 8

Art/Animation: 8.5

Soundtrack: 7

FINAL SCORE: 76