My Dress-Up Darling

Excellent story, quality voice works, very sweet and beautiful slice of life anime, jaw-dropping gorgeous animations with so detailed and realistic emotions, just pins your heart down for even more feel-good factor.

High school student Wakana Gojo is an orphan who is being raised by his grandfather who makes traditional Japanese hina dolls. He works in his grandfather's shop and is learning to make the dolls himself. At school he is shy and doesn't advertise the fact that he is involved with the dolls. One day Marin Kitagawa, an attractive, popular, extrovert, who he rather fancies, learns what he does... he expects to be teased but instead, having seen the doll dresses he makes, she asks him to make her a cosplay costume. He agrees and they become friends and makes more costumes for her; she starts developing feelings for him but will either of them pluck up the courage to tell the other how they feel.

When I started watching this I didn't know what to expect; I certainly didn't quite expect what I got. The hina dolls don't take up too much of the plot; the making of Marin's costumes is far more important. While there is some fan service it isn't offensive as it doesn't feel unjustified. The characters are a lot of fun and the series looks great; especially the costumes Wakana designs. The romance is gently played out in a way that has one rooting for Wakana and Marin; while there are other important female characters the series never feels as though it might stray into the cliché of becoming a harem show. Overall I'd definitely recommend this to any anime fan looking for something sweet, romantic and genuinely amusing.

These comments are based on watching the series in Japanese with English subtitles.

Goji is extremely talented but lacks self esteem. Kitagawa is extremely beautiful but is also kind and empathic. Throw into the mix their respective obsessions and you have a heart warming tale, sure to make you laugh, and nod sagely at the deeper undercurrent of two kindred souls learning to see that which lovely and wonderfull in each other.

Story: It is a pretty basic premise: a loner boy with a fascination for designing Hina dolls, meets a gyaru who wanted him to make her a cosplay outfit of her favorite character from an eroge video game series. Besides that, I really love the interactions between the two main characters, and I find some of the information on clothing and textiles interesting. With both characters being so likable, you'd want them to both succeed in their goals.

As for fanservice. It's definitely there considering the premise, but I'm not really too bothered by it. In fact, the fanservice goes hand in hand with Marin: she is depicted as a free spirit who does not care what others think about her and demonstrates clearly her passion for what she loves. But I also love the show because of how Gojo feels like a fish out of water. You can easily tell he was never exposed to anything like anime or pop culture which makes Marin the perfect outlet for Gojo to see through. For a story about an eccentric girl gradually pulling a boy out of his comfort zone, I think it is purely wholesome.

Characters: The characters are portrayed as being people instead of filled with anime rom-com clichés. Gojo starts off as being awkward and introverted, but there is nothing creepy about it. On the contrary: Gojo is a very endearing character who at first did not want to be despised for his interest in Hina dolls due to some traumatizing experience from his past. Because of Marin, he is able to feel validated in what he loved and open up more. I also commend him for being a true goat when he thought that the deadline for Marin's outfit was coming soon. He can be very determined when he wants to be.

Marin, to be frank, is the main reason I can see why several people watched the anime. Far from being a stereotypically cruel popular girl, she is instead kind and understanding not to mention patient with Gojo even when he tried avoiding her in one episode. She was fascinated by Gojo's hobby rather than creeped out by it and is so contagiously optimistic and preppy, it will rub off on you.

Supporting characters are also pretty good for the most part. I love Gojo's Grandpa and his reactions are hilarious. Sajuna, another cosplayer who is Marin's idol, off the top of my head, I do not like her. She establishes herself as bratty and even resorts to trying to blackmail Gojo in order to get a cosplay outfit off him. Normally in a lot of these shows, what keeps them from being masterpieces to me is when a third wheel is introduced oftentimes to combat with the other potential love interest in a Betty v. Veronica fashion a cliché that is overused and should die in a fire.

Animation: I love the attention to detail when it comes to designing the clothes or gathering the materials needed. The shading is also vibrant and lovely. The only minor nitpick I had come with a frontal view of a character: they have a noticeable black spot in the middle of their face. It is there to represent the tip of the nose, obviously, but it is distracting.

Sound: The opening and ending themes are bops, and everyone does a good job with the material they are given.

Ultimately, if you like anime about cosplaying and cute character interactions, this could be a show for you.

Is this peak romance?

Another season another romcom to put a smile on my face every week. Although it's not the best that I have watched, My Dress-Up Darling still shows why romcom is one of the best anime genres.

The relationship between two main characters with completely opposite social personalities was adorable. The unique element of this show was beautifully mixing cosplaying and making hina dolls, two seemingly unrelated hobbies. And just like other romcom, the more I watched the more I'm dying to see that peak romance moment. The show did a great job at making you excited while teasing you at the same time. There were a good deal of moments that became heated very fast.

Overall, a hilarious and adorable romcom. 8-8.5/10.