My Dress-Up Darling

After watching the first two episodes, I find it a guilty pleasure. The story is the common concept of a shy socially awkward person becoming friends with a good-looking popular person. The guy is a shy doll-maker and the girl wants to cosplay, so she recruits hm to make costumes for her. There are plenty of opportunities to show her body and for them to get embarrassed. The artwork is good and it has the potential to be very popular.

I've almost completed the manga and it's really good. The story is simple but heartwarming and the characters are really likable particularly Marin & Wakana. The cosplaying cloths are superb. 8.3/10.

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.

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.