Hello and welcome to Project Nitsuj. Let’s talk about cosplaying. Aside from it being a kink, cosplaying is an effective way for fans of an anime to show how much they love a particular character. A lot goes in to cosplay if done seriously. There’s make-up, hairstyle, measurements and other stuff. There are even times when some of these outfits costs thousands of dollars. Or if you’re lucky you find someone who’s really good at what they do and offer to do it for free like in My Dress-Up Darling. Based off the manga under the same name written by Shinichi Fukuda in 2018 and still continuing to this day, My Dress-Up Darling is an anime that a lot of people have been asking me to review. Maybe it’s because I put it low on my top 11 animes of 2022 list. The anime series was released in 2022 and was one of the first big hits of that year. Fans who were new to series enjoyed how wholesome the series was while also entertaining, and shined a spotlight on exactly what goes into cosplaying. The anime was produced by CloverWorks (Persona 5 the animation and The Promised Neverland) who up until this point was going through a rollercoaster of quality when it came to their anime but My Dress-Up Darling proved to be the anime that got on the trail as they would go on to make good anime after this. So let’s right dive right in and take a look at My Dress-Up Darling.
Opening and Ending Theme
For the opening we have “San San Days” by Spira Spica. One of my favorite openings from 2022. The song just makes you feel happy whenever you hear it and matches up wonderfully with the series. Nothing much to say. Just a very good opening.
The ending is “Koi no Yukue” by Akari Akase. This was an ending I slept on last year, but looking back it’s actually pretty good. It’s cute, cheerful, and simple. Just like the anime.
Episodes 1-4
The anime starts with a young boy named Wakana being amazed at the work of hina dolls his grandpa worked on. Mesmerized by the beauty and splendor of the dolls, Wakana says he wants to be a craftsman just like his grandpa when he grows up. Sadly, when he told his friend this she freaked out and called him disgusting (well excuse him for wanting to be an artist. Sexist bitch). This costs Wakana to grow up with low self-esteem and a reclusive personality that made him afraid to interact with others out of fear of being mocked and rejected by them (man, that bitch really messed him up). Fast forward years later and Wakana voiced by Shōya Ishige is now in high school where he became a craftsman in training under the tutelage of his grandpa. His parents unfortunately passed away when he was a child and he got taken in by his grandpa. At school, Wakana goes about his day not interacting with anyone until he meets the very popular and cute class gyaru Marin voiced by Hina Suguta (she’s the complete opposite of him which means they’ll make a great couple. Scene here: https://youtu.be/xzH2q3jQtW8). We do discover that she’s a big otaku and if you insult her for it she’ll chop you down (why the hell would you call the girl you’re hitting on a nerd is beyond me? If anything that’s a good conversation starter). After school, Wakana gets stuck with cleaning up the classroom where Marin comes to help him out and tells him that he’s just being used and needs to be more honest with himself about his feelings. A few days go by with Marin’s words still playing in Wakana’s head (she saw right through you. She’s a good judge of character) and as he’s working at home he discovers that their sewing machine has died on them. Wanting to continue his work, he decides to use the machines at school where Marin comes upon him. Rather than call him disgusting she’s actually amazed that he knows how to sew and even praises his work (looks like you may have found your dream girl Wakana. I’m jealous). Once he says he knows how to make clothing, Marin shows him a cosplay outfit that she was working on herself. Naturally, it’s not good (it’s the work of an amateur, what did you expect?), so she asks Wakana to create the outfit for her and he says, yes (scene here: https://youtu.be/1rDCQjltykk).
In episode 2 (which goes by pretty fast) we find out that Marin is trying to dress up as Shizuku (Shizuku: Oh wow. I’m flattered. (Nitsuj): Not you, crazy) a character from the erotic video game Slippery Girls 2 (scene here: https://youtu.be/tuTkjVYYOQo, I can totally see that being the title of an actual game. Also, glad to know girls play erotic games too). Despite never having played the game or understanding everything Marin is talking about Wakana can tell she’s genuinely passionate and having fun talking about it (and you’ve gotta respect that). First thing they have to do is take measurements and they decide to do it on Monday since the weekend has started, but Marin can’t wait and comes over the next day (scene here: https://youtu.be/SLyX1sQaj_Y). Wakana is obviously nervous about the measurements (can’t say I blame him. He’s in the house, alone, with a cute girl in a sexy swimsuit. If he was any other man I’d be worried for her), but when he sees how serious Marin is about all of this he pushes his hesitations to the side and gets serious. He does fall apart a few times particularly when it comes to measuring her bust (and feet. Something you want to share with us Wakana? (Corbin): No kink-shaming), but Marin isn’t free from embarrassment either (scene here: https://youtu.be/FC26MTipSf8). After the measurements, Marin gives him the games to play for research purposes and his grandpa returns home to see him playing the games ending the episode on a funny note (scene here: https://youtu.be/MhaX5yS_duo, he’s winning gramps!).
Episode 3 starts with Wakana having a wet dream (scene here: https://youtu.be/DReZP4EEik8, even the doll is judging him). At school, Wakana does his best to avoid Marin as he doesn’t want to cause trouble for her (she’s the cute popular girl that everyone loves while he’s the quiet loner that nobody hates but doesn’t want to be bothered with him). Marin finally does manage to catch Wakana (scene here: https://youtu.be/QJDOFqYvfaY) where she doesn’t care what anybody else thinks (this girl gets it). She considers him a friend and if anybody has a problem with that then they’re not worth her time (the more I watch this girl the more I fall for her). With that settled they both go shopping for supplies that they’ll need for the outfit (and Marin is paying). After getting the fabric, wig, and contacts the last thing they need is the garters and stockings (scene here: https://youtu.be/ptQkN3kchjk). After getting those they go out to eat to finish up the day. The two then talk on the way home where Marin expresses how thankful she is to Wakana and even thanks him for playing the games she recommended (that is a big deal) and we end with Marin saying that there’s an event in two weeks.
With the cosplay event in two weeks Wakana begins to panic. He’s never made clothes for an actual person and doesn’t know how long it’ll take. As if that wasn’t enough to stress him out, his grandpa falls over and hurts his back after seeing the contents of Wakana’s bag. He gets taken to the hospital and goes to stay with other family members to recover leaving the shop to Wakana. He tells her what happened the next day (it is technically her fault. Said the writer jokingly) and she wants to help out in any way she can, so they exchange contact information with each other (the first step toward a cute relationship). As if Wakana didn’t have enough on his plate we find out that midterms are next week which means he has to find time to study, check in on his grandpa, watch the shop, and work on Marin’s outfit (good God this is a crazy schedule). Wakana tries to do everything but becomes exhausted and crashes. Just when he’s about to give up and throw in the towel, he remembers the words his grandpa told him as a child. We do the things we do because we want to make someone happy, even when it’s hard (and sometimes we do it for the money which is sad in a sense). This reinvigorates Wakana and he manages to finish the outfit in time for the event only for Marin to tell him that she wasn’t going to the event. Since she didn’t know how long it would take to make the outfit her plan was to wait until it was finished and then go to an event. This means Wakana got the wrong idea and misinterpreted her words (https://youtu.be/KBltMTAD4eM). With tears in her eyes Marin cries for causing the misunderstanding and putting Wakana through so much (don’t be, it’s his fault for not asking you in the first place). He also apologizes for not communicating with her. Wakana then has Marin try on the outfit to make sure everything fits and make any adjustments if necessary. She shaves her eyebrows, put on fake eyelashes, and then tries on the outfit where she is immensely pleased with the results (as am I. Scene here: https://youtu.be/YEPZ1Fwz9f8).
Episodes 5-8
Episode 5 is a relatively quick episode. Wakana takes a few pictures of Marin and she posts them online. The next day they go to a cosplay event where Marin is a big hit with the photographers (it’s the boob bag). Wakana is a little worried that once the event is over so too is their friendship (you have to remember, Wakana hasn’t had a real friend in years. We know Marin would never up and abandon him, but he doesn’t know that. This whole experience is new to him). Marin and Wakana go to a secluded area so Marin can cool off as she becomes overheated (scene here: https://youtu.be/Li5TqJSlA30). After the event is over and they head home Marin says she wants to do more cosplaying and wants Wakana’s help which he accepts. Wakana also pulls ahead by saying Marin looked beautiful, a word he only uses from the bottom of his heart and if he truly believes it (scene here: https://youtu.be/XIUEkt3yOYo).
In episode 6 Wakana and Marin return to Wakana’s house to wash the wig and put the outfit up correctly. As they’re doing this Wakana’s grandpa returns and he’s quite shocked at what’s going on (he’s at that age grandpa). Luckily, they do clear up the misunderstanding quickly and grandpa knows they didn’t do anything rated R (or NC-17) thanks to the outfit. As he praises the work Wakana did, Marin sits there and comes to a startling realization, she wuvs Wakana (that’s right, I said wuv not love. Scene here: https://youtu.be/wglXGGW7Nas). They all sit down to eat dinner where we find out Marin’s mom passed away when she was a child and her dad works far away meaning she lives alone and doesn’t quite eat all that healthy. After walking her to the train station, Marin heads home where she’s still thinking about her feelings for Wakana (I actually do like that it’s the girl who’s struggling with her feelings instead of the boy). The next day it’s raining and a girl comes by the shop. Believing this to be another one of Wakana’s friends, grandpa invites her in and lets her use the bath to warm up. Once Wakana returns, grandpa heads out and Wakana confronts the new girl in the worst-case scenario (scene here: https://youtu.be/RcDvxA6XhHQ. And to think we all thought Marin would be the first naked girl he would see). So we find out that this mysterious girl is Sajuna better known as Juju a famous cosplayer who despite looking like a middle schooler is actually a year older than Wakana and Marin (I’m still calling the cops). She saw Marin’s outfit online and was amazed by it. So, she went to the event and stalked them in secret following Wakana all the way to his family’s shop (scene here: https://youtu.be/iEv25s2kIcU?t=22, wow her stalking is almost yandere level). She’s come to ask Wakana to make an outfit for her. She wants to cosplay as Shion Nikaido, a character from the anime Flower Princess Blaze (think Magical Girl Doremi combined with Sailor Moon). In the anime, Shion finds out her older sister is the enemy. Overcome with dark feelings, she transforms into her dark alternate, Black Lily (huh? You know, magical girl animes dive into some pretty complicated stuff when you think about it). Marin happens to be a big fan of the anime, particularly Shion’s character. Juju asks Marin why doesn’t she dress up as Shion to which Marin says it’s impossible as their physiques don’t match up with one another. This makes Juju see Marin in a new light and gain respect for her. Up until this point Juju thought Marin was just some annoying girl who wasn’t all that serious about cosplaying, but now she sees just how serious she is about it and how she fully understands what it means to cosplay as a character. Wakana and Juju exchange information where she gets the wrong idea and thinks Wakana and Marin are dating (not yet, but we’re getting there. Scene here: https://youtu.be/U6YzVcPeRAY).
At the start of episode 7 since Juju is going as Black Lily, Marin decides to cosplay as Neon, the sister of Shion and wants to know if Juju wants to do a group cosplay with her. Juju quickly says no but changes her mind when Marin and Wakana say they’ll split the costs of the studio with her. Wanting to get a better understanding of the characters, Wakana wants to watch the anime which is 126 episodes (no problem. Watch 18 episodes a day and you’ll be done in a week). Marin owns the whole set and invites Wakana over to watch it. Also, Wakana’s doll skills have improved according to grandpa who also gives us a very good life lesson. The next day Wakana goes over where he discovers Marin’s secret (scene here: https://youtu.be/LL304dcGS3Q, this date is already off to a good start). We get to see her room (which perfectly captures a real otaku’s room) and they watch the anime together (where we can add a little bit of DBZ in for good measure. Not to mention a BL tag). As they watch the anime Marin realizes that this counts as a home date and starts to get nervous (because she wuvs Wakana). After her stomach growls, she goes to make food for them where even though she botches on the omelet, Wakana still likes it (scene here: https://youtu.be/WbVEM53cQCE). After watching the anime, Wakana sends detailed sketches to Juju on the outfit where she’s very impressed with the design. As the two talk we find out that Juju’s photographer is her little sister and she arranges for Wakana and Marin to meet her. We end the episode by meeting Juju’s little sister Shinju (who is anything but little. Scenes here: https://youtu.be/t3taxLCd2i4).
We start episode 8 with Shinju showing Marin some of the photos she has and you can get a great sense that Juju and Shinju are very close and love one another. After talking about the different filters and settings on a camera (as well as the differences between them and smartphones) they head over to the studio which is located at an abandoned hospital (quite the ominous place for a photoshoot). While Wakana, Marin, and Shinju are fine, Juju is secretly scared but powers through. While Marin and Shinju are scooping out the place, Wakana finds a scared Juju curled up by some stairs. The two talk about their dreams where Juju always wanted to be a magical girl, but as she grew up she realized that dream was impossible. However, being a cosplayer allowed her to see that dream come true (to some degree). Juju admits that she was jealous of Marin’s outfit when she saw it. She was mesmerized by the outfit, it was love at first sight, and she wanted to wear an outfit made by that person (understandable. Give Wakana credit, the guys does good work. Not only are his sketches detailed, but the fact that he goes out of his way to play the games or watch the anime of the character to get a better idea and understanding of that character just proves how dedicated he is to the task. I really do respect and admire that). Hearing this moves Wakana to tears as he understands where she’s coming from because he experienced the same thing when he saw his grandpa’s hina dolls as a child. Wakana grabs Juju’s hand thanking her and she passes out because it’s the first time a boy around her age has ever touched her (and for someone who has gone to an all-girl school this is quite a shock to the system. Scene here: https://youtu.be/oWIV0V2ki_E). Sometime later Marin and Wakana have just finished their final exams and they go to the beach to unwind where Wakana says he’s never been to a lot of places, so Marin promises to take him to many places during their summer vacation (scene here: https://youtu.be/1j5Z9y2uF6c).
Episodes 9-12
In episode 9 Wakana presents the completed outfits to Juju and Marin where they try them on and they love what he did (scene here: https://youtu.be/UXltwaE5N_o). The next day they go to the hospital for their photoshoot where Shinju surprises them by cosplaying as well. We get a flashback where Wakana and Shinju talked in private. Shinju confesses that she’s always wanted to cosplay as well but has been scared to do it. She’s worried that her cosplay won’t be good and Juju will get upset at her. Wanting to help her, Wakana says he’ll make an outfit for her in secret and she chooses to cosplay as a male (don’t make it weird. Or lewd). The male character she wants to cosplay as is Soma, from the same show that Marin and Juju are cosplaying from (the male character who swerves us and is secretly gay but they won’t come out and say it. What is this, dub Sailor Moon from the 90s?). This presents a problem seeing as how Shinju has a very big asset that you can’t miss (it’s like a diamond, you can’t look away). However, they do manage to find a way to work around the issue using a B holder (look it up) and presented Shinju’s cosplay at the hospital to the surprise of everyone (actually, to say they were surprised would be an understatement. Try amazed, blown away, shocked, and possibly thirsty. Scene here: https://youtu.be/4Y_UVAH1JeU).
Episode 10 has a lot of things happening. We start with the group doing their photoshoot in the hospital where Juju thanks Wakana for looking after her sister. It gets hinted later that Juju might have a crush on Wakana but I’m hoping it’s just admiration and respect for what he does (scene here: https://youtu.be/tuMn9D2yyQU). When Marin finds out about Shinju coming over to Wakana’s house in secret she gets jealous (scene here: https://youtu.be/gj7hFH5gvs4). Sometime later Marin expresses her desire to cosplay as a badass character named Veronica (who is obviously a reference to Guilty Gear. The more I watch Marin the more I gain a love and appreciation for how cultured she is). Since the outfit is easy to make, Wakana manages to finish the outfit quickly. The question is how will they handle the skin tone? They decide to change the skin tone digitally, but when Marin comes over we see she darkened her skin with foundation (and this set the Twitter whiners off. They were getting offended, calling the show racist, and saying it should be canceled. Guys, it’s gyaru make-up. It’s quite common in Japan. It’s no different than getting a tan in America. Also, we should be praising Marin here. She loves this character so much and is committed to getting this right that she’s willing to change her skin tone to match that of the character. That’s dedication and respect to a character). She also got the chains from a Halloween store (is it wrong to say she would have gotten them cheaper at a sex shop?) and Wakana got her some fake teeth. Unfortunately, we never get to see Marin as Veronica because she slips and hits her head causing a huge bump to appear and being unable to wear the wig because of it (scene here: https://youtu.be/gj7hFH5gvs4). After that, the two go to Shibuya where Marin plans to buy Wakana some new clothes. Marin picks him out some clothes (that are so bad you feel embarrassed for him) and she loves the way he looks in them (that’s the power of wuv right there). They don’t buy any clothes (probably for the best. I don’t want her jumping on him in public. Scene here: https://youtu.be/eB9XK7OamiY) and Marin tells him that the bump on her head is gone and she can now try on Veronica’s outfit. Wakana gets serious and says she’ll have to do this one by herself as this outfit is way too revealing for him to handle. This makes Marin laugh and she teases him a little bit (scene here: https://youtu.be/IYjzWXqm7ow).
In episode 11 while Wakana and Marin are cooling off in a manga café she recommends a manga called SuccIDK, a slice of life manga that follows the story of a light novel writer and Liz a bubbly succubus that tries to get him to sleep. Marin expresses her desire to cosplay as Liz but is hesitant to do so as she doesn’t believe she can pull off the look (you’re joking? Look at yourself in the mirror, you could totally pull it off. You were born with the rare ability to pull off cute and sexy any time you want). Wakana reassures her that she can do it and they decide to do a Liz cosplay despite the fact that Wakana doesn’t even know what a succubus is (you poor innocent soul). When Wakana finds out what a succubus is he gets a little concerned about the manga but once he reads it he does see how wholesome it is (so wholesome that if it exists I recommend it to kids). However, he also discovers that the art style of the manga is too simple, there’s not enough detail for him to work with and as a result he’ll have a hard time making the outfit. Wakana makes the outfit and Marin secures a photo studio for them to take pictures only to discover that the studio is actually a love hotel (well their relationship escalated quickly. Scenes here: https://youtu.be/DnO0muDzIh4). Marin changes into the Liz outfit where she looks good (I’m curious how they did the long ears) and they start taking pictures. As they continue to take pictures and have fun, they start to hear noises from the other room (keep it down over there! You’d think these kinds of places would have soundproof rooms. (Corbin): Some of us get off from the noise, thank you very much) and then reality returns to Wakana where he panics and grabs Marin by the waist making her moan (Corbin: Sensitive waistline. Hot). Just when the two get caught in the moment and are about to kiss the phone rings telling them their time is up (scene here: https://youtu.be/12YQZC2EJSo. I hate the receptionist so much). They get dressed and leave but this event obviously had a big impact on both of them.
In the final episode we finally learn about Marin’s part-time job, amateur model (I can see that). While doing her summer homework she gets help from Wakana where they take a break and watch a scary movie. Wakana is surprisingly unfazed by the movie while Marin is but puts on a brave face (oh, you could have used that as an excuse to cling to him). They then have to go to the school to retrieve the math drills Marin forgot to bring home and stop by the school pool. Marin accidently falls in where we find out she can’t swim (I guess we won’t get a beach episode then. There’s always a hot spring episode to look forward to), but despite this she does enjoy going to the ocean, listening to the waves, admiring the beauty of it (in her defense it is a very pleasant sight. Also, this scene does a good job summing up Marin’s character. She’s someone who just enjoys life no matter what). Sometime later, Wakana and Marin go to a summer festival together (I’m sure this counts as a date) where they have a good time and he ends up carrying her back home after she hurts her feet (scene here: https://youtu.be/HRY3NVMc04Y). In the final moments of the episode Marin calls up Wakana late at night where she just got done watching a scary movie and is scared. Wakana keeps her company where he says he’s had a fun time with Marin before dozing off and Marin secretly confesses to him (scene here: https://youtu.be/YSyJi4Y77Bo).
Final Thoughts
Going into this anime I didn’t think I was going to like it all that much, but surprisingly I really did like this anime. The story is simple but still enjoyable thanks to its good cast of characters and their interactions off each other. I did enjoy Wakana’s growth throughout the season. To see this guy go from being this awkward reclusive quiet loner to this somewhat confident but shy guy who starts to enjoy life while interacting with others is cool and puts a smile on your face to know he’s found a friend who accepts him for who he is and won’t judge him for what he likes and aspires to be. Marin is waifu of the year. She deserves it. When I saw people praising her online I thought she was getting overblown, but nope, she’s great. Her personality, her look, she’s a well-written character who is just full of life, loves her hobbies, and just a sweetheart. If she was real I would totally marry her. Her relationship with Wakana is cute and funny at the same time. She’ll tease him but is nice enough not to go overboard with her teasing and she doesn’t try to change him into something he’s not. I like how she’s the one who’s head over heels for him but hasn’t come out and said it yet. While I’m sure Wakana feels the same way, I do enjoy how their romantic relationship is slow and not the focal point as of yet. Instead, it’s their friendship with each other that’s the focal point throughout the anime. Marin helps Wakana become a better person and accepts him for who he is while Wakana helps Marin fulfill her wishes of cosplaying as her favorite characters as well as gives her someone to share her hobbies with. Whenever she tells Wakana about a character she wants to cosplay as you can feel her passion and love for the character and see Wakana also get invested in her passion and become a fan in the process. I mean, the fact that he goes out of his way to watch a 100+ episode anime just to get an idea of a character just proves how dedicated he is to his work. Outside of these two characters the rest are okay and don’t take the spotlight off of these two. Grandpa Gojo was cool. I like how he’s supportive of Wakana and treats Marin like a member of the family. The sisterly bond between Juju and Shinju was nice and I like how they didn’t make Juju this self-centered cosplayer who thinks she’s better than everyone and takes herself too seriously (trust me, there are some cosplayers out there like that).
The animation is really nice. It’s one of CloverWorks’s best animated works today. I especially like the facial expressions of the characters. The music is good too, but it can be a little too quiet at times in the background that you can barely hear it. One thing this anime does extremely well is give us an inside look into all the hard work that goes into creating a cosplaying outfit. Getting the right fabric for the clothing, the right wig, makeup, etc. this is all important stuff when it comes to cosplaying and they do a good job of capturing what goes into it and why it’s such a fun hobby to do. I was sad we didn’t get to see Marin’s cosplay of Veronica (well we did in the opening), that was going to be my favorite.
Final Score
The final score for My Dress-Up Darling is a strong 7/10. A great anime that exceeded my expectations and got me interested in the manga which I recommend checking out if you liked the anime. If you’re looking for a good slice of life anime then definitely check this out, you’ll enjoy the characters and the story. A second season hasn’t been announced yet, but with how well the anime went over in Japan and in the west I’m sure they’ll announce one soon. Thanks for reading and I’ll see you next time on Project Nitsuj.