My Dress-Up Darling is not at all what I expected. Honestly, seeing the little picture on my Funimation app, I had several questions. Not to mention it's rated as mature, which was another unexpected twist. My head was filled with basically nothing but ecchi scenes as far as the eye can see. I thought this show would be one with more... uh... bounce than substance. After having watched the first four episodes I couldn't have been more wrong. My Dress-Up Darling presents some very interesting main characters who defy gender norms and are incredibly well written. Not just well written for an anime, either, but well written all around. Yes, there is definitely a fair share of perverted scenes but the way they are presented is unlike what you would mostly see in anime. It seems like I'm not the only one who thinks so either since My Dress-Up Darling beat out both Attack on Titan and Demon Slayer season 2 in popularity this week. Let me assure you, this is not a small feat but... it's also not completely undeserved. My Dress-Up Darling is heartwarming and fun to watch, and you can't help but want to see what the next episode will bring for the two main characters who will, most likely, end up as lovers before the series hits its end.
If you're into anime and reading this article, I have no doubt you know about the aforementioned series Attack on Titan and Demon Slayer. You might not be as familiar with My Dress-Up Darling though. I, myself, didn't hear about it until it was already three episodes in. For those just learning of the show now, My Dress-Up Darling follows Wakana Gojou. Wakana is really into traditional Japanese Hina dolls, a pass time more associated with girls. A traumatic event in his childhood leads him to make himself something of a social outcast. His entire world changes when Marin Kitagawa enters his life. Marin is popular and has lots of friends. She's also into perverted borderline pornographic games, but because she's pretty and popular... people don't really call her out on it. The two really begin to interact when Marin catches Gojou using the sewing machine at school after classes. One thing leads to another and seeing Marin's passion for cosplay and her absolute lack of skills with sewing, Gojou decides to make her a cosplay outfit. One modeled after her favorite character from one of those aforementioned games.
When I saw the second episode I was pretty damn sure I knew how this series would play out. You see, the second episode has Wakana taking Marin's measurements. She spends half of the episode in a bikini while he does his best to remain... respectful. I figured most episodes would be the same, but instead, things have remained more sweet than spicy. When Gojou worries about people seeing him with Marin, and her reputation taking a hit because of it, she assures him they are friends and takes him shopping. She worries about him when his grandfather ends up in the hospital and he, in turn, is more worried about making her costume to make her happy than anything. And all of this is told with beautiful animation, some catchy music, and a touching romantic comedy story.
As I said above though, one of the most incredible things about My Dress-Up Darling is how it beat out both Attack on Titan and Demon Slay on AniTrendz's popularity poll for the third week of Winter 2022 anime. I think that's pretty nuts.
Here's hoping My Dress-Up Darling continues along with excellent next episodes.
With that being said, I'd love it if you visited me over on the MultiversalNews Facebook and Twitter page to tell me which of these anime you're enjoying most this season!
