Okay… I’m probably going to get some flak from all of the people who were in love with this show but… I actually disliked My Dress-Up Darling. Yep. I said it. The first four episodes were FANTASTIC. They set the stage, made me get invested in the characters, and set up an incredible love story as a girl slowly falls in love with a boy who becomes her personal cosplay tailor. Seeing her happy after working himself to death on her first cosplay and her realizing the hardship he went through to make it was the perfect catalyst to set off their romance. And then the show introduced Shinju and it all went downhill from there. They pulled away from the core aspect of the show and tried to add more characters to “spice things up.” Normally, I would agree with this approach but that’s when a show blows its load in the first episode and needs something to save itself from mediocrity. In this show’s case, it blew its load over the first four episodes and did so where it created such a strong base to build on that additional characters weren’t needed to save it. Had this show completely focused on Marin and Gojo growing closer together through cosplay, it would have been a chef’s kiss perfect but, instead, we were given a filler arc in the middle of a 12-episode series where Gojo made some cosplays for characters that disappeared after the arc was over! Once the arc was over, it jumped right back to where the show SHOULD have focused on… Marin and Gojo. Then… there was the ending. I’m sorry but I am completely sick and tired of non-committal endings in romance anime. I really am.

Muttering, “I love you, Gojo” into a phone after he fell asleep is not conclusive. After the 12th episode is said and done with, they’re not a couple. Gojo doesn’t know her true feelings. By muttering that line, it’s left up to interpretation on whether or not they get together off-camera later on down the line. After everything that was done to build up to that moment… all of Marin’s internal feelings, the fact that she fully realizes that she loves him, the development of Gojo’s feelings, the fact that they ALMOST HAD SEX in episode 11…. All for nothing. Seriously, why does Japan have such a hard time pulling the trigger in a series like this!? Is it really that hard for Marin or Gojo to just confess to each other? To share a simple kiss? They even busted out the festival and fireworks trope and completely dropped the ball there. (Actually, I’m happy they did that because it’s so overplayed that it’s cringe at this point). Still… that non-committal ending irks me every single time! They wasted development time on throwaway characters and couldn’t even officially ship them in the end. What started off with a bang ended in a silent whimper filled with disappointment. However, let’s not skewer this show too much… there were some bright moments. Mainly, all of the comedy spots throughout the series. From Shinju freaking out and coming unplugged when Gojo held her hands, to Hawk-kun stealing a hamburger and stalking them for French fries, there were plenty of episodes that entertained me and made me laugh. If there is one thing this show did right was that it nailed the com in the rom-com genre label. I just wish it didn’t fail in the rom portion of it. A hot start is one thing but failing to finish it out is a cardinal sin in romance.