Name: My Dress Up Darling Review - Manga (Non-Spoiler / Spoiler)
Item: My Dress-Up Darling
Rating: 95
Author: Az0reign

Waifra

My Dress Up Darling Review - Manga (Non-Spoiler / Spoiler)

_My Dress Up Darling Review - Manga (Non-Spoiler / Spoiler)_____~~~~~~

Non-Spoiler Section:
My Dress Up Darling presents itself as a horny, ecchi, young romance, comedy. I was exposed to My Dress Up Darling through memes and images floating around the internet of best girl Marin Kitagawa and her various cosplays. I went to my anime streaming platform and watched season one. After completing season one of the anime I found myself captivated with the story & characters and rushed to find a way to read the Manga.
My Dress Up Darling is a Manga / Anime with alot of fan service as it is about a girl who dresses up in questionable cosplays to be true to herself by dressing as characters she loves. My Dress Up Darling draws in viewers with the blatant sexualized depiction of the main character, Marin, but quickly turns into something that offers more.
We get to see the life of a classic shy, loner MC get turned completely around by an outgoing, vibrant, bubbly female counter. This all sounds incredibly standard for romance stories but My Dress Up Darling provides something different in the way each character is defined and motivated throughout the story.
My Dress Up Darling is perfect for people who don't want alot of heavy drama or heavy backstories. My Dress Up Darling focuses more on how the main characters grow and learn with one another and how their shared experiences make them closer.
Watch / Read My Dress Up Darling if you are looking for something with low stakes & enjoy playful banter as you watch the two main characters navigate their feelings for one another as they grow closer to the inevitable "will they, wont they" moment.

Spoiler Section:

Spoiler, click to viewclick to hide

I would like to just take a moment to rant and dive deeper into characters and the story for those who have finished My Dress Up Darling. You have been warned! Wakana Gojou: Gojou starts the story as our MC. He is quiet, shy, and very withdrawn due to some past trauma from a childhood friend who made fun of his passion for Hina Dolls. Gojou moves through life thinking that everyone will judge him and not be accepting of his hobby and love for Hina Doll creation. Gojou has no parents and lives with his Grandfather who is a professional Hina Doll maker. Gojou is shy. people around him barely notice him and if they do it is only to take advantage of him. Wakana sees Marin as being in a totally different world than him and he has no chance with someone like her until one day the two have a fateful encounter where Marin finds Gojou's Hina Doll love and exposes her own hidden love for cosplay. Gojou is forced out of his shell by the outgoing Marin as the two team up to create cosplays where Gojou is the designer and creator and Marin is the model. As Gojou moves through the series he faces his shy, withdrawn nature as Marin exposes him to what life has to offer. Everything Gojou has been shutting himself away from is suddenly being opened to him and it changes his outlook on life completely. Gojou soon realizes that Marin Kitagawa, someone who lived in a completely different world than him, was actually in the same situation as him. As the two join forces and work together they realize there is something more between them than just making cosplays. Gojou has always had a liking for Marin throughout the series but obviously chooses not to say anything as to not effect their closeness. As the series moves to its completion Gojou realizes that people looking at Marin in her cosplays makes him uncomfortable and jealous. Gojou faces these feelings and chooses to confess to Marin knowing that no matter what happens things will never be the same between them.

Marin Kitagawa: Marin starts the story as our female MC, counter to Gojou. Marin is popular and close to what you could call Gyaru (over-the-top westernized feminine look). She styles her school uniform differently, her hair is long and died blonde with pink tips. She wears long pink finger-nails and bright pink contact lenses. Even in Marin's personal life she is Dressing Up. Marin has friends, is outgoing, has loads of self-confidence and absolutly no shame when it comes to showing off her body. The one thing Marin does not have is someone who understands her love for anime, manga, and cosplaying. Marin has been attempting to create custom cosplays on her own but doesn't posses the talent to finish them in the way she wants. This is when Marin and Gojou cross paths. Gojou has always been able to create clothing, style hair, and do makeful for his Hina Dolls but the one thing he can never get right is creating the faces for his dolls. Marin sees Gojou's love for Hina Dolls and doesnt make fun of him or judge him like he was so afraid of. Marin immediately connects the dots that they both have a hidden love for something that others don't understand. Marin recruits Gojou to help her create and style cosplays for her and the two set off on a journey where they grow close and develop feelings for one another.

Marin and Gojou compliment each other as being what the other is missing. Marin gives Gojou confidence, ambition, a way to speak his mind and the ability to advocate for himself while Gojou brings Marin down giving her a dose of reality with deadlines, expectations, and hard work. Marin finds someone who is passionate about making her dreams come true no matter the cost and Gojou finds someone who is willing to accept him no matter what. Marin can't create cosplays and Gojou can't create faces. In the end Marin becomes Gojou's Dress Up Darling as the two fulfil each others desires for what they want in life.

10/10 All the laughs, all the feels,

Spoiler, click to viewclick to hide

rushed ending with only a single epilogue chapter

. The story is short, sweet, to the point, and ends before it overstays its welcome.