Low-Key Slice Of Life Anime Puts A Spotlight On Cosplay

My Dress-Up Darling focuses on a student named Wakana Gojou. He spends most of his free time making traditional Hina dolls. While he’s proud of the work, he keeps it hidden from his peers to avoid any bullying.

One day, while using the sewing machine at the school, popular student Marin Kitagawa finds out his secret. Instead of picking on him, she confesses to him that she has a hobby of her own, namely cosplaying. Unfortunately, though she wants to make her own costumes, she’s not skilled at sewing.

Together, the two work to make cosplay as accurate as possible while combating normal cosplay issues like the weight of the outfit and the heat.

Cloverworks is the studio in charge of My Dress-Up Darling, with Keisuke Shinohara (Black Fox) as the director and Yoriko Tomita (IDOLiSH7) as the writer. The story was originally a manga written by Shinichi Fukada and serialized in Young Gangan by Square Enix.

Shouya Ishige (The Fire Hunter) plays Wakana, while Hina Suguta (BanG Dream! Morfonication) plays Marin. Yuuka Amemiya (The Misfit of Demon King Academy), Atsushi Ono (Bungou Stray Dogs), and Misako Tomioka (Twin Star Exorcists) are also part of the cast as supporting characters.

My Dress-Up Darling has an average rating of 8.19 on My Anime List. It’s quite a popular anime, ranking #393 with a popularity rank of#143.

Personally, I give My Dress-Up Darling a 4 out of 5. The story and animation alone were perfect. The only reason I feel the need to knock the score down a little is because it is a little too ecchi for me.

There are some classic scenes, like the guy accidentally stumbling across the girl in the bath. However, with Wakana having to measure Marin for her outfits and her cosplaying some skimpy characters, there are a lot of moments where it gets a little hotter and heavier than I’m comfortable with between students. Overall, the characters are quite adorable and likable, but these moments are a bit too much at times.

Still, I think My Dress-Up Darling has some pretty good messages for fans, especially those who might still be in school. The two most notable are that you can’t judge someone by how they appear on the surface and that you should always pursue your hobbies, regardless of what people might think of you.

REVIEW SCORE

If you want to give My Dress-Up Darling a try for yourself and see what all the fuss is about, the series is available to stream on Crunchyroll. You’ll have the chance to learn more about cosplay culture, Hina dolls, and the thoughts that go into every step of the process. You may even learn to appreciate cosplay for the art, which is more than you ever did before.