Forum - View topicMy Dress-Up Darling (TV).
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Stark700
 Posts: 11762 Location: Earth |
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My Dress-Up Darling (TV) Genres: romance, slice of life Theme: cosplay, dolls, school Plot Summary: Traumatized by a childhood incident with a friend who took exception to his love of traditional dolls, doll-artisan hopeful Wakana Gojō passes his days as a loner, finding solace in the home ec. room at his high school. To Wakana, people like beautiful Marin Kitagawa, a trendy girl who's always surrounded by a throng of friends, is practically an alien from another world. But when cheerful Marin--never one to be shy--spots Wakana sewing away one day after school, she barges in with the aim of roping her quiet classmante into her secret hobby: cosplay. Jan. 8, 2022 (Saturdays; Crunchyroll, FUNimation) ---------------------------------- Anime adaptation of the manga. |
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ACｘS
 Posts: 880 |
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1:
Thank goodness it's not bad. I'll be honest: I went into this show thinking it's yet another frilly, ditzy, high-energy rom-com. Not that I have something against it, but it's just something that's been done to death. Especially when it's helmed by Introverted Awkward Guy & Extroverted Cool Girl. How often have I seen this setup? Too often. But I was pleasantly surprised by how wrong my first impressions were. For one, I love the laid-back, muted atmosphere. A stark different to the usual over-the-top energy synonymous with this genre. In this case, I feel like the atmosphere is deliberate. I can actually take the characters (semi)-seriously. Another thing that resonates with me is Gojo's situation at school. It's rough being the kid with a niche interest. It reminds me of my own time at school; although I didn't have the same interest as him, but to be interested in something that no else is can be a lonely experience. More so in a tightly knitted social setting such as the school, where people with popular interests will be part of the crowd, and the others feel excluded as a result. Oddballs have it rough especially in school, so I feel Gojo. So yes, seeing how the setup and premise have already been done to death, I was more interested in how this show presents itself. So far, I'm quite interested (to my surprise). I like Gojo and Kitagawa; nothing fascinating about their characters per se but they feel genuine. The key is their chemistry of course, and I look forward to how their interactions play out. Props to the art style too. The details on Kitagawa's makeup and nails though, wow. |
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Animegomaniac
Posts: 4081 |
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Episode 1
I thought it'd be one thing but it's really a bit more complex than that: Marin's hobby isn't cosplaying, it's just something she wants to try now. Why? Because she wants to be her favorite character, because how cosplayers can express themselves. Because she wants to be somebody else and that last one caught my interest. It explains why she's keeping it secret from her friends, why she's running away from them to work on it. So who is she? We don't know yet but we can judge her by her appearance... mmm, kind of relating back to cosplay, isn't it? Marin's a fashionista, she's a gal type but I think it's just camouflage. She's not just wearing makeup and jewelry, she's wearing a costume. Her self is her first cosplay and she's not even aware of it, is she? That's quite the starting point. I'm guessing but it seems to me that her friends started the fashion trend and she went out to one up them in it. And, more guessing, now she's looking for a way out but she doesn't want to come out and say it. No real person with nails like that would go out of their way to clean, come on, try to be at least a little realistic, show... |
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Beltane70
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Why would it be unrealistic for a Japanese high school student to go to cleanup duty like they're supposed to?
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all-tsun-and-no-dere
ANN Reviewer
Posts: 605 |
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Liking sparkly nails and being the kind of person who does their part to help clean are not mutually exclusive, and I am mildly offended on behalf of my friend has had nails identical to Marin's. |
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ATastySub
Past ANN Contributor
 Posts: 647 |
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Gotta say it's pretty impressive to immediately miss the point of a show that's clearly working towards being open about your hobbies and immediately look for inane reasons to gatekeep, and that's not even taking into account the reasons you came up with being tinged with some weird/gross sexism. |
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Errinundra
Moderator
 Posts: 6525 Location: Melbourne, Oz |
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Keep it friendly, folks - and keep your cool in any future responses.
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Animegomaniac
Posts: 4081 |
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It's not a hobby, it's just something that Marin wants to try for the first time. In character creation, start at where they are now and ask "why" their arc will go where it will. I asked.
As for the cleanup, I believe this isn't the first day of the week and not the first time Gojo subbed for someone nor the first time Marin was scheduled but it is the first time they happened to meet. So what happened for Gojo to be shocked that someone else was scheduled to help clean actually showed up? We know Marin was running off to work in the sewing room... so did she go back and "clean" what Gojo didn't? The only real assumption I made was the nails were fake as the show was calling a little too much attention to them. Stupid question time for the people who took the time to call me out: Do you think being a Gal is a choice or not? Because I see a lot of the comments seem to want to land on "it's just who she is." without considering "It's who she is right now." without taking yet another step relating it to wanting to cosplay. Also, it's a show of being open about who you are and also being someone else entirely. Did I touch a nerve when I called out the show for judging her cosplay outfit while highlighting her everyday look? Interesting response so far, keep it up. |
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Errinundra
Moderator
Posts: 6525 Location: Melbourne, Oz |
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Animegomaniac, you're being characteristically obscure - presenting evidence and raising questions without stating your argument or thesis and expecting the rest of us to divine your thoughts. What you're saying, I think, is that Marin isn't what she appears to be. That is, if she's so comfortable with herself then why does she dress as a "gal" as you put it? Why is cosplay seemingly more vivid to her than her everyday skin? Why does she ensure that she makes her costumes when she won't be discovered? Why would a "gal" be conscientious, ie clean-up, when no-one is looking?
If I've understood you correctly then, yes, Marin, is rather more fragile than her carefree behaviour and popular appeal might suggest. Credit to the show for giving her these multiple layers. (I used to be in a share house where one of the other renters was a full-on Goth. Over the years I got to know her very well. She eventually ditched her Goth persona in the wake of her academic and romantic successes and later admitted that her dress was "armour" to keep the world at bay.) The intersection that will form the credible basis of their relationship is her cosplay and his sewing skills. The benefits for them are that he'll gain a sense of self-worth by using his skills for someone who will appreciate them and she'll become comfortable in her own skin thanks to the gorgeous outfits he's going to make her. They will become adornments, not armour. Well, that's my prediction. |
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Animegomaniac
Posts: 4081 |
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Obscure? I'm usually told I say too much. As I said, we don't who she is but why is the show judging her cosplay outfit while ogling her normal everyday look? I'm treating her choices for accessories on the same level as her choice as to who to cosplay first even as I don't know as to what purpose her cosplay will be. She's telling the world "this is who I am right now" but you don't have to be a Literary scholar to note one is a complete fabrication while the other is... what? Unrelated?
And that's the biggest question of all: Why do we the audience already know she wants to cosplay to be someone else when we don't even know who she is? I wagered that it was using her Gal style as a shorthand for character work even as actions she did in the episode countered it... such as knowing Goji's name which took him aback as well: Putting it all together paints a character in transition, bored of who they were but uncertain of their next step. One idea: Try everything, see what sticks. One question I had is to how her cosplay will be used, whether if it's for public but considering how quick she wanted to show Goji her work would tend to prove she wants to go public with it. But it's all in the episode; I was worried Marin would be a flat character and Goji would merely help her cosplay improve but, no, she's as clueless of it as he is. |
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yuna49
 Posts: 3804 |
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Maybe he thought that his co-worker(s) were among the guys who left. He seems pretty accustomed to being alone for after-school cleaning. |
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all-tsun-and-no-dere
ANN Reviewer
Posts: 605 |
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You seem to think of Marin's interest in cosplay as being somehow in opposition to her being a gal, or as a new identity to try on, but that's not really how it works. Rather than a new identity, it's an extension of one she already has and is open about: a passionate fan of anime, manga, and games. She's clear about her motivation and reasoning being that cosplay is an expression of love for her favorite characters. This is not in opposition to her being a gal; most high-level cosplayers I know have fashion sense and a developed personal style even in everyday life. The skills involved in being a gal, such as putting on full-face makeup, picking flattering clothes, and styling her hair, will serve her well as cosplayer. Her being a gal also sets her as supposedly Gojo's opposite. While he's quiet and withdrawn with no friends, the gal subculture is associated with being loud and outgoing and social.
Like many subcultures, it's a mix. Teenagers get into subcultures because they are looking for an identity that fits; presumably Marin became a gal because it's a way of existing that feels comfortable and right for her. She's outgoing and likes flashy fashion. It's who she is right now but not later? Yes, of course; people generally outgrow youth subcultures. Engaging in a subculture gives you a group of people who you have something in common with, a format to follow while your sense of self is still developing.
If you know sewing terminology at all, the show wasn't judging her on her cosplay outfit. Gojo was pointing out all the mistakes she made in basic garment construction. She didn't backstitch, which means her seams might unravel. She didn't line it, so the fabric will hang wrong and might be see-through. Not measuring a seam allowance means that the pieces won't connect right because the pattern was made with one in mind. Messing with the tension dial will make the the stitches loose or bunch up. No bobbin thread means... well, that doesn't make much sense, because with machine stitching no bobbin means the pieces wouldn't hold together long enough for her to put it on. The show isn't judging her outfit, Gojo is judging her craftsmanship. |
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ACｘS
Posts: 880 |
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You know what's disconcerting? Kitagawa is your typical eroge fan who is balls deep in the subculture, and Gojo has no freaking clue what it's all about. The disconcerting part is not how balls deep Kitagawa is in eroge, but how real it is if someone like her were to talk to someone not into it in RL. The fact that it hasn't occurred to Kitagawa how awkward it is for someone like Gojo to have a crash course is... well, disconcerting. But the big silver lining is how she apparently doesn't care much about gender conventions, and that perfectly bodes with Gojo's own (secret) issue. It's a formula for the perfect match made in heaven that neither of them saw coming. So I see is that Kitagawa is your textbook extroverted gyaru who's actually not bitchy and is a (closet?) nerd, with Gojo being the polar opposite. The show is deliberately set up in such a way that the two are as different as they can be, with only their love for fashion as their common bind. The fact that Gojo's household has no female presence and influence at all makes it a thriving environment for Gojo to be terribly awkward around someone like Kitagawa who would just bulldoze her way into things without any hesitation. I find their chemistry to be the main pulling factor of the show. In particular, the way they respond to each other's quirks, with Gojo being the token tsukkomi who's trying to keep up with Kitagawa's boke whims. And the show is also adequately self-aware; even if Kitagawa is so extroverted that she doesn't seem to be that self-conscious about being half-naked around Gojo, she was still flustered when he had to go under, ironically just when he was feeling more comfortable measuring her. She may be tenacious, but she's still a girl and the show is perfectly aware of that and doesn't get carried away with portraying her tenacity. Gojo and Kitagawa are made to be utterly adorable, and it work wonders also because of the amount of detail in the art and animation (I can see how much attention is actually paid in every facial expression, and reaction between them). And surprisingly, irony seems to play a big role in its brand of humor. Gojo being overwhelmed by the eroge genre, yet is unperturbed at all when watching one despite being spotted by his grandpa, with a dead-serious look on his face. It cracked me up when the grandpa thought the exact same thing as I did. I'm smitten by this show, which is a huge surprise because I didn't expect it to be brilliant in an understated way. I love this. |
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Yttrbio
 Posts: 3652 |
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I'm glad you liked it. I, for one, am not looking forward to another Nagatoro. I hope this dynamic isn't going to be the norm, and the start to approach each other as equals quite soon.
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DuskyPredator
 Posts: 15462 Location: Brisbane, Australia |
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She's pretty gutsy.
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