Learning from My Dress Up Darling

A popular anime series released in Winter 2022, My Dress-Up Darling (Sono Bisque wa Koi wo Suru) is an Ecchi, Slice of Life anime which follows the blossoming friendship and romance between protagonist Wakana Gojo (Gojo) and female lead Marin Kitagawa (Marin). With Gojo‘s skill and passion for the craft of Hina dolls, he tries his best to help Marin with her venture into cosplay. Both characters have very different personalities, but they were nonetheless commended by many netizens for their likability. Marin, particularly, garnered lots of attention and was considered a ‘strong contender for best waifu of the season’.

What makes people adore them, and what can we learn from them to become better people? Here are four key lessons we can learn from Gojo and Marin, but read at your own discretion (spoiler warning) — content from episodes 1-9 will be covered!

Lesson 1: Being open-minded towards others’ interests (being respectful!)

In episode 1, we are introduced to Gojo and his longtime love for Hina dolls and as a result of this, he lost a female childhood friend; she was unable to accept how Gojo, a boy, could like dolls. As a result, Gojo was deeply scarred and decided to hide his passion from the world until Marin came along and was both enthusiastic and respectful of his love of Hina dolls. 

Personally, I really enjoyed how Marin looked upon Gojo with such an open mindset, transcending the established gender norms which render Gojo’s nonconforming passion ‘undesirable’ to society. I believe that learning from Marin’s easygoing attitude could be extremely beneficial to us in two ways

1. Being receptive to others’ interests would make someone’s day as it would make them feel appreciated and recognised; spreading joy is always ideal.
2. Being open to ‘unconventional’ hobbies (as long as they are not harmful to others) would be a small but significant step towards freeing ourselves and others from restrictive social constructs, enabling us to move towards inclusivity.

Lesson 2: Be sincere to others

In episode 2, Gojo empathises with Marin’s passion for anime, proceeding to put his best effort into playing through the entire erotic game series (which Marin adores and which the character Marin is cosplaying originates from) seriously, taking note of costume details along the way. He even rushes to finish the dress to the best of his abilities during the hectic exam period just so that he could fulfil her dream of cosplaying. 

Although I felt that overworking himself for Marin’s project was unfair to him, I found his efforts and sincere intentions in wanting to bring happiness to his new friend admirable, and I’m sure that treating others around you with sincerity is bound to touch their hearts, just like Gojo did with Marin. 

However, it should also be noted that there is a fine line between sincerity and pleasing people. One should be doing this willingly and not to win the approval of others; one should not help others at the expense of themself. 

Lesson 3: Being Confident and Standing Your Ground 

On several occasions, Marin proves herself to be a confident individual who is not afraid to speak her mind and stand by what she believes in. Notably, when a man tries to flirt with her in the salon but insults her love for anime, she does not hesitate to defend her interest and shut him down. Even when her friends chide her for not giving the man a chance for his good looks, she refuses, insisting that it was wrong of him to have made fun of her interests. 

Apart from that, a friend whom I interviewed on her thoughts on the series also commented that: 

“I like that it’s the girl that likes the guy first and she takes a lot of initiative [with Gojo] and she’s not your usual shy ‘uwu’ girl she’s really very forward”

Marin‘s personality just goes to show how confidence is a quality seen by many as attractive by many as it displays one’s grounded nature. Additionally, in the context of gender, Marin’s confidence enables her to break through conventions of girls as demure. She proves that girls can chase after men too, with the act itself being thought of as charming, potentially empowering us to have the courage to take the initiative with our relationships.

Lesson 4: Showing Kindness by Looking Out for Others

Last, but not least, we can learn from Gojo by being perceptive and showing more care for those around us. In episode 6, Gojo and his grandfather offer to have Marin over for dinner regularly to ensure that she enjoys proper, nutritious meals (unlike her regular dinners of microwaved processed food). In episode 9, Gojo also notices when the shy Shinju seems interested in cosplay and offers to help her live her dream of cosplaying like her elder sider Juju. 

It never hurts to be nice, but I find that doing such subtle, little things for others like Gojo tends to be especially meaningful as it implies that you’ve been paying close attention to them. It reaffirms their importance to you in a way that does not make them feel bad, so it’s a great way to show your friends that you care for them.

Overall, My Dress Up Darling is an enjoyable show, especially for those who are interested in cosplay and costume design. There’s also still much more that we can learn from these interesting characters in My Dress Up Darling, so catch up with the 12 short episodes in the series to prepare yourself for the next season!

• anime
• life lessons
• My Dress Up Darling