You know, every week I start watching My Dress-Up Darling thinking maybe this is the episode I’m not going to like. It’s ok. A single episode I like less isn’t going to discredit a show. A lot of my favourite shows have episodes I consider weak. That’s perfectly normal. And I was all set to think this would e it for this show. The last episode had a few hiccups and I thought maybe the gimmick might be wearing thin. And I wasn’t crazy about the opening tag…
Who am I kidding, I really liked this episode. It’s a nice show and I’m glad it’s getting recognition while i’s airing. I hope that years from now, someone will pick it up randomly and be really pleasantly surprised.
I mentioned that I didn’t care for the opening scene. Marin stripping to her very high cut bathing suit in Gojo’s room. The thing is, I actually really liked the first time they did it. When Gojo was taking measurements. I thought it flowed really well with the story. Sure it was probably unnecessary even thin but hey, this is a sexy anime and it’s having some sexy fun. It worked well, the scene was comfortable and o matter which character you relate to, it wasn’t offputting.
This time around, it still wasn’t bad or anything but it felt shoehorned to me. It didn’t seem necessary, they didn’t make it work with the rest of the episode and it just wasn’t as fun. At least to me. S those were the early warning bells for my watching experience.
I must say though, I really liked the next scene. I think I’m just getting into the cosplay aspect of the show. I didn’t get this far in the manga, mostly because I could find the rest. I did really like the manga. However, to me, the cosplay just comes to life way better on the screen than on the page. In any case, I thought it was fun seeing both girls try on their costumes and get excited about it. I also thought Marin looked particularly good in this one. Maybe it really is the wig but for whatever reason, it’s my favourite look so far.
Now I mentioned that I thought Shinju wanted to cosplay. It was rather obvious. But there is something endearing in the fact that Gojo was the one to notice and that he went out of his way to help. Gojo was always a very kind person. That’s sort of his best characteristic. But he started this season so withdrawn and shy that I would never have imagined him doing something like this of his own accord. This time, he’s helping someone that is a lot like him and there’s something cathartic in it. I’m just proud of him.
I also really enjoyed Shinju and Gojo’s dynamic. It’s more relaxed. There’s a sense of kinship between the two and Gojo gets to be the driving force in that relationship which is something he’s never had the chance to do before. So sexy moments aside, I just found their time together both wholesome and uplifting, for both of them. Isn’t that nice.
I feel like I should do a little PSA at this point. I’m not sure that anyone who reads my My Dress-Up Darling posts needs to hear this, but just in case I have some young cosplay enthusiasts among my readers. I would be thrilled if that was the case. Let me just say, binding your chest can do a lot but it’s not magic. And binding your chest too much or for extended periods of time is actually dangerous and can cause long-term damage. It feels odd to be serious in the middle of a My Dress-Up Darling post but I had to…get that off my chest… I’m sorry.
My favourite moment this week was Juju and Marin absolutely freaking out at Shinju’s cosplay. That’s why I made it into my header gif. Shinju was so nervous about it and I feel like this was the best possible reaction she could have hoped for. Like even I was elated for her. It was way more touching than some tear-stained sincere speech. at least to me. If anyone ever reacts to anything I do with that much enthusiasm, I will consider myself a true success!
This said, and for as much as I liked most of this episode, I think they dropped the ball in one part. I even had to tweet about it which is a truly rare occurrence for me. When Shinju and Gojo first enter the room, they purposefully don’t show them. Neither of them. And I thought that Gojo took the opportunity to dress up as the other guy from the show. The one with the silver hair and delicate disposition. I wouldn’t say I was sure of it, but I certainly was really hoping for it. It would have been a nice synergy.
Gojo has really been throwing himself into his new hobby. And he’s getting a lot out of it too. But I would think the next step would be to try cosplaying himself, even if it’s only once. To get a feel for those elements you can only notice when you wear the costumes yourself. Stuff that people who don’t sew clothes may not be able to notice or have the vocabulary for.
To me, this was a real missed opportunity and I hope we get some Gojo cosplay in the future!
Interesting point about Gojo cosplaying here. It would be nice to see, but he seems like such a “behind the scenes” guy that I imagine it would be going way too far for him still at this point. Here’s hoping for the future.
I’m holding out hope