Gojou and Marin join Sajuna and Shinju when they scout a photoshoot location. Marin and Gojou visit the beach after their final exams.
Episode 8 – “Backlighting is the Best”
Hmm.
“Love at first sight” is the theme of My Dress-Up Darling. And it’s not just about people falling in love. That electric feeling of connection can also apply to a beautiful object. Or to a beautiful moment! Sajuna described her emotions at seeing Marin’s costume as “love at first sight,” which is why she initially felt jealous that an ingenue wore such a dress. Sajuna wanted that feeling for herself, so she stalked, uh, sought out Gojou to make a dress for her.
Gojou recognized the spark of emotion that Sajuna talked about. For him, which we’ve seen since the first episode of My Dress-Up Darling, was the beautifully painted face of a Hina doll. He wanted to recreate that feeling for himself through his own skill since that time. The benefit of Gojou spending time with Marin and Sajuna comes from realizing he’s not different from other people. Marin and now Sajuna are his first friends. He kept his distance from his classmates because he felt that his hobby was too alien to the pop culture topics they discussed. Now, Gojou can connect common feelings about those interests to his esoteric pastime.
For passionate otaku, sharing our views on the characters we love or our favorite moments from an anime is a familiar experience. It’s even better when the other guy we talk to has that same feeling for a vastly different story or genre. The connection comes from recognizing that “love at first sight” feeling in our voices and attitudes.
So, My Dress-Up Darling presents Marin as having that feeling for Gojou. But what if it’s specifically for the look on his face when he sees something “beautiful?” If that’s the case, we can understand Marin’s motivation in taking the sheltered Gojou to places where he can find more of those beautiful things and moments. Of course, Marin also “wuvs” Gojou, so she wants to have those moments for herself. The girl just loves looking at his eyes. It was love at first sight.
Heh.
Marin… can’t… even! Juju-sama is too cute! Sajuna has heard it all before. Shinju, Sajuna’s little, er, younger sister, created the social media superstar Juju. Unfortunately, My Dress-Up Darling did not reserve those Twitter or Instagram accounts. Miru Tights handled this much better. Notifications blew up Shinju’s phone! Ah, that feeling of the first viral post. Oh, right. Those accounts are on “Tutukittar” and “Stastagram.” My bad. Aw. Sajuna is so tsundere for her younger sister.
So, who gets to say the episode title? Ah. DSLR tutorial. Cameras are expensive, complicated, and will eat your soul. That zoom lens gets excited for all the sexy women at this restaurant booth. The Inui family has a lovely backyard full of flowers. Shinju claims she doesn’t want to cosplay. Gojou sees something different in her denials. Marin’s attempts at photography are all in focus. Modern cameras are incredible, right? But they are unbelievably expensive, right, Gojou-kun? Ooh. A location scout at an abandoned hospital. That won’t be scary…
Oops. Sajuna has issues. She likes the hospital setting for her Black Lily cosplay, but that hospital is frightening. Yes, Gojou watched all 126 episodes. Aw. Sajuna fears the dark. Aha. Shinju said the episode title when she extolled the virtues of backlighting. A gloomy place to have a heart-to-heart. Let’s talk about “love at first sight” in a darkened stair landing. My Dress-Up Darling likes showing girls play with their twin-tails.
Sajuna wanted to become a magical girl. Cosplaying lets her reach that failed dream. Nice. Look how the Sajuna lined up her face with that costume in the window. Oho. So, Sajuna was jealous of Marin’s outfit. Subtly. And so, she stalked Gojou to his house. It’s love at first sight, like how Gojou first fell for Hina doll faces. Gojou wants to make things that catch people’s eyes. It worked with Sajuna. And he freaked her out. Then he held her hand. She’s pregnant and passed out now.
Suddenly, My Dress-Up Darling is on final exams. Marin drags Gojou to the beach. Is this the beach episode? Aw, it’s a prologue. The beach is awfully lonely on a July weekday. Gojou will make this vexed face to Marin for the rest of his life. That’s a greedy sea eagle. Ha! Gojou threw his fries at it. And the bird caught it! I’m smiling so big right now. This is such a sweet, wholesome scene. Yes! Marin shows the variety of her lingerie. Gojou is a fan. Oh, he’s looking, alright.
The beach scene is all about backlighting and bokeh effects. Sneaky. Aw. Gojou had never gone to the beach before. Too much time painting doll faces. Marin wants to show Gojou many more beautiful things. She wants to see that face he makes more and more! Steady dating for summer vacation! Kyaa! So bold, Marin-chan! I can’t wait for the genuine beach episode. Let’s go!
My Dress-Up Darling (Sono Bisque Doll wa Koi wo Suru) streams on Crunchyroll, VRV, and Funimation in Japanese with English subtitles and English language dubbing.
