Fireworks and Thrills for My Dress Up Darling, Ep 12 [END]

Gojou and Marin do summer homework, watch a scary movie, and go to a fireworks festival together. Season Finale.

Episode 12 – “That Dress-Up Doll is in Love”

Hmm.

In My Dress-Up Darling, fireworks at summer festivals effectively became a metaphor for Wakana Gojou’s distance from normie life. He always watched his local fireworks show from his window. It looked okay from afar, but he didn’t like crowds, so he thought the whole experience would not be for him. From up close, the differences could not be starker. When he joined Marin at a later summer festival, Gojou could feel the colors, the sounds, the smells, and the reverberating booms in his heart while he was in the middle of the event. That’s true of everything Marin Kitagawa pulled him into doing with her during their year together.

Gojou also discovered that his fear of crowds doesn’t matter if he’s with one person who matters more. Hundreds of people can disappear when he’s enjoying a beautiful moment. Or looking into a beautiful woman’s eyes. Until she sticks her blue tongue out at him!

I changed the episode title for the season finale of My Dress-Up Darling. The native Japanese language title is その着せ替え人形は恋をする (Sono Kisekae Ningyou wa Koi wo suru). The literal translation is “That Dress-Up Doll Falls in Love,” or “That Dress-Up Doll is in Love.” I think the latter fits better at the end of the season. No cutesy “wuv” this time.

The final episode solved its longest-running question: What is Marin Kitagawa’s part-time job? How does she become Gojou’s sugar mommy? She’s a fashion model! The clues were in the opening credits of My Dress-Up Darling the entire time! Marin’s part-time job explains the hours, the money, and why people calling her beautiful is no big deal. She knows she’s objectively pretty. That’s why she craved someone’s thinking she’s attractive for purely subjective reasons. Gojou shared his genuine feelings without expecting a transaction.

Marin’s mature sense of self-worth points to Mr. Kitagawa, Marin’s dad, being a good father. He made his daughter do her homework and give him progress reports. Even while he’s away on business. Better yet, Marin obeyed, and that shows she’s a good kid too. My Dress-Up Darling is about two kids with a proper upbringing without behavioral problems. Refreshing.

Heh.

Summer vacation means it’s fireworks festival season. But not for Gojou. Can a certain Marin Kitagawa change that this year? Right on cue, Marin needs help!

Oh, good. Marin needs help with her homework. Also, there appears to be no awkwardness between her and Gojou after the Wuv Hotel Hijinks in the last My Dress-Up Darling episode. They’re already working on another cosplay outfit. It’s the maid uniform we see in the opening credits. Oho. Marin hardly ever talks about Mr. Kitagawa, her father. She’s disappointed he missed a father-daughter date to a fireworks festival. Gojou could help with that too! Haha! Daddy Kitagawa wants photographic proof of Marin’s homework progress.

Oh, right. What is Marin’s part-time job, anyway? Of course! She’s a magazine model! I hope Gojou realizes how lucky he is to spend time with a future celebrity. Um, Marin can’t be an “amateur model.” If she receives money for her gigs, she’s a pro! She doesn’t have an agent or a manager, so I hope the magazine editor isn’t taking advantage of her time. Marin wants moolah for an expensive camera!

Hee. Time for NETFUX and chill. Wait. I think I spelled something wrong here… Marin claims she can handle scary movies. We know what comes next, according to the rules of comedy. Be brave, Marin Kitagawa-san! Back to homework. Much less scary. Oh no. Marin forgot her math homework at school.

Two teenagers alone in an empty school sounds like an eroge scenario. My Dress-Up Darling knows its audience! Pool time without swimsuits? Marin is not having a good day. Straight to the bottom! Aw. No mouth-to-mouth was necessary. Marin can’t swim! Yet she likes going to the beach. Nooo! We missed out on the beach episode! I guess it doesn’t count since Gojou wasn’t there. CloverWorks shows off its lighting and environmental effects skills. Marin loves listening to the ocean and watching the waves sparkle in the sun. Beautiful. Gojou connects Marin’s feelings with his aspirations to make Hina dolls.

Ah. So, the My Dress-Up Darling season finale is the summer festival episode. Gojou likes Marin in a traditional yukata. We don’t hear much “Noice!” slang these days. Show off that bare nape, Marin Kitagawa-san! Oh, boy. Is Gojou strong enough to carry all of Marin’s food purchases?

Enjoy the fireworks, Gojou. Much better at ground zero instead of from your window miles away. Lock eyes, and BOOM! And… blue tongue! Never change, Marin Kitagawa, never change. Eh, this also fits the festival formula. Traditional shoes hurt a girl’s feet. Then a piggyback ride. So soft… Plus, plans for next year!

The end credits come early for My Dress-Up Darling. Plenty of room left for a fun epilogue. Uh oh. Another late-night call from Marin. Emergency! She watched another scary movie, and she’s too scared to sleep! She’s adorable. Oh, man. Talking on the phone until someone falls asleep. That is such an early relationship thing.

Ah, memories. It’s been a year already since Marin bumped her head on his desk. She said “love” instead of “wuv,” but Gojou’s already asleep. What will the new school term hold for Wakana Gojou and Marin Kitagawa? Let’s hope we find out soon!

Final Thoughts.

Did you join the Marin Kitagawa Global Supremacy? How could you not? My Dress-Up Darling is about an otaku angel descending from heaven to invade a sad sack’s life. But the show is nerd wish-fulfillment with caveats. Marin, the otaku angel, appeared to Gojou because he made things. He is not a passive otaku who collects merchandise. That’s the lesson we should be taking from My Dress-Up Darling. Do or make something you love. Get good at it! Share your work and experiences with a community. Or at least one person. Don’t give up. Someone will recognize your effort. This is what happened to both Wakana Gojou and Marin Kitagawa. They found each other.

The sweet story of My Dress-Up Darling allowed the slice-of-life comedy to fit many genres. Since there were no character conflicts, no fighting, and no relationship drama, the anime had the space to act like a cosplay procedural. The highest drama of the season was a few minutes of Gojou avoiding Marin for a school day. Then they made up and went cosplay shopping! This is female cosplay, so that easily bleeds into fanservice opportunities. Marin Kitagawa created her global supremacy, but the Inui sisters filled out the body type preferences for other fans. The art direction of CloverWorks gave us plenty of eye candy to look at as the characters supplied us with healing anime moments. The situational comedy pulled all these elements together without letting the healing anime scenes become maudlin.

What’s next for My Dress-Up Darling? There is a lot of official merchandise coming. The girls of the show are all beautiful, and the cosplay outfits mean we will see many iterations of figures, posters, pillow covers, and wall art. J-List will also have the disc box set to preserve your favorite foot fetish memories. The My Dress-Up Darling manga continues, so the chance of a second season is high. May the Marin Kitagawa Global Supremacy continue to reign!

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.