Marin and Gojou attend a cosplay event. Gojou meets a cosplay prop maker with unexpected ties.
Episode 20 — “The Only Way I Can Think of to Express That Gratitude Is with Money”
My Dress-Up Darling Makes Me Go Hmm.
The theme of gender confusion emerges whenever My Dress-Up Darling brings Amane into the story. It happened again in episode 20, but he wasn’t the sole source. Gojou, Akira (the cosplay prop master), and Suzuka had their expectations turned upside down when they met in person. Why did they assume the opposite gender in the first place, though? Blame Japanese language politeness rules.
Japanese has many words for the first-person pronoun (I, me, myself). You might have heard them if you watch subtitled anime with Japanese audio instead of a dubbed version. Watashi (私), boku (僕), and ore (俺) are the most familiar ones, and there are more archaic forms, such as atashi, atakushi, watakushi, and ware.
Each has politeness and cultural hierarchy rules, with “watashi” being the most polite and feminine, “boku” usually reserved for young boys, and “ore” having the most masculine and vulgar tone. My Dress-Up Darling sowed confusion between Gojou and Akira in their first meeting using these rules. However, Akira also reminded Gojou that these personal pronouns don’t always match their genders, especially in social media interactions.
The anime also stressed how Japanese names generally have gender associations. I didn’t know “Wakana” was a girl’s name! Both Suzuka and Akira assumed Gojou was Wakana-chan, instead of Wakana-kun. Again, My Dress-Up Darling addressed how gender-specific names are guidelines instead of rigid laws. English names also have a few examples of boys’ names that girls could have, such as Ashley, Leslie, Robin, or Taylor.
And all these upended gender roles and rules played out in My Dress-Up Darling as Ameno cosplayed as a girl and Miyako dressed as a high school boy! Mix-and-match cross-gender cosplay!
My Dress-Up Darling Makes Me Go Heh.
Let’s have a cosplay event in Ikebukuro! Marin is in spectator mode, so she’ll hang out with her photographer friend, Suzuka, and Amane. Gojou scheduled a meeting with the cosplay prop maker, Akira, in the previous My Dress-Up Darling episode. She’s a woman! Did Gojou get that impression from her social media posts? Guys would usually obsess over making detailed katanas and wearing dragon track jackets.
Yay! Suzuka and Marin are Kiss M buddies. Gojou should still worry about Marin’s impulsive purchasing. No, Suzuka! Don’t encourage her! Ooh, fun. Amane will join Marin and Suzuka after he finishes posing for photographers. Except he’s late because he’s too popular! Oho. Suzuka can’t believe Amane is a boy underneath his cosplay. My Dress-Up Darling covered his details in episode 15. Confirmed: Suzuka wuvs cosplayers. Here’s the episode title — Suzuka needs to express her gratitude to Amane for his cross-dressing cosplay, but she only has money. Let it rain! Good. Suzuka has experience with fans for popular cosplayers. Tell the photogs that the queue has a set endpoint. Every subculture has etiquette rules, you know? Yahoo! Marin uses her camera for shooting cosplayers!
Boy Meets Girl or Girl Meets Boy?
Surprise. Suzuka’s prop master friend is Akira! Coincidence? In My Dress-Up Darling? Of course not! But Akira said she would be meeting a high school girl. Oh? Gender confusion! Akira thought “Wakana” was a girl’s name! Continuing with the gender crossover theme, another of Suzuka’s tall female friends cosplayed as a shonen basketball player. Suzuka thinks every character is lewd… Miyako and Amane compare makeup tips for cross-gender cosplay. Marin and Amane learn so many new things from Suzuka. Changing a camera lens’s zero point affects how the subject appears to the observer. Marin didn’t know why Shinju took pictures of her sister from low angles in My Dress-Up Darling, episode 9. It wasn’t for upskirts!
Gojou apologizes to Akira for assuming she was a man. Likewise, for Akira, who also thought Gojou was a girl. That puzzled Gojou because he used “俺, おれ, ore” in his texting. But many girls refer to themselves that way online. Gojou learned a lesson about gender and personal pronouns. Akira cosplays with her original character, unlike others, who choose characters from media titles or dress up in roles with iconic uniforms. Aoi’s cosplay learning segment offers knowledge for the uninformed, but I want to know more about Aoi. She couldn’t come to today’s event! Uh oh. Will Gojou’s earnestness snag another cosplayer’s heart? He has many questions about prop making.
Join the My Dress-Up Darling After-Party!
Interruption! Marin and company join Gojou, but Akira seems shy. Ah. Akira is Suzuka’s friend, too. Who doesn’t Suzuka know in the cosplay community? Haha! Suzuka thought Marin’s friend was a girl because “Wakana” is a feminine name. Be afraid, Gojou. Suzuka puts a lewd spin on everything! Cosplay after-party comes next in My Dress-Up Darling. Miyako and Amane have returned to their original female and male appearances. Amane noticed Akira’s nervousness. What’s going on with her? Ahahaha! Gojou learned that adults walk around with dolls and talk to them, too! He’s not a creepy weirdo! Poor Aoi. She can’t make the after-party.
Here we go! Marin’s next group cosplay shoot will involve sexy nuns! They need six nuns, but one cosplayer already had to cancel. Amane volunteers to replace one, but do they have enough cosplayers? My Dress-Up Darling will make us wuv sexy nuns. They need three more, so how about Marin? Suzuka’s friends violently react to this idea! Gojou gave his okay for her to wear a pre-made nun’s habit, as they only have a week. Oh. I sense Suzuka and Miyako applying peer pressure to Akira. Marin called Sajuna! Would she do it, as particular as she is about character choices? That only leaves one more nun if Sajuna agrees. Oh, Akira?
Next time, Sajuna prepares herself for a character she never knew.
My Dress-Up Darling (Sono Bisque Doll wa Koi wo Suru) streams on Crunchyroll in Japanese with multiple language subtitles.
Sajuna is coming back to the show! Pettanko flat-justice fans, rejoice! Are you excited to see how she and Gojou interact after he has matured a little? What do you hope happens in the next episode? Let us know in the comments below!
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