Shinichi Fukuda

A loner boy and a flashy girl find common ground via cosplay in this sweet and spicy romcom! Traumatized by a childhood incident with a friend who took exception to his love of traditional dolls, doll-artisan hopeful Wakana Gojou passes his days as a loner, finding solace in the home ec room at his high school. To Wakana, people like beautiful Marin Kitagawa, a trendy girl who's always surrounded by a throng of friends, is practically an alien from another world. But when cheerful Marin--never one to be shy--spots Wakana sewing away one day after school, she barges in with the aim of roping her quiet classmante into her secret hobby: cosplay! Will Wakana's wounded heart be able to handle the invasion from this sexy alien?!

My Dress-Up Darling 1

A loner boy and a flashy girl find common ground via cosplay in this sweet and spicy romcom! Wakana and Marin make it through their very first cosplay event, and not long after, Marin's heart undergoes a change...?! But that's not going to stop her cosplaying! To research their next project, the duo decide to watch the anime it's based on...but on screening night, they wind up alone together...?! And with JuJu, another gorgeous cosplayer, dropping by Wakana's house...it seems like a love triangle is abrew!

My Dress-Up Darling 3

Sarah Sammis

Mostly, this volume is about the nitty gritty of being a serious cosplayer. There are pages and pages about photography: different kinds of cameras and lenses, different lighting techniques, different framing techniques, shutter speed, depth of field. If you're not a photography nerd, there's a bunch to skip here.

http://pussreboots.com/blog/2022/comm...

A loner boy and a flashy girl find common ground via cosplay in this sweet and spicy romcom! The preparations for Marin and JuJu's group cosplay steadily advance...until at long last, the costumes are complete!! That should just leave the photo shoot...but Wakana has a secret plan the other two don't know about!!

My Dress-Up Darling 04

** spoiler alert **
           The cosplay scenario therefor ends with a "humorous" wardrobe failure. Because of course, breasts exploding out of their containment is funny. Not. It's just cliche and dumb. It also objectifies a much younger character.

http://pussreboots.com/blog/2022/comm...

Alina

** spoiler alert **
           A warning to young readers and parents of young readers: this is a sexually explicit romantic comedy. At first glance, there may not appear to be much graphic material, but it actually has quite a few.

That being said, for those still interested and perhaps even more so now, this series is quite good! The story follows two main characters, Gojo and Kitagawa, as they develop a love for cosplay and costume making.

During the process of costume-making, quite a few sexually explicit or ‘ecchi’ scenes come about. The type of scene that will ‘peak the interest’ of any avid reader seeking such scenes. Side note: I haven’t seen a character’s masculinity depicted in such detail in a non-pornographic context in quite some time.

The unique interest of Gojo has caught my attention. It’s nice to see a traditional art appearing as something someone is so passionate about, like Hina dolls and their construction. My favorite part of the story is that he is the one who is in the handicraft aspect. She is pretty inept at all of this!

The cosplay details and costuming touches were nice. The narrative incorporates them reasonably well (it’s not just an information dump).

It's fun to watch people with different personalities bond over their unique hobbies and get excited about their interests. I find it lovely that he enjoys doing handicrafts. The story includes both humorous moments and character growth.

The negative aspects are about to be discussed.

One of the biggest problems is the sexual overtones. The series warrants parental warning labels. Marin’s first costume is based on a BDSM ero game.

The first image in the book is straight-up fan service. This girl is only 15 years old! She is still extremely young, and the naivete and inexperience and (truthfully) obliviousness you can see shows. She sees nothing wrong with Gojo taking very intimate measurements for her costume. Nipple measurements aren’t necessary for a 15-year-old! 

I'd like to see less fan service, the age of the character, and more focus on preventing sexual harassment and respecting bodily autonomy.

For contemporary Japanese rom-coms, Dress Up Darling is a standout. It’s still a noteworthy series, although I wouldn’t give it a high rating. Before buying or going all in, read a few chapters to see if the book is for you.

A loner boy and a flashy girl find common ground via cosplay in this sweet and spicy romcom! Though training to become an artisan who makes hina doll heads, Wakana Gojo is instead making cosplay costumes for Marin Kitagawa, one of the most popular girls in class. As if this turn of events wasn't shocking enough, Wakana discovers that his first cosplay creation is due in...two weeks?! But with a reward like Marin's smile hopefully waiting at the end of it all, Wakana dives right in. Will the results of two short weeks of hard work be enough to satisfy Marin's high expectations?!

My Dress-Up Darling 2

Ken Yuen

The big event! I really like the guy's earnestness and the range of emotions between the two leads. They both have their strengths, weaknesses, loves, and vulnerabilities that make them very human. It's fun seeing their back and forth and relationship developing. 

I feel like the fan service is a bit less gratuitous this time, but it's still definitely there. 

Initially thought I spotted a typo on page 137, but I was mistaken and it makes sense in retrospect.

Feel like there's some nuance missing in the creator comics at the end. Like some meaning is left out or not conveyed well

If you can get past the fan service, the manga is pretty funny. The dynamic between the guy and gal kind of reminds me of Oreimo. The level of fan service is pretty brazen though, so don't read it at like work or something

New characters, the group is growing! Juju's a fun character, but the guy walks in her while she's bathing, so there's that content warning checked off. The cosplay stuff is genuinely pretty interesting though. Looks like this series has an anime too

A loner boy and a flashy girl find common ground via cosplay in this sweet and spicy romcom! Wakana has spent every summer vacation on his own...until now! With a friend like Marin at his side, he's about to get a taste of everything summer has to offer and more--the pool, fireworks, extra homework...and of course, cosplay! Now that she's crossed off bronzed fighter Veronica-tya from her to-do list, Marin has set her sights on a succubus from one of her favorite manga series! But when she picks out a questionable location for the photo shoot, Wakana's the one about to be left red in the face and hot under the collar!

My Dress-Up Darling 1

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