Welcome, weebs, to Animated Observations

It is officially that time of the season. Now that a couple episodes are out for basically every show that is airing, we will be taking a look at what Winter 2022 has to offer, and whether or not it will be worth finishing them. First up on that list is My Dress-Up Darling, a show that has an extremely interesting concept, as it feels like a fairly unexplored angle given anime’s often self-referential culture. So, how does this show stack up so far?

Well, tbh, not great. Do not get me wrong, I absolutely want to like this series. As far as the character arcs are concerned, everything is going nicely. Gojo is set up as the weird, introverted kid with no sense of social awareness in contrast with Kitagawa, whose social life and friends, as far as Gojo is concerned, just seem to come naturally.

However, where I find myself wary of My Dress-Up Darling is in Gojo’s larger personality failures. This could honestly just be chalked up to personal preference, but something about how he is portrayed as a total loser is just kind of annoying at this point. The whole teasing trend across female main characters such as Uzaki and Nagatoro that has been rising in popularity recently just feels a bit antithetical to what its story is trying to accomplish.

Gojo very obviously wants to enjoy a life in which other people accept him and his hobbies for what they are, and Kitagawa is an understanding person who does not know how to realize her hobbies. Thus, it feels a little weird to spend almost an entire episode just focusing on weird he feels about taking her measurements for an outfit.

Outside of that philosophical gripe, though, there is plenty of potential here. The animation and character designs are pretty as hell, with Kitagawa being the standout. Normally I would say anitwitter fawning over a character is unjustified, but in this case, it makes a lot of sense. Even the designs for the unnamed background characters stand out a lot more than in other shows, so points for that I guess.

The music overall feels pretty meh. While there is certainly no stand-out awful track, there is also nothing incredibly interesting either. The only exception to this is ED which I actually mess with quite a bit. Here is to hoping that it comes on streaming services soon.

Overall, while the series is, at least right now, being dragged down by a fairly awful second episode, it has plenty of room to bounce back. My recently having finished the second season of The Promised Neverland has left me without a lot of faith in Cloverworks, but hopefully, they can pull themselves back up and finish strong.

---

How do you all feel about My Dress-Up Darling? Let me know in the comments.

If you are interested in reading more from me, check under blog to read my most recent stuff, or look below for some related posts. Also, if you would like to support Animated Observations, consider donating on Ko-fi or through paypal, or pledging on Patreon. You can even support by just liking and sharing this post.

Special shoutout as always to our patron Jenn, the support is much appreciated!

If you can’t, or just don’t feel like it, no worries. Thank you all for reading, and goodbye, for now, friends!