Sono Bisque Doll wa Koi wo Suru

High school student Wakana Gojou spends his days perfecting the art of making hina dolls, hoping to eventually reach his grandfather's level of expertise. While his fellow teenagers busy themselves with pop culture, Gojou finds bliss in sewing clothes for his dolls. Nonetheless, he goes to great lengths to keep his unique hobby a secret, as he believes that he would be ridiculed were it revealed.

Enter Marin Kitagawa, an extraordinarily pretty girl whose confidence and poise are in stark contrast to Gojou's meekness. It would defy common sense for the friendless Gojou to mix with the likes of Kitagawa, who is always surrounded by her peers. However, the unimaginable happens when Kitagawa discovers Gojou's prowess with a sewing machine and brightly confesses to him about her own hobby: cosplay. Because her sewing skills are pitiable, she decides to enlist his help.

As Gojou and Kitagawa work together on one cosplay outfit after another, they cannot help but grow close—even though their lives are worlds apart.

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

Kitagawa, Marin Main

Suguta, Hina Japanese

Gojou, Wakana Main

Ishige, Shouya Japanese

Inui, Sajuna Supporting

Tanezaki, Atsumi Japanese

Inui, Shinju Supporting

Youmiya, Hina Japanese

Sugaya, Nowa Supporting

Takeda, Larissa Tago Japanese

Gojou, Kaoru Supporting

Ono, Atsushi Japanese

Liz Supporting

Kuno, Misaki Japanese

Tengeji, Mirai Supporting

Tange, Sakura Japanese

Rune Supporting

Sekine, Akira Japanese

Kaname Supporting

Shirai, Yuusuke Japanese

Umehara, Shouta Producer

Oowada, Tomoyuki Producer

Nakayama, Nobuhiro Producer

Komatsu, Shouta Producer

Reviews

Apr 14, 2025

aviva_may

Recommended

I am convinced that anyone who doesn't like this anime either A) is not attracted to women, or B) does not like straight romance. Which is completely fine! If you don't fall into the above categories then this show may not be for you. But for those of you who do, what's there not to like?


For starters, the art and animation are both amazing, especially for a rom-com show from a mid-ish tier studio. There are a lot of other anime that seem to focus their entire budgets on pretty stills and flashy scenes for the sake of advertisement. I'd be lying if I said ... I didn't fall for them every time, and I always end up disappointed when the in-between scenes are ugly and mediocre. This does not apply to My Dress Up Darling! Every second of this show is handled with care, and I was pleasantly surprised while watching it that many scenes which I HADN'T already watched on Reels were as pretty as the ones I had.

The voice acting and soundtrack are passable—and I tend to be extremely picky in this regard. Nothing in particular stood out to me but nothing bothered me either.

Character-wise, it seems that Marin was designed to be loved. She is pretty and popular, but also kind in a way that seems realistic, and flawed in ways that don't detract from her appeal. In other words, she is the kind of girl that everyone wishes they knew. I can guarantee that if she were a boy, and if this anime were aimed at girls, she would be equally adored by straight female viewers.

But seriously—she is so pretty! I'm proud of my drawing skills, but I could never design someone as pretty as her!

One of the more underrated aspects of this show is how great of a character Gojo is, too. Maybe it's because I'm a girl, but harems or rom-coms with generic dude protagonists don't usually appeal to me because their protagonists are usually ugly and lame with annoying personalities. It ruins the immersion. Why the hell would all these hot girls want a guy like that? But Gojo is appealing enough that it makes sense. Although the rest of his features are plain, he's tall enough to make up for it, and his height difference with Marin is adorable. But more importantly, he is kind, hardworking, and passionate about his interests. He feels like a real person. He also happens to be passive to a fault, but this works so well with Marin's more assertive personality that it makes their chemistry undeniable.

One thing that seemed questionable to me before I started this anime was that Marin is fixated on eroge and hentai. My first thought was, what kind of girl would want to cosplay that? Maybe a fictional one handcrafted to appeal to the male gaze. But once her stereotypically-masculine interests were juxtaposed with Gojo's stereotypically-feminine ones, I gained an even greater appreciation for their dynamic.

I will say that there were a few episodes with slow pacing that detracted from my enjoyment a bit, but overall I was pleasantly surprised, and I'm excited for season two!

Reviewer’s Rating: 8

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Apr 3, 2025

duskwoven

Mixed Feelings

My Dress-Up Darling has all the makings of a great rom-com: adorable characters, a quirky premise, and some sweet moments. The story of Gojo helping Marin with her cosplay is endearing, and there’s real chemistry between them. But here’s the thing: the romance just doesn’t develop enough. It feels a bit like it’s there, but it never really goes anywhere, and by the end, it almost feels rushed, like they were told to wrap it up quickly. The pacing of the romance didn’t hit the emotional beats I was hoping for, and honestly, it left me feeling a little unfulfilled.

Also, the fanservice? Yeah, it’s a ... bit much. But since this is a seinen, it’s not totally unexpected. It can get a bit heavy-handed at times, and honestly, it takes away from some of the heart of the show when it’s thrown in for no real reason. Still, it’s not a dealbreaker, just something to keep in mind if you’re not into that kind of thing.

That said, I can’t completely dismiss the show. I still like it, and I’m definitely going to watch season 2. Marin is just such a fun character to watch. Her energy, charm, and the way she brings life to every scene make it hard not to get invested. So while I have my issues with the show, I’m not ready to quit just yet. I’m hoping the 2nd season gives us more depth in the romance.

TL;DR: My Dress-Up Darling has a cute premise, but the romance feels underdeveloped, and the fanservice can be over the top. Still, Marin's charm is enough to keep me invested, so I'll stick around for season 2.

Thanks for reading. Have a nice day!

Reviewer’s Rating: 6

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Mar 25, 2025

venusinfleursx

Not Recommended

'My Dress-Up Darling', as its known in English, promised A LOT with it's pilot. I was actually hooked whilst watching the first episode, under the impression that I'd be following the endearing character development of a shy and lonely boy as he made his first friend, learned about fashion and otaku culture and perhaps even fell in love. Unfortunately, I soon discovered I was sorely mistaken

This show instead is pretty much 80% of Gojou, the male lead, getting *nosebleeds* and ogling Kitagawa at every chance he gets. The other 20% is usually the pair designing cosplays together and pretty much nothing else happens at all. ... In fact, there is no story, the show is simply Kitagawa thinking of a character and the pair then endeavouring to make a cosplay. There is no story arcs, no significant events, no character development, no drama, no comedy (except for "oh god, she's in her underwear! Where do I look!?") . Literally nothing happens. The show is entirely poorly done ecchi, which provides little entertainment when done so vapidly as opposed to other shows which utilise it for comedy and romance purposes, in part of a larger story.

The first episode made me think Gojou was a sweet protagonist, but it soon became clear that he had no depth and was really just a vessel upon which the viewer can perv on Kitagawa. Kitagawa showed some promise of being vaguely interesting, particularly when she began to show interest in Gojou, however through the series she showed little development too. There aren't really many other characters which again makes the series rather dull.

I could continue as there are innumerable bad things about this series, but I'll turn to some aspects that I found more positive. The animation is absolutely gorgeous and the series is very aesthetically rich and pleasing to the eyes. The outfit designs for the cosplays are also really detailed and cool. I also really like the concept of a show about cosplaying and seeing the efforts behind the scenes that cosplayers make, however in this case it was just executed really badly.

To summarise, 'My Dress-Up Darling' falls short of the expectations set by its promising first episode and is an incredibly underwhelming and boring show with no plot progression driven solely by ecchi interactions. An complete waste of 264 minutes.

Reviewer’s Rating: 4

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The official website of the Sono Bisque Doll wa Koi wo Suru (My Dress-up Darling) television anime announced a sequel on Saturday, revealing a promotional video. Ori...read more

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My Dress-Up Darling: An Interview with the Director, Part 1

*My Dress-Up Darling* has sold over 8million copies, with a hit anime in Winter 2022 and a sequel in the way. It's about cosplay-loving Marin and Wakana, an aspiring doll craftsman. Fans were captivated by the slow-burning love and the realistic cosplay. We got the details from the director.

by Febri

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