My Dress-Up Darling follows the story of Wakana Gojo, who is a first-year high school student who wants to become a hina doll craftsman, and his popular classmate, Marin Kitagawa, who wants to cosplay.
One day, Marin discovered Gojo’s skill in making hina doll clothes which gave her an idea to ask Gojo to make a costume of her favorite video game.
Gojo was hesitant at first because he has never made clothes for people before. But as Marin explained why she loves the game so much, he remembered the time when someone mocked his hobby. He did not want Marin to experience that too so he agreed to make her a costume. Fans of the series noticed that Marin and Gojo break gender stereotypes. But how?
How Did Marin and Gojo From My Dress-up Darling Break Gender Stereotypes?
Anime fans might think that My Dress-Up Darling is another romantic comedy series. But what would surprise them is that Marin and Gojo, the two protagonists, are two unique characters who break traditional and gender norms.
For starters, Gojo loves hina dolls. The moment he laid his eyes on his favorite hina doll, he knew that he wanted to be a craftsman. He spends almost all of his time helping his grandfather in their business, which is the Gojo Dolls shop. When Gojo was young, he was very open about his love for the dolls.
But after his cousin showed him how disappointed she was about his passion, he decided to never let anyone know about it. This led him to become an introvert. Most people would think differently when they know that a man wanted to become a hina doll craftsman as they expected men to like sports and other activities.
On the other hand, Marin is interested in lewd anime and video games. Gojo was surprised about it at first as he did not expect Marin to like those things. After seeing his reaction, she replied “Does being a boy or girl matter when you really like something?”
The line alone gave fans an interpretation that the series wanted to emphasize that gender does not matter if one likes to make clothes or if someone likes lewd things. Gender should not be the basis of the things people are passionate about.
My Dress-Up Darling’s concept grabbed the attention of anime lovers around the globe. It might be because they find it entertaining, or they find it relatable. What matters by the end of the day is how viewers perceive the message of the series and make them realize that being a bit different is not a bad thing.