Let’s Watch is a weekly recap column where I follow an anime for the course of its entire runtime. Expect spoilers!

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“It’s because you want to make someone happy that you can keep going, even when it’s hard.”

Gojo has a problem. Well, it’s more like he has several problems. Near the start of “Are These Your Girlfriend’s?”, My Dress-Up Darling‘s fourth episode, Gojo’s grandfather takes a nasty fall. It’s not bad enough that he needs to spend weeks recovering in the hospital, but his adult children temporarily take him in to care for him while he heals up. This puts Gojo, already short on time to finish Marin’s costume, in a bind. Oh, and midterms are coming up. Someone visiting from France wants to visit his and his grandfather’s doll shop on super short notice. It’s all just quite a lot.

This is probably the most relatable Gojo has ever been, at least to me. Yeah buddy, I let stresses pile up on top of each other until I feel like I’m physically going to sink into the floor, too. I feel you.

These things stack on top of each other until Gojo is little more than a ball of anxiety. He works himself to the bone on all of this; the outfit, taking care of his grandfather, the exams, etc. Frankly he overworks himself, to the point where I wondered if Dress-Up Darling‘s sharp turn into the dramatic signaled some sort of permanent tonal shift for the anime.

It doesn’t, which is perhaps for the best. Gojo is able to pull through by remembering some words of wisdom his grandfather once offered about why he’s able to paint Hina Dolls every day. By the episode’s final act, Marin’s outfit is done.

The real irony is that he needn’t have rushed. The entire “deadline” has stemmed from a misunderstanding; Marin simply mentioned a cosplay event that was happening, not one she intended to participate in. But, despite the fact that the two swap phone numbers in this episode, Gojo never thinks to ask for clarity. He works himself ragged for, basically, no reason!

That might sound like a criticism of the episode, but it isn’t. It’s very easy to get wrapped up in things you think you have to do in this manner, especially for a teenager whose brain is probably boiling over with feelings he doesn’t fully understand at this point. So yes, when he collapses on his floor crying that he’s a failure because he can’t seem to get all this shit done on time? That’s the dash of realism something like My Dress-Up Darling needs to feel like it has real emotional stakes. The poor guy is pitiable, here. He’s arguably acting pretty stupidly, too, but he never feels like he’s doing something incomprehensible. It makes a perfect, sad sort of sense.

All of this, to Gojo, becomes worth it. Because in spite of the misunderstanding, Marin is genuinely very happy to have the outfit finished, and her happiness informs his. And hey, for what it’s worth, she does look pretty good in it.

^{-Listens to The Cure Once- Two weeks later:}

This is probably the most genuine connection they’ve yet had in the series, and I think this is the first time I’ve really bought them as having romantic chemistry as opposed to a simple friendship based on some shared interests. She’s angry at herself for the misunderstanding, a little mad at him for overworking himself so hard, but also truly, genuinely happy that she has this wonderful gift that Gojo’s made for her, now. There’s a real potpourri of emotion going on in just this single sequence and it’s to both the original mangaka’s credit (Shinichi Fukuda) and to Hina Sukuda’s performance that it all comes across so well.

All this is also the first time that My Dress-Up Darling‘s slowball pace has entirely made sense. Giving this whole episode its own…well, episode, makes it feel complete in a way it probably wouldn’t if it were splitting time with, say, another 15 minutes full of Marin in a bikini.

In the end, the payoff is Marin dressed in her Shizuku outfit and the two of them–a near-ecstatic Marin and a deeply exhausted but still enthused Gojo–geeking out about how great she looks. That’s a fun end to what is certainly Dress-Up Darling‘s most involved, and frankly, best episode so far. I would like the series to eventually dive into the roots of Gojo’s workaholic and perfectionist tendencies. Whether or not it ever will is another question, but there’s only one way to find out.

Until next week, anime fans.

Bonus Nowa Screencap:

Egregious Horny Score: This one’s a solid 1/5. It’s not like there’s no fanservice here, but it’s pretty tame compared to other episodes and it’s entirely restricted to the last couple minutes when the big emotional beats are firmly over.

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