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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Woof. Look at that title. I’m not on the writing team for My Dress-Up Darling–or indeed, the translation team–so I can’t be totally sure, but I’m pretty certain that that’s a somewhat crass joke.

Which is weird, because while the show’s general aura of “idk, horny” returns this week, this is actually a pretty solid episode. The main goal here seems to be fleshing out the character of Shinju, Juju’s younger sister. That does unfortunately mean we get more than a little of the same “isn’t it funny that she’s a middle schooler but has HUGE bazongas?” energy that marred her introduction. But at the very least, she’s humanized here to a degree that raises her well above the status of a one-note joke character. It’s enough to make me at least consider overlooking how weird the series sometimes is about her.

Before that, though, we open with more cosplay nerdery. We don’t get a whole episode about Gojo making the outfits this time. As such, while there’s still a fair bit of Dress-Up Darling‘s usual camera leeriness, it’s at least over fairly quickly. And the rest of this sequence is actually pretty good. There’s the odd Lucky Star-esque sitcom conversation that slips in.

And I’m particularly fond of the details of Marin putting on her Black Lobelia outfit for the first time. The way she gets so happy over having a perfect black soul gem to stick above her chest, or how she delivers this absolute 24-karat one-liner after applying some cosplay tape.

In general, Marin actually gets a lot of great dialogue here. Something I have to equally applaud both the original writers and the translators for. Who hasn’t felt like this at least once?

But as mentioned, the real heart of this episode is Shinju’s story. If you’ll recall, last week, after Juju fainted, we cut abruptly forward in time to spend the last ten minutes of the episode on that dreamy endless summer sequence. If you were wondering what exactly happened in between those events, wonder no more, as this episode establishes that Juju was fine. More importantly, Shinju and Gojo had a long talk about the former’s desire to start cosplaying, but reluctance to do so for pretty understandable reasons.

I have to admit that I was a little surprised to see this brought back up as any kind of actual character flaw. While last week did explain Juju’s extreme passion for cosplaying and general derision borne of jealousy, it doesn’t really excuse it, and seeing that her rather gatekeepy attitude has actually hurt her younger sister’s feelings is an unexpected bit of realism. I appreciate it.

Gojo is able to assure her that she should try anyway, and naturally, Shinju is quite moved. (Will this develop into a third character in the show having a crush on Gojo? It’s hard to say. I rather hope not. Anything beyond the core Gojo / Marin relationship is cruft.)

But there is an issue. The entire reason Shinju is worried about “looking weird” is that the character she wants to cosplay doesn’t match her body type at all. (A real issue that many cosplayers face! To say nothing of broader clothing availability problems.) That character? Why, a cool older brother of course.

One can see how this might be a challenge.

Nonetheless, Gojo is nothing if not a cosplay wizard. He’s able to whip together a pretty convincing outfit in a matter of what seems like mere days, using one of his own old school uniforms as a base. Now, does this sequence also contain unfunny jokes about Shinju’s boobs and weird, leering shots of the same? Unfortunately, yes. Does it completely cancel out the actual good that Gojo is attempting to do? I wouldn’t say so, since he, at least in Watsonian terms, seems to have the decency to not be attracted to a middle schooler.

Clearing that so-low-it’s-underground bar aside, this sequence shows the two building a nice friendship. It’s worth remembering that Gojo doesn’t just do all this outfit-making work on a whim, he does it because he finds it meaningful. Shinju, similarly, doesn’t want to cosplay just for fun. She wants to do it because this character means a lot to her. As Marin said several episodes back, it is a way of expressing love. It requires a fine touch.

And, hey, there’s also some genuinely funny bits in here, like the pair being shocked at the affordability of certain kinds of chest binders.

When all is said and done, the show cuts back to its present–the day of the cosplay photoshoot alluded to last week–and Marin, Juju, and us, the audience, see Shinju’s complete cosplay for the first time. It is a genuinely remarkable transformation.

The two, being cosplay otaku first and foremost, naturally freak out.

And Marin bestows upon Shinju the greatest honor any gyaru can grant to anyone.

Now, arguably, the episode could be said to undercut its own message by showing that Shinju basically does pull off a perfect cosplay of this character. But I think the intended takeaway of “trying your hardest to capture the spirit of your character is the most important thing” shines through well enough. Despite any of my qualms with it, the main shade present in this episode is one of sweetness. I think My Dress-Up Darling shines best when it’s showing its characters the love and humanity they deserve, and that is definitely true here.

Egregious Horny Score: We’re at a firm 3/5 this week. The show’s definitely been more egregious than this, but the pervy camera is back in full force. It’s unfortunate, but I’ve run out of meaningful commentary on the subject (at least for now), and it didn’t kill my positive feelings toward this episode.

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