My Dress Up Darling has been back for a couple of weeks
now and the megahit of 2022 hasn’t lost a step.
In fact it’s damn good to have the infectious energy of one of Anime’s
best Best Girls, Marin Kitagawa back in the world of Anime. I’ve been rewatching the First Season in my
downtime and while it’s plenty evident, I’m still in awe about how much of a
deep dive My Dress Up Darling does into the world of Cosplay. Personally, I love the hobby, the craft and
the people behind it all. I may not be a
cosplayer myself but I am always in awe of any cosplay I see and have learned a
lot from my many cosplay friends about the process of their work. If you’re someone who’s still on the fence
about cosplay or might be too shy to ask a cosplayer a question, My Dress Up
Darling might be the gateway that’s right for you. So this week on Top 5 Wednesday we’re taking
a break from Mega Mecha Summer themed lists to talk about the Top 5 Ways My
Dress Up Darling is a Good Intro to Cosplay.
All of Cosplay is a learning experience from the
beginners to the experts.
Sometimes
interests and expertise can go hand in hand such as Marin, an aspiring Cosplayer,
crossing paths with Gojo, a well practiced sewer.
One thing they both have in common: they don’t
know anything about making a Cosplay.
And yet these two come together to make some amazing masterpieces and in
the process learn more techniques to sharpen their skills and better bring the
characters Marin wants to portray to life.
As the old saying goes, “From the smallest of beginnings comes the greatest
legends”.
#4-Shopping
Like most hobbies, Cosplay isnt cheap.
More than that, there are so many materials
and tools necessary to complete those dream projects it can be
overwhelming.
But again, Gojo and Marin
have this covered pretty well.
Being the
craftsman he is Gojo can make good guesses about which fabrics and stylings
might work to their benefit.
Meanwhile
Marin knows exactly where to go to look for just what they need.
They’re able to compromise and adjust based
on their budget and maybe have a little bit of fun going deeper and deeper down
the cosplay rabbit hole in the process.
#3-Character Research
It’s one thing to cosplay the big character of the
season.
It’s another to really get to
know them and really learn to love them beyond their look.
Hearing Gojo wanting toFl play and Erotic
Video Game to better understand Marin’s beloved Shizuku from Slippery Girls
adds a whole other level of dedication I don’t think even Marin was
expecting.
Delving into a character can
better help understand their look and why they are the way they are.
Gojo and Marin embrace this fully, especially
when they team up to binge Flower Princess Blaze for Gojo’s study Juju’s
cosplay.
#2-The Crunch
Ask any cosplayer and they’ll tell you so many horror stories
about Crunching.
And while most of these
tales have been popularized by Conventions, that doesn’t mean a cosplayer cant
be sewing down to the wire for any other deadline.
In Gojo’s case, a major misunderstanding
leads him to burning the candle at every end.
Not only is he trying to finish Marin’s Shizuku Cosplay but he also has midterms
at school and he has to look after his Grandfathers Hina Doll shop.
And still Gojo persists, determined to make
Marin’s dream come true.
Noble as it is,
Gojo’s health gets pretty rough the more he works and even Marin calls him out
on pushing himself so hard, plus she apologizes for making him stress when he didn’t
need to.
It’s a cautionary tale for any
cosplayer striving for perfection or completion.
Take your time.
Get some rest.
And more importantly don’t burn yourself out
so bad you forget the reason why you’re doing this in the first place, to have
fun.
#1-The Ties that Bind
Beyond bringing a character to life.
Beyond the blood sweat and tears that go into
such endeavors.
There’s arguably a
greater reward for getting into cosplay: the community.
Again I’m not a Cosplayer but I’ve seen how
tight knit and welcoming good circles can be and how they help people come out
of their shells and give their all to not just the projects but the friendships
too.
Do I even need to point out just
how much better Marin and Gojo’s lives are once Cosplay brought them together
(and that’s not just talking about the inevitable will they/wont they
romance).
Marin gets to meet her idol,
Juju, and her sister Shinju, and gush in person over their Cosplay and
Photography skills.
Gojo’s Grandfather
sees how much Gojo’s Hina Doll skills have improved through his new exploration
of making Cosplay.
To quote another old
saying “You’ve taken your first steps into a much larger world.”
And that’s the real power of Cosplay,
bringing people together and giving those who feel alone a place to belong…God
this show is awesome.
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