The Winter 2022 season of anime has finally begun, and it is now time to take a look at Studio CloverWorks’ effort, My Dress-Up Darling Episode 1. Let’s get right into the review!
My Dress-Up Darling Episode 1 Overview
My Dress-Up Darling or Sono Bisque Doll wa Koi Wo Suru in original Japanese is a romance and slice of life anime based on a popular manga written series by Shinichi Fukuda. It is being adapted into the medium of anime by Studio CloverWorks, a studio that hasn’t exactly been having the best time of its existence right about now. The studio has faced immense criticism in just the previous year for its handling of two anime properties, Wonder Egg Priority and The Promised Neverland Season 2.
Keisuke Shinohara is directing the show. He has been directly involved in the productions of various anime series in the past, including Wonder Egg Priority and Devilman: Crybaby. Check back every week as we plan on releasing episodic reviews of this series!
– Sono Bisque Doll wa Koi Wo Suru Episode 1 Review does not contain any spoilers –
My Dress-Up Darling Episode 1 Review- A Wholesome yet Generic Start
If anyone was on the fence about watching this show, it was purely because of the mess the studio made with Wonder Egg Priority and The Promised Neverland Season 2 last year. Not only were these shows poorly executed and full of delays, but the company also never took responsibility for anything that went wrong and kept on trucking through the problems like there weren’t any at all. Things looked to be going the right way with Horimiya, but its ending also left a lot to be desired for many.
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Now, the studio has gotten its hands upon another beloved manga property. It would be unfair to judge this show based on the sins of its predecessors, so this is the last time those two shows will be mentioned in our reviews of this series. My Dress-Up Darling Episode 1 was a great start to a series that could have been the most generic show of this season. It had a lot going for it, and it did a lot of things right. Let’s talk about them.
Let us start with the premise of the series- there is a shy boy who likes to keep to himself and a popular and outgoing girl who doesn’t usually date people. They meet due to a shared interest, and it is immediately obvious that the two have chemistry. The show will do everything in its power to make sure they end up together and help each other follow their dreams. Now, where have we seen that plot before? You probably won’t have to think hard about that question since there are at least 10, if not more, anime that follow the same dynamic.
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What set My Dress Up Darling Episode 1 apart from the others of its kind are that the main character’s fixation(clothes) is a somewhat unique interest to have in a show such as this. The other thing that makes it uniquely positioned to be highly successful is that it boasts a serious contender for the highly objective title of “Best Girl” already, and we are only 9 days into the year. Seriously, few characters give off main character vibes more than Marin Kitagawa from My Dress-Up Darling.
While the actual main character, Gojo, is rather plain and generic, Marin more than makes up for him with her bombastic, boisterous, and bold personality. She is, of course, very kind and easygoing underneath the exterior. The dynamic between the two characters has worked very well so far, and since it is a slice of life and romantic show, that was a huge hurdle that the show absolutely had to cross to be good. Thus, it is fair to say that the show did well in its first outing.
Say what you will about CloverWorks’ storytelling, the studio has always been very good at animation, and My Dress-Up Darling Episode 1 is no different. The show is very vibrant and colourful. There is a ton of visual storytelling that might miss one’s eyes during the first watch and many neat techniques that the show uses to define its surroundings. Look at Gojo’s house carefully in the next episode, and you’ll know what I mean. It is too early to comment on the music, and we’ll discuss that more during subsequent reviews.
Verdict
My Dress-Up Darling Episode 1 was a great start to a series that could have very easily been botched and ruined if handled incorrectly. We’ll see if the show can follow up on the premise well in future episodes.