My Dress-Up Darling S2 Ep 1 [First Impression]

Eva’s First Impression

Holy shit, what a comeback to Season 2! The staff absolutely knocked all expectations out of the park with this one. They went so hard with this episode, that I’m like HOW?! WHAT IS THIS WITCHCRAFT?! They completely elevated these chapters, and my god- I AM DYING. Just everything, it was already funny and at times heavy when Gojo didn’t feel like he really had a place there at first, but they just managed to just ramp it up to a whole new level I didn’t realize I needed. Truly, It was absolutely incredible to watch, I can’t stress that enough. Like holy shit bro, how do you follow up with that? Is this what they plan to do the entire season? Way to set the bar right off the bat!

Where do I even begin with this one? This time the cosplay project is Arisha from the anime TsuCom. Gojo’s been absolutely charmed by the series, so he’s been enjoying it a lot and was excited to make the outfit, and Marin is super passionate about bunny girls, because who doesn’t like bunnies?! Though seriously Marin’s love for bunny is to the degree of she’ll end you if you disagree with her hahahahaha. What a terrifying face of ‘YOU AGREE, RIGHT?’ she gave Gojo. Truly, not to be trifled with. But hilariously Gojo could relate to the fact some things are just eternal, because the first thing that of course crossed his mind: Hina Dolls. It was so funny how that just clicked for him of understanding that sentiment very well.

Marin also had some fun playfully teasing Gojo, as we already know she’s crushing hard on him, so the pocky situation was heck of an attack on Gojo’s heart with the whole “take the other end” taunt.

And then finally it came down the progress of making Arisha’s outfit. Marin was initially all excited about being invited over to Gojo’s place, but as it turns out, it was because he was absolutely stumped in shame of what to do about the outfit’s top end not staying upright as he thought it would. Marin’s suggested clear straps would work, especially since it would be hidden by the tailcoat she’d be wearing to accompany it, so they went to the shop and— oh my gosh, I crying from laughing so hard when the manger and Gojo had this huge miscommunication of who was going to be wearing the bunny outfit. It was just so funny how earnest the man was in response to the whole thing, and thank he felt so apologetic for misunderstanding when he realized it was for Marin not Gojo!

But it was thanks to him that they were able to understand how to properly make it in the first place. Neither Gojo nor Marin knew about ‘boning structure’ that works like a corset to frame the outfit. I lost it again though when Marin– of all people, was the most disappointed to hear that doing this is what prevents it from falling off. Both the manager and Gojo are like: WHY IS SHE DISAPPOINTED BY THAT?! Marin please! You’re killing us here, I can’t!

As chaotic as Marin is on her own, it’s safe to say whenever Gojo experiences an absolute meltdown, it is is equally as comedic and chaotic as Marin. And of course, the worse of the kind is when Marin is absolutely and painfully OBLIVIOUS AS TO WHY GOJO IS TRYING SO HARD TO STAY SANE. He was absolutely losing his mind, with how he was trying to keep his hormones in check when he realized that the one flaw he made with the outfit, it’s too high-cut, that she can’t wear an underwear with it. But while Marin was able to solve her problems with a combination of Adhesive underwear the tailcoat, and skin coloured tights– spoiler alert, it didn’t fix the crisis Gojo was having because it didn’t look any different to him! That exposure of the high cut was just too much for him. Poor guy had to work hard to stay focus for the entire photo-shoot session!

Then came the Halloween Party! Marin had invited him to join her and her friends, so he dressed-up as this freaking terrifying bunny. There was a moment when his childhood traumatic created by Non-chan was invoked when Morita was pressing why he knew how to do makeup. Kashiwagi was able to calm his nerves quite a bit by bringing up his brother does makeup, and is even studying to be a beautician. But perhaps the one thing Gojo did NOT expect to happen, was the moment Marin brought up he does Hina Dolls, Morita lost his mind because he has always thought the Hina Dolls at the shop was absolutely incredible since the one time he went there. That’s certainly a level of praise he never expected to receive, and from a guy no less. But this is so good, because Gojo hid himself away because he was afraid of others making fun of his passion for Hina Dolls. Marin became his bridge to others, leading him to good people who not only accept who he is, but is also tremendously impressed by his skills.

And of course, they end it with freaking Suguya asking a legit question if Marin and Gojo are dating! Yes, that is absolutely the best way to end an absolutely chaotic episode! I burst out laughing every single single I return to that scene!

Considering the snappy pace of this episode, some might have felt it was rushed, but I feel it actually worked very well due to the sheer amount of chaos up until the very end. Perhaps the last scene of the Halloween party could’ve slowed down a bit, but at the same time, if they did jam on the breaks, it would’ve broken the swift-streamed flow of the episode. So I think in the big picture, it didn’t take away from the moment Godo who had initially felt like he didn’t quite belong there, realized that the group actually accepts him for who he is.

With that said, oh man— I was just laughing non-stop from start to finish– heck, speaking of the start– they get me every time– I had to double check if I was watching the right show! But truly, they did this episode so damn well that I’m like… crap how could I not want to cover this? Coming into this season, since the manga just ended, my mindset wasn’t really jumping up and down eager to cover it like I was for the first season. Like it was still fresh in my mind sort of thing. But after watching this episode: I feel like they just managed to accomplish creating a new “first experience” with this series all over again, and it absolutely lit the fire in me to want to cover this season after-all!

Fortunately Anne Shirley does come out early in the morning, and this airs in the afternoon— so I probably could cover two in one day given both aren’t airing late afternoon. Anyhow I’ll be back to cover more next week!

Possibility of Blogging: High
Possibility of Watching: Guaranteed

Extra Note: I decided to switch to using the English Title, mainly because it’s shorter compared to the Japanese one, so I’m going to update Season 1 entries and category to match!