DESCRIPTION

CAST

MANGA ComedySono Bisque Doll wa Koi wo Suru
Not Available ComedySono Bisque Doll wa Koi wo Suru (Zoku-hen)

REVIEWS

• 

  Xcile

  74/100
  This review does NOT contain any romance for the characters, but the understanding of their Story and Characterization

  Sono Bisque is a Unique S-o-L series

  When I say unique, it is something special for me to watch in the anime community. That it has same type of genres but has new and propounding ideas.

  And Sono Bisque is one of them.

  We see in the first episode that Wakana Gojou is a loner high school student and it was because he had a painful memories of his childhood friend that got no interest of his hobby which are hina dolls and left him with a pitiful words. Since then, he never get any chance to talk to his classmates because he think that they think he's a weird person to talk to if he ever brought up his interest to others.

  To morpheme the part of its synopsis, we’ve already encountered a lot of shoujo/seinen/shounen and a lot of josei’s series where it is basically has the same premises in any other anime. (boy meets girl, girl meets boy) but there are rare counts of level that are some series have deeper meanings to their emotions and interests. This happens to be one of them.

  And here enters the heroin of the show, Marin Kitagawa. Marin is a unique character to me,(AND NO... Im not a fan of Ecchi) to set aside the Fan Service. Marin is a beautiful character that has boldness and honesty to Gojou both admires and envies him. Instantly, she shares with Gojou her own hobby that loves playing erotic video game and even tries to cosplay the character in the game that she enjoys. And top of that Marin is actually a "Gyaru". Which is a slang for Japanese fashion subculture, where she talk like a modernized teenager in Japan. (this is true btw)

  By just knowing some facts about Marin Kitagawa, have you ever heard of cosplay in any other anime genres? No?! D*mn right it's not. That is also one of the reason why Dress-up Darling is such a unique series to me. Sure, story is really good. Art is superb. Sound or OST has the perfect fit for this series. Characters are well liked. And at the same time, fan service had done it again. Which it ticks me a lot of time watching the show. To set the Fan Service aside, Dress-Up Darling is uniquely darn Good series. I can hate some of it, but at the same time, I really can’t hate it at all.

  Been reading the manga ever since they announced the Anime adaptation. Of Course that I'm still up to date of the manga where there are also ecchi, but not that many in that adaptation. I still love reading it and hoping that it wouldn't take 100+ more chapters just to end the manga.

  And as you can tell that from reading this review, you think that I don't like the ecchi parts. I personally don't mind fan service overall, but if they over done it. I'm done.
  At least Dress-Up Darling didn't put it in every episode.{we could only see some glimpse of it}
  And if they had put her in those situation at many time, I would have been like . "Yeah, That's Too Much For Now."
  They could've done this without a fan-service, but whatever. It's not like it could kill me to look some underwear or make me nosebleed.
  I wouldn't have put a diverting score for this series, plus, I could never hate both characters. Mostly on Marin. The voice actress of Marin made the perfect fit for her. I can never appreciate more that they adapted Marin really well the same way as the manga with her eccentric words.

  I'm pretty sure that there are some people hate this series because of an “overdone” fan-service. Truth to be told, they're missing the points that this series has related to (staggering about Struggles/Emotions, Introverts, Gyaru, Otaku, Cosplay, and Hobbies). These tags are mostly happening in Japan right now.

  To this predicament review.
  I give this a review score of a 74/100.

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• 

  Astrodogs80

  85/100
  A tale of mature obsessed teens if you can excuse the ecchi

  

  Wakana Gojou (Gojo) is a high-schooler and fellow introvert who struggles to make friends because of his beloved hobby-his dream, making Hina dolls. Constantly being reminded that is hobby is “disgusting’ because of an encounter at a young age, Gojo lives in utter fear of his hobby coming to light. That is until one chance moment makes him collide into the life of the famous Kitagawa Marin. After discovering each other well kept secrets, together they help each other out while pursuing Marin’s cosplay dreams.

  Despite the blandly put summary, “My Dress-Up Darling” is indeed a very good anime that explores the cosplay and the world of friendship. You are slowly pulled into the expressive and interesting cast, not only because of the voice acting but also because of the diversity of characters. At least one character in the anime does represent yourself to some extent. This adds to a very immersive experience, personally for me, I relate to Gojo the most. He’s afraid of being judged, afraid of being hurt because of one single encounter. Stuff like this impresses me the most, it adds a relatable flair that not only hits where it hurts but also reassures you.

  Maybe I’m just not cut out for it. Loving something doesn’t mean you’re any good at it. There’s no guarantee that all your hard work will pay off

  In Episode 4, stressed by the overwhelming work handed to him, Gojo says this specific line. The significance of this line is that it adds a hefty amount of realism, you can connect with the characters more. A single flaw, even in judgement, shows how human they are. Gojo is the broken anchor. He’s got his own flaws but he keeps everyone in the show stable, comforting and supportive when need be. Which is reflected throughout the anime. It’s reassuring to viewers since it’s easy to connect to the characters.

  

  I personally love Marin for saying this, even to her very close friend group, she did not hold back

  

  Similar to this, the cast itself is good. There’s a small range of characters, each diverse in personality. I will say that the anime is highly driven by the dynamic duo but it adds a nice flair to the anime. The character dynamic is very well executed, not only does it suit the overall situation but also leaves enough space for the genre its in, romance. My primary reason for watching this show (yes, I did not watch it for the ecchi). All of them have their own spot in the light, their own moment to show themselves. Although the anime revolves around Marin and Gojo, the rest of the cast is memorable.

  The design itself is good by its genre standard, it adds to the characterisation for the cast. Like Marin’s constantly changing fashion style adds to her proactiveness, opposing her is Gojo. His constant escape into his traditional Japanese clothes show his tendency to be reclusive. Gojo’s design feels a little different in the anime as compared to the manga at certain scenes. In the anime, his design feels softer rather then sharper, it doesn’t affect the mood of the anime.

  

  A small sample of the anime. The voice acting, soundtrack are on point.

  

  Cloverworks executed this with excellence. They adapted every single panel scene wise including the dialogue. Everything was accurate to the tee. Even the small conversations between the minor characters was included. Electrifying moments, those jarring change in scenery feel surreal but leave a good taste in your mouth. Some moments are carefully planned out and hit right at the peak giving high impact to the scene. This also impacts the comedy, some scenes will make you giggle endlessly assuming your humour is broken like mine but still, some aspects do in fact make you laugh because of the dynamic between Marin and Gojo. Cloverworks with their manga accurate adaptation really pulled through. It’s funny because despite Cloverworks atrocious track record, they managed to shine in this anime without a hitch.

  

  Gojo in the beginning. All of the dialogue here was adapted.

  

  Coming back to what Cloverworks did, their work on the animation was fantastic. Everything from the lighting to the detail of each scene, all of them melded to create an engaging experience. Part of the reason I’m highly praising the animation is because of Marin. She’s a very expressive and lovable character that was brought to life in more ways than one. Since the anime is highly driven by its characters. This is a huge plus point.

  

  Marin's expressions in cartoon-ish style

  

  I do have to add criticism. Despite the wonderful image I created of this anime, there is a lot to turn off the frequent watched. One being the overwhelming ecchi that ruins the mood adding a good amount of confusion about the goal of the anime. Needless panty shots, explicit scenes that show breasts- A lot of this is unnecessary and what’s worse is that it always lights up your screen at inappropriate moments. I’ve added a spoiler as an example.

  During the beach scene in Episode 9 after Marin and Gojo have a heart to heart, our famous female main character decides to dip her legs in the salty sea. The jarring aspect here is that Gojo notices the proactiveness and overall wonderful character of Marin but suddenly, she unknowingly flashes her underwear. In a wholesome moment something explicit just doesn’t work. It confuses the average viewer. That’s my biggest criticism

  The ecchi at the beginning is too strong, enough to turn away an avid watcher victim to these cheap tricks to gain viewership but let me assure you, it gets better. My Dress-up darling gradually turns away from the full blown explicitness and eventually turns to more maturer themes of Identity and insecurity. Just as an example, Marin here is a fulcrum in Gojo’s life. Supporting him and tilting him towards a better life where he’s unbound by the insecurity of loving Hina dolls embed in him by a childhood friend. The anime does take time in this growth but it gets very clear in the manga.

  Finally, my recommendation. If you despise ecchi scenes, if it’s unbearable to even watch a single one for you. Then you can skip on this anime. Ecchi scenes are numerous in number in the very beginning, it can ruin the experience. However, if you are like me in any manner, get past the ecchi scenes won’t be a big deal. If you can get pass them without getting bothered then you’ll really enjoy this anime like I did, especially with the character dynamic and animation. Overall, I really enjoyed watching “My Dress-Up Darling”. It introduced me to lovable characters, each in their own world enjoying life as we see. This anime may not be for veteran viewers but I’d still say to give it a shot. Doesn’t hurt to try.

  

  Author’s note - I had so much more to write. I really had a whole analysis just in my notes, it was really to that extreme. I really wanted to shorten this review even more but I just couldn’t so I made every point very concise. I should also mention that I loved Kitagawa Marin throughout this entire anime. She is by far my favourite character and just a nice little ray of sunshine. I honestly don’t see much of her type in anime but could just be me. Thanks again to @Harthlock for allowing me to use his assets to make my review more aesthetically engaging. Click here to use his assets.
  I also made these (taken from Ep3)

  
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• 

  Mcsuper

  85/100
  Our Darling of the Year

  From Marin getting best girl hype from the anime community, to Gojo getting the love he deserves, to us learning a bit more about cosplay, My Dress Up Darling has been undeniably a strong contender for the best series that the Winter season had to offer, through its unique and lovable characters, solid storytelling, and unique cosplay outfits. Although it has a few too many fan servicey moments, this series does fan service in a better way than most other shows, and I’ll mention that below in my review.

  My grading criteria: Story: /25 Art: /10 Music: /10 Characters: /20 Enjoyment /15 Thematic Execution /20

  Story: 18.2/25

  Definitely above average for a slice of life rom-com type show. Marin and Gojo meet through wanting to cosplay, and a wanting to create good hina dolls and pursuing his dreams that seemed like something not widely accepted by the people around him. Marin and Gojo embark on their journey to do cosplays, and at the same time, hanging out with one another, and as we might expect, love is in the air. Other than that, the story itself isn’t my favourite thing of the series, but I enjoyed the overall premise of it. The romance is unique, and there are some more genuine reasons why the main couple love each other, not just because they have to for the sake of the plot.

  Now for a big question: What did I think of the fan service? I would say, it was good at the start, but it got quite forced as the series went along. A lot of obvious pandering throughout to keep the watcher's attention, and while at the start, it was in my opinion somewhat necessary for the plot, it quickly became just random shots of things that don't contribute much to the story.

  ART: 8.3/10

  The animation overall isn’t the most stunning in the world, but it also featured a new director in Episode 8, which was in my opinion, the episode that impressed me the most in terms of the animation. A bit up and down in terms of the quality, but I enjoyed it.

  MUSIC: 8.9/10

  The opening theme is pretty generic, but the OST, if we pay attention to it, is actually very solid. It fits the atmosphere and vibe between Marin and Gojo extremely well.

  CHARACTERS: 17.9/20

  The characters are easily the best part about this show. The cast of characters all had a decent role to play, though I wished Marin’s friends showed up a bit more.

  We’ll start with everyone’s best girl of the season, Marin. She’s indeed a “best girl”, but not because of her appearance or her being attractive, but how she is able to bring the best out in people around her. Her personality is the perfect one for Gojo to mesh with, because she’s kind, down to earth, and encouraging. Not only did she accept Gojo’s love for Hina dolls and crafts, she encourages him to follow his passions and helps him grow as a person just by being around him. She’s not scared of being herself, not scared about how she feels about things, and always stays true to herself. That’s what makes a character like hers shine.

  A lot of the times, the main male character in a romance story feels familiar or similar to another series, but Gojo stands out to me as yet another well written character. He starts out as maybe a self-insert protagonist who’s shy and ashamed of what others may think of his passions, but over time, with a little push from Marin, continues to do what he truly loves, which is sewing and making Hina dolls. He goes through the grind that we can all relate to on some level, working to meet a certain deadline, getting burnt out, but when it’s all finished, when you know you’ve made someone else smile because of something you did, it’s one of the best feelings in the world.

  Juju and Shinju also compliment the cast well, as they teach Marin and Gojo more about cosplay, and to us, the viewers in the process. Who knew about eye tape, b-holders, and all the measurements Gojo did before watching this? I certainly didn’t. These two characters are fun to watch, and although Juju didn’t have the best introduction to the main narrative, she got better as the show went on, but Shinju was even better.

  ENJOYMENT: 13.4/15

  Enjoyed this a lot, although the fan service gets a little much at times.

  THEMATIC EXECUTION: 18/20

  This show does romance in a way that is a bit different, as Marin is quite up front with her feelings, and Gojo eventually realizes it too. It feels less of a one-way street in terms of the development, and it’s such a welcome spin of the genre.

  OVERALL: 84.7/100

  A very well crafted show, and a show that made Saturdays great. Characters were so lovely to watch, and I can’t wait for more Marin and Gojo greatness!

  And also, props to the translators and subtitles for making "wuv" part of my vocabulary!

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