My Dress-Up Darling - season 2

  My Dress-Up Darling (その着せ替え人形は恋をする) is the second 12 episode season a the slice of life anime based on the manga of the same name by Fukuda Shinichi.  Season two aired during the Summer of 2025.

     Marin and Gojo's relationship has cemented its self as one of comradery based around cosplay but she spends much of her free time with him, even being a regular guest at his house for dinner.  Their time together has enhanced her feelings for him but she struggles to express them to him.  Gojo himself is very conscious about his relationship with her even though he struggles with feelings he has for her.  Not wanting to ruin her reputation or embarrass her, he refuses to accept that they could be anything more than friends and work partners.

    In between them overcoming their personal roadblocks, they set out and make friends with more cosplayers.   Marin, partially due to work obligations an partially due to concerns about recent weight increase, has put off new cosplays and instead is enjoying events as a spectator.  She and Gojo spend the entire day with an guy in college who crossplays and helps them increase their skill knowledge but discussing how he convincingly sets up his cosplays.  Due to Gojo trying to up his game they also get wrapped into a trio of college girls who have their own cosplay club/group and eagerly invite them to join them.  Marin in turn drags in the Inui sisters for a big group event centered around a beloved horror game.  The event brings many of the participants to a new awareness of themselves and their feelings...but can Marin bring herself to vocalize her feelings to Gojo?

    The first season was full of love and beautiful character development, even if it struggled with  over emphasizing Marin's body in uncomfortable ways.  Season two quickly sped past the first part of the story too deepen the love of Marin and Gojo as it reinforced their companionship.  The first part of the season really fell back on the central issue with Gojo's self doubt.  It was wonderful to see care put into the outside world convincing him that there is nothing wrong with his passions, even if he's unable to express that concern out loud.  Marin is an open book and this season begins to show her that not everyone around her shares in that exuberance.  But while she's expressive on the outside she struggles to tell Gojo, the most important person in her life, her true emotions.

    The series is really half romantic slice of life story and half cosplay 101.  A lot of details about technique and problem solving coat the series as it did the first time around.  This time we have our duo meeting with more experienced hobbyists that super charge their enthusiasm and dedication to the past time.  The friend group grows to include different personality archetypes and backgrounds, further fleshing out the depth of the story.  Things are not always rosy but My Dress Up Darling still exists largely in a reality free of tragedy.  My emotions welled up with the final episode of the season to cement it in my head as a truly lovable and fantastic tale.  I can't wait for the next season to come out and Marin...of poor sweet Marin... Also, great to not be focused on the ick factor with this season.

The series is available on Crunchyroll.