English Dub Review: My Dress-Up Darling: “Wanna Hurry Up, and Do It?”

Overview: Marin (Amanda Lee) comes over to Gojo’s (Paul Dateh) house to get gifted for her cosplay outfit, as Wakana struggles to keep his composure when he is up close and personal around her body. 

Our Take: Oftentimes, it is the easiest and simplest to show the harmful effects that alienation has on someone. However, in Gojo’s case, it is also nice to see the other side of the equation in the humorous side of it. Gojo’s disconnect from popularized media that his classmates and peers find enjoyable, makes for a comedic confusion in trying to comprehend Marin’s love for eroge games. It also speaks volumes of his more of his isolated simpler lifestyle in enjoying the handcrafted and intimate nature of hina doll making. 

When Gojo needs body measurements for Marin’s cosplay outfit and she makes a surprise visit to his home to get it done, thus creates the perfect opportunity for some adolescent sexual tension in the most quintessential anime sense: some hardcore teen blushing. The entire ordeal is a hilarious awkward trial of Gojo measuring different parts of Marin’s body as he finds himself pushed to the limit at all times. Similarly to him fumbling through his words awkwardly, it’s both embarrassing and heartwarming to watch unfold all the same. 

And speaking of Marin’s physique, there is a real effort to give each nook and cranny it’s own representation. This allows for some meticulous fan service that’s both arousing yet simply beautiful to look at with the gorgeous detailed design of Marin with realistic proportions in that of meat on her bones. The incredible animation present in the first episode is built upon with even more subtle movements made from Marin’s simple movements of putting her hair behind her ears or moving her feet and toes. 

Their day together could have just copped out and made it nothing but fluffy fan service. However, this episode continues to put characters at the forefront more so than anything else in having Gojo push past his lustful thoughts and do right by her by focusing on crafting the outfit, due to how important it is to her. Gojo’s reassurance of Marin’s comfort when he’s around her, and therefore his own, is also shown to be important to Marin in how she tries to calm him down and prove how at ease and trusting she is of him. As a nice ending twist, Marin ends up getting flustered when Gojo gets close to her, unbeknownst to him of course because he can’t seem to perceive her being blushing around him. This is a great start to the beginning of all the highs and lows of their relationship as they take part in each other’s shared passion that will undoubtedly bloom into romance. Lastly, Gojo’s grandpa being alarmed at his grandson’s interest in adult games, misunderstanding the reason why he is so invested in it, makes for an amusing and charming last joke.