Before the new season of My Dress Up Darling (Sono Bisque Doll wa Koi wo suru) begins, it’s about damn time we revisit some of Kitagawa Marin’s (the female protagonist of the show) top 3 cosplays. My Dress Up Darling is about Wakana Gojou, a doll-artisan enthusiast, who lives as a loner, taking refuge in his high school’s home economics department after being traumatized by a childhood incident with a friend who opposed his love of traditional dolls.
Up until now, he has been in school with nobody to talk to. He’s always seen his classmates as cool people, especially Kitagawa Marin, a stylish girl who is usually surrounded by a swarm of friends, who are virtually aliens from another universe to Wakana. When enthusiastic Marin (never one to be timid) notices Wakana stitching after school one day, she bursts in with the intention of luring her quiet classmate into her secret hobby: cosplay.
My Dress Up Darling is an anime show based on a manga with the same name. It is a show that’s included in the slice-of-life anime genre, but it has more twists than you’d imagine. The show focuses on many other cosplayers and cosplay characters this is mainly because Wakana Gojou creates clothes for other characters as well, but this article will focus more on the cosplays done by the show’s female protagonist, and the girl who’s undoubtedly the most popular among My Dress Up Darling fans, Kitagawa Marin.
Kitagawa Marin is a slender, above-average-height girl with fair skin. Her eyes are normally dark brown, although she is nearly always seen wearing dark pink contacts (outside of her cosplaying). Her body type is slim, with a small waistline. She has silky golden hair that reaches down to her waist and is tipped with pinkish-red or citrus orange. Her bangs reach around the beginning of her eyelashes and cover the bulk of her forehead and brows. Two locks of hair fall over her shoulders and wrap around her chest.
Her fashion sense changes depending on where she is. She dresses for school in a white button shirt with one chest pocket on the left, a navy blue tie, a plaid skirt, black socks, and brown shoes. She also favors a stretchy black choker, two bracelets on her left arm, and rings on her right pinkie and left index finger. When she goes somewhere informal, she likes to dress up in different clothing.
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5. Rei-Sama
If you’re into the Cosplay world (in real life) as much as Kitagawa Marin is in the My Dress Up Darling anime, then you’ve probably heard of the cosplay trio Hakken, Knite, and Shunsuke. Well, in the My Dress Up Darling universe, either of the trio would probably be Marin dressed up as Rei-sama. Her cosplay for Rei-sama is yet-to-be-revealed in the anime, and it actually might take more time before it gets released. The only reason why it’s in last place (at the moment) is that it has not been revealed yet and the excitement of the fans for the cosplay isn’t really at its peak at the moment.
When Marin is dressed up as Rei-sama, she has short hair that is parted down the middle. A white suit jacket with a black lapel, a white vest with black buttons, a black button shirt with a royal design, white slacks, black shoes, a rainbow rose in her breast pocket, and a white tie complete her look. The outfit is a close fit that gives her a manly body.
4. Prisoner Veronica
Prisoner Veronica didn’t really get much exposure in the anime, but it did get a lot of hype from the fandom. Being a little sensual is the twist that comes with the slice-of-life or high school romance genre of My Dress Up Darling and this cosplay done by Marin is definitely one of the ones that brought that sensuality out.
When Marin cosplayed as Prisoner Veronica, she was dressed in a platinum blonde wig with a white choker, jagged teeth, a tiny fabric across her breast to highlight her under-boob, and short pants. She wears orange-yellow color contacts and foundation to match Veronica’s skin tone for this cosplay. It was completed fast due to its basic design, but Marin did not use it due to the high level of skin exposure.
3. Rizu-Kyun
Oh, come on, who doesn’t like a little fantasy? Rizu-kyun is definitely one of Marin’s cutesy but sexy cosplays, therefore this cosplay deserves its spot in the Top 3. The origins of the cosplay is pretty funny though. It comes from a manga called SuccuIDK (read that again), but this is one of those succubus cosplays that you definitely need to see!
For this cosplay, Her back hair is done in pigtails with black, puffy hair bands with horns, and she wears a burgundy red wig with twin tails and even bangs that fall down her shoulders. She also has removable pointy ears. Her top is a black, long-sleeved blouse with a white ruffled yoke and a white, buttoned collar that extends downwards, as well as a white ribbon. The loose sleeves are cut off by white cuff sleeves with ruffles. Because the back of Rizu-kyun’s costume isn’t visible in the SuccuIDK manga due to the art style and being hidden by Rizu’s hair, Wakana took the initiative and turned the back of the yoke into an upside-down heart form.
The bottom portion is merely underwear, and the outfit is complete with devil wings and a tail that ends in a spade. Her nail color is changed from sparkling pink to black for this cosplay, and she wears olive green color contacts.
2. Black Lobelia
For those who love the girls-with-cold-auras tropes, Marin Kitagawa dressed as Black Lobelia is definitely something you should see! This piece of cosplay became extra special in the storyline because this was the cosplay where Marin and her favorite cosplayer, Juju-sama collaborated for the first time to dress up as sisters from a classic anime they both enjoyed.
In the Black Lobelia Cosplay, Marin Kitagawa is dressed in an officer’s headgear with a fleur-de-lis and an officer’s jacket with epaulets and fringes. She is wearing a cap underneath. Her chest also has an imitation jewel. Her gown is tiered with fringe at the edges. Her outfit is completed with a choker and black gloves. She wears different colored contacts to represent Heterochromia, with her left eye blue and her right eye red.
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1. Shizuku-Tan
Top of the list is the first-ever cosplay of Marin Kitagawa, Shizuku Koroe, or as Marin likes to endearingly call her, Shizuku-tan. She was the character that started it all. Marin’s love for her was what brought her into the cosplaying world, and it also eventually made her and Gojou meet. Shizuku-tan is from Marin’s favorite video game/anime of all time and she has visuals that are out of this world!
But Marin isn’t the only reason why the Shizuku Koroe cosplay is at the top of this list. My Dress Up Darling revolves around art, and this cosplay features art in its finest form. The cosplay dress made by Wakana Gojou featured exquisite design, which meant that it followed the original outfit and character design exactly even the colors were accurate!
For this cosplay, Marin’s bangs are slightly spread out and cover her forehead, extending just above the fake eyelashes, and she is wearing a black shoulder-length wig with a violet tint. The eyelashes are somewhat long, but only on the outer corners of the eyes, giving the impression of a droopy eye. Her contacts are purple, and her eye shadow is crimson. To best approximate the expression, her brows are shaved and fresh brows are drawn. She is dressed in a black mob cap with three red artificial roses on top, with an embroidered rose pattern on the mob cap. She dresses in a black maid gown with frills at the elbow and torso.
Cosplaying is a tough job, but it is certain that Kitagawa Marin can pull anything off! My Dress Up Darling is geared up for a second season, and more about it should be revealed soon.
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