Karen's Anime Blog

Last time, Amane promised to show Gojo and Marin some boobs, and in this episode, he delivers. He takes them to a huge cosplay specialty store with a dizzying array of supplies, including fake plastic boobs. Amane puts the plastic boobs on Gojo, so of course Marin has to squeeze them, then Gojo reacts like a shy eighteenth-century maiden getting the vapors. After finishing with the part that everyone is going to screencap, Amane goes on to show our favorite couple what other supplies the cosplay shop offers, including professional makeup and pre-styled wigs.

Is the fandom really prepared for Sexual Predator Marin?

Honestly, I’m not that interested in doing cosplay– I cosplayed once as Rin Tohsaka from Fate/Stay Night at Otakon alllll the way back in 2010, when I was a wee little Karen– but I do find it academically very interesting. It’s not as simple as just putting on a costume, it’s really transforming your whole look including your hair, eyes and build to perfectly mimic that of a fictional character at a very high level. I bet a lot of people who were kind of on the fence about trying it are going to take the plunge after watching this anime.

Cosplay whatever character you want, just be prepared to spend about a billion yen on product first.

The trio get into talking about make-up details, and Marin starts talking about what she does for her “daily make-up,” and wow, that is so beyond me. I only think to put on lipstick or something if I’m going to a wedding. I guess as a model, Marin has to be pretty looks-conscious. Amane lets slip that he bought his Subaru costume at the shop, which is a good reminder that not everyone has an experienced craftsman like Gojo on hand to sew original costumes. Because Gojo is so self-effacing, I think it’s easy for viewers to take his contributions for granted.

They go outside to take some pictures, and two girls dressed as characters from Space Idols Cosmic Lovers stop by and ask for a pictures with Amane. Amane informs them that he’s a guy, which they are totally cool with. I wonder though, is Amane actually being more considerate than he really needs to be here? I understand feeling the need to tell people he’s entering into any kind of relationship with that he’s a guy, but does he really owe that information to random cosplayers who want to snap a pic? I’m curious about the ethics here.

They get some Starbucks and sit down for a chat. We learn about how Amane got into cosplay, starting with his sister putting make-up on him just for fun. As a small, skinny guy, Amane had body image issues, but when he started to cosplay, the freedom of being able to become someone else allowed him to like himself. I think I understand that, but it’s kind of counterintuitive: after all, if you really want to become somebody else all the time, doesn’t that mean you still don’t like yourself? It’s a complex feeling, enjoying the freedom of being someone else enough that it gives you a new perspective on who you are normally.

When Amane had a girlfriend for the first time, she found his women’s outfits and demanded that he stop crossdressing, so he just dumped her. In My Dress-Up Darling, they seem to be saying that people who don’t understand your non-standard hobbies should be kicked to the curb, but in reality its not always that simple. What if the person who had given Amane trouble wasn’t a girl that he had just met recently, but his mother, or his sister? I don’t expect the show to deal with every possible scenario, but I can’t help but feel that Amane was quite lucky that his family was supportive.

After the cosplay event, Gojo and Marin say goodbye to Amane, and he’s totally unrecognizable dressed as a man. I hope we see him again at another event later this season.

How did he make his eyes look twice as big when he was cosplaying Subaru? True cosplay talent.

Some time later, Gojo is making lunch for his grandfather. Even though it’s not important, I’m going to screencap the food, because I love anime food.

~~NOM~~

Gojo heads out to a photoshoot of Marin, and we see her doing modeling work for a fashion magazine. What I don’t understand is that an employee of the magazine calls Marin an “amateur model,” when it’s clear from the money she has to spend on her cosplay that Marin is getting paid. Maybe modeling works differently in Japan and she’s still called an “amateur” because she’s still freelance or something. Anyway, Marin is a great model and the employee wants Gojo to help convince Marin to become exclusive to her magazine, but Gojo isn’t going to pressure her like that. She also makes the mistake of thinking that Gojo is Marin’s boyfriend, and Gojo always has to completely freak out whenever anyone does that, so he says “Our relationship is based on money.” What? Not a good job there, Gojo.

Model Marin looks different from Cosplay Marin. I think it’s because fashion models always need to have that resting bitchface going on.

Gojo and Marin leave at the end of the photoshoot to go to a birthday party, and we the viewers assume they must be going to a party for an actual person; Oh no, how naive. They’re holding a birthday party for Shizuku from Slippery Girls, and Marin is totally into it. Gojo muses that even though Model Marin seemed like a very different person, he can see that she’s still the crazed otaku he makes outfits for. And credits.

Wearing his Shizuku mask, Gojo starts questioning his life choices.

Bit of a weird episode, with the cosplay event taking up most of the runtime and then the photoshoot/party tacked onto the end. Still, I’m looking forward to seeing Gojo and Marin grow closer, and hopefully for him to stop fumbling the ball every time someone assumes they’re dating– because it is GOING TO HAPPEN more.