‘My Dress-Up Darling’ Has Enough Manga Material to Work With for a Season 2
TL;DR
- The My Dress-Up Darling anime was a surprise hit in the Winter 2022 season
- My Dress-Up Darling Season 2 hasn’t been announced yet, but here’s what you need to know
- Where to pick up the manga after finishing the first season
It would have been easy for many to dismiss the My Dress-Up Darling anime when scrolling through the list of shows airing for the Winter 2022 slate airing on Crunchyroll. After all, on its surface, it looks like a classic “boring male lead runs into manic pixie girl lead, and she shows him what life is really all about” story. For those who have seen it, you know that it was one of the surprise hits of the season because it does that trope with more depth and care than most modern rom-com anime these days.
Unfortunately, My Dress-Up Darling aired episode 12 as its final episode of the season on March 27th, leading fans to wonder about a Season 2 and how long it’ll take to get more wholesome Marin Kitagawa and Wakana Gojo moments gracing the screen once again.
Spoilers ahead for the last episode of the My Dress-Up Darling anime
‘My Dress-Up Darling’ was one of the most wholesome shows from the Winter 2022 season
Adapted from the Sono Bisque Doll wa Koi wo Suru manga, the My Dress-Up Darling anime follows Wakana Gojo, a 15-year-old high school student who secretly loves making Hina Dolls to follow in his grandfather’s footsteps. If you’re wondering what a Hina Doll is, they originate from celebrating Hinamatsuri – a festival to pray for the health and good future of young girls, according to Kokoro-JP. As a child, Gojo was teased for having an interest in dollmaking, leading him to keep his passions to himself.
Marin Kitagawa is passionate about cosplay – dressing up as one’s favorite fictional characters. Cosplay can get pretty serious – I personally learned a lot – and Kitagawa is as serious about it as the most professional of professionals. There’s only one problem – she’s really bad at making costumes (a crucial part of the cosplay experience).
Together, they learn to embrace the best parts of each others’ personalities, and their adventures in cosplaying prove to be both educational and endearing.
We don’t have any information on ‘My Dress-Up Darling’ Season 2 yet
The first 39 chapters of My Dress-Up Darling are represented in the first season of the anime by the CloverWorks animation studio. For a potential Season 2 that hasn’t been officially announced, the anime would need to get started at chapter 40 of the source material moving forward.
As of April 5th, 2022, the My Dress-Up Darling manga has 12 volumes, with the latest volume having been released on March 25th, 2022. Beyond the volumes, up to chapter 74 is available. Anime production doesn’t finish before the show begins to air (you can consult Shirobako if you’d like more insight on the industry). With almost the same amount of chapters available, it should be time for the production to start planning around a Season 2 announcement.
After all, with the show becoming a surprise hit, they’ll want to capitalize on its popularity as much as possible, and a Season 2 announcement would give fans something to look forward to. If you look at Kaguya-sama: Love Is War as an example for what a successful, annual romantic comedy looks like (without the interruption of the onset of a global pandemic), there’s hope that we might see My Dress-Up Darling Season 2 by Spring 2023 at least. That’s just speculation, but there’s enough manga material to make it happen.
Where Season 1 leaves off and where to watch
The season finale of the first season adapted chapter 39, including the very cute secret confession over the phone. Kitagawa had trouble falling asleep after watching a horror movie very reminiscent of the Texas Chainsaw Massacre franchise, leading to her calling Gojo over the phone so she wouldn’t feel alone. After Gojo fell asleep, Kitagawa verbalized her affection before saying, “good night.” It was one of the most wholesome moments anime has seen in years.
You can catch up on the first season of the My Dress-Up Darling anime on Crunchyroll, where it streams for free with ads. Sitting at a very healthy 8.45 rating on MyAnimeList, it’s clear that this is a hit that you don’t want to miss. If you’ve already seen it and want to catch up on the manga, you can start from chapter 40.
The rest of the 2022 anime slate will have to work overtime to outdo Marin Kitagawa for Best Girl 2022 honors, so stay locked in to see what her competition looks like for the rest of this year. CloverWorks is also animating Spy x Family for the Spring 2022 season, so the anime schedule for this year is already off to a great start.
