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My Dress-Up Darling reminds us there’s nothing cringe about loving what you love [Popverse Jump]

There is a little Gojo in all of us, just begging for acceptance.

Popverse Jump Gojo Being Series Header My Dress Up Darling
Image credit: CloverWorks/Popverse

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Were you that kid in school who was obsessed with some geeky stuff that everyone thought was weird? Did you feel like you had to hide your interests from the world, lest your friends and family discover you love anime, video games, or comic books and ridicule you for your “childish” interests? Considering you’re reading a pop culture website, specifically an article about anime, I’m going to guess the answer is yes. And you know what? That’s cool, because we’ve all been there. Like the characters in My Dress-Up Darling, we’ve got to learn to accept our own weirdness – and the weirdness in others.

This undercurrent of not just accepting but embracing each other for our different interests isn’t something that has been introduced in My Dress-Up Darling season two, but it certainly has come to the forefront in recent episodes. While I’m not a huge fan of the school festival arc in the manga and still have major complaints about the pacing of the romance aspect in this romantic comedy, I have to admit that my heart warmed seeing Gojo come into his own. Specifically, how he grew with the help and support of his classmates.

My Dress Up Darling Gojo Embarassed
Image credit: CloverWorks

See, Gojo at the start of My Dress-Up Darling was a kid living half a life. He was so desperately afraid of letting anyone know that he loved hina dolls or even that he knew how to sew that he never showed anyone any part of him beyond the most surface-level interaction. He passed through life rather than living it, never making any lasting connection with his classmates. It was depressing to watch, but thankfully, our boy has grown over the past few episodes.

Sure, he’s still shy and almost painfully awkward, but Gojo is also learning that his interests – sewing and makeup – aren’t things to hide, and it isn’t just because of his will-they-won’t-they (spoiler: they will) relationship with the outgoing and confident Marin that instills this new confidence in him. It is because the rest of his class doesn’t shun him when they discover he has these skills. Not just because they are useful during the culture festival, but because they are simply a part of who he is.

And you know what? He’s got friends now. Where people overlooked him as just that quiet kid in class, now he’s taking jokey photos, going to karaoke, and, God help me, laughing and joking with his classmates. Instead of feeling shame for enjoying sewing and knowing how to put on makeup, he’s become the hero of the day for helping his class win the School Culture Festival alongside Marin. Even as he tries to push her to the forefront (she’s the one wearing the costume and doing the performance, after all), they drag him into the spotlight because none of it would be possible without him.

Gojo In My Dress Up Darling Working On A Cosplay
Image credit: CloverWorks

As someone who has made a career out of being nerdy on a professional level, I have found this whole character arc endearing in a way I wasn’t expecting. Again, I think there are major structural issues with the manga’s pacing, but the thing My Dress-Up Darling has always done a great job of is hammering home the message that the nerdy things that you’re obsessed with are nothing to be embarrassed about. They’re part of you and, as such, should be celebrated. And if the people around you shun you for them, find people who won’t. If someone doesn’t have anything more important to do than try to shame you for loving what you love, that’s a them problem.

Seeing Gojo finally embody the Main Character Energy he’s been afraid of this whole time has been a treat, but seeing his classmates watch with awe as he applies Marin’s makeup or adjusts the fit of her suit jacket is what this show is really all about. Life is too short to hide. Write that 100,000-word fanfiction about two side characters who never interact in a game but you know would be best friends if they did. Get that anime character tattooed on your arm without shame or judgment. Buy that body pillow and host a birthday party for your Best Boy or Girl.

Be weird and proud and give others the space to do the same because the world is richer when we allow ourselves to be who we are. That is why My Dress-Up Darling is winning over my heart this anime season.


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Trent Cannon

Trent Cannon: Trent is a freelance writer who has been covering anime, video games, and pop culture for a decade. (He/Him)

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