Keisuke Shinohara, the director of last year’s smash hit My Dress-Up Darling, shared his thoughts about the popularity and likability of Marin Kitagawa.
“As a character, she is fascinating. Marin Kitagawa is the type of character we’ve never seen before,” he told Crunchyroll in a recent interview. The story of My Dress-Up Darling follows Kitagawa, a high school student with a deep love for all things anime and pop culture and a dream to become a famous cosplayer. She teams up with Wakana Gojo, a classmate who has a secret passion for making Hina Dolls, and together they combine his sewing skills with her passion and motivation to create the best costumes possible.
The Director Elaborated on Marin’s Charm
Shinohara continued, stating Kitagawa’s wide-ranging appeal results from the fact that “she has respect to herself, as well as to others, which makes her likable. Marin’s not afraid to speak her mind, yet when it comes to romance, she could be shy, and that’s relatable for anyone who’s been in love. The gap between how she looks on the outside and what’s going on in her inner self makes her adorable. Combined with how she can become so devoted to something when she puts her mind to it, she has ideal qualities we look for in a person.”
The character’s respect for herself and others, as well as her passion and excitement, have greatly resonated with both manga readers and anime viewers. The ongoing manga by Shinichi Fukuda, which first appeared in Square Enix’s Young Gangan in January 2018, has sold over 7.5 million copies as of September 2022, and when CloverWorks’ adaptation premiered as part of the winter 2022 anime season, a plethora of new people joined the fandom.
Of course, My Dress-Up Darling fans don’t just demonstrate their love and appreciation for the story by reading the manga or watching the anime; they follow Kitagawa and Gojo’s example and create impressive cosplays. For example, professional model Arisa Chan recreated their Shizuku cosplay and costume maker extraordinaire Anari.exe showcased her take on the Black Lobelia outfit.
According to Shinohara, while the story focuses on cosplay, the theme of passion isn’t limited to only costume-making. “What’s at the base of [My Dress-Up Darling] is the mindset to speak out what you love, and turn negative into positive even if others tease you about it. I hope that message is conveyed through the anime,” he explained.
My Dress-Up Darling is available on Crunchyroll.
Source: Crunchyroll
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