My Dress-Up Darling is a shojo-style seinen anime series starring the meek protagonist Gojo Wakana, a fairly ordinary boy with an unusual hobby -- making hina dolls. His female friend once mocked him for liking dolls, but this hobby is how Gojo stays close to his grandfather Kaoru, so it means a lot to him.
Then he met the enthusiastic cosplayer Kitagawa Marin, who invites him to become her business partner and friend in the world of cosplay. Gojo finds more success and validation with cosplay than making hina dolls, but he doesn't want to give up the hobby he shares with his grandfather. Fortunately, he may have found the perfect solution.
How Hina Dolls & Cosplay Enhance One Another
Gojo has always enjoyed making hina dolls, but while he was adept at tailoring their clothes, he would always struggle to draw and paint their faces, seeing this as the final obstacle to becoming a full-fledged doll maker. He'd hit a wall and felt bad about it, but unlike typical shonen protagonists, My Dress-Up Darling's Gojo didn't overcome this problem with sheer willpower.
Instead, he languished in vague self-pity until his personal muse, Marin, came along and introduced him to cosplay. Gojo quickly learned the ropes of this field and put his tailoring skills to use, and for a time it seemed he should make a permanent switch from dolls to cosplay. But his grandfather sees a connection between the two hobbies, one that Gojo completely missed.
One evening, Kaoru examined a doll head his grandson had painted recently, noting that this had been the boy's best effort yet. He still has a ways to go, but doing Marin's cosplay makeup has helped him practice cosmetics, which has been more relevant to hina dolls than Gojo had expected.
Kaoru also approves of his grandson's new cosplay hobby, explaining that any hina doll maker must draw inspiration from other sources and not focus entirely on one specific craft. A diversified portfolio can lead to new ideas. Artists might paint themselves into a corner or get into a rut sometimes, but they can break out of it by thinking outside the box. Gojo did that by accident with Marin, but it still counts.
What This Means For Gojo in My Dress-Up Darling
My Dress-Up Darling's Gojo is still an adolescent with plenty of time to figure out his future. At first he cared only for hina dolls, then it seemed he could make a complete switch to cosplay, which emphasizes his strengths and is more relevant to the masses than the dolls. However, maybe Gojo doesn't have to choose one hobby over the other, and could be happiest if he finds a balance between the two. Based on his relationships with his grandfather and Marin, a compromise may be possible -- both in the short and long term.
In the short term, it's clear that Gojo's hobbies benefit one another, with his experience in doll clothes aiding his cosplay efforts. Likewise, his newfound makeup experience helps him paint hina doll faces better. These hobbies complement each other rather nicely, boding well for Gojo and his associates alike. This gives him a solid reason to keep up both hobbies and will prevent him from giving up on either one out of despair or frustration, which should keep Marin and Kaoru happy.
In the longer term, Gojo will become even more skilled and experienced in both fields, and once they reach parity with one another, he will have the freedom to choose either or both for his future career or perhaps a side job. He's not stuck in either one -- he can shape his professional career however he sees fit with two viable options to choose from. That's a serious burden off Gojo's back, and it's about time he caught a break. He should have nothing but good times up ahead for both hobbies as My Dress-Up Darling continues.
