WARNING: The following contains minor spoilers for My Dress-Up Darling Episode 10, "We've All Got Struggles," now streaming on Crunchyroll and Funimation.
My Dress-Up Darling is a popular rom-com anime of the Winter 2022 anime season, and a classic case of opposites attracting. In this case, the shy doll-loving Gojo Wakana finally came out of his shell after meeting the playful and cheerful cosplayer Kitagawa Marin, who recruited him to become her private tailor. So far, it's been working out well for both of them.
However, while Gojo has made some excellent costumes for Marin and she's helped Gojo gain a meaningful social life, they still have some ground to cover -- and Gojo might not be fully ready to come out of his shell after all. Based on his taste in clothing and what his garments represent, he's having a rough time adjusting his lifestyle to match Marin's.
Gojo Wakana Can't Forget His Hina Doll Roots
Marin and her new friend Gojo have gone shopping a few times for cosplay goodies, and their latest trip in My Dress-Up Darling Episode 10 says more about Gojo than ever. In fact, the latest shopping trip was actually for him, not Marin, and Gojo found himself in a men's clothing store as opposed to a cosplay shop for wigs and ribbons.
Up until now, Gojo has usually been seen wearing traditional Japanese clothes complete with a plain blue robe, sandals without socks and a white headband, giving him an old-fashioned and rustic look when compared to the gyaru Marin. All this ties in with Gojo's love of traditional Japanese hina dolls. For that matter, he even lives in a traditional Japanese house as opposed to a more modern apartment. Everything about Gojo alludes to the past, though not necessarily in a bad way.
In recent My Dress-Up Darling episodes, Gojo tried on a variety of trendy outfits Marin picked out for him -- including gaudy shirts that look more like Guy Fieri's outfits than anything -- but he didn't feel comfortable in any of these. Amusingly, Marin thought Gojo looked great in all of them, influenced by her genuine love for him, yet Gojo rejected all the outfits and walked out of the store empty-handed, content with his own clothes for now. Gojo may be diving deeper into the world of cosplay, but he's not yet fully committed to changing himself. A part of him is still holding onto the past.
How Gojo Wakana Can Learn To Embrace New Ideas
Gojo's character arc in My Dress-Up Darling is more dynamic than Marin's, a modest but hardworking boy who is slowly and carefully coming out of his shell. Marin is fully confident in who and what she is, while Gojo is torn between the hina doll hobby he shares with his grandfather and the trendier and exciting prospects of cosplay. There are merits to each path, though for a time it seemed Gojo would have to choose one and make a big sacrifice in the process. Fortunately, compromise is easier than it seems.
In one particular episode Gojo got an idea from his grandfather, Kaoru, which laid the groundwork for a compromise between hina dolls and cosplay. Kaoru suggested that practicing with makeup and accessories for cosplay would give his grandson the necessary practice to paint realistic hina doll faces, and sure enough, painting faces is Gojo's Achilles heel with dollmaking. If Gojo plays his cards right, he can pursue both hobbies at once and have them enrich one another, becoming more than the sum of their parts.
Gojo might do something similar with his personal attire and express his new self with a modern, trendy outfit while staying true to his love of tradition and hina dolls. It's not yet clear how he will do this, but he might start with trendy clothes that share a color palette or fabric with his current outfit, such as rich blue colors, leather sandals, long sleeves and hats. If Gojo can pull that off, he'll look dazzling in Marin's eyes, and he may feel more confident and creative than ever before. Clothes really do make the man, and it's time for Gojo to learn that for himself.
