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The original My Dress-Up Darling manga and anime series is a delight and success because of the personalities of Marin Kitagawa and Wakana Gojo, given how well they play off of each other and the both humorous and heartfelt nature of their relationship. It feels natural! It’s enjoyable to watch! Especially since we’re assured they’re going to end up together given the nature of things. The My Dress-Up Darling XOXO spin-off manga, as a result, feels like a sweet treat one-shot that allows us to savor more of those brief interactions with some cute and occasionally funny asides. They’re all in-character, resulting in a supplemental experience that offers little insights into what they might have been doing outside of the major events we saw depicted in the original series.
Editor’s Note: There will be no spoilers for the one-shot manga chapters in My Dress-Up Darling XOXO below.
Essentially, the My Dress-Up Darling XOXO is a series of short vignettes. Most of them involve a moment in the life of Wakana Gojo and Marin Kitagawa during the course of the My Dress-Up Darling anime and manga. Based on the context and the interactions, it sort of felt to me like they were already an established couple. There’s a degree of comfort between the two of them that lends itself to not having that will-they-or-won’t-they drama attached. Supporting cast members do appear, with the siblings Juju and Shinju Inui in some of the stories and Chitose Amano getting his own mistaken identity short when dressed as Amane Himeno. They’re all pretty fun and lighthearted!
That said, I do think the best My Dress-Up Darling XOXO chapters are the ones with Wakana Gojo and Marin Kitagawa at the forefront, as mentioned earlier. The Chitose one is good, mind you, but there’s a great dynamic between the leads that keeps getting shown off and highlights some humorous aspects of their personalities. For example, one involving Marin agreeing to help a classmate with her doujinshi booth at an event as a cosplayer also calls attention to Wakana’s attention to detail as a creator. Another goes over his creativity in other fields, not just with sewing or dolls. The introductory short shows just how much Marin cares about him, as well as the way he thinks about her.
It sort of feels like it is designed to help further endear characters to people and show how they interact in additional situations. We see how well Marin and Wakana get along and complement each other in their chapters. With the Inui sisters, there’s an increased focus on their dynamic. Chitose’s shows how he’s perceived and accepted, as well as his strength. But at the same time, slightly sillier in some ways?
My Dress-Up Darling XOXO is a good time and lets us see a little more of characters like Wakana Gojo and Marin Kitagawa in silly situations. Are they in-character? Honestly, a lot of the time yes. But are they also goofier in some ways? Yup. It’s an enjoyable follow-up volume to a great series.
The My Dress-Up Darling XOXO spin-off manga is available via Square Enix. The company also handles the original series. The anime is streaming on Crunchyroll.
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