My Dress Up Darling Season 2 First Episode Review

Warning: Spoilers ahead!

Introduction

The first two minutes made me think it was a different anime, however I loved the small skit. An anime within an anime is definitely a cool idea, and the animation is as good as always since the first season was well animated.

The intro was really good, great song selection for the OP with classic Japanese pop, and the animation is really fluid, hats off to Cloverworks, that studio is giving their all. One thing I did not like about the intro animation is that they added white regions around it and let the credits roll there, it takes away space from the animation, I would have liked it full screen.

Concourse Highlights

Now I like the little details in the animation, the slight movements done explicitly, those tiny weight shifts and body movements by Marin are cute. The chibi animation of her is adorable too, I really love that. However when the geeky discussions related to the mini anime kicked in I found it boring for a moment, but it ended quickly so it is not a big deal.

From the banter between Gojo and Marin it looks like the first cosplay is going to be the bunny girl outfit from that mini anime. Even the ambient and background animations are done well, I wonder how many frames are in just the first episode, they are so detailed you can’t look away. The last time I watched something this fluid was Onimai and the most recent Frieren Beyond Journey’s End, definitely check them out, it is a fresh breath of air compared to all the stiff animations we get nowadays, gotta appreciate the animators’ hard work.

I also liked the comedic skit when Gojo went to the store to buy materials for the cosplay and the old man assumed he was the one who would wear the costume, anime misunderstandings strike back, but I gotta appreciate the old man for being broad minded and actually accepting the idea XD

Except for the very short Pocky scene at the beginning of the concourse, there was not much else going on, it was mostly about designing and fitting the cosplay, well until Gojo walked in on Marin trying the prototype costume. The accidental walk in cliché is cheesy but definitely worth the watch wink wink

Cosplay Photoshoot

We move on to the studio where they take pictures for the cosplay, we get the cosplay finally, that happened fast. I loved the moment when Gojo worried about Marin exposing her skin lol. The photos were glamorous, but of course shonen romance means some ecchi scenes took center stage for a bit, then we swung back to the geeky stuff about bunny suits. I love the fast paced storytelling, but I think the first episode moved a little too fast.

I did not know how we got to the Halloween party, a bit of real Tokyo footage made me think it was a post episode credit scene. I believe the first episode was rushed out, and the dialogue flew in all directions so it sounded hazy and I could not find one thing to focus on.

Character Focus

What I liked about the karaoke scene is that Gojo got a small flashback of something I guess is a traumatic moment from the first season, love how they connected it here, good to see the story is still in place and the lore remains the main focus. Finally a little focus on Gojo’s life.

Ending & Credits

The ending was abrupt, I guess they are trying their best to make the most of the screen time, however I was expecting a credit scene. Rolling credits in the intro makes sense now, they wanted to finish quickly.

Conclusion

All in all it is great to see that the quality has been retained and even improved. Generally you do not see second seasons do well since the focus is on preserving the fan base rather than quality, and that is almost always deliberate. Cloverworks can go toe to toe with MAPPA when it comes to animation, I was highly satisfied with it.

I would give this episode an 8 out of 10. The animation is stellar, but the story flow felt messy and unfocused. We need more story focus rather than realistic chaos of dialogue coming from all corners of my headphones. I do not know Japanese so it is hard to keep up with the subtitles, the dub is not out yet and even if it was I would never watch it for obvious reasons.

However they are definitely trying to be creative here, I’m pretty sure many people will appreciate this kind of experimentation. Looking forward to the next episode.

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