My Dress-Up Darling
My Dress-Up Darling is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by. It was serialized in Square Enix's manga magazine Young Gangan from January 2018 to March 2025, and compiled in 15 volumes. An anime television series adaptation produced by CloverWorks aired its first season from January to March 2022. A live-action television drama adaptation aired on MBS's Dramaism programming block from October to December 2024. A second season of the anime adaptation aired from July to September 2025.
By October 2025, the manga had more than 15 million copies in circulation, and has been generally well-received by critics.
Premise
Wakana Gojo's passion for crafting hina dolls causes him to hide his interests due to social trauma. However, when his beautiful and popular classmate Marin Kitagawa discovers his talent, she sees beyond his apparent idiosyncrasies and encourages him to create cosplay costumes. With Marin's support, Wakana steps out of his seclusion and begins to gain confidence. Working together, they create unique and beautiful costumes showcasing their talents and true selves.Characters
;Wakana Gojo;Marin Kitagawa
;Kaoru Gojo
;Nowa Sugaya
;Sajuna Inui
;Shinju Inui
;Suzuka Itou
;Chitose Amano
;Akira Ogata
;Miyako Honda
;Nobara Aoyagi
Themes
This work describes the development and love of boys and girls, with cosplay as its central theme. Although it also includes some erotic scenes, the work is notable for its detailed portrayal of character psychology and the process of creating cosplay costumes. It showcases the creation of the Hina doll, makeup, and camera work, and the author personally visited the Iwatsuki doll-making workshops in Saitama City, known as the "Doll City," to gain insights into the real lives of doll makers and cosplayers.Production
Shinichi Fukuda set Wakana as an orphan without friends in order to create a situation where he has to solve problems with Marin, instead of his parents or other friends.Media
Manga
Written and illustrated by Shinichi Fukuda, the series was serialized in the manga magazine Young Gangan from January 19, 2018, to March 21, 2025. The individual chapters were collected by Square Enix in 15 volumes. An official fan book was released on September 24, 2022.During the Anime Expo in July 2019, Square Enix announced the English version of the series under the title My Dress-Up Darling and published it under its new publication imprint Square Enix Manga & Books.
A spin-off manga written and illustrated by, titled My Dress-Up Darling XOXO!, was serialized in the same magazine from December 20, 2024, to July 4, 2025. Its chapters were collected in one volume, released on July 25, 2025. In November 2025, Square Enix started publishing the spin-off in English on its Manga Up! Global platform.
Volumes
Anime
An anime television series adaptation was announced in the ninth issue of Young Gangan, which was published in April 2021. It was produced by CloverWorks and directed by Keisuke Shinohara, with Yoriko Tomita handling the series' scripts, and Kazumasa Ishida designing the characters and serving as a chief animation director. composes the series' music. The first season aired from January 9 to March 27, 2022, on Tokyo MX and other networks. The opening theme song is "Sansan Days", performed by Spira Spica, and the ending theme song is "Koi no Yukue", performed by Akari Akase.A sequel was announced in September 2022. It was later revealed to be a second season, with the main staff and cast members reprising their roles. It aired from July 6 to September 21, 2025, on Tokyo MX and other networks. The opening theme song is "Ao to Kirameki", performed by Spira Spica, and the ending theme song is "Kawaii Kaiwai", performed by PiKi.
Funimation licensed the series for simulcast outside of Asia. On January 28, 2022, Funimation announced that the series would receive an English dub, which premiered the following day. Following Sony's acquisition of Crunchyroll, the series was moved to the streaming service. Muse Communication licensed the series in Southeast Asia.
Live-action drama
A live-action television drama adaptation was announced on August 30, 2024. The drama is produced by Kyodo Television and directed by Koji Shintoku, with writing the scripts. composed the series' music. It aired on MBS's programming block from October 9 to December 11, 2024. The opening theme song is "Princess Hero", performed by Chō Tokimeki Sendenbu, and the ending theme song is "Lovely Baby", performed by Pedro.Episodes
Reception
Manga
Sales
In February 2022, it was reported that the manga had an additional 1.5 million copies in circulation following the premiere of the anime adaptation. In June 2022, it was announced the manga had over 7 million copies in circulation. In September 2023, it was announced the manga had 9.5 million copies in circulation. In October 2023, the manga had surpassed 10 million copies in circulation. In May 2024, the manga had surpassed 11 million copies in circulation. By September 2024, the manga had surpassed 12 million copies in circulation. In October 2025, the manga had surpassed 15 million copies in circulation.Accolades
In August 2019, the series was ranked sixth in the print manga category according to the votes for the fourth edition of the Next Manga Award, organized by Da Vinci magazine from Media Factory and the Niconico website.The manga was ranked sixteenth for readers in the 2020 edition of the Kono Manga ga Sugoi! guide from Takarajimasha.
The manga was ranked third in Honya Club's Nationwide Bookstore Employees' Recommended Comics of 2020, a survey that collected results from 1,100 professional bookstore employees in Japan.
The series, alongside Artiste, won the Men's Comic Prize at NTT Solmare's "Minna ga Erabu!! Denshi Comic Taishō 2020" in 2020.