My Dress-Up Darling

is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Shinichi Fukuda. It began serialization in Square Enix's Young Gangan in January 2018, and has been compiled into twelve volumes . An anime television series adaptation produced by CloverWorks aired from January to March 2022. A sequel has been announced. By October 2023, the manga had 10 million copies in circulation. Premise Wakana Gojo's passion for crafting hina dolls causes him to hide his interests due to social trauma. However, when his 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 A first-year high school student. Being an orphan, he was raised by his grandfather, a craftsman of hina dolls, who also inspired him to become a , a craftsman who makes the heads of hina dolls. Wakana has a large physique and is over 180 cm tall, but he has low self-esteem and is reclusive due to a bitter memory of being criticized by his female childhood friend, who thought that boys should not be playing with dolls, ending their friendship. As a result, he hid his doll-making hobby and had no friends until he met Marin. Thanks to Marin's encouragement and support, Wakana steps out of his comfort zone and embraces his love for crafting. He grows more confident with each project, and through their collaboration, Wakana falls in love with Marin and finds a sense of belonging in the cosplay community that he had never experienced before. A first-year student in Wakana's high school class. An archetype of a gyaru, notable for her warmth, friendliness, positivity, and outgoing nature. Marin is shown to dislike overly critical people who judge others based on their interests. She is a huge fan of anime, and her entire bedroom is decorated with anime posters and merchandise. After a series of successful cosplays, Marin grows closer to Wakana and eventually realizes she is head-over-heels in love with him. She continually does whatever she can to invite him to different places and spend time with him, as a way to win his heart and make him her boyfriend. She lives alone as her mother died when she was a child, and her father is often away due to work. A cosplayer who presents herself under the nickname of .