Parents' Guide to My Dress-Up Darling

TV Netflix , Crunchyroll Anime 2022
My Dress-Up Darling TV poster: Against a colorful geometric background, Kitagawa eagerly pulls Gojo forward. The Inui sisters pose behind them.

Common Sense Media Review

By Danae Stahlnecker , based on child development research. How do we rate?

age 15+

Teens embrace being different in sweet but sexy romcom.

Parents Need to Know

Why Age 15+?

Any Positive Content?

  • My Dress-Up Darling: Sun streams into a dark room. A young Gojo admires the traditional Hina dolls on display. His grandfather watches him.
  • My Dress-Up Darling: A close-up of Gojo's face. He is sweating nervously. A heartbeat sound effect is written out in Japanese characters.
  • My Dress-Up Darling: Kitagawa, in a maid outfit with a chain collar, looks happily into the distance. Gojo stands next to her, his face out of screen.
  • My Dress-Up Darling: Kitagawa studies a paper list of supplies while shopping for cosplay crafting materials.
  • My Dress-Up Darling: Kitagawa and Gojo sit in her bedroom, which is decorated with sexy character images. Kitagawa wears a maid headband.

Parent and Kid Reviews

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What's the Story?

MY DRESS-UP DARLING is about high school students Wakana Gojo (voiced by Paul Dateh) and Marin Kitagawa (voiced by Amanda Lee) finding common ground through unique hobbies. Wakana makes traditional Japanese dolls. Marin cosplays as anime and video game characters. When Marin learns about Wakana's skills, she asks for his help with her first costume—and thus their friendship begins!

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say : Not yet rated
Kids say : Not yet rated

This playful but sincere teen romantic comedy tries something a little different with anime trends and is actually worth the watch for older viewers. My Dress-Up Darling starts out like most steamy anime with a shy teen boy (who's kind of an outcast) suddenly getting attention from a popular female classmate. The heavy flirting and innuendo makes it seem, at first, like just more borderline pornography that treats women like objects of fantasy. Except, the sexy stuff becomes background noise to an actually compelling story about embracing what you love — even if other people think it's weird. Viewers should still be aware of all the sexy content. However, the shows gives itself a step up by having some real depth and open-mindedness.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • How is sex portrayed in the fictional shows and games the characters like? How is sex portrayed in My Dress-Up Darling? What does the difference tell you about the different ways media uses sex as a topic?

  • Why are female characters sexualized in anime so much? Are male characters treated the same way? Does My Dress-Up Darling do anything different from other anime in how it treats female characters?

  • How do social expectations about gender impact characters in this series? What do characters do that helps their friends feel accepted and encouraged? How does this apply to the real world?

TV Details

Did we miss something on diversity?

Research shows a connection between kids' healthy self-esteem and positive portrayals in media. That's why we've added a new "Diverse Representations" section to our reviews that will be rolling out on an ongoing basis. You can help us help kids by

My Dress-Up Darling TV poster: Against a colorful geometric background, Kitagawa eagerly pulls Gojo forward. The Inui sisters pose behind them.

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