My Dress-Up Darling establishes great character development with a meaningful story but takes a bit of a detour with problematic Sajuna.
Kodoani.com – Popular anime series My Dress-Up Darling opened the first season with arguably the series’ best-developed couple, Marin Kitagawa and Wakana Gojo. Although this pure youth and romance story contains elements of ecchi, which are known to take away from the true development of a series, the author manages to establish character development. wonderful with a meaningful story. Unfortunately, the anime goes a small way compared to these impressive feats with the character Sajuna Inui.
When Marin expressed her love for a famous cosplayer known as Juju, the character’s introduction was foretold. It’s no surprise that Juju, whose real name is Sajuna, joins the cast, but the problem is how she’s introduced and how poorly her character is built. From an overbearing ecchi moment to a flaw in her own plot, there’s a lot to be concerned about with Sajuna’s character.
After Gojo created his first cosplay for Marin, photos of his creation went viral, catching the eye of Sajuna, who was in awe of his skills. After stalking the guy to find out where he lives, Sajuna is welcomed into the Gojo family by Gojo’s grandfather, who assumes Sajuna is a friend of his nephew. When Gojo returns home that rainy day, his grandfather tells him about his unexpected guest, letting him know that she is currently bathing because she got wet in the rain. Due to a false assumption about Gojo’s ending, this character introduction faces the first problem.
Misuse of Ecchi
Not expecting anyone to come through, Gojo believes his grandfather has been fooled by a robber and prepares to force the intruder out of his home. While this is an understandable situation, Gojo’s subsequent actions mean nothing to this scenario or Gojo’s character. He bursts into the bathroom even though his grandfather says the girl is in the shower, leading to Ecchi’s moment when Gojo stares at Sajuna completely naked.
Gojo’s stare is nothing special as he always respects the privacy of others and often looks away. This scene has no effect on Sajuna’s character except perhaps embarrass her and create some Fan Service ecchi. However, to play the devil’s advocate, perhaps this is to compare Sajuna’s comfort level with her body to Marin’s.
Marin is not shy about exposing her skin, as she can handle herself in many situations. She also doesn’t feel shy like girls are often forced to feel about their bodies, making her gentle ecchi moments meaningful. That’s because these PG13 moments never cross the line with Marin’s comfort level and she still manages to control the situation without the ecchi detracting from the story or her character. For comparison, Sajuna doesn’t seem as comfortable with showing off her skin as Marin, and she can’t handle situations like Marin either. This is a good thing to build Sajuna as a shield against Marin; however, Sajuna’s introduction scene in Gojo’s bathroom would be an unfair and unnecessary situation for any character, including Marin.
From that scene, the audience knows that Sajuna is a serious veteran cosplayer, which goes hand in hand with Marin’s outspoken personality and lack of cosplay experience. Focusing on the relationships between the girls and especially Marin’s growth in the cosplay arena will keep Sajuna engaged in the story, but that only lasts for a few brief scenes.
Focus on the wrong relationship
It often happens in the romance genre that the main couple is in danger from being watched by a rival, thus creating a love triangle. Although this was not stated in the first season of My Dress-Up Darling, but there’s a bit of romance or intrigue between Sajuna and Gojo, at least towards the end of Sajuna. Given her level of confusion and how close she is to Gojo, it could be hinted that Sajuna is developing feelings. Of course, this could be a false hypothesis and nothing could ever happen between the two, thus allowing the Gojo/Marin pair to go unchallenged.
Before any apparent romance or attraction was built between Marin and Gojo, they had already established their own personalities and settings, but with Sajuna, the majority of her scenes are stilted. revolves around Gojo. Her intro is groped for pointless purposes, and the only few details about her character are her serious demeanor, her cosplay, and how confused she is. when it comes to Gojo.
Given the details hidden in Sajuna’s character, like her anxiety at the abandoned hospital and her possibly strained relationship with her sister, there’s still a lot of untapped potential for this minor character. Fans have chosen their main couple to be Marin and Gojo, so for Sajuna to be involved in a love triangle it would be a waste. The author would do much better to build Sajuna as a shield for Marin and what the girls can learn from each other. If romance is involved, then Sajuna would be better off finding another character to embarrass or perhaps become Marin’s sidekick in flirting with the forgetful Gojo. No matter what happens, Sajuna definitely needs to develop further in one way or another.
Via: Kodoani.com