My Dress-Up Darling (2020)

[その 着せ替え人形 （ ビスク・ドール ） は恋をする]

Volume 6

Author/Artist: Shinichi Fukuda
Publisher: Young Gangan Comics

Synopsis:
Gojou and Kitagawa help a cosplayer they meet at an aquarium.

Story/Characters:
We don't go into the making of the costume we see Kitagawa in at the start of this chapter (a variant Shizuku-tan) to focus more on the new character, Amane Himeno (real name Chitose), who presents us with the opportunity to discuss male-to-female crossplaying. We go into a fair bit of detail about makeup and wig styling and also the necessary fake breasts (unless you're going for a pettanko character, I guess). We then go into Chitose's backstory, how he got into crossdressing and some of the problems it caused. His then-girlfriend's rejection of his interest mirrors what Gojou went through as a kid. Though Chitose is fairly flippant about it, Kitagawa—true to her empathetic nature—is brought to tears. It all ends on a rather positive note, so that's nice.

Next we get into the new project, a character out of what's basically Charlie's Angels but with bunny girls. I love how all these in-universe series are honestly things I wouldn't mind seeing. I suppose Fukuda can always keep them in his pocket whenever it comes time to do his next series. Kitagawa goes on about bunny girls at length and Gojou, of course, respects her passion, throwing himself into the project with his usual dedication. We hit a snag when Gojou can't figure out how to make the corset stay up without straps (which is amusing because one of his reference images is the featured character suffering from a wardrobe malfunction). Kitagawa makes some suggestions, but none of them work with Gojou's exacting aesthetic sensibilities. Enter Usami-san to the rescue. He explains the use of bone inserts for corsets like this (and because Kitagawa is with Gojou, he finally realizes that Gojou isn't a transvestite, not that he hadn't squared himself with the idea already). This serves to remind Gojou that he misses things when he narrows his focus, reinforcing what his grandpa had told him earlier. We then go to the studio for the photo shoot. Gojou is uneasy about the costume showing too much skin (odd considering how skimpy the Rizu-kyun costume was, but Kitagawa notes that he seems to have particular trouble with high-leg garments) and Kitagawa shows that her solution is skintone tights, which doesn't really change all that much, but I guess it's technically in the green. The photo-taking gets a little out of hand and while Gojou is recovering, Kitagawa starts to explain her preference for fishnets (which don't go with the character she chose but another one in the Tsukiyono Company trio as each member has a different variant on the bunny girl style). She even goes into the detail of whether or not there's a seam in the back, applying her usual mania to the topic.

And that leaves us with the final chapter of the volume, where we have a Halloween party. Kitagawa recycles the Arisa costume, only this time without the wig and with the fishnets she wanted (with seam, mind you). Gojou struggles hanging out with Kitagawa's friends and it looks like one of the males in the group is going to touch on his trauma, but it gets nicely subverted. Gojou then realizes that it was only his one childhood friend who ever vehemently denounced him and that he's used that one case to base all his assumptions about other people ever since. Just when things look like they're settling down, we have Kitagawa's friend Nowa, right after finishing her karaoke number, loudly as if Gojou and Kitagawa are dating. The subtlety of this girl.

Art:
The wafuu maid style of the Shizuku-tan variant is really nice with this lovely rose pattern to it. (I know it's a screentone, but it still is worth noting, I feel.) There's a hilarious shot of Kitagawa with the crazy eyes during her bunny girl exposition, followed by a great shot of her teasing Gojou with the prospect of playing the Pocky game. I haven't commented about Nowa before, mostly because she's mostly just been a background character, but she has a striking design and I happen to find it funny how hugely open her mouth is whenever she's speaking. It really helps sell the cliffhanger. (I like her Halloween costume, too.) The studio setting they use is nice and I rather like Kitagawa's incognito look (the idea being to do your makeup before going to a venue then to hide it with things like a hat and big sunglasses). The Arisa costume turned out quite nice, as you'd expect, though some of the camera angles we get... *ahem*

Other:
Our color illustration is a back view of the Arisa cosplay using a curious sort of fishnets that lace up in the back (as opposed to the stockings that come with the regular costume). We also get an afterword illustration of Gojou showing how the bunny tail is detachable, a two-page comic about Fukuda going to a bunny girl bar (where one of the waitresses ends up being a fan of the series), and the thanks page.

Conclusion:
Regardless of how you might feel about crossplaying, the sensitivity with which it's handled is quite well done. Both this and the process of making the Arisa costume reinforce some of the themes the series has established thus far. It all plays out well and the cliffhanger could well lead to some interesting fallout. If you're already a fan, I don't need to tell you this one is worth having.

Rating:
Own It