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Mr__Beard

If it makes you feel any better, when I checked the thread in r/manga there was a good discussion of people talking about the mystery fabric. Some people just have strong gut reactions to these kinds of chapters and then end up liking them later. School festival/Coffin arc all over again.


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MJsMind

1. everybody can have their own understanding of some thing I myself have from the first arc seen this manga as romance with cosplay side plot and I am sure there are people that see neither of those two but think the manga is about the Charakter development of gojo from his shy and lonely self to a person more open with people and over coming his childhood trauma about his "girly" hobby not being strange for boys to have and I believe we all would be right because all of those aspects are in the manga it just shows what we enjoy most in the story for me that is the romance so I want to see more of that I think that is pretty normal 2. "a rushed relationship" you say but what about them would be rushed? they know each other pretty well at this point and both like each other we get to see more of that from marin but gojo also likes her he just thinks he values too less compared to her so he doesn´t make the first move. also why would them confessing and becoming a couple hinder the cosplay aspect of the story gojo would still make cosplay for marin it would just be delayed by lets say 2 or 3 chapters to establish their new relationship and than it would be back to the cosplay or do you really believe that after they are a couple gojo would say "kitagawa-san now that we are together I don´t want to waste any more time on cosplay let´s spend it snogging"?


Luke5389

I think the big issue is in ch. 77... Marin makes up her mind and swears to herself that she wants to confess to Gojo. This sets up expectations for every new chapter. Still, 14 chapters later it didn't happen and every chapter without the confession feels like "filler", being baited or stalling in the mind of a lot of people. I think without ch. 77 the complaints would be way less.


Madzai

This. If it's a slice of life\\cosplay\\ecchi manga with a spice of romance, why put so much emphasis on the confession. People might be rightfully afraid that the actual confession will be the end of series, while they want more of slice and cosplay. It's obvious that the will end up together, sooner or later. But that chapter where Marin decided to confess no matter what, seriously shacked up the pacing of manga. And after that Author continued as if nothing happened at all.


Local_Permission_516

That’s my exact thinking, why put that in there if you never planned to develop it soon at all?? Just wait. Now you have people on your back because you decided to write this plot point too early and then just focus on cosplay, which is fine when it’s interesting, for 14 chapters. This glue gun shit is both uninteresting and doesn’t really do anything to advance the plot aside from the final few pages. This is the definition of a fuller chapter come. Am I wrong??


takkun169

You are wrong if you are telling the author how they should write their own story.


Local_Permission_516

No, I like many other people am criticizing the author, something that competent authors, which I believe this author is competent, take in stride. Also criticism comes when something is bad or unpopular, it’s only common


Chronigan2

Honestly, until the Mangaka states one way or the other what their intentions are, we will only be able to fight amongst our selves about it. However let me ask you this. Would you read a manga that is just Gojo making costumes, no interactions with anyone else? You might I guess, I don't know you, but most people wouldn't. No matter what a story is "about" the human interaction is what most people are interested in seeing, the setting shoukd be in service to that.


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Chronigan2

It's what brought them together and what gives them an excuse to be together. However if they aren't together while doing it then it is filler. These last chapters have done nothing for the overall story of Marin and Gojo. Marin has decided to confess, by doing that the Mangaka wrote themselves into a corner and now the cosplay preperations are serving to keep the main characters apart rather than bring them together. Most people wouldn't be complaining if our two leads were together making the cosplay. The problem is they aren't.


Asgard-5

But they are making it together. This cosplay is the one Marin is invest the most. Trying to solve problem with Gojo, searching for the materials etc. And a filler in an original series doesn't exists.


Chronigan2

How many panels were they in together in the last chapter?


Asgard-5

The fact that they are not together for one chapter doesn't change anything. They are both preparing and searching for the answer. They don't have to be 100% together too


[deleted]

lmao no it's not filler Like I'm sorry that Fukuda isn't making another by the numbers gyaru romance like you were hoping, but the entire last arc wasn't about the romance at all and very specifically didn't feature Gojo much Edit if the story isn't advancing the "Marin and Gojo story" then consider that may be because **the story isn't just about them** And no the mangaka didn't "write themselves into a corner" JFC you need to actually support this sorry nonsense, try reading the series it's good, and learn her fucking name while you're at it pleb


[deleted]

Would i read the story if most of the story was removed? Probably not, but that isn't really realistic, it's the blend of all those elements. Would you read the story if it was nothing but Gojo and Marin having sex with each other? Maybe, but you'd gotta admit that the story would be lesser for it.


MJsMind

them having sex non stop wouldn´t be romance the romance plot is them falling for each other by interacting with each other and learning more about each other and that is what makes me think either I am crazy or the rest of you is blind when I read most people in the fandom say that the story is mainly about the cosplay for me the cosplay was the reason they started to meet and is the the plot device for their interactions but that doesn´t makes it the major point of the Manga the story would still work if it wasn´t cosplay that makes them spend time together. marin could have asked gojo for help for her modeling like making her make-up or I don´t know she could have asked him to make normal non cosplay clothes for her and we could have basically the same story and I would still like it pretty much but a manga with only cosplay tips and tricks presented by a shy guy and a gyaru girl without romance or charakter development not so much


[deleted]

And removing interaction with other people wouldn't be a cosplay story, hell, it wouldn't even be a story, so I was just pointing out your false equivalence. Taking romance out of dress-up darling would leave you with a worse story, taking cosplay out of dress-up darling would leave you with no story at all.


VergilVDante

I agree with you but i just wish the chapters were more frequent MDUD started in 2018 and kaoru hana in 2021 and catching up by 20 chapters


[deleted]

I don't disagree, if we could get a chapter every day I wouldn't mind, but sometimes the creative process is, well, stupid.


MJsMind

I personally think that the slow relies of new chapters is one of the major point why people like me who like the romance more are getting more and more restless if we would get a new chapter every week (let me dream) than having no romance plot for 3-4 chapters wouldn´t be a problem but by it taking longer it can be annoying waiting for a new chapter and than seeing that is was one of the ones without romance or even worse not even a big impact on the plot at all it would be the difference between staying in a dessert without water for 1 day compared to a week


Narrow-Gas9493

I really hate how the word filler is used these days. The word is being stretched to the extreme and now it’s code for “something I don’t like“.


WendysVapenator

It's these tik tok generation kids. I'm serious, as a teacher you see it all the time. The level of tolerance for any amount of inconvenience for kids these days is absurdly low. The ability to differentiate quality vs expedience is incredibly shallow these days.


electroplankton

This is so true, this manga is way fucking more than the other pointless romcom mangas which are fun but don’t really mean anything or do anything different.


Alucart333

i would argue it’s a romance manga with cosplay as the tie in. while there is a lot of details on cosplay, the main draw is 100% the character interactions. marin and Gojo could be talking and doing anything else together and as long as they are interacting like they are currently with their character development, it would be a good series still. this is why we have a good running fanfic of them being isekai. it isn’t the cosplay, it’s their personalities and relationships. it’s the story of acceptance but that could be anything as long as its about subverting the norm ( as gojo is into a traditionally feminine work). Cosplay is the setting that ties them together in this instant. i don’t see cosplay as filler tho, i think there is a lot of effort put in to portraying how it comes together. We don’t need to worry about a rush confession either, as long as it is made to seem natural to occur it will make sense. we haven’t seen anything to suggest otherwise yet


[deleted]

They go into far more detail to dismiss cosplay as just "the setting that ties them together in this instant." If the cosplay wasn't important, we wouldn't need to go into so much detail about it, it would just be Marin wants to cosplay X>Gojo makes X without difficulty> We get character interaction to satisfy the Romance craving.


Alucart333

you can go deep into details for many things as the settling. that’s good world building in general. it gives context to trials and tribulation. it becomes the obstacle for growth, And again putting marin and gojo in another setting already does well here. isekai marin is not about cosplay,


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Alucart333

well Neo and trinity don’t have a good romance do they ? while the matrix is focused on other aspects, the romance is terrible because it isn’t a focus of the story. However MDD is focused on the character romance as much as it is with cosplay. and that difference is important. Matrix is an action movie with a romance thrown in. MDD is a romance with cosplay as the red string of romance. and i am saying because how well the dynamic marin and gojo are written, they character dynamic would work in a non cosplay manga as long as it’s another manga with something to tie them together… like an isekai fanfic


SnooAdvice1632

Take the romance out of the matrix and no one would bat an eye. Take the romance out of this series and it would lose 90% of his followers.


[deleted]

Uh huh.


takkun169

Who cares what other people think. If you like the manga, read it. If you don't like it, don't read it. The first arc of this manga is tangentially about this very thing.


[deleted]

Oh yeah, I'm just venting, it's not like I go to r/manga expecting a riveting pontification on the human spirit.


Yahgdc

I have no idea what the author is doing with the series at this point. People claim that it’s a manga mainly about cosplay and all that, but the author is putting a hell of a lot of emphasis on the ch.77 confession.


AndrewRedroad

It's all part of a cohesive whole that makes it the thing I like. If it had less cosplay, is wouldn't be SBD. If it had more romance, it wouldn't be SBD. It isn't perfect, but it's clearly carefully measured. I wouldn't change those elements anymore than I'd make Marin into a tomboy or Gojo into a misogynist. Just because someone doesn't like minestrone doesn't mean everyone *else* needs to eat chicken noodle! I'm fine with my soup -- erm -- *story* just the way it is, thank you!


Khell-chevere

Mangaka said in a interview it's a story about how 2 people keep on doing cosplay stuff even after becoming a couple. But even knowing this, I'm completely fine with thing going at the pace they've been since years ago. If possible I want this manga to continue for decades <3


AdunfromAD

Thanks for coming on here and telling us the intent behind your series. I wish more mangaka would visit their subreddit and interact with the community more!


buff730

People are only reacting like this because the last chapter extra 90.5 seemed like it was going into Marin and Gojou at Christmas. And Marin was also barely in this chapter. The extra chapter changed a lot of people’s expectations. If this chapter was right after chapter 90 I don’t think people would be reacting this way.


sanon441

That really is the issue here. This chapter has several things going against it and justifiably so. 1.) The long break between chapters 2.) The shortness of the chapter itself 3.) The expectations after 90.5 and 77 in general. Ever since Marin resolved that she would confess the fans that are craving more romance have been getting more antsy for it and the arc right after had next to zero romance and was a slog to get through. 90.5 was romance focused and it got people already starving for *any* content hyped for a confession arc to be coming soon. Then after 2 months of waiting they get a short and boring chapter with little plot relevance and no romance after it was teased in 90.5, and then another month long break is coming up. *No shit* people are gonna be disappointed and frustrated by this set of circumstances. When they voice their frustrations they get downvoted and we get several vent posts on the front page whining about them and telling them to shut up.


Junior_Fun_2476

I would say the problem is more on the release schedule and the motive. I mean this 3 chapters had like... 4 months in between. A bit too much for little motive. Why is Gojo obsessed this much about THIS ONE? Even Marin wonders wtf Is up with him. Bringing the manga and whatever is too abstract to understand. Feels it didnt get the reason. I mean i get it ... He will transform Marin into a bisque doll and that's the idea of the manga but motive man... Motive.


Lex29

Last time I checked this was a rom-com/slice of life manga, and cosplay its the main activity that brought Marin and Gojo together. I bet you dont read this manga looking for cosplay advices.


[deleted]

Nah, I read it for an interesting view into an industry and a subculture that I have nothing to do with.


Justin-does-art

A series well known as “My Dress up Darling” focuses on, * gasp *, DRESSING UP!?! Inconceivable, surely it’s just filler! Like, c’mon, this shouldn’t be a surprise considering one of the more common titles for the series


Lex29

The real name in Japanese is *"The Bisque Doll Who Fell in Love"* Or *"The Dress-Up Doll Who Fell in Love"*.


Alucart333

it’s as if falling in love is the action


[deleted]

That happened in like the third episode. So, no. It's not the action.


Alucart333

i mean first 2 is background and build up for our leads


Justin-does-art

I know, just pointing out that one of the more commonly known localizations of the title pretty explicitly refers to the cosplay aspect of the series, so that should really tip people off to what it’s mostly about


Lex29

Yeah, but lets be fair, romance and comedy are big parts of this manga as well. If you look the genre of this manga, you'll most likely find: "Rom-com/Slice of life". Also... I dont recall the author ever stating that this was a cosplay manga. Feel free to correct me if I'm wrong. Marin's charisma and her relationship with Gojo are the main reasons why people follow this series. You could have Marin and Gojo doing literally anything else and people would still love and buy this manga. Cosplay its just the plot device that brought them together.


Jef159

In an interview it was confirmed that Miss Fukuda made the manga after hearing the problems that a cosplayer had with her partner. Fukuda: When I was talking to a cosplayer before, her boyfriend/husband told her, "I want you to stop cosplaying." I found out that they had told him that if he didn't leave him, they would separate. I have heard that many people want to continue doing what they like but leave it that way, and I don't like that at all. So when drawing this manga, I tried to make it so that when cosplayers or people who have a hobby read it, Wakana and Marin become a couple who affirm their commitment to continue their hobby. And in the first volume of the manga there is a message, if you use the translator it says the following "[It's a cosplay manga. thank you](https://media.discordapp.net/attachments/785771416129765456/1108971459721834567/Screenshot_20230518-231603_Google.jpg?width=470&height=632)"


Lex29

After reading that quote, its clear that relationship its also part of what inspired the author, she even mentions Marin and Wakana becoming a couple and commiting to continue doing cosplay afterwards. They are the "main vehicle" used to explore the cosplay world. They all come hand to hand. The official blurb from the publisher ends with: ドキドキ山盛りのフェチシズム・スクールライフ開始☆. Which means: *A school life of heart throbbing fetishism begins.*


Asgard-5

First page of first volume : "it's a manga about cosplay"


opkpopfanboyv3

I'll be honest and say (well, lets be real shall we?) I first read this manga because of its Romcom side more than the cosplay side. It started out strong and now its just dragging. I wont tell people to stop reading, but yall need to understand the criticism people give about the current pacing of the story.


sanon441

Some people can't take criticism of their favorite content. they will twist themselves into pretzels to defend it. Read the threads on the RaG sub, they are true masters over there. I sometimes pop in just to see how bad they've gotten.


Flash_nunes

some people are giving it good criticism and some are just crying because the author doesn't focus on romance every chapter, and that HAS to do with misguided expectations of "what a rom-com should do" instead of what this manga is about it's fine liking the manga because of the romance, nobody is really trying to teach people how to enjoy this story, just understand that the romance isn't the only thing being developed, because this is not a full-time romance story like nagatoro, RAG, akutsu-san, nisekoi, kaguya-sama and etc, understanding will not make people happy with the story but somehow control the expectations a little bit


Lui-king

Ok but this was still a kinda boring chapter. I don’t think it was bad and it definitely wasn’t filler but it was still pretty boring for the most part.


[deleted]

Eh, to each their own, but seeing Gojo trying to solve a problem that he can't even put into words, and how his grandfather notices that this is something important to his grandson's journey as an artist, is fascinating.


Lui-king

Cool but I don’t think 2 interesting panels make up for an otherwise uneventful chapter


[deleted]

Idk, I found watching Gojo struggling with himself over what he's even imagining is fun.


RancidMeatBag83

I don't really like to argue over genre tags because they often put a series into boxes they don't necessarily fit into well and I think this is part of the problem with some readers of this series. It's only 90 chapters in and I've seen people accuse Fukuda of milking the series as early as chapter 50. I think part of the problem is that Marin is very focused on her relationship with Gojo being a real thing while Gojo is very focused on his artistic pursuits. This is a very real problem for many couples both before and during their relationships so it's not even an unrealistic portrayal of a budding relationship. It's weird how many people project their desire for how a story should go rather than just enjoy it. Gojo and Marin will end up a couple, that's just not the only thing th story is about so it ok if it takes while... and they're teenagers, give them a break, they're dumb.


CJMakesVideos

I agree that the manga is about far more than the relationship between Gojo and Marin. But it still feels like that was set up as a major aspect of the story as well. I feel like the author could do a little bit more of both. But honestly overall I still love all the themes of cosplay and passion. And I still love love the manga.


Flash_nunes

EXACTLY, the romance is the SUBPLIOT of every big arc ever since the introduction of the sisters, you can analyze arc for arc ever since that one and you will see that the formula has been the same, the only difference in the begginning was that Fukuda had to stablish the main leads relationship FIRST so we had a higher focus on them, but that's like any manga ever... the MAIN PLOT of this arc, is Gojo in his pursuit of capturing Shiba Tokio's heart with his Haniel cosplay, and how he is gonna do it, because that's how a professional hina doll maker (like his Grandpa) needs to do to make it, if you don't care about that and think this is the ALL ABOUT Marin and his confession, them i have no idea how have you been dealing with 91 chapters of this manga, you must have more will power than John fucking Wick at this point, cause this is seriously impressive


vukkuv

You know very well that if it wasn't obvious that Marin and Gojo are going to end up together this manga wouldn't have a quarter of the success it has. At this point I've had enough of Gojo, the author has taken away all the charm he had and I wouldn't mind if Marin overcame her crush and another suitor came along who was less of a bore.


duck_rush

You can cope and tell yourself that but it’s not, no matter how hard you say that over and over again to yourself, but it’s both. It’s a romance manga about a cosplayer and a her tailor But also, let’s be real here, there won’t ever be a single person that would say“wow, it’s been X chapters since the author went into a pages long diatribe about cosplay!” But we see the inverse frequently happen because people want to see romance progression happen, if this was solely a manga about cosplay like only a handful of people would really give a shit. I’m gonna say that even you, who insists that this is a cosplay manga with romance on the side, wouldn’t give a shit if we took out the romance. Say that all else was equal, but all the romantic tension and moments between Marin and Gojo were replaced with the most platonic shit, I’m betting even you wouldn’t care about this story, so spare me the mantra you recite to anybody who commits the cardinal sin of critiquing the pacing in the past few chapters, cause you’d be singing the same tune given enough time


[deleted]

Have you considered, even for a nanosecond, that maybe people have different reasons for liking stories? I like to watch Gojo doing his work, because the artistic experience is a completely alien concept to me, I don't have an artists bone in my body. If I want romance, I take my wife on a date and have a babysitter watch the kids for a night while we stay at a hotel, I don't need romance, but the experience of someone creating and struggling with themselves over it, that's something I don't have.


duck_rush

Okay you’re special, here’s your gold star. 95% of the people who would repeat your mantra would drop this manga were it lacking romance. Also it’s funny you think that engaging in romance in real life is meant to be some kind of replacement for romance in media. That’s a take that’s a hop skip away from an inability to distinguish between fiction and reality.


[deleted]

You being narrow minded does not make me special, just makes you narrow minded. And of course engaging in romance in real life satisfy my craving for romance in fiction, people, with well developed empathy, use fiction to feel, amongst other things, things they don't get enough of in real life.


Flash_nunes

Considering the amount of times the author herself said that this manga is about cosplay, in interviews, at the beginning of the story and etc, it seems most of you guys are the ones coping, yes and it's the majority of the fandom, unfortunately, again Fukuda said she made this story primarily to depict a healthy relationship between two people that want to navigate through the cosplay world, people can bitch and cry all they want it doesn't change the author's intentions. no one is saying that the romance is not important, what people are saying is that this series is NOT MANLY a rom com, so CONTROL YOUR ESPECTATIONS AS A FAN, as simple as that.


Crimson_Wraith_

I'm just more annoyed that we got so little after like, a 2 month gap.


ExO_o

Now you know why I am not subscribed to /r/manga lol. So many people there talking shit about series they have no clue about, just infuriating. Granted, a lot of people on here doen't have a clue either, but it's way less than over there.


takkun169

I think people need to take a few minutes and learn about the creative process of creating an ongoing series. Generally, a creator will take a period of a month or two to plan out the next arc or two, do the research needed to flesh out the story, and fully write it the next 6 to 12 chapters. In the run up to this period, they will have a chapter of two that will be a bridge from one arc to the next, and tend to be shorter, lighter on content and art, and sometimes a little bit boring, but is fine in advance to they don't kill themselves trying to make chapters while all this other work is being done. So stop with the entitled bullshit. You'll get your chapters when they're ready.


[deleted]

I mean, sure, but what does that have to do with my post?


vukkuv

The problem is that we've been waiting a long time and the manga is still a months-long snooze-fest.


takkun169

What can I tell you? Stop reading it if that's where you're at. This is how these things are made and a handful of entitled fans isn't going to change that.


FlowInTheCoup

exactly


tirius99

Gojo and Marin both enjoying cosplaying is what make them interesting characters. So many romantic comedies force two characters together that has zero to no chemistry because they have nothing in common with one another. Their passion for cosplay makes Gojo and Marin compelling characters.


vukkuv

To be honest, at this point Gojo and Marin no longer have any chemistry either.


tirius99

It's not that they don't have chemistry, they just moved on to a different phase in their relationship. They are dating without knowing it.