The Cast and Characters of My Dress-Up Darling (2024)

My Dress-Up Darling made waves when it launched back in the Winter 2022 anime season as a refreshing romance anime series unlike any other. My Dress-Up Darling was an innocent seinen anime that combined high school hijinks, teen love, the power of cosplay, and comedy to create something wonderful that any comedy or romance fan can enjoy. There isn't yet news on a potential My Dress-Up Darling Season 2 for now, but in the meantime, new fans are always welcome to dive in and meet this anime's delightful main cast.

Season 1 of My Dress-Up Darling only introduced a small handful of characters, but each of them is a pleasure to meet and is well-written, meaning My Dress-Up Darling is quality over quantity with its cast. Each character has either a role to play in cosplay or a loving bond with a major cast member, giving this anime an intimate, cozy feeling where each character feels like the viewer's best friend. New fans may also be curious to know who voices these characters and where they've heard those voice actors before.

Wakana Gojo is a Hard-Working Boy Who Loves Dolls and Tailoring

Shoya Ishige, Wakana Gojo's Japanese Voice Actor, Has Also Voiced:

• Soga Ninokuru (Ayakashi Triangle)
• Jun (The Gene of AI)
• Mizuhara (Kubo Won't Let Me Be Invisible)

Paul Dateh, Wakana Gojo's English Voice Actor, Has Also Voiced:

• Di Fu (Kingdom)

Wakana Gojo is the male lead of My Dress-Up Darling and is one of the first characters whom viewers will ever meet. When he is introduced, Wakana lives in an urban home with his grandfather Kaoru, but they aren't just living together as a family. The two of them are also master and apprentice, with Kaoru teaching Wakana all he knows about hina dolls, a type of traditional Japanese doll. Growing up, Wakana Gojo developed a deep fondness for hina dolls and everything about them, from their beautiful aesthetic to the process of making them and tailoring their clothes. The latter was Wakana's strongest point since he had trouble making the dolls' bodies but quickly mastered the tailoring part.

In the present day, Wakana Gojo quietly takes pride in his clothes-making skills for dolls, and it is his sole hobby and passion. However, Wakana is also embarrassed to have such a feminine hobby and thus breaks traditional gender norms, especially after his cousin mocks him for being a boy who makes clothes for hina dolls. That caused the naturally introverted and modest Wakana to become even more secretive about his tailoring hobby and his passion for dolls, which made him rather lonely for a time. All that changed when he met Marin Kitagawa, his lovely classmate who didn't just accept his tailoring hobby, but loved it and made good use of it.

Anime fans love Wakana Gojo because he is neither an ultra-macho action star nor is he an archetypcal himbo character or even a generic shojo love interest with soulful eyes and a six-pack. Instead, Wakana Gojo represents the subtle but compelling "female gaze" in fiction, meaning he has intellectual and emotional traits that girls and women find attractive in partners. Wakana doesn't try too hard to be manly or show off; instead, he uses acts of service and words of affirmation to show his friendly support for Marin Kitagawa, and that isn't lost on Marin. She has her female gaze fixed right on Wakana, overcoming their huge differences in lifestyle and personality to bond with him. Anime fans can follow Marin's lead and appreciate Wakana as an attractive male lead who has traits other than martial arts or slapstick comedy to make him lovable.

Marin Kitagawa Is a Pop Culture Fan Who Loves People Admiring Her Cosplay

Hina Suguta, Marin Kitagawa's Japanese Voice Actor, Has Also Voiced:

• Sawaguchi (Kotaro Lives Alone)
• Cursed Girl (Jujutsu Kaisen 0)
• Yura (Call of the Night)

Amanda Lee, Marin Kitagawa's English Voice Actor, Has Also Voiced:

• Lauren Cabasse (Mashle: Magic and Muscles)
• Cecily (Konosuba: An Explosion on This Wonderful World!)
• Uta (One Piece Film: Red)
• Yuki Sohma (2019 Fruits Basket)

Marin Kitagawa is the co-lead of My Dress-Up Darling, a lively and cheerful genki girl who makes everything fun in her daily life. Outwardly, she is a total foil to Wakana Gojo, having a flashy personal aesthetic and a highly outgoing personality, but Marin doesn't just relate to other genki girls and extroverts. Marin is an open-minded and surprisingly insightful person who can easily recognize the value of a different soul than her own, such as Wakana's. Marin doesn't see a shy, awkward boy with a girly hobby to be made fun of; she sees a kindred spirit who, like her, nurses a constructive, expressive hobby centered around tailoring. Marin is no good at tailoring, as her introduction showed, but she does love wearing clothes for cosplay shoots.

That is why Marin gladly recruited Wakana Gojo to be her personal tailor for future cosplay shoots, making good use of his serious skills while also making a new friend. Marin saw Wakana as a tailor first, but being her good-hearted self, she also easily befriended him and readily supported his feminine hobby with zero judgment or hesitation. The term "my dress-up darling" soon became mutual between them, with Marin seeing Wakana as her darling tailor and Wakana seeing her as a darling doll to dress up. Marin was almost like a human-sized hina doll, the most beautiful doll he had ever seen, thus his awkward but heartfelt confession to her partway through the anime.

Sajuna Inui Is a Petite Girl Who Likes Portraying Magical Girl Characters

Atsumi Tanezaki, Sajuna Inui's Japanese Voice Actor, Has Also Voiced:

• Arisa Uotani (2019 Fruits Basket)
• Nikki Hanada (Dr. Stone)
• Anya Forger (Spy x Family)
• Mayu Arita (Death Parade)

Risa Mei, Sajuna Inui's English Voice Actor, Has Also Voiced:

• Ushio Kofune (Summertime Render)
• Rum (Shadows House)
• Shoko Makinohara (Rascal Does Not Dream of Bunny Girl Senpai)

Sajuna Inui made her debut several episodes into My Dress-Up Darling's first season as a counterpart and ever so vague rival for Marin Kitagawa. Sajuna, like Marin, is an expert cosplayer in high school who looks stunning in all her costumes, and she has a strong following online, too. Sajuna takes her cosplay hobby seriously, but she doesn't quite match Marin's enthusiastic energy about it, which is why Sajuna was taken by surprise when Marin flamboyantly praised her when they met in person. Amusingly, Marin developed slight feelings of jealousy when Wakana started working with Sajuna to take the latter's cosplay to the next level, though Marin's feelings were ultimately harmless. Most of all, Marin actually adores Sajuna as a role model to emulate.

Sajuna tends to cosplay as magical girls and other petite, flashy characters in her photo shoots, and she knows some expert techniques for camera work and tailoring that even Marin and Wakana didn't know at first. That makes Sajuna a bit of a mentor for her two new friends, showing the studious Wakana how to use unique tricks to make any cosplay possible, even changing the shape of people's eyes. Wakana gladly took notes, because, after a point, he needed more than hard work and long hours to make the perfect outfit. Wakana once worked himself half to death to make an outfit for Marin, but with Sajuna's help, Wakana can work smarter and not just harder.

Shinju Inui Has Timidly Started Her Own Cosplay Career

Hina Yomiya, Shinju Inui's Japanese Voice Actor, Has Also Voiced:

• Anna Yamada (The Dangers in My Heart)
• Sakurako Mikage (When Will Ayumu Make His Move?)
• Minami Kotobuki (Oshi no Ko)

Jad Saxton, Shinju Inui's English Voice Actor, Has Also Voiced:

• George Glooman (Spy x Family)
• Misuzu Gundo (Tomo-Chan is a Girl!)
• Ramiris (That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime)

Shinju Inui may be Sajuna's younger sister by a few years, but she is actually taller and bigger than her sister, which means she has different cosplay options in mind. For the most part, it's Shinju's job to take photos of her sister and other support work, but partway through My Dress-Up Darling, the timid Shinju Inui decides to finally try cosplay herself, choosing a male character to portray. She nervously follows Wakana's lead in the anime to make that cosplay possible, using new techniques and items to turn Shinju, who has a distinctly mature build, into a convincing male character for her own photo shoot. Over time, Shinju may continue to build her confidence as a cosplayer and keep pace with her older sister and Marin.

Kaoru Gojo Supports His Grandson's Love of Dolls and Taught Him All He Knows

Atsushi Ono, Kaoru Gojo's Voice Actor, Has Also Voiced:

• Ryoro Hirotsu (Bungo Stray Dogs)
• Giriko Kutsuzawa (Bleach)
• Gamaken (Naruto Shippuden)

R. Bruce Elliott, Kaoru Gojo's English Voice Actor, Has Also Voiced:

• Dot Pixis (Attack on Titan)
• Makarov Dreyar (Fairy Tail)
• Edward Newgate/Captain Whitebeard (One Piece)

Kaoru Gojo is a supporting character in My Dress-Up Darling who served as his grandson's mentor growing up, teaching Wakana how to make and display hina dolls in his shop. Unlike his grandson, Kaoru is fully confident in his feminine hobby, never once doubting his work or making apologies for it to anyone. Wakana didn't follow his grandfather's personal example, but otherwise, the two of them are fairly similar, and Wakana is proud of what his grandson can do. By the time the anime starts, Wakana has little left to learn from his grandfather, so Kaoru stands back and watches happily as Wakana learns more about his hobby with Marin and the Inui sisters to guide him.

My Dress-Up Darling

TV-14

Comedy

Romance

Traumatized by a childhood incident with a friend who took exception to his love of traditional dolls, doll-artisan hopeful Wakana Gojo passes his days as a loner, finding solace in a room at his high school.

Release Date

January 8, 2022

Main Genre

Animation

Seasons

1 Season

Characters By

Hina Suguta, Shoya Ishige, AmaLee

Creator

Shinichi f*ckuda

Production Company

Aniplex, CloverWorks, Square Enix Company