I have a whole box of pencils and a pair of spare ones (from that same box) since December last year, but I always ignore them to draw with the same tiny pencil I've been using since like 2023
Hey all! I'm sorry that this... Took as long as it did. Look, I would love to say a crazy story on how and why both (Yeah, both, gimme a sec and I'll explain everything) final chapters took this long to get out, but honestly, the reason for it is that... Writing is hard as fuck.
The Behind the Scenes:
You see, when I started Sheer Heart Attack, I first thought "Well, this IS going to be bigger than Insomniacs, sure, but it's probably going to be three chapters at most, in a couple of months it'll be ready!". But after finishing Chapter 2 (Which in and of itself took a while to finish), I realized that the story I wanted to tell couldn't fit in only 3 parts. And then it couldn't fit in 4. I then realized that:
a) I vastly underestimated the size of this project
b) Writing is something really fucking hard to do properly. Like, seriously.
It's something about expectatives and mental crunch, if you ask me. After finishing and posting Chapter 3, I was both pretty exhausted, finishing the second semester of Uni of the year (Uni had went on Strike the year prior, so I had 3 semesters last year), and honestly way too mentally drained to keep on going. I worked on other things in the meanwhile (Post-Success Depression, the Tumblr blog, my degree as a mathematician, my literal job, and other projects of my friends that I've been helping with behind the scenes) as I worked on Chapter 4, but I was keeping drawing blanks on many of the important moments of the story. After some reflection, I concluded that, yes, writing is really fucking hard, and my respect to all of you fanfic writers reading this have gone way up since then.
I know I sound like a scratched disk with that, but I really mean it. Writing is hard, but it's also fulfilling. As Jesse McFaddin would say:
"The hard is what makes it great"
Maybe the thing is that my personal standard of quality is way higher than it should be, but honestly, If I'm working on these kinds of things, I want them to be the best they can be, and I refuse to deliver something half-assed as a finale, or even worse, not delivering something at all. My storytelling teachers would be dissapointed if I did so.
That doesn't mean I'm retiring after this, hell no. I have so many things in mind for stories and fics that, as I promised with this, WILL GET DONE. I'll just get this over with, I'll probably be the kind of author that, even if it takes centuries to update my fics, will finish them no matter what. Please hold me accountable on that, it's a promise from me to you.
Now, with that out of the way... the fuck you mean final chapters?
Surprise! There's two of them now!
As I said previously, the scope of the story got so big that I had to divide what would've been the finale (Chapter 4) In two parts. So in the end, Sheer Heart Attack would end up being a 5 Chapter story!
And, I'm honored and grateful to say, CHAPTER 4 IS FUCKING DONE!!
I won't post it yet though, I'll be polishing some details as I finish the Epilogue. Rest assured, that won't take 8 months to complete.
And... As a reward of your patience...
A new snippet of Chapter 4!
No one dared to say another word, the only sound around them being the whistle of the wind. The silence between the group didn't feel awkward, more so like a necessity of sorts. After a quick glance between them, Arven and Penny joined the group hug, trying their best to comfort her friends.
As the seconds passed, Nemona heard something coming out of herself.
The echo of her own beating, living heart.
She focused on each of the beats coming out from it, each one echoing deeply on her. Unlike previous times, each pulse was steady, and there wasn’t anything putting her at risk.
She was safe.
She was safe…
It didn’t hit her until then, but she hadn’t felt safe for a while now. The past few months were so full of chaos, so full of adrenaline and stress, that there was no way for her to feel safe at all.
I'm not the best artist there is but I do draw sometimes, and I doodled a little Neku to test some colored pencils I got.
They're brighter than I'd like, and pretty rubbery, plus the orange one broke like three times while I was doing this, but they're pretty neat to make my rather colorless art get some highlights
Remember what I said about sometimes doing some fandom or media talk? This is what I'm talking about. In the last few weeks I decided to watch the series alongside my mother (In the remote case that she sees this... Hi Mom! I love you! Thanks for sitting and watch a bunch of romance and slice of life anime with me, never thought you would do that! tqm), and the second one we watched together was this one. The other two we watched will get also a Media Talk soon enough, but I wanted to talk about this one first... because the other two other series were re-watches (to me, at least).
I've honestly never was really that interested in these kinds of series, or that much anime in general. Whenever I had free time and was in the mood to watch something, 9/10 times I ended up watching YouTube videos, the sole exception being "Ingress: The Animation", which I believe is my most rewatched series and I PROMISE I'll talk about it after I re-watch it... again. But since 2024, I started to change that, at least a little bit. I'm currently watching Pokemon Horizons, Digimon BeatBreak, Samurai Sentai Shinkenger, and even finished some series on my own, like Kamen Rider Build, Bocchi The Rock!, The Apothecary Diaries and, the most surprising out of all of them: My Dress-Up Darling.
I really wasn't expecting to ever watch this series, much less to enjoy it as much, but here we are.
And honestly, I'm really glad that happened.
[Pseudo-Content Warning: I'm NOT a profesional reviewer, I'm just doing this for fun while waiting for people in my job, so... don't be too harsh on me, please!]
[Also, this review is focused on the anime, if I say something that may be answered or expanded on the manga... I'm sorry, I haven't read it yet :<]
[Also also, Spoiler Warning from the series. TLDR: Season 1 is a 7/10, Season 2 is a 8.5/10, If you're looking for a female lead rom-com, I strongly recommend watching it]
"Sono Bisque Doll wa Koi Wo Suru"; lit. "The Bisque Doll that Fell in Love", or "My Dress-Up Darling" as it's officially known outside of Japan, is a rom-com, ecchi, slice of life series that follows High-School Students Wakana Gojo, an amateur Hina Doll craftsman with a knack for details; and Marin Kitagawa, the popular girl at her class, a Part-Time Model and, surprisingly for Gojo, a Full-Time Otaku.
After Gojo's sewing machine broke down, he is forced to use the one at the school. In there, Marin bumps into him, and while the former is fearful about being ridiculed for his passion about crafting Hina Dolls, the latter is impressed with his abilities and "comissions" him to create her... a full blown Cosplay from a Ero Game. After being moved by her kindness, Gojo accepts, and, since then, they become good friends and maybe something more...
Well, that's the premise about the series. I won't go much into spoilers (since, well, I would like you to go and watch the series and form your own opinions about it), but let me tell ya, things get wacky from there. It is a simple premise, but it is really well developed throughout the series. I really liked watching the (mis)adventures of these two dorks... well, whenever I wasn't being flashed, that is.
Part I.5 - The Eternatus In The Room
Yeah... I'm going to address the Eternatus in the Room. The first season of the series is filled to the brim with fanservice. It is somewhat understandable, since the series explore the world of cosplay and, more specifically, cosplay design, tailoring and the behind the scenes about creating these suits. That includes the... less than prude parts. Althought it could get uncomfortable for the viewer, it was a relief to see that Gojo was just as, if not more uncomfortable than me in these situations. It is the stereotype on these kinds of series that the male lead would really enjoy these moments to a creepy degree, but not in this one. One would say that Marin is the one who enjoys showing herself off. Which, honestly, it's really nice for her!
I don't believe it is explicitly bad to have some fanservice in the series. In fact, in this specific case, I would even argue these kind of moments makes sense within the narrative. Gojo was a somewhat sheltered child, due to his fixation on Hina Dolls, and spent most of his time in his family workshop, honing his skills and not really interacting with anyone else, other than his grandfather. Marin on the other hand, was never as pruddish or self-consciuous as Gojo is. She is 100% unapologetic with things she likes, be it Magical Girls, Slice of Life Manga or Erotic Games, and thus, has no fear on showing off her skin. All things considered, most of these moments serve to show the personality and way of thinking of their characters rather than only being "eye candy", which is really commendable!
Although sadly, "most" is not "all". Sometimes the fanservice becomes excesive, the end of a joke, or even just... distateful and objectively gross (Looking at that bathroom scene). Thankfully, by the second season of the show, the amount of fanservice scenes decreased in quantity, and, since the focus of Season 2 is more on the relationship between not only Gojo and Marin, but all of their friends too... I'd say it's a welcome change. And when there is a fanservice scene, it retains the same purpose as the ones on the first season, and some of these actually advance the relationship between the characters, so that's a win-win for me!
Now, speaking of the characters...
Part II - Characters and Writing
This series, being a Rom-Com and a Slice of Life, its plot is driven forward due to its characters. So, how much do I like the characters of the series?
Well... Very much!
...The 5 of them I remember being somewhat important, that is.
Well, I guess it is pretty normal for me to not remember most of the ensemble cast, being the focus on our main coupl, but after coming from series like The Apothecary Diaries and Kamen Rider Build, with solid as diamond ensemble casts... I thinks it's a bit of a personal let down. Although keep in mind, I'm not saying that the characters are bad or anything. In fact, most of the are really, really good! I just wish some of them get more focus in the future.
I'm going to go in deep some of the characters, so, spoiler warning from now on!
Wakana Gojo: Our main boy and primary protagonist. He's a 15 year old high school student with a fascinacion of Hina Doll (In case you didn't know, this is a Hina Doll!)
He's socially awkward, due to a internalized fear of rejection, caused by some nasty comments of a childhood "friend" of his (Fun fact, my mother HATED the guts of that child, it was really funny to see), and so, he spent most of his days between school and his home: Gojo Dolls, his family business of Hina Dolls. After the sewing machine he uses for making dresses for his dolls breaks down, he is forced to use the sewing machine present at his school, where he causally meets his future best friend (and probably girlfriend), Marin Kitagawa.
Gojo is a sweet-heart and a full-blown gentleman. Not only with Marin, but to everyone he meets, probably because his in-home education coming from his grandfather, Kaoru Gojo. He worries about the well.being of his friends; who he didn't have as many until he meets Kitagawa, always going the extra mile for all of them. He's also a bit pruddish and modest, always apologizing when he stumbles upon uncomortable situations caused by Marin's lack of fear of showing herself off. He's also a perfectionist, and someone eager to learn more to improve his own craft. All in all, he's a great main character, and a joy to follow him throught his life outside the store. I would even say he carries half of the series! (Heck, his interest in photografy and learning skills is really contagius. So much so I actually got my own camera and video camera lol)
Marin Kitagawa: Our second protagonist, and main girl of the series! She's a 15 year old high-school student who, while being the most popular girl on the school, she's a full-blown, honest to god Otaku, and she LOVES IT!
In much constrast to Gojo, she's outgoing and a bundle of sunshine and positivity. She's also very, very, very proactive, and when she has a goal in mind, she will work towards that goal, and she will achieve it. She sometimes can be very blunt, due to her outgoing personality, but she can also backtrack in case she screws up (For example, when she inadvertly causes Gojo to overwork himself, making him work until an imaginary deadline amidst personal and academic issues), something that I really like about her. She's also very passionate with her own hobby: Cosplaying, and she would not tolerate any slander to herself or anyone else for having one. She's also the first one to fall in love between Gojo and herself, so... she's cute for that!
While her sewing abilities aren't the best, she still helps Gojo with anything she can do, like... mainly finance him and the cosplay by her own pocket. She also helps him personally, going out with him as friends, and help him broad his horizons outside of the school and Hina Doll shop. The Bisque Doll that Fell In Love is a wonderful character, not without flaws (She has a hard time understanding other people, and sometimes acts without much thinking about other people feelings), but a beautifully human girl who teached me to love what we do, no matter how what the others say.
Sajuna and Shinju Inui: The Inui sisters, Sajuna and Shinju, are cosplaying celebrities in the internet. Sajuna, also known by her online alias "Juju", is a 17 y/o high school student, who made a name for herself in the world of Cosplay. Her younger sister, Shinju, is a... huh? (Headcanon: Around 13-14) years old middle school student, who has a knack for technology and specifically photografy
(If you haven't seen the series, try to guess which one is which!)
Sajuna and Shinju are... kind of an strange case, honestly. Sajuna started as this... weird girl who stalked Gojo to his home because she wanted him to make her a "Flower Princess" (An In-Universe, "Sailor Moon"-esque Magical Girl Show) cosplay, and ends up blackmailling him to do so (Goddamned shower scene...), and yet she's one of my favorite characters in the series, with probably the second best, if not THE best character arc of them all.
Juju is a perfectionist with an inferiority complex caused by her short size, looking almost like a child, causing her to avoid cosplaying as certain characters, even thought deep down she wants to, such as "Black Lumelia", the main villain of Flower Princess. All because of her own love of the genre and her dream of becoming a Magical Girl. A dream she fears she might have to drop out when she grows up...
You see what I mean? She's probably the most troubled character in the series (As I know of, recall that I haven't read the manga), but that's what make her compelling (well, except the blackmail thing, that was weird, it's not even mentioned again in the series so... yeah, weird). The bond she makes with both Marin and Gojo is really cute and, even with her "tsundere" persona, she's still a really sweet girl. Specially with her little sister, Shinju.
Shinju doesn't have that much going for, she's still in middle school after all, but she deeply admires her big sister, and strives to make her happy with her hobby. She becomes the "tech girl" and photograph of the group during the first season, teaching Marin and Gojo (and the audience) how cool are cameras and how to use them properly. Honestly, she's my favorite character of the series.
Her arc revolves into her own inscurities during cosplay: She, like her sister, wants to do cosplay, but doesn't do it out of respect to her sister; believing that if she were to do cosplay, her sister might hate her, due to her body not fitting most, if not any characters of "Flower Princess". To remedy this, Gojo makes a plan and ends up creating her an special cosplay, something that leaves Kitagawa and Sajuna stunned at the end.
If Sajuna has the second best character arc, it's because Shinju's arc exists. It is a short arc, true, but the reality of her struggle and her reasoning for having it honestly stroke a chord in me too. I've also stopped myself from doing things, believing that I'm just not cut out for them like other people. But that's not necessarily true. I wouldn't know unless I try.
Aside from that... Shinju is a sweetheart that must be protected at all costs. I love her and I wish she gets more screentime in the future (because the cameo at the end of season 2 wasn't enough. Same applies to Juju, althought I loved her role in that season)
Chitose/Himeno Amano and Akira Ogami:
Chitose is a 20 y/o boy, who speciallizes in crossdressing; meanwhile Akira is a 20 y/o girl who speciallizes in prop design and OC Cosplaying
They're really good characters, both introduced in Season 2 of the series. Sadly, they don't get that much screentime, so I can't really say much on both of them.
Before speaking about Amano...
Trans Rights are Human Rights. Go f*ck yourself if you think otherwise.
With that out of the way... He's really cool! Coming throught the series blind, I believed that he might get a bit more of an arc, but he pretty much have things figured out. He used to be bullied because of his physical complexion, and to cope with that, and with the help of his sister, he started to cosplay as female characters under the name Himeno Amano, something he started to enjoy. He had a girlfriend who disapproved of him crossdressing... so he dumped her and he's happy now :D! (another fun fact, my mother cheered when he said that he dumped her because of her hobby, that was also really cool to see)
Honestly, I kinda wanted the series to do more with Amano, but since his arc was practically resolved by the time he was on screen... yeah, not much to do there. Still, cool character, would go out to eat with him.
Sakura on the other hand... Appeared on the last arc of the season with inmaculate aura, starting as a mysterious yet sick as hell prop designer and cosplayer, "hated" Marin during the whole "Hitsugi" arc, has the saddest and cruelest backstory of them all, and her whole reason to act like she acted... it's because she had a crush on Marin ever since the first cosplay she did. That was funny and sick as hell. I'm kinda bummed that she didn't have more of a focus during the season. She's really, really cool and also would go out to eat with her.
Part III - How did I ended up watching it + My experience
In all honestly, it's because of this song:
It once appear on my YT feed, and, unaware that it was the ending song of Season 2, I listened it.
This song is catchy as hell.
A little bit of trivia about me: If you want me to watch a series, don't show me a chapter or anything. If there's a song I really like or get's stuck with me for a while, sooner or later I'll end up watching the series where it comes from. That's how I initially watched Bocchi The Rock! and the reason why I want to watch Kamen Rider W and Den-O. While I've already had this series on my radar, up until that poiny I hadn't had much interest in it, writing it of as a fanservice anime and moving on. But, after a while, and after finishing my rewatch of The Apothecary Diaries with my mom, we settled on this series as our next "thing to watch during breakfast/lunch" thing. And we both enjoyed it. A lot, actually. My mom enjoyed the series because "Marin is really intelligent and sweet, and Gojo is a gentleman. It's very pretty". I enjoyed because of that and all the reasons I presented beforehand. And also because one more reason:
It's message and main theme
The main theme of "My Dress-Up Darling" is about authenticity and identity, how to enjoy yourself with the things you love doing. And it's message is repeated and encouraged time and time again: If you enjoy doing something, keep doing it. Even if it's "weird" like Hina Dolls or Cosplay, or even if it's taboo like crossdressing... If you enjoy it and you're not harming anybody, then keep doing it.
And that is a message I'll carry until I'm not able to.
Part IV - Conclusion
"My Dress-Up Darling" is really dang good, what can I say? The first season to me it's alright, but the fanservice drags it down to a 7/10. The second season tho? It's really dang good, with the focus more on relationships and the actual hobby itself. The soundtrack of this season slaps too. "Ao To Kirameki" is a really good upbeat song. A bit on the cheesy side but still good. "Kawaii Kaiwai" it's trippy yet addictive, PiKi had a srong debut with this song and specially with "88888888". Hell, they even got a cover of Shinsei Kamattechan's "Rock'n'Roll Wa Nariyamanai", and that's really cool. The second season is an 8.5/10.
If you have time to kill, and you're looking for a good rom-com, I stronlgy recommend this show. I assure you, you won't regret it!
titsay
prguitarman
baratheonpilled
kianamaiart
gummygunk
2087
janainaart
tangentwithtanner
