My Dress-Up Darling (Volume 5) - Turns Out... It's a Love Hotel!

Marin is keen to try a couple more cosplays. The first is from a fighting game and it’s a little too much skin for Gojo to handle. Talk about underboob! Next is the succubus Liz-kyun… Is that really any better?

My Dress-Up Darling (Volume 5) – Turns Out… It’s a Love Hotel!

What happened?

Marin showed up at Gojo’s house covered in fake tan. It was more than a little surprising. At first, Gojo thought it might be real since she went to the beach with friends the day before, but it was actually a type of foundation that could be used all over the body. Talking of bodies. Marin was sweating from the heat and asked if she could use Gojo’s shower. He said it was all right and even loaned her some of his clothes… That was a little distracting, to say the least. Anyhow, Gojo had finished the next costume in record time, but then, there wasn’t exactly much to it. Hang on! There was barely anything for Marin to put on. This was all a little too much.

While shopping for clothes for Gojo since he only had one outfit besides his school uniform, he revealed that he couldn’t do the Veronica-tye cosplay. There was just too much skin on display and he didn’t know how to reconcile that. At first, Marin thought it was something else, so she was quite relieved to discover it was just his modesty. So, they put it on hold and went to a manga cafe for lunch. That was where Marin introduced Gojo to Succuprob, a slice-of-life story about a succubus trying to get a light novelist to go to sleep so that she could suck his life force. Anyhow, Marin loves the main character Liz-kyun but didn’t think she could do the cosplay.

Gojo convinced her to do it, even though the costume had a fraction less skin on display than the Veronica-tye costume. Maybe, the lack of underboob was the deciding factor. Also, because the artwork didn’t show all of the costume, Gojo was able to improvise some of it himself. Not long after finishing it, Marin informed Gojo that she had found the perfect studio to do the shoots in. Well, that perfect studio turned out to be a love hotel. Gojo was in a panic, but it would be a waste to leave after paying for it!

My Dress Up Darling Volume 5 Marin Kitagawa laughing because she thought something was up with Wakana Gojo

My Dress Up Darling Volume 5 Marin Kitagawa explains what a succubus is to Wakana Gojo

What did you think?

I’m still not fully decided on what is my favourite moment in the entire series, but the Love Hotel is definitely in contention. Marin is hilarious and takes every moment as it comes. Sure, she accidentally booked a room in a love hotel for a photo shoot and went there with Gojo, but rather than freak out, she simply acknowledged her mistake and then got on with it. Gojo, however, is a much more traditional kind of guy and struggles to deal with it. But then, he got really into the photo shoot and even suggested that he lie on the bed and she sit on top of him for a photo. It was a great shot and neither of them realised what they were doing until the sound of someone else enjoying the love hotel drifted through the walls.

I love that this series didn’t gloss over his reaction and then Marin’s reaction when he hurriedly lifted her off his stomach, gripping her around the waist. Then, the damn phone rang… I think the anime actually caught the intensity of this moment a little better, but only because it’s able to put in the dramatic pauses. In a manga, you’re eyes quickly dart on to see what happens next. And then, this volume continued with the fireworks festival which included Marin in a yukata. However, the way it ended, which was also how season one of the anime ended, was just perfect.