Romance comedy cosplay manga My Dress-Up Darling – which Square Enix has published in English since 2020, some two years after the series began in Japan in early 2018 – will end with its next chapter, due to release in Japan this month on Friday, March 21.
As Anime News Network reported, the Japanese magazine Young Gangan announced the impending ending last month. Series creator Shinichi Fukuda confirmed the news on her personal Twitter, adding (via machine translation): "The next episode will be the last one. Thank you for your support."
With over 43,000 shares on Twitter, Fukuda's post clearly struck a chord with the manga community, to say nothing of fans of the My Dress-Up Darling anime which proved to be so popular that the resulting sales spike caused a noticeable jump in Square Enix's publishing bottom line. The manga will now end before season 2 of the anime is even released.
It's safe to say that many readers were caught off-guard by the ending announcement. The replies to Fukuda's post are a sea of surprise, thanks, and tearful goodbyes, with many responses featuring the series' female protagonist, Marin Kitagawa, and male protagonist Wakana Gojo.
This is fundamentally a slice-of-life story with no traditional journey, arc, or antagonist to follow or use as a marker, but that said, there had been no obvious indication that it would be ending so soon. Fans have speculated whether the ending was prompted by health, creative, or business concerns, though the latter seems unthinkable given the series' enduring popularity.
Although My Dress-Up Darling had recently resolved one of the story's biggest questions, the general impression was that the series was hitting its stride and would be firing on all cylinders for a few more volumes before any potential conclusion, using the energy from that resolution as a launchpad for new and more focused ideas with a different dynamic between the two main characters.
There's a fair argument to be made that this resolution is what the series has been building up to and that any continuation would just be more of the same – not that I would complain about more of the same – but this risks ignoring the cosplay side of the series, not to mention its compelling side characters. Cosplay has taken turns with young love as the real star of the story, and it hit a new high in recent volumes that doubled down on a core theme: love your hobbies, love yourself.
The anime adaptation's virality was partly spurred by how it embellishes the sexier sides of the manga, which is certainly no prude either, but for me the lasting appeal of the series has always been its celebration of art and the pursuit of art for no other purpose than your own satisfaction. There are few things more captivating than watching skilled artists enjoy and explain their crafts, and My Dress-Up Darling conveyed this to readers while quietly teaching them a lot of cool stuff about cosplay outfits.
For years, I've looked forward to new volumes of My Dress-Up Darling arriving in the mail, so I'm similarly conflicted about what feels like a sudden ending. In a cutthroat industry rife with cancellations and hiatuses-turned-cancellations, I always love to see manga end on their own terms. And I would say that I got most of what I wanted from My Dress-Up Darling. Still, I can't shake the selfish desire for more. I'm attached to these characters and would love to see more of their lives, and to learn more about cosplay. I want more of this gorgeous art in my mailbox. So while I'm still looking forward to the final volume, it'll be just a tad bittersweet.
Here are our top 10 manga of 2024.
