My Dress-Up Darling Season 2 Episode 18: Favorites

Quick Summary • Best Moment • Setup • Delivery • Other Posts

My Dress-Up Darling Season 2 Episode 18 – Quick Summary

In My Dress-Up Darling Season 2 Episode 18, “I’ll Make It Happen, No Matter What with These Two Hands,” it’s almost time for the pageant, and Wakana almost has the costume ready. Marin seems confident, and she even says so – because she’s confident in Wakana’s costume and makeup. Will he accept the compliment? Or will it put so much pressure on him that he cracks? And what was that that Nowa said about Marin’s boobs?

Note: This post may include spoilers, so be cautious.

Favorite Quote from My Dress-Up Darling Season 2 Episode 18

I loved her matter-of-fact delivery. Also, how many of Marin’s friends have black nail polish? Capture from the Crunchyroll stream.

Nowa remains one of my favorite characters. Not taking anything away from Marin (she’s great) or Wakana (who’s coming into his own), but Nowa is like a little sprite that shows up from time to time to keep things moving. Or keep things lively.

Remember her just blurting out a question about whether Marin and Wakana were dating back in episode 13?

In this episode, my favorite quote involves a new character, Seira Kasai, who stopped by to check on Marin. First, Seira seems like a great addition to the class – laid back, kind-hearted, and just a little sarcastic. Second, she explained how Nowa’s statement had piqued her curiosity about Marin’s outfit.

She and Karen Ootsuka had stopped by to see Marin’s outfit. They were disappointed she wasn’t in costume. When Seira voiced her disappointment that Marin’s boobs were back to normal, Marin naturally asked what the hell she was talking about (she was more polite than that). 

Seira said (02:32), “Well, Nowa said… ‘She was ultra cool in her suit plus her undies made her tits go ‘poof!’ Apparently.”

I laughed at her dry, matter-of-fact delivery. As well as Marin’s reaction, which was, “Wow, Nowa sucks at explaining things.” So, consider this a two-fer!

Favorite Moment from My Dress-Up Darling Season 2 Episode 18

You can just tell that the artists for this show love their work. Capture from the Crunchyroll stream.

Setup Part 1: Society’s Reflection in Art

I tell ya, this show has kept me invested more than any other in recent memory. Only a handful of shows even come close. Part of it has to do with the show’s ambiance – as ChibiChonk said in a comment on episode 17, this series is just “so wholesome.” I need something like that in my life! I need a show that reminds me that people have the capability to support one another. That people can be kind to one another. That people can talk to one another without screaming, or threatening, or trying to prove they’re better or stronger or richer or whatever.

Notice I said “reminds.” I know that humanity isn’t defined by the current political climate in the USA, any more than it was defined by the climate in the late 1930s Germany. Yes, for me, everything comes down to that in this moment in time. What else is there? This is a generational test of the American experiment. Will it fall further into darkness? Or will the better angels of our nature prevail?

Setup: Marin’s Confident Support

This show reminds me that we do, in fact, have within us those better angels. We just have to let them out to exercise from time to time. That idea is behind my favorite moment.

There’s a shot of Marin around 08:05 that – yeah, literally – took my breath away. In another show, this could have been my favorite moment. Marin had just talked about how she was certain she would take first place. She didn’t say it would be because of her amazing talent. She said it would be because Wakana had tailored her outfit would would apply her makeup. 

Kudos to whoever drew this. Capture from the Crunchyroll stream.

She had expressed utter confidence in him. Between that that sentiment and her expression, the moment hung in an existential moment. You could just see that the artists put their heart and soul into those frames. And it showed. I don’t want to analyze this shot. I’ll never be an artist. There’s not a need for me to know. I want to accept it as magic and leave it at that.

In another show, that might have been my favorite moment. But in this show, it set up my favorite moment. The time came for Wakana to apply Marin’s makeup. He was nervous. He knew a lot rode on this moment. Wakana knew the class depended on his work and Marin’s to win the festival. He was nervous to start with. 

Then everyone came in. By ones and twos, they came into the room to watch him apply the makeup. Some even brought food, as if this were a spectator event. They came in to watch him perform. And it almost broke him.

Delivery: Launching Each Other to New Heights

This is Wakana, the guy who’s still recovering from childhood trauma surrounding his artistic passions. He tried to open the packet with Marin’s hairnet. His hands shook so much he dropped it. He couldn’t get his breathing under control. Honestly, at this stage, I was afraid the story was going to take a tragic turn. I was afraid he would shake so badly that he couldn’t apply her makeup. 

More spectators arrived. One even brought food that Marin and Wakana could eat one-handed. I wondered if he would spill food on her costume; then I realized there was no way he would be hungry enough to eat. He looked physically ill in response to all this attention.

Wakana tried to psych himself up. He failed. Frozen by fear of failure, he could not move forward. He spiraled into darkness. 

Until Marin simply said (10:35), “Gojo-kun?”

The sound of her voice brought him out of his personal darkness. Capture from the Crunchyroll stream.

Her voice pulled him out of the dark pit he’d dug for himself. Looking up, he saw her wide-eyed with concern. She said (10:40), “You okay?”

Those three words (I’m not sure how many they were in the original Japanese) coalesced everything she’d said to him to date. The look at 08:05, her statement of confidence – everything.

“Yes,” he calmly replied (11:01) before slapping himself. He then put on his game face and applied makeup like the skilled artisan that he is.

These two are perfect for each other. They support each other; they bring out the best in each other. And in doing so, they remind me that there’s more to this world than ruining the lives and accomplishments of others. So much more. 

Some faith in humanity restored.

What did you think of the student council president’s reaction to Marin’s performance? What were your favorite moments? Feel free to let me know in the comments!

My Dress-Up Darling Season 2 Episode 18: Other Posts

Other Anime Sites

• Reddit: Sono Bisque Doll wa Koi wo Suru Season 2 • My Dress-Up Darling Season 2 – Episode 6 discussion
• Lost in Anime: Sono Bisque Doll wa Koi wo Suru (My Dress-up Darling) Season 2 – 06
• The Anime Rambler – By Benigmatica: Sono Bisque Doll wa Koi wo Suru Episode #18

This Site (Crow’s World of Anime!)

• My Dress-Up Darling Season 2 Episode 13: Wakana Gojo, 15 Years Old, Teenager
• My Dress-Up Darling Season 2 Episode 14: You Can Equip Boobs
• My Dress-Up Darling Season 2 Episode 15: I Wuuuuv Slice-of-Life Scenes!
• My Dress-Up Darling Season 2 Episode 16: Has All My Measurements Memorized
• My Dress-Up Darling Season 2 Episode 17: 800 Million
• My Dress-Up Darling Season 2 Episode 18: I’ll Make It Happen, No Matter What with These Two Hands
• My Dress-Up Darling Season 2 Episode 19: Capture Those Delicious Memories!
• My Dress-Up Darling Season 2 Episode 20: The Only Way I Can Think of to Express That Gratitude Is with Money
• My Dress-Up Darling Season 2 Episode 21: Because I Don’t Intend to Sleep Tonight
• My Dress-Up Darling Season 2 Episode 22: So We’re Gonna Do It All Right Now?!
• My Dress-Up Darling Season 2 Episode 23: I Didn’t Think Anything Good Would Ever Happen to Me
• My Dress-Up Darling Season 2 Episode 24: Dear My Dress-Up Darling