The My Dress-Up Darling Season 2 anime TV series has apparently been confirmed to be in production during a special event celebrating the anime in September 2022.
The second season will have Marin Kitagawa and Wakana Gojo doing gender-bending cosplay while making all sorts of new friends at the high school festival. But when will Sono Bisque Doll wa Koi wo Suru Season 2 come out?
More info is likely to be announced during the My Dress-Up Darling Anime Exhibition event that begins taking place in Ikebukuro on March 16, 2023.
The My Dress-Up Darling Season 2 announcement took place on September 17, 2022. On that day, a special event called “My Dress-Up Darling Eh～?! It’s OMG Insane to See You All!” featured members of the cast and the Season 1 theme song performers.
The reason this news report keeps saying “apparently” is that the wording of the official announcement only states that a My Dress-Up Darling sequel is in production, but official sources haven’t specified the format beyond stating that it will a sequel to the TV anime.
The format of the sequel was not specified as My Dress-Up Darling Season 2 during Aniplex Online Fest 2022. Marin voice actress Hina Suguta and Gojou voice actor Shouya Ishige were very careful to only refer to the anime continuation as a “sequel” rather than as the 2nd season during their presentation.
However, the Sono Bisque Doll sequel is unlikely to be a movie since the next manga story arcs to be adapted by the anime really aren’t the best fit for a film. If a My Dress-Up Darling movie introduced an anime original story the film also wouldn’t be considered a “sequel” per se.
In addition, Sono Bisque Doll anime producer Shouta Umehara blatantly referred to the sequel as My Dress-Up Darling Season 2. On Twitter, he tweeted about how there originally weren’t any plans to make a second season, but the sequel is thanks to the support of anime fans.
“It’s the power of the support of everyone who watched the anime and bought various things from us!” Umehara wrote. “I’m in a bad situation at work because there’s so much unplanned, but as long as there are people who are happy to see it, I’ll do my best!
Besides the indirect confirmation by the producer, what is known for certain is that the My Dress-Up Darling Season 2 announcement was always highly likely now that the first season’s Blu-Ray volumes sales were a knockout success.
My Dress-Up Darling 2 was also apparently announced in September 2022 amidst conflicting rumors that production had already secretly started. Even Girlfriend, Girlfriend Season 2 and Rent-A-Girlfriend Season 3 were announced in September 2022, so why not Sono Bisque Doll Season 2?
Earlier in 2022, anime news leakers were disputing whether My Dress-Up Darling S2 was secretly in production. For example, anime news site Anime News & Facts claimed that “My Dress-Up Darling Season 2 [is] in Production” on August 2, 2022.
In an apparent response to that tweet, trustworthy anime news leaker Sugoi LITE flat-out denied the rumor.
“Since someone asked, there’s currently NO sequel project to [the] TV Anime ‘My Dress-Up Darling’ in production,’ Sugoi LITE claimed. “Be careful of such ridiculous rumors.”
On the other hand, when a Twitter follower pointed out that “there is realistically a chance of 2nd season being announced in the Aniplex online event since it [the manga] has enough source material to adapt a 2nd season” Sugoi LITE replied, “Yeah I hope so. Aniplex Online Fest is the biggest opportunity to announce a sequel to one of their most successful anime projects of 2021.”
Keep in mind that both sides do not have any official sources to substantiate their claims. As such, both claims should be treated as a rumor. However, Sugoi LITE does have a history of accurate anime news leaks whereas the other source does not.
The studio and main staff making the My Dress-Up Darling sequel haven’t been announced yet.
For the first season, the anime was produced by Japanese animation Studio CloverWorks, which is known for producing the popular Rascal Does Not Dream of Bunny Girl Senpai anime, co-producing Darling in the FranXX, the Fate/Grand Order anime series, the good-yet-abbreviated Horimiya anime, and the original story Wonder Egg Priority, which which was well-reviewed despite suffering from major production issues and delays.
In 2022, CloverWorks also released the Akebi’s Sailor Uniform anime, Tokyo 24th Ward, In The Heart of Kunoichi Tsubaki, and the Shadows House Season 2 anime. CloverWorks also collaborated with WIT Studio on the 2022 Spy x Family anime, which had a split-cour Spy x Family Part 2 that was released later in the year.
The anime project was helmed by director Keisuke Shinohara (Black Fox). Writer Yoriko Tomita (Build Divide: Code Black/White, Osamake: Romcom Where The Childhood Friend Won’t Lose) handled the scripts and the director was involved in storyboarding.
Artist Kazumasa Ishida (Wonder Egg Priority episode animation director) was both the character designer and the chief animation director. Composer Takeshi Nakatsuka (Magical Girl Ore) created the music.
The My Dress-Up Darling Season 2 OP (opening) and ED (ending) theme song music haven’t been announced yet.
For the first season, the My Dress-Up Darling OP “Sun-Drenched Days (Sansan Days)” was performed by Spira Spica, while the ED “Where Love is (Koi no Yukue)” was performed by Akari Akase.
The first season’s finale, My Dress-Up Darling Episode 12, was released on March 26, 2022.
The 12 episodes were released as six Blu-Ray/DVD volumes in Japan. Volume 1 came out on March 23, 2022.
- Updated November 6, 2022: Added event info.
- Updated September 22, 2022: My Dress-Up Darling manga circulation reaches 7.5 million.
- Updated September 17, 2022: My Dress-Up Darling sequel confirmed.
- Updated August 2, 2022: Added Aniplex Online Fest 2022 info. Added production rumors.
- Updated April 15, 2022: My Dress-Up Darling manga circulation reaches 6 million.
- Updated March 29, 2022: Added BD Volume 1 sales.
- Updated March 26, 2022: My Dress-Up Darling manga circulation reaches 5.5 million.
This article provides everything that is known about My Dress-Up Darling Season 2 (Sono Bisque Doll wa Koi wo Suru Season 2) and all related news. As such, this article will be updated over time with news, rumors, and analysis. Meanwhile, let’s delve down into what is known for certain.
Sono Bisque Doll wa Koi wo Suru Season 2 release date predictions: Is 2024 likely?
As of the last update, Aniplex, Square Enix, Studio CloverWorks, or any company related to the production of the anime has not officially confirmed the My-Dress Up Darling Season 2 release date. However, the production of a My Dress-Up Darling sequel was announced on September 17, 2022.
Once the news is officially confirmed this article will be updated with the relevant information.
In the meantime, it’s possible to speculate about when, or if, the Sono Bisque Doll wa Koi wo Suru Season 2 release date will occur in the future.
Just going by the My Dress-Up Darling reviews it seemed likely that a TV sequel would be greenlit for production. The first season posted scores way above average for a RomCom slice-of-life anime. In fact, some weekly polls during Winter 2022 had certain My Dress-Up Darling episodes beating popular anime such as Attack On Titan and Demon Slayer!
As previously noted, the My Dress-Up Darling Volume 1 Blu-Ray and DVD did very well in its first week of sales in Japan. The combined total was 10,130 copies (8,931 BD and 1,199 DVD).
To put that number in perspective, we can compare the Volume 1 Blu-Ray sales to other popular anime that were renewed for a sequel.
Attack On Titan Season 4: Part 1 sold 3,108 copies (Attack On Titan Season 4 Part 3 or an Attack On Titan: The Rumbling movie are very likely). It should be noted that the first season of AoT sold an astounding 52,078 copies but was never able to duplicate the initial success.
My Next Life as a Villainess sold 5,111 (My Next Life as a Villainess Season 2 came out in 2021 and a My Next Life as a Villainess: All Routes Lead to Doom! movie was announced).
Haikyuu!! To The Top sold 4,843 copies (Haikyuu!! Season 4 Part 2 came out in Fall 2020 and Haikyuu!! Season 5 should continue the story).
Magia Record sold 7,974 copies (Magia Record Season 3 finished the story in 2022).
Of course, streaming revenue, not BD sales in Japan, is the major factor influencing the decisions of the anime production committee. In that regard, My Dress-Up Darling Season 1 was definitely a success worldwide.
The boost in manga sales was another reason for the anime production committee to have My Dress-Up Darling renewed. After the anime’s first season premiered on January 8, 2022, the number of copies in circulation increased by one million by February 2, 2022.
Twenty days later, that number increased by another half a million. Another month later, on March 22, 2022, Aniplex announced that the total was up to 5.5 million copies in circulation. On April 15, 2022, Young Gangan magazine announced 6 million copies, which means the anime boosted the manga’s circulation by about 2.5 million copies.
On September 22, 2022, shortly after My Dress-Up Darling Season 2 was confirmed to be in production, it was also announced that the manga had reached 7.5 million copies in circulation for manga volumes 1 through 10.
While that’s not a Tokyo Revengers level boost, it was enough to make it on the Oricon Top 15 chart for the first two months of 2022. In February 2022, the manga sold 406,226 copies and was number 7 in Oricon’s Top 20 by Series.
The My Dress-Up Darling even outsold popular manga like the Attack On Titan manga, the Dr. STONE manga, the One Punch Man manga, the Komi Can’t Communicate manga, the Welcome to Demon-School! Iruma-kun manga, the Golden Kamuy manga, the Rent-A-Girlfriend manga, and the Spy x Family manga during that time frame. Notably, all of those series had, or will have anime TV sequels (even Spy x Family had Spy x Family Part 2).
The main issue is whether Aniplex already planned out the second season of the My Dress-Up Darling anime in advance. If early pre-production began before the first season finished airing then the second season could come out in late 2023, but if not then anime fans should expect a multi-year wait for the TV sequel.
Therefore, it’s predicted that the My Dress-Up Darling Season 2 release date will be in 2024 at the earliest.
Crunchyroll’s My-Dress Up Darling Season 2 English dub release date
In Winter 2022, the My Dress-Up Darling Season 1 anime was streaming on Crunchyroll, Funimation, VRV, and Netflix Japan (not Netflix USA, Hulu, or Amazon Prime Video).
Crunchyroll and Funimation both were streaming the English dubbed version. Here is the My Dress-Up Darling dub cast:
- Amanda Lee as Marin Kitagawa
- Paul Dateh as Wakana Gojo
- R Bruce Elliott as Kaoru Gojo (Grandpa)
- Dani Chambers as Nowa Sugaya
- Madeleine Morris as Rune
- Jack Britton as young Wakana
- Lila Britton as Nobara
Funimation and Crunchyroll’s My Dress-Up Darling English dub release date was on January 29, 2022.
Presumably, the My Dress-Up Darling Season 2 English dub will be announced in the future since the second season is greenlit for production. Since Sony bought both Crunchyroll and Funimation it’s likely that Crunchyroll will be streaming the new episodes with the English dub.
My Dress-Up Darling manga compared to the anime
The story for the anime TV show is based on the My Dress-Up Darling manga series by creator Shinichi Fukada. Serialized twice a month in Square Enix’s Young Gangan magazine since January 2018, the Seinen manga series was up to Volume 10 as of September 24, 2022.
The Japanese title Sono Bisque Doll wa Koi wo Suru is literally translated into English as The Bisque Doll That Fell in Love. But when Square Enix Manga & Books announced the official English translation they titled it My Dress-Up Darling.
The English version was up to Volume 6 as of August 2022, with Volume 7 scheduled to release on January 24, 2023, Volume 8 on March 14, 2023, and Volume 9 on June 20, 2023.
Even My Dress-Up Darling manga purists have been loving on the anime adaptation. The animation quality was great and you have to wonder if CloverWorks was making a self-referential joke by adding the line, “The animation is godlike.”
They even animated the magical girl anime in 4:3 format with a 1990s anime filter for the shading, never mind the Precure, Card Captor Sakura, and Ojamajo Doremi references.
The anime literally followed the first chapter of the manga almost panel-by-panel except for a few minor tweaks that actually improved the story. Marin’s introduction had a much more dramatic flare since she only lightly bumped Gojo’s desk in the manga rather than flying backward through the air.
In later episodes, Episode 8 introduced the anime original scene on the beach where the bird was stealing Marin’s burger. There were also more scenes from the Magical Girl anime.
There was also some rearranging of some story elements in My Dress-Up Darling Episodes 4 through 6. Some elements from Chapter 11 were split up among those episodes. Juju’s introduction was also earlier in the manga since she was shown seeing Marin’s cosplay pics immediately after they were posted online, whereas the anime showed that scene as a flashback.
The introductory episode even had cameos from later story arcs. For example, some of the guys from the school festival arc are already in the OP.
Similarly, in My Dress-Up Darling Episode 7, Marin’s room literally became a treasure trove of spoilers for future cosplay and character cameos. Notably, the Council Host Rei-sama cosplay references were absent so that scene will be part of My Dress-Up Darling Season 2.
There was also some censorship in the anime, including the introduction scene of Juju aka Sajuna Inui in Chapter 16. When she panicked and slipped after taking a shower, both Gojo and manga readers got to see everything… which made the joke about the Hina dolls being smooth more understandable.
In Episode 5, the anime also removed a line where Marin jokingly asks Gojo if she makes a proper s*x sl*ve. There were also two girls at the cosplay event who thought that Gojo was a girl dressed in drag.
When Marin’s dress blew up from the winder, the tally marks on Marin’s thighs weren’t explained as a reference to the eroge game. These black lines were supposed to represent the number of times the Shizuka-tan character had been “used” by her master.
Episode 8 skipped some fan service moments when Marin held the seaweed.
As for adaptation pacing, Chapter 1 was double the size of a normal chapter, so that’s why the initial pacing was “slow”. From, there the anime began averaging a pacing of about three to four chapters per episode, and the story was mostly adapted in a straightforward linear fashion, but then starting with Episode 8 the pacing accelerated in order for the anime to finish with the best stopping point.
In order to pull this off, some internal monologues were skipped and even some spoken dialogue was condensed. For example, when grandpa found out about Gojo having women’s stockings the cousin spoke at length in the manga about gender stereotypes, whereas the anime simplified that scene down by claiming it wasn’t unheard of for boys Gojo’s age to have stockings.
Episode 9 adapted 5 chapters so it had to skim over a lot of the cosplay tips discussion. The episode also cut a good shopkeeper gag from Chapter 24.
The earlier skimming and condensing was all worth it since Episode 11 pulled off the Love Hotel story arc perfectly with anime original extras like the bedsprings shot and the lights going out, never mind the sound effects. The steamy moments were stretched out to the point that you could cut the sexual tension with a knife. The final scene showed Gojo visiting his old pal tissue box-kun just like the final panel of Chapter 36!
All in all, as predicted the first season’s finale, Sono Bisque Doll wa Koi wo Suru Episode 12, found a stopping point corresponding to the ending of Volume 5: Chapter 39.
The first season made it obvious that it would finish the Love Hotel photoshoot story arc since the OP video only showed Marin’s cosplay outfits up until the Succubus. Finishing with the summer festival and the home date was the best stopping point since the love hotel scene moves forward the Marin x Gojo ship ever so slightly but ending on that note wouldn’t have provided proper plot resolution like the final moments of the summer vacation break.
The only major difference from the manga is that the anime did not introduce Marin’s father, which makes sense since it would be odd to introduce a new character right at the end of a season. Instead, CloverWorks reworked certain scenes so everything connected without the presence of Papa Kitagawa, which also allowed more time for fireworks and the post-credits scene.
The good news is that there should be enough chapters for making My Dress-Up Darling Season 2 before the end of 2022.
The only bad news is that English-only manga readers who wished to read ahead of the anime needed to wait until Volume 6 came out in August 2022.
My Dress-Up Darling 2 anime spoilers (plot summary/synopsis)
Ever since he got roped into helping Marin, Wakana has had his world and perceptions expanded by cosplay. In fact, it’s even helped him find peace with himself!
And that seems to be one of cosplay’s superpowers, as Wakana and Marin discover at an Ikebukuro event. There, they meet crossplayer Amane and hear their cosplay origin story, which gives Marin the push she needs to decide on her next costume!
Unfortunately for Wakana, getting the new outfit ready is going to be anything but easy…
Gojo and Marin will also have new firsts together like the high school festival. But what makes it even more interesting is that they will be cosplaying in school!
But anime-only fans probably want to know when the Gojo x Marin relationship is going to heat up. Thus far, even though Marin obviously “wuvs” Gojo, the manga series has been largely focused on cosplay rather than romantic developments like confessions, hand-holding, kissing, and dates. Romantic tension will definitely be an undertone to My Dress-Up Darling Season 2, but it won’t be the focus like in Horimiya since they’re both still stuck in that awkward, self-doubting phase of a manga relationship.
Anime-only fans may also be wondering if the “first girl” from Gojo’s childhood will make an appearance in My Dress-Up Darling Season 2, but as of Winter 2022, Gojo hadn’t received any catharsis in that regard in the manga. But some manga readers suspect that a character named Akira might be this young girl based on how suspicious she’s been acting.
Unfortunately, anime fans will have to wait until the My Dress-Up Darling Season 2 release date to watch what happens next. Stay tuned!