Akari Akase, a famous Japanese singer, model and cosplayer, turned herself into Marin Kitagawa from My Dress-Up Darling for the character's birthday.On Twitter, Akase celebrated the fictional birthday of Marin (born on March 5) by cosplaying as the cosplayer herself. "Happy Birthday, Marin," Akase wrote. "I love you, a wonderful woman who is sparkling and dazzling and who enjoys her hobbies and love to the fullest!!" Akase is dressed as Marin in her typical high school clothes while perfectly mimicking the genki pose of the Marin figurine positioned right next to her.
Akase and Marin share many similarities with each other. Just like Marin, Akase was a cosplayer who gained popularity through social media sites like TikTok. She debuted as a gravure model in 2020, appearing in a swimsuit feature for the March issue of Shueisha's Weekly Playboy magazine. Later in the year, she released her first photobook. In 2021, Akase became a television actress for the live-action drama Mr. Good-looking.
Akari Akase: More than a Cosplayer
A year later, she debuted as a solo artist with the song "Koi no Yukue," released on Feb. 23, 2022. My Dress-Up Darling, which ran for 12 episodes from Jan 9, 2022, to March 27, 2022, used the single as its ending theme. Based on Akase's wonderful message to Marin, as well as her stunning rendition of her, My Dress-Up Darling has had a positive impact on the singer. Akase currently has over 1.3 million followers on her TikTok account.
Keisuke Shinohara, the director behind the My Dress-Up Darling anime, believes he knows why the character of Marin resonates so strongly with fans. "She has respect to herself, as well as to others, which makes her likable," Shinohara said. "Marin's not afraid to speak her mind, yet when it comes to romance, she could be shy, and that's relatable for anyone who's been in love. The gap between how she looks on the outside and what's going on in her inner self makes her adorable. Combined with how she can become so devoted to something when she puts her mind to it, she has ideal qualities we look for in a person."
My Dress-Up Darling is available to stream on Crunchyroll. A Season 2 announcement came out on Sept 2022, but there has yet to be a word on an official release date as of this article's publication.
Source: Twitter