INTERVIEW: My Dress-Up Darling’s Character Designer Kazumasa Ishida Talks Animation
The character design work for My Dress-Up Darling, which combined excellent models with vibrant and elaborate apparel, is one of the game’s most notable features. It was essential to create anime graphics that captured the characters’ enthusiasm in a series that was so devoted to the art of cosplay. Fortunately, Kazumasa Ishida, the character designer and principal animator of My Dress-Up Darling, was more than capable of completing the assignment and produced a style that was equally bright as the aspirations of Wakana Gojo and Marin Kitagawa.
Ishida discussed the process of bringing the manga to life in an interview with Crunchyroll. He discovered that the artwork given by manga author Shinichi Fukuda was really strong, much like the other members of the team that worked on My Dress-Up Darling at CloverWorks company. And fortunately for Ishida, he was able to provide him with specific feedback: “After discussing with Fukuda-san on the growth and directions of each character, we proceeded by having him examine the drawings we had sketched piece by piece.”
This focus on the many elements of the composition was essential, particularly when it comes to significant elements of the character work that aren’t often expressed orally. Body language becomes more important since, for instance, Marin’s disposition is much more upbeat and exuberant than Gojo’s, the introverted main character who prefers to ponder rather than talk. Despite Wakana’s size, Ishida said, “I took care not to let him stand in a self-assured manner or with his chest extended too much in routine situations.” “His eyebrows are inclined downward in several instances, and his facial expression is essentially the same.”
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However, one couldn’t only depend on Fukuda’s artwork to support the design’s weight. “The primary problem was to achieve a balance between replicating the stunning visuals of the original work and the amount of effort necessary to enable them to move as an animation,” since there were so many detailed garments and articles of clothing. “The episodes where the characters were in cosplay were especially challenging,” according to one reviewer, since “every small touch added to the outfit in the manga had to look well in the anime when it would really be seen in motion.” The outcomes were often excellent, the sweeping details matching the enthusiasm of those who had crafted them, and the crew “worked extremely hard to make it happen.”
Shizuku’s outfit from Marin’s favourite video game, “Slippery Girls 2,” served as the initial test for this procedure. Ishida and the team were delighted to see Shizuku’s intricate cosplay, which requires Gojo to piece together many different parts, come together: “Shizuku was the first cosplay, and it needed a lot of lines from frills, chains, headdresses, etc. It was pleasing to observe that they animated well without being obscured. It was made possible by the careful colour separation and photographic processing.
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Color in My Outfit Darling need ongoing attention. Since there was such a focus on dynamic character design, Ishida wanted to maintain loyal to the lighter appearance of Fukuda’s manga, but he also required it to stand out in order to avoid being absorbed by the backdrop or being overlooked. “Erika Nishihara-san was in charge of the costume design, and before making the design, we evaluated the material and borrowed cosplay clothes. For the design and processing, it served as an excellent reference, and I’m really pleased with Nishihara-work. san’s
Cosplay was both a means to an end and a very important part of this series. The show is about how our shared interests help us build connections. I’d say My Dress-Up Darling has been successful in that aspect based on the positive reviews it has gotten and the degree to which its audience has become connected to the plot and the main characters. Ishida added, “I wanted to represent individuals who are united by their love of anything, not only cosplay,” and the universe that extends as a consequence, in the best possible manner.
INTERVIEW: My Dress-Up Darling’s Character Designer Kazumasa Ishida Talks Animation
- Reference Sites:
- https://animesee.com/
- https://www.crunchyroll.com/
- https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/
- https://www.cbr.com/
