Sono Bisque Doll wa Koi wo Suru – 10

「誰にでも色々あるんです」 ( Dare ni demo Iroiro Arun Desu )
“We’ve All Got Struggles”

That was a definite step in the right direction for me. And that’s saying something, since this was one of the most cosplay minutiae-heavy episodes yet. Generally speaking the more time Sono Bisque Doll wa Koi wo Suru spends on Marin-Gojou interaction the more charm it seems to have, even if the teasing gag is already pretty tiresome. Even if the cosplay itself doesn’t interest me so much, watching the two of them go on about it is usually pretty entertaining.

Also a plus – this is the first time the series has openly acknowledged how ridiculous it is that Gojou is mostly working for free. It was Sajuna who gave voice to this, and as the oldest and most experienced of the mains she’s the logical one to point it out. Gojou isn’t just some kid making bad outfits in his bedroom – he’s an artist. This is what he’s chosen to do with his life. It’s one thing for him to work for cost for Marin, given their close relationship – that’s a complicated question but at least a case can be made. For anyone else, it should be a non-starter and Sajuna was right to point it out.

As for Sajuna seemingly falling for Gojou – she thinks he’s “wonderful” at the very least – that’s a twist I hope doesn’t become a big part of the narrative. All the hot girls falling for the self-insert lead is pretty cliche to say the least, and I think Bisque Doll could do without that sort of drama anyway. Marin being jealous of Gojou spending alone time with Shinjuu on the other hand fits perfectly. As head over heels as she is at her age, I would fully expect Marin to have a hair-trigger on this front.

Then we have the new cosplay, Veronica-tya. She seems to be a sort of fighting game character but what may get some folks talking is that skin tone. I had seen mention of a controversial cosplay coming up and I can sort of get why people would feel that way, but honestly as far as the whole gyaru look goes I’ve seen far, far worse. Basically Veronica – and Marin – look like Japanese girls with overcooked booth tans (or a lot of makeup). If this is the controversy we were warned of, it’s kind of a nothingburger for me.

Gojou certainly isn’t concerned about that. His mind (among other things) is elsewhere. Veronica is the skimpiest outfit yet, by a good margin. It’s cheap and easy to make, but it doesn’t hide a whole lot (and certainly not underboob). In fact Gojou will eventually beg off touring with Marin in this outfit for the simple reason that it’s too much for him (Marin in his gym clothes is bad enough). Marin is thrilled to hear this, for obvious reasons – it’s clear that she’s making a strong impact on the guy she loves.

Lastly, we have the Shibuya shopping trip, which was a very fun scene. In truth Marin’s instinct is correct – Gojou is kind of selling himself short restricting himself to Japanese loungewear like an ojii-san. That said she’s the worst possible judge of clothes for him (as witness most of her choices) because he looks hot in everything to her infatuated eyes. Instead of straight to Shibuya boutiques a trip to the nearest Uniqlo or H&M for some simple and conservative upgrades (in this vein) would have been a sensible baby step to take. Nevertheless I’m glad to see at least lip service given to the idea that Gojou should express himself as an individual, because Sono Bisque Doll needs as much of that happening as possible.

Full-length images: 10.