Chapter 87

This is the eighth and final chapter of the eleventh volume and the eighty-seventh chapter overall of the *My Dress-Up Darling* manga series written and illustrated by Shinichi Fukuda.

## Summary

Wakana finishes binge reading all of *Mandate of Heaven*. He's very tired while he is on the phone with Akira. They talk about the manga and the character, Haniel, who is an archangel in the story. The internet describes Haniel as the archangel who rules over love and beauty and dominates the month of December. Akira notes that she's the perfect cosplay for Winter Comiket.

Wakana says that he can see how the manga could create mania and how the fans must want to see an anime of the said manga. They then talk about Tokio Shiba, the author of *Mandate of Heaven* who refuses to let any of his works be adapted. In an interview, the author says that when one of his works was adapted into an anime, he didn't watch even a second of it because it was not fit to be watched. He only gave his permission for it to be adapted after he was persuaded, however, he regrets this decision and vows never to let it happen again. Akira notes that the anime wasn't even bad. It was decent and respectable, so it was strange how the author could be so vivid with his complaints over it. She figures that the real problem must be with Shiba Tokia himself.

They talk more about Haniel and how so many people couldn't let go of her because of how mysterious she is. In the same interview, the interviewer states how much he loved Haniel who is amazing and cute. The author laughs and says that he drew her that way. Wakana ponders what the author meant by what he said. He flips through the volume and looks at the panels with Haniel. He finds that all of the panels with Haniel have the angel looking at the reader. Akira notes that after Haniel was exiled to the Lower Realm, she ignores the world she's in and looks at the reader the whole time. Wakana believes that all of the words Haniel whispered were all meant for him, the reader. Akira says that the author is the kind of person who draws that way to leave a lasting mental impression. She says that if anyone stares at Haniel hard enough, they will fall in love with her without noticing. This reminds Wakana of how Marin said that when she made eye contact with Haniel, it was love at first sight for her. This makes Wakana wonder what the author was thinking when he was drawing Haniel.

They begin to talk about the props that need to be made for the Haniel costume, such as the nails and bones. Wakana then says that he figured out from reading the manga that the most important part of the costume would have to be Haniel's black haori. It's supposed to be the demon wings Haniel desperately wants, so for her, it is proof of her love.

Akira asks Wakana if he has enough time to make the costume in time for the Comiket. She offers to do the research for him on the crafting side of things and that she'll also lend him her tools.

After the phone call, Wakana thinks of how similar Tokio Shiba's words were to that of his grandfather's about making the audience fall in love at first sight with their art. He ponders how he is going to pull off the "not human at a glance" look that Haniel has. He decides to draw inspiration from dolls as it might be the easiest way to imagine them as. For reference, he researches about foreign dolls. After a few searches, he finds out about a Japanese doll maker. He looks at their homepage and reads that the doll maker says that in order to polish their skills and follow the path of dollmaking, they cannot be trapped in the world of Japanese dolls alone. They used this as their motto and found a lot of inspiration from modern handicrafts and arts. This reminds Wakana of his grandfather's advice to look at a bunch of things outside of hina dolls. He realizes that they made their own experiences into reality.

After a few more searches, Wakana finds out that foreign dolls are called "bisque dolls."

## Characters in Order of Appearance

Wakana Gojo
Akira Ogata
Tokio Shiba debut / pictured

Miyakomentioned
Marin Kitagawaflashback
Kaoru Gojoflashback
## Chapter Notes

* Wakana binge reads *Mandate of Heaven* and shares his thoughts on the manga with Akira.
* Akira shares an interview of the author of *Mandate of Heaven* to Wakana stating that he is opposed to any adaptation of any of his works.

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