First Round Marin Kitagawa vs. Melissa Podebrat

[Marmalade]

Marin Kitagawa Sono Bisque Doll		Melissa Podebrat Beware the Villainess

 

[Wowzers]

I guess along with Rin, Marin will also be my waifu…. Yes I choose the harem option.

 

[Jammin]

CAMPAIGN

So lets start this pretty basic. Who is Melissa Podebrat and why is she deserving of both my love and your vote?

En garde Marin-chan!​

So who is she exactly?

Melissa Podebrat is the protagonist of a manwha webtoon called "Beware the Villainess" and is a modern South Korean girl who finds herself isekai'd into the body of the villain of an otome game. For those of you who know Bakarina, her situation is similar. But different in two important ways.

The first is that she @#$%ing hates the male leads in this game. All of whom are narcissistic, creepy, possessive, childish, idiots. While being amused by them when she herself played the game. Meeting them in person is a whole other matter. She hates these bastards with every fiber of her being and views all of them with much the same degree of affection you or I might view a Darling in the Franxx season 2 announcement.

The second is that Melissa herself is a "force to be reckoned with" in a way Bakarina is not. She is a hands on type of girl. One who is not afraid of beating the shit out of any of the bachelors with her wit or her bare hands if necessary. A woman with backbone! All while protecting herself and those she cares about, including the heroine of the story Yuri (who men of culture ship with her), she's more than happy to wage war against any or all of them. Hence the title "Beware the Villainess".

Why is she worthy of all the love?

There are a lot of things to love about Melissa. Beautiful, funny, forceful, and intelligent. The kind of girl that takes control of a situation and gets things done. She's the sort that doesn't get afraid, she gets pissed instead. Then fights her way toward victory with as much style as she can manage while roasting people who annoy her along the way.

She has quite simply one of the most powerful and magnetic personalities of any waifu around. And while she won't be able to offer the same variety of high quality ecchi gifs as someone like Marin-chan can. What she can offer is being a way more fun girl to hang out with along with offering a more ladylike beauty.

She is the waifu for those of us who like a sassy, confident, strong willed waifu. One who takes the reigns of her own story and drives it where she want it to go. She drops meme's and games like a pro and is a likeable and charismatic person that's easy to get along with if you're not a douchbebag. If you are a douchebag however she will make you too beware the villainess.

So, while I admit this is a tough choice, I hope you'll ultimately reach the right answer.

----> For the TLDR, "vote for the character I know" crowd...

Spoiler: ... I have only this to say.

 

[Sky]

If this is your campaign post please put a CAMPAIGN at the top, Jammin-kun.

 

[Farfalla]

Ohhh Jamz, so you started against people's fav? D:

Gonna wait to see what Bran brings out as well. Know none of them.

 

[Jammin]

Ohhh Jamz, so you started against people's fav? D:

Gonna wait to see what Bran brings out as well. Know none of them.

It's a challenge. But does the order even really matter if you truly believe you nominated the best? Marin is great. But I think Melissa is greater. And if she can defeat the mighty cosplay waifu, master of a somehow slightly innocent lewds, what has she to fear from anyone after that?

 

[Farfalla]

True. Beat Marin and then you can navigate the event more easily till the end while doing us all a favor ^_^

 

[Brandish μ]

CAMPMARIN

For those of you who did not watch the My Dress-up Darling anime this year, or read the manga, this post serves to provide a brief background.

My Dress-up Darling (Sono Bisque Doll), is a series where our fair maiden, Marin Kitagawa, plays the girl front and centre in a story about cosplay.

Spoiler

The story is about cosplay and it is more than a story about cosplay.

Cosplay is Marin's passion. This is not a goal designed to 'give the character something to do' while we highschool and bullshit. You can see it in her bones that she was born to cosplay. Moreover, Marin without needing to state it understands that cosplay, and by extension any passion, can come across as craziness to those not like-minded which is why she is saddened when someone is denied the opportunity to chase their passion. And that is the main messaging of her character, allow yourself to express what you love.

As a result, Marin is overflowing with bubbling positive energy. With that, you may wonder if, over time, the set up becomes annoying. But that time never comes, because she's genuine. She doesn't fad or half-ass it.

The genuine article waifu.

She is the centrefold of My Dress-up Darling, Marin Kitagawa, and that is a sneaky-peaky of her waifu credentials.

My next campmarin post will analyse Marin's waifu credentials. I may also make comparison to the opposing waifu nominated by the guy whose name rhymes with salmon.

Until then, please look into Marin-sama for yourself and send a vote her way if you like-y.​

 

[Jammin]

Melissa VS Marin-chan: Round 2 "Waifu Comparison"​

Marin-chan

Let me start this by saying, if you're expecting me to trash Marin-chan... that's not going to happen. She is a completely worthy opponent for Melissa. Worthy opponent for anybody really. She's beautiful, charismatic, and a girl with true passion. That passion however is her only real downside as a waifu. How much do you like, or would like to participate in, the world of cosplay?

This is really the defining question of how compatible Marin is with you beyond the shallow level of appearance. Her and Gojo make such a great pair BECAUSE they share niche interests that complement one another. Would you actually want to spend all your time and money on cosplay or mastering the art of needle point? I personally don't.

Melissa

Compare this with Melissa. While she lacks the singular passion instead she has a broad number of interests. Instead of that focused drive toward cosplay she embraces really whatever situation she finds herself in. She doesn't rely on one hobby to be happy. She's the sort that explores all that life has to offer with the courage, humor, and enthusiasm. Just as she does with her many current interests...

- Gaming.

- Horseback Riding.

- Tea & Fine Dining.

- Philosophy.

- And most importantly Waifus!!

This is really Melissa's biggest advantage over Marin. She's not a high maintenance sort of girl. She's the sort that would make whatever you happen to be doing... better. Hell, she'd probably even try cosplay. That's the sort of person she is.

 

[Copy Panda]

did kant end up helping her

 

[Jammin]

did kant end up helping her

He did. As I recall his ideas kept her from bashing a cheating asshole fiance's head in with an ashtray. So I'm calling that a win.

--- Double Post Merged, Aug 30, 2022, Original Post Date: Aug 30, 2022 ---

She also called upon other philosphers as I recall but, like a true college student, couldn't remember their names.

 

[Chocolatejr9]

Melissa VS Marin-chan: Round 2 "Waifu Comparison"​

Marin-chan

Let me start this by saying, if you're expecting me to trash Marin-chan... that's not going to happen. She is a completely worthy opponent for Melissa. Worthy opponent for anybody really. She's beautiful, charismatic, and a girl with true passion. That passion however is her only real downside as a waifu. How much do you like, or would like to participate in, the world of cosplay?

This is really the defining question of how compatible Marin is with you beyond the shallow level of appearance. Her and Gojo make such a great pair BECAUSE they share niche interests that complement one another. Would you actually want to spend all your time and money on cosplay or mastering the art of needle point? I personally don't.

Melissa

Compare this with Melissa. While she lacks the singular passion instead she has a broad number of interests. Instead of that focused drive toward cosplay she embraces really whatever situation she finds herself in. She doesn't rely on one hobby to be happy. She's the sort that explores all that life has to offer with the courage, humor, and enthusiasm. Just as she does with her many current interests...

- Gaming.

- Horseback Riding.

- Tea & Fine Dining.

- Philosophy.

- And most importantly Waifus!!

This is really Melissa's biggest advantage over Marin. She's not a high maintenance sort of girl. She's the sort that would make whatever your happen to be doing... better. Hell, she'd probably even try cosplay. That's the sort of person she is.

Hm... looking at this, I have one VERY important question to ask: is Melissa an arrogant jerk? Because some of the stuff you've said about her gives me those sorts of vibes, and... no offense, but it's a bit hard for me to get into those types of characters. Not a problem with her series, mind you, but it's a personal preferance thing.

 

[Jammin]

Hm... looking at this, I have one VERY important question to ask: is Melissa an arrogant jerk? Because some of the stuff you've said about her gives me those sorts of vibes, and... no offense, but it's a bit hard for me to get into those types of characters. Not a problem with her series, mind you, but it's a personal preferance thing.

Fair question. And no she is most definitely not. While she was isekai'd into a villianess' body who might have fit that "arrogant jerk" description. She herself was just a South Korean girl struggling with college who suffered a tragic car accident (Truck-kun strikes again). Her personality is basically the same now as it was when she was a student.

To give you an idea of the various people she ends up "fighting with". One is her playboy fiance the prince of the kingdom who invites her over and cheats in front her. Her brother who is an assassin type who stalks the heroine, Yuri. A yandere rich guy who wants to entrap and possess Yuri. A battle idiot werewolf who wants to win her by force... etc etc. Those are the sorts she conflicts with. Not out of cruelty but out of a sense of justice.

Melissa herself is kindhearted. Beloved by those who work for her and with her. Even the dickish bachelors grow to like her as she rehabilitates them from their various sources of awfulness, those that are salvageable anyway.

 

[Brandish μ]

Waifu CompMarinson

This comparison is merely a presentation of my perspective on both characters as waifus.​

Interests

Compatibility between two people can be primarily thought of as a sharing of interests.

Melissa
Outside of gaming, where she excels, it is unknown what else she enjoys in terms of hobbies. She is for the most part royalty, surrounded by leisure and glamour, it is inconclusive to me how much of that life she likes or not. What is apparent is she can commit to something she sees important or needs to be done. This is likely an extension of her gaming, clearing levels and achieving goals. It's reasonable to suggest the process of clearing objectives itself is what she likes. Melissa is a practical woman with a sense of responsibility, which is attractive.

Marin
Marin's passion is cosplay. Currently her cosplaying is manageable as someone with full-time education commitments and living alone, working casually as a model to buy materials. As all of us on MangaHelpers are otaku of varying levels, from 1 to Sky, so it should be no worries if your waifu dresses up as her favourite manga heroine on weekends. On the other hand, the benefits of a cosplaying waifu are as kawaii or lewd as your mind can take it. Marin wants people to express themselves, be who they are. The fact that you could share a lot of yourself, as someone who watches anime or reads manga, opens the possibilities up for you as well. And, Marin could play Shizuku-tan one week, your fave character the next.

Identity

Who is your waifu and what does she do.

Melissa
The most questionable aspect of Melissa's claim to your heart is her identity. Prior to being isekai'd, Melissa was an excellent gamer and 'possesses' the entertaining personality we know; and we also see is that she's a stressed college student yearns for salvation. Then she had a car accident and was transported into a world based on a story she reads. In her isekai'd state, Melissa 'is' her entertaining personality. This is what we should believe is her truth. However there are two enabling and/or confounding factors to consider. 1) In her isekai'd state, Melissa is essentially royalty, and that status opens doors for her. And more importantly, 2) Korean Melissa has read the book she's been isekai'd into. Knowledge of events past and future allows her to navigate the isekai world unnaturally. Now, it may be the case that her isekai form is everything Melissa could be. Can we be sure?

Marin
There's no chance of mistaking who Marin is, what she's about, because you will see her be all she is every day. When people are open about themselves, what they are really saying is that they are open to you. This is not in the sense that she'll be friends with just anybody, but she will give anybody a chance. You could lose that chance as soon as you open your mouth though, so hit on her when you first meet her at your own peril. Marin's main internal struggle so far is putting to motion her romantic feelings for darling Gojo-kun. That's fair enough, these feelings are hard to process for the best of us. The fact that she struggles, in my view, shows just how much Gojo-kun means to her, given how straightforward Marin is generally.

An observational study

Study - how they waifu
Variable - men of romantic or potential romantic interest

Melissa
The main male protagonists are terrible, and Melissa has no interest in them whatsoever. Her main male interest is a handsome wolf-man by the name of Nine. Now the initial messaging was not good. The first time I saw Melissa blush at a man was with the handsome Nine. At this stage of the story, Nine did not have his canines or a tongue for speaking - so did Melissa like guys missing their swag and who could not utter a word? Thankfully, Melissa had Nine's powers restored, which was a thoughtful gesture. At the end of the day, Nine is Melissa's butler, and he lacks backbone, still handsome though. Where Melissa shines is in taking the position most 'traditional stories', like the one she's isekai'd into, are reserved for a prince. Melissa must only be reserved for the story's 'princess', Yuri. Given this, no man in the story could test Melissa and provide us with any meaningful conclusions about her waifu capabilities. Observing how Melissa and Yuri interact, and assessing that appeal, is the more appropriate consideration.

Marin
Marin wuvs Gojo-kun. Gojo is a fellow classmate, and one day they both discover each others' obsession in a home economics classroom, leading to Gojo help make Marin's costumes. Gojo's family business is manufacturing Hina dolls, it is a small business his Grandfather operates on the bottom level of their house (Gojo lives with his Grandfather). Gojo is an introverted person, he is very considerate, to a point where it's a double-edged sword as sometimes he is a pushover, or too attuned to another persons' feelings that causes him to sacrifice himself. The person who makes him realise this issue is Marin. Gojo helps Marin with costumes but it's not something Marin would want Gojo to risk his wellbeing over. Marin crying after Gojo overworked himself broke the internet. It's also interesting how Gojo's experiences with Marin, which have helped open him up as a person to an extent, has also benefited his skill in making Hina dolls (according to him Grandfather). Marin sees the kindness, dedication and respectfulness in Gojo, we see her see that, and it justifies her tears. In fact for much of the time it feels like the grounded and responsible Gojo keeps the spirited Marin from going around in circles. There's a give and take to this relationship and an immense care for one another. On that basis, Marin is observed to be an equal part to a warm and healthy relationship, and deemed undeniably credible as a waifu.

The general conclusion for Melissa is her talent and tangibles are incredible, while her intangibles are inconclusive, possibly due to the constraints of the narrative/s she exists in.

The general conclusion for Marin is she is capable at developing a wholesome relationship, formed partly from her genuine approach to herself and others. Marin demonstrates many attractive and desirable waifu traits, it's rare to find a lady blessed by the Waifu Gods like Marin Kitagawa.



If you got this far, thank you for reading. Gonna head to bed soon and stare at my phone for a bit.

 

[Jammin]

Closing Statements​

Defending the Indefensible

Nines

He has a human form but I'll spare you being blinded by the sparkles.​

It is with some reluctance that I address something unfortunate about Beware the Villainess and, yes, Melissa herself. Perhaps @Asako can mount a passionate defense of Nines. I cannot. I am in total agreement that he is terrible. He's so lame he actually makes the before mentioned cheating prince look... not so bad. Nines is more of a pet than a person. Not a good one either. More like a high maintenance one that's constantly being annoying. Yuri is the one true path. A path that I would imagine most of us would looove to join her on....

[This message was brought to you by the USPCA & the Farf Foundation.]

​

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In Summation

Melissa has pretty much got it all, including maybe some furry tendencies that may or may not be an added bonus depending on your interests. Delivering on all the qualities one could want in a caring, charismatic, and funny girl. She doesn't require any special hobbies or demand any particular amount of attention or time. She's just a girl living her life with a smile, for the second time.

This is a hard choice. I won't pretend it's not. These are two top notch waifu's of that there is no doubt. Ultimately I hope I have managed to express even 10% of Melissa's true greatness and spread appreciation of her just a little bit. If I have done that, regardless of outcome, I will come away satisfied. If I have done more than that and showed enough of her many virtues for you to give her your vote than I'm thrilled.

Either way, if you're reading this, then thank you for giving Brandish and myself the opportunity to drone on and on about the characters we love. I hope to see you all in the next round.

Peace out.​

​

 

[Juviii]

You two are really going at it, huh?

Both campaigns are great. Kinda wanted both to advance.

 

[Lambu]

I was among the skeptics about Marin and after reading the manga I had to eat my words, she's a top tier waifu all around.

Her extroverted personality that pushes you towards happiness, which ties beautifully with her own passion and empathetic tendecies, has a different ring to other "gal type" characters. Something about it really works, uplifts the spirit in a more genuine way.


Melissa looks ok, but something about her character doesnt ring well, this "villainess" persona of her is not my thing.
I guess that style is a direct extension of her being an isekai protagonist that has their life solved by entering a priviledged position, its a character arc that I usually dislike for how artificial their confidence feels.

That said she looks like a fun person to befriend, impersonates memes and exudes that aforementioned confidence. So she's interesting, just not a waifu you would fall head over heels for, just saying.

 

[z.5]

This is what I like to see - compare this thread to the others and you'll find actual back and forth discussions here


And aye Lambu, it's super easy to read the blerb for dress up doll and assume Marin is a one-dimensional harem-manga-quality character... and to do so would be a huge mistake

 

[Brandish μ]

Last day to vote peeps

kindly cast your vote Marin's way~​

More Marin points

Generally, you can infer a good deal about someone by the friends they have. The same can apply with waifu's, provided the narrative they were dealt with allows for it.

Initially, Marin's friends were kinda filler, I even viewed them negatively as the type of people who were only her friends because she's popular and beautiful. Most of this changed when the crew met Gojo-kun (the male lead who makes Marin's costumes and is an introvert boss). At first it's the girlfriends. I expected them to judge Gojo-kun, possibly because we're sucked into his inner dialogue a bit when he meets new people. But the girls were nice and didn't seem fake. They don't cosplay with Marin so the basis of their friendship is not there. They're good friends who enjoy each others company and bounce off each other. So that's a positive point. In a later chapter, Gojo-kun meets Marin's guy friends of the class in a karaoke meet up thing. At this point of reading the manga I expected them to be good guys and they were. One of the guys was notably respectful towards Gojo's skills of making Hina dolls by way of appreciating the hard work that's involved (in a very manga-like-over-the-top way). Another positive point. Marin's friends don't have much involvement in the story nor are they characterised to any great extent, but they serve the purpose of demonstrating Marin is surrounded by good people and their interactions feel real (additionally, Marin's friends help Gojo-kun gain trust in the concept of friendship). In short, baseline Marin stats good.

Sources of Marin

The manga for Sono Bisque Doll wa Koi wo Soru or My Dress-up Darling is currently at 80 chapters. The manga is still going strong and we're possibly entering a slightly dramatic phase depending on what angle the author goes with the new lady, Akira (and not in a love triangle way).

If you're more into anime, the first season of 12 episode was released early this year. You won't miss anything by taking the anime first. I loved the VA choice for Marin. The adaptation made me appreciate the manga more, as I misinterpreted some things, and once resolved, I found the manga to be a stronger work.

And because it's so easy, given the internet wuvs Marin, there's a heap of art colourings out there for her, some below:

Spoiler: Art for the heart

It was unfortunate to be pitted against Jammin, who clearly adores Marin. Also funny in the way that I started to read Beware the Villainess prior to the fixtures being released, and now I adore Melissa. Perhaps that's the way this event is meant to work.

As some have mentioned, Marin Kitagawa is much more than a cute waifu with little substance that the anime industry likes to produce each season. She won't be for everyone, some may find her energy too much and I can understand that. But for the rest of us, we are in luck.

 

[z.5]

It was unfortunate to be pitted against Jammin, who clearly adores Marin. Also funny in the way that I started to read Beware the Villainess prior to the fixtures being released, and now I adore Melissa. Perhaps that's the way this event is meant to work​

Putting these 2 against each other, at the very start, is all part of a cruel trick to give the

Spoiler: far less-deserving choices

the shadow of a chance at stealing the crown from better options

... the lengths people will go to