Thankfully, shonen romances from this year weren't all as bad as Rent-A-Girlfriend. Square Enix made their debut this year as a manga publisher and among their first titles was a really charming, underrated example of just such a thing.
MY DRESS-UP DARLING (Sono Kisekae Ningyou wa Koi wo Suru), by Shinichi Fukuda. First published in 2018 and first published in North America in 2020.
PLOT:
Wakana Gojo grew up obsessed with the hina dolls his grandfather makes, but he prefers to keep it secret. After all, he has no friends as-is. The last thing he needs to do is open himself up for mockery as a guy who likes old-fashioned dolls. You can imagine his surprise when his popular, fashionable classmate Marin Kitagawa discovers him working on doll clothes and asks for his help. It turns out she's got a secret interest in cosplay and she needs someone with sewing skills to make her dream happen. Thus, Wakana finds himself getting close to Marin in more ways than one.
