Title: ムリ婚。
Author: Itsuki Makoto
Release Date: February 19, 2021
Publisher: Junet (Junet Comics Pierce Series)
I usually don’t read manga released by Junet (because it’s mainly smut and not much focus on story) but this one looked interesting and the reviews were good so I ended up buying it. It turns out that there was a lot less smut than expected and the plot and characters were interesting enough. This comedy takes a story you may often see in BL manga, and presents it uniquely.
The story starts off with Shirakawa Momoki and Kurotaki Chikage having to marry each other (with 0 days of dating) due to the rules of their villages. The legend goes that a male from one village and female from the other village were in love but were not allowed to be together so they committed suicide. After this the villages were devastated with natural disasters and other misfortunes and in order to repel this a male and female from each respective village would have to go through a special marriage ritual. Unfortunately Momoki was the only unmarried person of age so he had to fill in as the bride. What he didn’t realize is that the two would also have to sleep with each other as part of the ritual. Momoki doesn’t know this at first and Chikage tries to escape with him from the washroom window but his mother prevents them from escaping. She blocks any escape routes and tells them to fulfill the task. The two get into a fight and the morning comes. Both have to go back to Tokyo so Momoki’s mother suggests that they live together and get to know each other better in order to be able to carry out the task.
The one surprise they find out when they start living together is that Momoki is a very young looking 27 year-old and Chikage looks older for a 20 year old (in university). Still Momoki is very mature and has a very caring attitude. One thing that bothers me a bit is that Momoki is not keen on the whole idea at first, but as the story goes along he gets easily manipulated. He obeys his mother when she tells him that if the two aren’t together both will die. After ignoring Chikage for days he returns to the condo to find Chikage sick. And after that incident he thinks seriously about making things work out while encountering various thoughts and problems. In the end it’s Chikage’s pureheartedness and Momoki’s tolerance that makes things work out and the two are happily in love.
As in the title, the word “muri” comes out a lot, especially in Momoki’s lines. Muri generally means, not possible or unreasonable. The word can also mean to force something that is impossible. Therefore, you can get all sorts of meanings out of the title. And it is despite all the “muri” that the two reach a happy ending. It is also cute to see Chikage look dejected when Momoki tells him, “muri”. (Btw, “kon” means marriage.)
One important character in this manga is Momoki’s workmate Tabata. He ends up helping the two solve their misunderstanding and get back together. I think he deserves a happy ending too, so I hope he gets a spin-off. And if you read the manga, you must read till the extra chapter. It shows how Chikage felt when he met Momoki despite being forced to go through the marriage ritual in the beginning. It’s rather funny and this is probably my favourite part of the manga.
This manga-ka’s work is available in English on Renta, so I believe this title will be translated and released in English eventually as well.
Purchase:
Amazon Japan | CD Japan | Honto
Cover image from Amazon Japan.