I Married My Best Friend to Shut My Parents Up (Japanese: 親がうるさいので後輩(♀)と偽装結婚してみた, Hepburn: Oya ga Urusai node Kōhai (♀) to Gisō Kekkon Shitemita, lit. "I Fake Married My (Female) Kōhai Because of My Annoying Parents") is a Japanese yuri manga series written and illustrated by Kodama Naoko. The series follows Machi Morimoto, a woman who enters into a same-sex sham marriage with her kōhai (junior). I Married My Best Friend to Shut My Parents Up was serialized in the manga magazine Comic Yuri Hime in 2018 and collected into a bound volume by Ichijinsha that same year, and was licensed for an English-language release by Seven Seas Entertainment in 2019.
| I Married My Best Friend to Shut My Parents Up | |
 Cover of the Japanese bound volume, featuring Machi Morimoto (left) and Hana Agaya (right) | |
| 親がうるさいので後輩(♀)と偽装結婚してみた (Oya ga Urusai node Kōhai (♀) to Gisō Kekkon Shitemita) | |
|---|---|
| Genre | Romance, yuri[1] |
| Manga | |
| Written by | Kodama Naoko |
| Published by | Ichijinsha |
| English publisher | |
| Imprint | Yurihime Comics |
| Magazine | Comic Yuri Hime |
| Demographic | Josei |
| Original run | June 2018 – August 2018 |
| Volumes | 1 |
Synopsis
editMachi Morimoto, an office lady in her early thirties, feels pressured by her parents to find a husband and settle down. Her friend and kōhai Hana Agaya, in need of a new apartment, suggests they move in together and enter a sham marriage by obtaining a partnership certificate. While Machi is hesitant about the arrangement – Hana is a lesbian who expressed romantic feelings for Machi in their youth, and unbeknownst to Machi, still harbors feelings for her – she agrees. Their relationship grows into a pleasant cohabitation, and as they overcome various hardships (including the homophobia of Machi's parents and the return of Hana's ex-girlfriend Ayaka), Machi begins to develop feelings for Hana. The series concludes with the couple entering into a genuine romantic relationship.
Media
editI Married My Best Friend to Shut My Parents Up was originally serialized in Comic Yuri Hime from June to August 2018, and collected into a bound volume by Ichijinsha.[2] In September 2018, Seven Seas Entertainment announced that it would be publishing an English-language translation of the series, which was published in June 2019.[3] The manga was creator Kodama Naoko's first serialized work following the conclusion of her earlier NTR: Netsuzou Trap; Naoko called the series "the first work by 'Light Kodama' in a long time," in reference to the comedic tone of I Married My Best Friend to Shut My Parents Up relative to the darker tone of NTR.[4]
| No. | Original release date | Original ISBN | English release date | English ISBN |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | July 18, 2018 | 978-4758078368 | June 11, 2019[5] | 978-1642753288 |
Reception
editThe series has received mixed to positive reviews. Reviewing the series for Otaku USA, David Estrella praised the series' romantic comedy elements but noted that readers seeking a realistic story about lesbian relationships "may find it too fluffy".[6] Erica Friedman of Yuricon expressed a similar sentiment, stating that while the series "isn’t problematic,"[7] its gag comic humor "doesn’t feel like a sincere attempt to address [LGBT] issues."[8] Rebecca Silverman of Anime News Network remarked that while the series compares favorably to Naoko's earlier NTR: Netsuzou Trap, she criticized its story for being underdeveloped.[9]
References
edit- ^ "I Married My Best Friend to Shut My Parents Up". Seven Seas Entertainment. Archived from the original on August 14, 2020. Retrieved May 21, 2020.
- ^ Ressler, Karen (19 September 2018). "Seven Seas Licenses Naoko Kodama's 'I Married My Best Friend to Shut My Parents Up' Yuri Manga". Anime News Network. Retrieved 15 November 2019.
- ^ Luster, Joseph (19 September 2018). "Seven Seas Licenses Yuri Manga I Married My Best Friend to Shut My Parents Up". Crunchyroll. Archived from the original on 17 November 2019. Retrieved 15 November 2019.
- ^ Kodama, Naoko (2019). I Married My Best Friend to Shut My Parents Up: Afterword. Seven Seas Entertainment. pp. 978–1642753288.
- ^ "I Married My Best Friend to Shut My Parents Up". Seven Seas Entertainment. Archived from the original on 24 June 2019. Retrieved 15 November 2019.
- ^ Estrella, David (7 November 2019). "[Review] I Married My Best Friend to Shut My Parents Up". Otaku USA. Archived from the original on 17 November 2019. Retrieved 15 November 2019.
- ^ Friedman, Erica (13 September 2018). "Yuri Manga: Oya ga Urusainode Kouhai (♀) to Gizoukekkonshitemite (親がうるさいので後輩(♀)と偽装結婚してみた。)". Okazu. Retrieved 15 November 2019.
- ^ Friedman, Erica (17 June 2019). "Yuri Manga: I Married My Best Friend to Shut My Parents Up (English)". Okazu. Archived from the original on 15 November 2019. Retrieved 15 November 2019.
- ^ Silverman, Rebecca (4 July 2019). "Review: I Married My Best Friend to Shut My Parents Up". Anime News Network. Retrieved 15 November 2019.
External links
edit- I Married My Best Friend to Shut My Parents Up (manga) at Anime News Network's encyclopedia