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A review by pastelkerstin
I Married My Best Friend to Shut My Parents Up by コダマナオコ, Kodama Naoko
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.5
Yeah... that's bad writing, luv.
1.5 stars instead of 1 only because it brought up the issues of sexism at the workplace and homophobic parents. But it also doesn't go anywhere with the latter after Machi realises she's queer. It's just never brought up again, even though you'd think this would be on her mind?
Other than that, this really doesn't have a lot going for it. The characters have very little chemistry and I didn't care for them. Hana falls into the predatory lesbian trope, although it doesn't escalate as far as in some other GL. The ending of the story is abrupt. Even the flashback bonus chapter doesn't help to make you care more about the characters. And overall this is very... boob-fixated, both visually and textually in the way Hana talks about Machi. It's manga fanservice nonsense, basically.
Also, yes, the English title (kept the same for the German release too) is a misnomer. They don't seem to be best friends. They are former classmates/casual friends. Machi used to be a piece of shit to Hana (and everyone else), but they became school friends eventually. Hana confessed to Machi, got turned down, but they continued to be on friendly terms. And now they've been out of high school for a while and are still friends, but clearly not the best of friends, and then the whole sham marriage comes along. "親がうるさいので後輩（♀）と偽装結婚してみた。" ("I Married My (Female) Kouhai To Shut My Parents Up") is what the original release is called and yeah, that tracks. Hana calls Machi "senpai" throughout the whole thing, even though now that they're out of school, it shouldn't matter. They're one year apart, who gives a shit, but no, this manga has to keep the kouhai/senpai dynamic going because it's common in the romance genre, I guess.
1.5 stars instead of 1 only because it brought up the issues of sexism at the workplace and homophobic parents. But it also doesn't go anywhere with the latter after Machi realises she's queer. It's just never brought up again, even though you'd think this would be on her mind?
Other than that, this really doesn't have a lot going for it. The characters have very little chemistry and I didn't care for them. Hana falls into the predatory lesbian trope, although it doesn't escalate as far as in some other GL. The ending of the story is abrupt. Even the flashback bonus chapter doesn't help to make you care more about the characters. And overall this is very... boob-fixated, both visually and textually in the way Hana talks about Machi. It's manga fanservice nonsense, basically.
Also, yes, the English title (kept the same for the German release too) is a misnomer. They don't seem to be best friends. They are former classmates/casual friends. Machi used to be a piece of shit to Hana (and everyone else), but they became school friends eventually. Hana confessed to Machi, got turned down, but they continued to be on friendly terms. And now they've been out of high school for a while and are still friends, but clearly not the best of friends, and then the whole sham marriage comes along. "親がうるさいので後輩（♀）と偽装結婚してみた。" ("I Married My (Female) Kouhai To Shut My Parents Up") is what the original release is called and yeah, that tracks. Hana calls Machi "senpai" throughout the whole thing, even though now that they're out of school, it shouldn't matter. They're one year apart, who gives a shit, but no, this manga has to keep the kouhai/senpai dynamic going because it's common in the romance genre, I guess.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia
Moderate: Bullying
Minor: Sexism and Sexual content
Dubious consent (multiple times), predatory lesbian stereotype, alcohol