The Fall 2023 Manga Guide

365 Days to the Wedding

What's It About? 

The J.T.C. travel agency is looking for someone to manage its brand-new branch in Irkutsk. But for employees Oohara Takuya and Honjouji Rika, they'd rather just stay home in Tokyo! Thankfully, they've discovered a way out—their manager has narrowed down the recruits to bachelors, so what if they just...got married? The problem is they barely know each other at all! Can they convince their office they're engaged just long enough for the transfer to finish up?

365 Days to the Wedding has a story and art by Tamiki Wakaki. The English translation is by Kristjan Rohde with lettering by Carl Vanstiphut. Published by Seven Seas Entertainment (November 14, 2023).

Is It Worth Reading?

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Rating:

As an introvert with a very limited social battery at times, this was a series that hit me in my soul. What happens when two introverts pretend to be married to avoid changing their living situation? And THEN what happens when the celebratory nature revolving around people getting married ends up draining you for all it's worth? Those questions lie at the heart of 365 Days to the Wedding, where two coworkers pretend to be married to avoid being relocated. The thing is that both of them are incredibly reserved introverts who want to protect their single, quiet ways of life.

The premise is a little far-fetched, but seeing these two inexperienced people try to navigate such an intense social circle is rewarding in its own way. Despite being a book about marriage, the story so far doesn't glorify it as a be-all and end-all thing. If anything, there's some excellent commentary on how society views marriage and how people sometimes would rather just be alone than pursue that lifestyle. Now, the book cheats a little bit by leaving it open for a genuine romance to blossom between our two leads, but I like that, at least for now, it rides that line. There's even a little hint of mystery thrown in there as somebody seems to know that the whole thing is a sham, but this volume doesn't resolve this. At the very least, it has me intrigued for the future while simultaneously keeping me along with its comedy and incredibly relatable characters. If you are an introvert, you can find something to enjoy about this book.