MarriageToxin Creator Joumyaku and Director Motonobu Hori Discuss the Anime Adaptation on Weekly Shounen Jump
Love is in the air… and so is poison! A special interview between the MARRIAGETOXIN story creator
Jōmyaku and anime director Motonobu Hori was recently published in Japanese on Shueisha's Weekly
Shonen Jump, and is now available to read in English.
MARRIAGETOXIN, the highly anticipated hitman x marriage swindler battle-action series, is currently
serialized on Shueisha's manga app Shonen Jump+ and will begin airing as a TV anime in 2026. Jōmyaku
and Motonobu Hori discuss their excitement for the anime adaptation and the not-so-toxic love that was
poured into the series.
Read the full English interview on the MARRIAGETOXIN home page.
A matchmaking battle action where a hitman partners with a marriage swindler to find the perfect
marriage. How did this storyline come about?
Jōmyaku: When my father passed away, I was told that I would take over the household as the eldest son.
My father was a government employee so I never thought about “the household” in that way, so I remember
it being a very impactful moment. The fact that my grandmother was a strong “boss-like” person in our
family also contributed to the idea for the story. As for the characters, for example with Gero (Hikaru), I
imagined different elements and combined them together, like “I can relate to him being uncomfortable
around women”, and “what if he was a hitman?” When Yoda (Mizuki)-Sensei, who handled the artwork,
asked me about my image of Kinosaki (Mei), I remember mentioning my favorite idol at the time as an
example. I often implement things that I'm into at that moment or things that catch my eye in real time. Like,
if I see a pinwheel during a walk, I might think that it would be cute as a hair pin, or something like that. I
am directly affected by things I see on TV and around town, and I ask Yoda-Sensei to incorporate it into the
artwork, so she definitely helps me out a lot (lol).
What was your impression when you read the original work?
Hori: I thought it was very chaotic (lol). When we meet with the anime staff, we always say “the contents are
pretty chaotic…” as the opening line of each meeting, so it's like a catchphrase for this title. As we worked
on the anime adaptation, I did my own analysis of what makes it so chaotic. What parts were written by
Jōmyaku-Sensei, and which parts were enhanced by Yoda-sensei's visuals. I don't know the correct
answer, but it was fun to imagine, and as a result, I reached the conclusion that this work is fun because
“nobody stepped on the brakes.” For example, there's a scene where Naruko (Genya) sits in a massage
chair in a tree, and it's obviously impossible. But they don't try to apply logic to it, they just illustrate
something absurd as absurd. The momentum of the story just allows you to enjoy it as it is. As far as I can
tell, nobody seems to have stepped on the brakes, but is that correct?
Jōmyaku: I've never been asked “what do you mean by that?” from Yoda-Sensei (lol). Even when I write
something that I think is completely unhinged, it comes back to me in an even more explosive way.
Hori: I would imagine she would have so many questions…, but that's why you make such an amazing pair
(lol). You step on the accelerator as you're writing, and the artwork steps on the gas even more.
Jōmyaku: That's the result, yes (lol).
Is there a particularly memorable scene for you in the anime?
Jōmyaku: The scene where the car gets cut in half, that's also seen in the first PV. I was wondering how it
would be depicted in the anime, so I was ecstatic that “it actually got cut in half!” when I first saw it (lol).
Hori: In the manga, if you describe it as “being cut by a chemical liquid,” the graphics make it
understandable that “it's being cut.” But in the anime, each movement needs to be drawn frame by frame,
so we had to think about how the area being cut would melt. I explained that it's “like a laser but it's liquid”
to the staff, and had them draw it in that way.
Jōmyaku: A liquid laser. I see, that's super intriguing (lol).
Hori: I hope people see the sense of reality we included into building out this world.
Are there situations where the anime inspires the original work and an idea expands from there?
Jōmyaku: There are lots of situations where ideas expand, and I've also gained ideas as well. For
example, in the flashback to Arashiyama (Kimie)'s past, Director Hori suggested that I write out the fake
Ryoma Sakamoto's name as “RYOMA” in alphabet letters. I won't mention any specifics, but I'm sure there
are many places that people will notice that the original was affected by the anime.
Hori: That makes me so happy! When we talked about the way certain characters speak, the voice actors
made suggestions, like incorporating the specific word endings into the way they laugh for example, and
they have been enthusiastically expanding their performances. Even when the scenarios seem crazy, it
brought about something really fun at the studio.
Jōmyaku: When I observed the recording, there was something that amazed me with the interaction
between the director and voice actors. In the scene with the human chairs, one actor asked if the “...GH!”
sound was out of pain or out of the weight of being sat on, and the director immediately answered “weight!”
I was impressed by how fast he answered and how deeply everyone interpreted the materials, and seeing
how everyone already understood the upcoming developments, it also made me feel relieved.
Hori: Adjusting the tone of voice is important because it affects the following scenes. In this title, even the
characters who only appear for 1 or 2 frames are interesting, so I hope everyone pays attention to every
corner of the anime.
Jōmyaku and anime director Motonobu Hori was recently published in Japanese on Shueisha's Weekly
Shonen Jump, and is now available to read in English.
MARRIAGETOXIN, the highly anticipated hitman x marriage swindler battle-action series, is currently
serialized on Shueisha's manga app Shonen Jump+ and will begin airing as a TV anime in 2026. Jōmyaku
and Motonobu Hori discuss their excitement for the anime adaptation and the not-so-toxic love that was
poured into the series.
Read the full English interview on the MARRIAGETOXIN home page.
A matchmaking battle action where a hitman partners with a marriage swindler to find the perfect
marriage. How did this storyline come about?
Jōmyaku: When my father passed away, I was told that I would take over the household as the eldest son.
My father was a government employee so I never thought about “the household” in that way, so I remember
it being a very impactful moment. The fact that my grandmother was a strong “boss-like” person in our
family also contributed to the idea for the story. As for the characters, for example with Gero (Hikaru), I
imagined different elements and combined them together, like “I can relate to him being uncomfortable
around women”, and “what if he was a hitman?” When Yoda (Mizuki)-Sensei, who handled the artwork,
asked me about my image of Kinosaki (Mei), I remember mentioning my favorite idol at the time as an
example. I often implement things that I'm into at that moment or things that catch my eye in real time. Like,
if I see a pinwheel during a walk, I might think that it would be cute as a hair pin, or something like that. I
am directly affected by things I see on TV and around town, and I ask Yoda-Sensei to incorporate it into the
artwork, so she definitely helps me out a lot (lol).
What was your impression when you read the original work?
Hori: I thought it was very chaotic (lol). When we meet with the anime staff, we always say “the contents are
pretty chaotic…” as the opening line of each meeting, so it's like a catchphrase for this title. As we worked
on the anime adaptation, I did my own analysis of what makes it so chaotic. What parts were written by
Jōmyaku-Sensei, and which parts were enhanced by Yoda-sensei's visuals. I don't know the correct
answer, but it was fun to imagine, and as a result, I reached the conclusion that this work is fun because
“nobody stepped on the brakes.” For example, there's a scene where Naruko (Genya) sits in a massage
chair in a tree, and it's obviously impossible. But they don't try to apply logic to it, they just illustrate
something absurd as absurd. The momentum of the story just allows you to enjoy it as it is. As far as I can
tell, nobody seems to have stepped on the brakes, but is that correct?
Jōmyaku: I've never been asked “what do you mean by that?” from Yoda-Sensei (lol). Even when I write
something that I think is completely unhinged, it comes back to me in an even more explosive way.
Hori: I would imagine she would have so many questions…, but that's why you make such an amazing pair
(lol). You step on the accelerator as you're writing, and the artwork steps on the gas even more.
Jōmyaku: That's the result, yes (lol).
Is there a particularly memorable scene for you in the anime?
Jōmyaku: The scene where the car gets cut in half, that's also seen in the first PV. I was wondering how it
would be depicted in the anime, so I was ecstatic that “it actually got cut in half!” when I first saw it (lol).
Hori: In the manga, if you describe it as “being cut by a chemical liquid,” the graphics make it
understandable that “it's being cut.” But in the anime, each movement needs to be drawn frame by frame,
so we had to think about how the area being cut would melt. I explained that it's “like a laser but it's liquid”
to the staff, and had them draw it in that way.
Jōmyaku: A liquid laser. I see, that's super intriguing (lol).
Hori: I hope people see the sense of reality we included into building out this world.
Are there situations where the anime inspires the original work and an idea expands from there?
Jōmyaku: There are lots of situations where ideas expand, and I've also gained ideas as well. For
example, in the flashback to Arashiyama (Kimie)'s past, Director Hori suggested that I write out the fake
Ryoma Sakamoto's name as “RYOMA” in alphabet letters. I won't mention any specifics, but I'm sure there
are many places that people will notice that the original was affected by the anime.
Hori: That makes me so happy! When we talked about the way certain characters speak, the voice actors
made suggestions, like incorporating the specific word endings into the way they laugh for example, and
they have been enthusiastically expanding their performances. Even when the scenarios seem crazy, it
brought about something really fun at the studio.
Jōmyaku: When I observed the recording, there was something that amazed me with the interaction
between the director and voice actors. In the scene with the human chairs, one actor asked if the “...GH!”
sound was out of pain or out of the weight of being sat on, and the director immediately answered “weight!”
I was impressed by how fast he answered and how deeply everyone interpreted the materials, and seeing
how everyone already understood the upcoming developments, it also made me feel relieved.
Hori: Adjusting the tone of voice is important because it affects the following scenes. In this title, even the
characters who only appear for 1 or 2 frames are interesting, so I hope everyone pays attention to every
corner of the anime.
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