MARRIAGETOXIN

Episodes 1-2

While it's far from being an entirely new phenomenon, if the rise of DAN DA DAN has taught us anything, it's that battle shonen and romantic comedies are two genres that can pair together surprisingly well under the right circumstances, making for a combination that offers enough flexibility to allow authors to craft some delightfully bizarre set-ups. However, whereas Dandandan's fusion of those tropes combines supernatural and alien-related hijinks with a sugar-sweet teen romance, MARRIAGETOXIN offers a different, but no less wacky, approach, combining the dark underbelly of the criminal underworld with a series of meet-cute scenarios. On the surface, it's the kind of mash-up of ideas that feels far too ridiculous to actually work, but it's one that the manga has managed to transform into a consistent formula, and while it just might only be getting started, the anime seems geared to push that formula to the absolute heights of absurdity.

Here we follow the escapades of one Hikaru Gero, an assassin from a prestigious clan of poison specialists who has given up on any dreams of a happy domestic life and is fine with letting his family's bloodline end with him. That is, until one day, while he's in the middle of a job poisoning a marriage swindler, he learns that his sister is being forced into breaking up with her girlfriend so she can be locked into an arranged marriage to produce an heir. Wanting to spare her this fate, Gero decides to get serious about finding a bride, but since he has no clue how to talk to women, let alone date, he decides to spare the marriage swindler who agrees to work as his matchmaker on his quest to find a partner.

Given his profession, Gero might not seem like leading man material for a romantic comedy at first glance, but the first two episodes do a good job of making him as endearing as possible. Sure his day job might come with a body count, but it's easy to sympathize with his struggles as a socially awkward single guy who just wants to find someone to settle down with, and for as many good laughs as the show gets out of this, it's hard not to feel bad for him as he fumbles his way through all of his various attempts to score a date. That awkwardness is also what makes his interactions with Kinosaki, the marriage swindler turned love guru, so much fun, as he's not afraid to constantly poke at Gero's overly direct approach to the concept of dating, allowing for the two of them to have a lot of comedic chemistry as he attempts to mold Gero into proper boyfriend material. They might also have some potential romantic chemistry too, as aside from brief shock when he learns that Kinosaki is used to crossdressing for his job (something which the show not only manages to avoid making into joke, but also isn't afraid to lean into as the visuals of the OP and ED songs are more than happy to frame Kinosaki as the show's poster girl), Gero more or less treats him the same way he does any of the women whose numbers he fails to get, and given that their practice date in episode 2, showed the two of them having a pretty good time together, it's not hard to imagine a scenario where this ends with Gero leaving the assassin biz behind while they become an actual couple.

Of course, we'll also have to see how the series handles Gero's interactions with his other potential brides, and the second episode also sets up his potential avenue for finding dates by taking on jobs that allow him to serve as a knight in shining armor by working as a bodyguard or rescuer to any women in distress. This first attempt introduces us to a woman named Himekawa who works as a Robin Hood-esque art thief that gets herself in a bit over her head when her attempt to return a painting snatched by a shady art dealer to its rightful owner results in her getting kidnapped instead. While we haven't seen her interacting much with Gero during her rescue yet, the episode does a good enough job of selling her sense of nobility, that I'm sure the show will find plenty of ways to have that play off of Gero's general awkwardness, and with a few other potential brides shown in the OP, it'll be fun to see how Gero goes about forming a connection with each of them.

As much potential as MARRIAGETOXIN has with its romance angle, though, it's still a shonen action series, and if that's what you're here for, it's certainly got you covered. BONES basically never skimps out when it comes to providing their action shows with stellar animation, and this is no exception as Motonobu Hori and his team take advantage of MARRIAGETOXIN's world of cartoon assassins to craft some wonderfully over-the-top action showcases that all manage to be as funny as they are cinematic. From Gero performing a car chase on foot in the first episode to all of the horrifically violent hallucinations his toxins can induce, the animators have found plenty of ways to get creative with the show's presentation, and when mixed together with some equally strong gags, it has made for an adaptation that feels like it's firing on all fronts. Whether you're here for the bombastic action scenes, or our leading man's efforts to transform himself from an awkward mess to an eligible bachelor, MARRIAGETOXIN looks like it'll have plenty of ways to keep you entertained, and with how much this adaptation is knocking it out of the park with its presentation, it's already looking to be one of the season's strongest offerings.

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