Marriage / Married Life
These works feature a marriage between the main characters or multiple leads. This could include the ceremony itself or life after a marriage has taken place.
Manga Review | The Man in the Mirror by Eight Hisamatsu
Title: The Man in the Mirror
Sal is the next head of the Senba clan. The family is well-known for their talents in Ikebana, the art of flower arrangement. Every year, the Senba clan takes part in a competition where they display their art and always come out with high praise. It’s Sal’s turn to participate, and his victory will mark his official takeover as head of the Senba clan. While Sal loves flowers and enjoys arranging them, the pressure from his father is almost too much to bear, and his arrangements are suffering as a result.
While in his workroom, he is stressed out and puts his hand against a floor-length mirror in the room. To his surprise, the mirror’s surface gives way beneath his touch, and when he completely passes through, he finds himself in an entirely new place. It’s full of beautiful, and in some cases tropical, flowers, but the most beautiful thing by far is the man standing among the blooms. He is the prince of the country Sal finds himself in, and before he can learn who the prince is, he is told of a cultural custom: if they share each other’s names, they will be officially engaged.
Sal and Prince Shaal come up with nicknames for each other and go back and forth to each other’s countries through the mirror. Shaal gives Sal the thing he was missing for his work: inspiration. More than that, Prince Shaal stirs something else in Sal. Could this be love?
Manga Review | Married to the Dragon God by Shogo Ikegami
Title: Married to the Dragon God
Tsuwabuki, the illegitimate child of the head of the wolf family to a lion-dog mistress mother, is a lion-dog. His life as a young child starts out well enough with the protection of his mother, but when she dies, his worth to the family severely declines. Though he’s related to the legitimate children of the family head, he is treated just like any other servant, except by his half-sister, who bullies him incessantly just because she can. Tsuwabuki does his best to ignore her taunts, serving the wolf family as best he can while honoring the god of the mountain they live on, just as his mother taught him when he was a small child. He’s perfectly content with his life, though he secretly longs for a bit more freedom and the affection he lost when his mother passed.
The members of the wolf family are considered the divine messengers of god, so it only makes sense that they are called upon to offer a bride to the god in order to heal him of his impurities. The god specifically requests the youngest child, who happens to be Tsuwabuki’s cruel older sister. She doesn’t want to marry the god and is disgusted by the idea of having to cleanse the impure god, as it requires having sex. Instead, she demands that they offer Tsuwabuki, as he is also a child of the wolf family. Without a word, Tsuwabuki accepts his new role.
After being taken underwater, a gateway to where the mountain god Shuro resides, Tsuwabuki is married and bedded. Though Tsuwabuki doesn’t feel worthy of being Shuro’s bride, Shuro assures him that no one else could be worthy enough to be by his side. Still, Tsuwabuki is sure that there is a better bride for Shuro. As it happens, his elder sister is sacrificed to marry Shuro after the wolf family is destroyed. Tsuwabuki is sure his sister would be better for Shuro, but deep inside, Tsuwabuki loves Shuro and wants him all to himself.
Does Shuro really need Tsuwabuki? And even if he doesn’t, can Tsuwabuki let Shuro go?
Manhwa Review | One-way Romance by TESIK
Title: One-way Romance
Jae-hwan is a reporter. A broke reporter, more specifically, having lost all of his money in the stocks. Looking for a huge scoop to score a huge payday, he turns his attention to the upper crust. More specifically, he focuses on Hong Kong mogul and CEO Heo Chung. He’s gotten a tip from a colleague that Heo Chung is going to be at a rooftop party, and Jae-hwan is determined to go and schmooze with Heo Chung, hoping to unearth some juicy gossip at least but to also expose his company’s ties to the mafia.
Unfortunately, Jae-hwan isn’t the only one looking to hang out with the hot-shot CEO. Every time Jae-hwan tries to get close, a whole gaggle of people surrounds Heo Chung, making it impossible for Jae-hwan to get in to talk to him. Add to the problem that he’s been ensnared by a beautiful woman, buying round after round of drinks, and this mission has become impossible if it wasn’t already. Sloshed, Jae-hwan’s sense of decorum has gone out the window, and he decides to just go for it. He grabs two glasses of wine and makes his way over to Heo Chung, but he, unfortunately, bumps into someone else the media has kept their eye on: Liu Yuan, leader of the Hong Kong mafia group 13.
Jae-hwan spills all of the wine on Liu Yuan just before passing out. When he wakes up, he finds himself chained and in bed, with Liu Yuan explaining that he owes him around $90,000 for the ruined clothes. It goes without saying that Jae-hwan has gotten much more than he ever bargained for. Not only will he probably not get the scoop and subsequent payday he was hoping for, but there’s a chance he doesn’t make it out of this with his life, either.
Manga Review | My Darling Has My Favorite by Tsutako Tsurusawa
Title: My Darling Has My Favorite
Masachika and Grim are happily married. Grim has really embraced the spotlight that comes along with marrying prolific actor Masachika, and Masachika is just as big of a fan of Grim as ever. Everything should be peace and tranquility, but Masachika has recently moved to his mother’s agency and, in doing so, has gotten himself wrapped up in job after job. Thankfully, Masachika loves his acting work and takes it all in stride, especially since he gets to come home and rest in the arms of his favorite person, Grim, after all the work.
Unfortunately, the time has finally come when two major works that Masachika wants to be part of overlap, and they are quite a distance from each other. This means being away from his safe place and person for an extended period. Grim is very supportive and offers to visit when things get tough, but Masachika is determined to finish the work without worrying Grim. Unfortunately, only two weeks in, Masachika’s mental health has steeply declined to the point his work is beginning to suffer.
If he could just get a short break with Grim, he’d be refreshed, but he just can’t bring himself to expose this weak and vulnerable side of himself. Will Masachika be able to make it through these shoots without falling apart? Or is he destined to lose both his job and Grim?
Manga Review | Restart After Growing Hungry by cocomi
Title: Restart After Growing Hungry
Yamato and Mitsuomi have been together for three years, having only known each other for four years. They spend almost every moment they can together, and though they’ve never labeled their relationship, they don’t question what they mean to each other and are just content being in each other’s presence. That is until they attend their friend Harada’s wedding together. During the reception, it becomes clear that word of their relationship has gotten around, but thanks to Harada and Yamato, the pair avoid being outed among their peers. Still, with so many people aware and such great effort being taken to diminish their role in each other’s lives, Mitsuomi can’t help but wonder how Yamato sees their relationship.
It gets even more confusing when Mitsuomi’s mother brings up the new partnership system their prefecture has accepted. While it doesn’t function the same as marriage, it does help legitimize same-sex couples in the local government’s eyes. Mitsuomi doesn’t see much point in it since it doesn’t provide any benefits that traditional marriage does, but he can’t help but bring it up to Yamato just to see his reaction. Shockingly, Yamato seems put off by the idea and makes it clear that he is happy with their relationship as it stands. That was no different than Mitsuomi’s own reaction, but for some reason, hearing it from Yamato hurts Mitsuomi.
Just what are they to each other, and does Yamato actually love Mitsuomi like Mitsuomi thinks he does?
Manhwa Review | Surge Towards You by Cheongyeon
Title: Surge Towards You
Cheong-ho is a prolific athlete. He’s an Olympic-grade swimmer, but his position is constantly questioned with his diminishing records. His condition would be better as an alpha if he would have sex with an omega, but his fear and repulsion toward omega pheromones make it impossible. Due to a traumatic event in his childhood, Cheong-ho can’t stand being around omegas, which is part of why he loves to swim because they can’t trigger him in the water. With suppressants, he can achieve his goal of being a professional swimmer, but with them being banned as performance enhancers and considered doping, Cheong-ho’s future in the sport is bleak.
At the end of his rope, he tries exposure therapy to overcome his repulsion. While in a park, he encounters someone hanging out on a bridge. The person looks unwell, which leads to them passing out and falling into the water below. Without hesitation, Cheong-ho jumps in to rescue them, but upon pulling them out of the water, he discovers that it is an omega in heat. Strangely enough, he isn’t put off by them, but the reason is even stranger still: they’re odorless. The person he rescued is Olympic figure skater Yi-rim, a “defective” omega with odorless pheromones.
Yi-rim has never been able to attract an alpha since no one can smell his scent, and, as such, he assumed his life would be lonely until he met Cheong-ho. Cheong-ho needs Yi-rim, and Yi-rim will give anything to be with Cheong-ho, even at the risk of his heart.
Manhwa Review | DEAR. DOOR by Pluto
Title: DEAR. DOOR
Kyungjoon is struggling. He’s doing everything he can to keep it together while out on the beat as a police officer, but the moment he gets back to his empty apartment, he’s forced to remember that his girlfriend and fiance have died. He spends evenings mourning her death while recreating moments of their life together and tending to the plants she left behind. Kyungjoon is stuck, with no sign of moving forward, not that he even wants to, to begin with. Thankfully, the rising threat of a cult keeps him busy, but the nights are still lonely.
He’s at home alone, as always, when something comes flying in from the balcony, breaking into his apartment. Rather than fearing for his safety, he’s more worried about the plants that have been destroyed. He can’t focus on this new loss for long, though, as a strange, humanoid, demonic creature appears before him alongside another demon. They’re discussing all kinds of things like “doors,” “mana,” and “war,” but none of it makes any sense to Kyungjoon. Then, before he can even begin to wrap his head around this chaotic scenario, Kyungjoon feels immense pain, so strong he feels that he’s ripped apart from the inside out.
As it turns out, he has become the door for the king of the western faction of hell, Cain. What does it mean to be a door? He is the way the demon king can go to hell and back to the earthly realm. Cain can open the door with a spell, which is the terrible pain Kyungjoon was subjected to. Or, he can use much more… pleasurable methods. Will Kyungjoon be able to maintain his dignity and sanity amid this civil war in hell, or will he meet the fate of every cultist that has been a door thus far and die?