Manga Review: Happy Marriage?!, Volume 10, by Maki Enjoji

Rating (Out of 5): ~4

Publisher: Shojo Beat (VIZ Media)

Release Date: February 3, 2015

Volumes: 10

Spoilers?: No.

Buy it here: Amazon. Barnes and Noble. Book Depository. Powells. RightStuf.

Volume: 1. 9.

Goodreads Synopsis:

In order to help her father, Chiwa Takanashi agrees to an arranged marriage with the company president, Hokuto Mamiya—a man she doesn’t know—at the request of Hokuto’s grandfather. Chiwa believes the arrangement isn’t binding, but her new partner seems to think otherwise. Can two strangers living together find their way to a happy marriage?!

Final Volume!

Review:

First of all, there was a color page in this volume! Ohhh, it was so pretty!

Now, this was the last volume, and I knew it was going to be great. And I am really happy with how it all ended.

Hokuto disappears for a while, but then he comes back and reveals some stuff to his family. There’s a problem regarding that, but we do get to find out what happened to his mother, thankfully. And we know that Hokuto will be all right regarding his business and work, of course. This won’t ruin him.

I think it was a little odd the way they figure out that fighting is the way they communicate, but it works. It's very fitting for them. And I’m really happy with their ending. It was actually quite adorable, and their finally actually marrying, for them, was nice, and well deserved.

I’m really happy with this series. The ending was great, I loved the humor and the smut. I loved it all, honestly. And now I really hope that VIZ picks up another of her series.

Manga Review: Happy Marriage?!, Volume 9, by Maki Enjoji

Rating (Out of 5): ~4

Publisher: Shojo Beat (VIZ Media)

Release Date: December 2, 2014

Volumes: 10

Spoilers?: Not really.

Buy it here: Amazon. Barnes and Noble. Book Depository. Powells. RightStuf.

Volume: 1. 8. 10.

Goodreads Synopsis:

In order to help her father, Chiwa Takanashi agrees to an arranged marriage with the company president, Hokuto Mamiya—a man she doesn’t know—at the request of Hokuto’s grandfather. Chiwa believes the arrangement isn’t binding, but her new partner seems to think otherwise. Can two strangers living together find their way to a happy marriage?! 

Review:

Some drama from outer parties happens some more, then Hokuto’s family plot line gets serious.

First there’s a chapter for relationship drama, then the pair go on a cruise and Chiwa ends up babysitting this kid. He’s a bit of a pain, and Hokuto doesn’t get on with him, but Chiwa handles him well. This is a nice image for when they have kids, and was generally just a fun chapter.

Then Hokuto’s father gets worse. Chiwa and Hokuto talk, get serious, deal with his father in the only way they can. There are some things revealed to Chiwa and she doesn’t know how to deal with them at first. Then there’s the cliffhanger regarding Hokuto, which is rather mean. Clearly some things are going to happen in the next, and final, volume.

I can’t wait to see the conclusion, for the serious plot, and for them. I’ve thoroughly enjoyed this series so far.

Manga Review: Happy Marriage?!, Volume 7, by Maki Enjoji

Rating (Out of 5): ~4

Publisher: Shojo Beat (VIZ Media)

Release Date: August 2014

Volumes: 10

Spoilers?: No.

Buy it here: Amazon. Barnes and Noble. Book Depository. Powells. RightStuf.

Volume: 1. 6. 8.

Goodreads Synopsis:

In order to help her father, Chiwa Takanashi agrees to an arranged marriage with the company president, Hokuto Mamiya—a man she doesn’t know—at the request of Hokuto’s grandfather. Chiwa believes the arrangement isn’t binding, but her new partner seems to think otherwise. Can two strangers living together find their way to a happy marriage?!

Hokuto is working harder than ever after his promotion, and the couple rarely spends time together anymore.

Chiwa continues working at Ai-Max with Asahina, a guy she dated in college. Asahina knows she's married to Hokuto, but he still has feelings for Chiwa.

Review:

Hokuto and Chiwa are still having communication problems, including a fight where Hokuto goes to stay somewhere else for a few days. They’re having a hard time coming to a decision regarding Hokuto’s dad, but they finally decide to calm down on it.

Then there’s some trouble regarding their previous lovers. Both of them are currently in the picture and causing problems, which are leading into the next volume. This is especially difficult for Chiwa, as she’s already having a hard time figuring out what her role with Hokuto is—they seem to come to a decision on this, though. (Their fight includes Hokuto hitting Chiwa, and her yelling at him after, but the smack still leaves a bad taste in my mouth.)

The real problems are leading up to something possibly big, and I’m looking forward to that. I am also enjoying the cute moments between them, though. The smut is very nice at the moment.

This series is getting closer to the end, and I’m enjoying it so far. I look forward to getting my hands on the next book.

Manga Review: Happy Marriage?!, Volume 6, by Maki Enjoji

Rating (Out of 5): ~4

Publisher: Shojo Beat (VIZ Media)

Release Date: June 3, 2014

Volumes: 10

Spoilers?: No.

Buy it here: Amazon. Barnes and Noble. Book Depository. Powells. RightStuf.

Volume: 1. 5. 7.

Goodreads Synopsis:

In order to help her father, Chiwa Takanashi agrees to an arranged marriage with the company president, Hokuto Mamiya—a man she doesn’t know—at the request of Hokuto’s grandfather. Chiwa believes the arrangement isn’t binding, but her new partner seems to think otherwise. Can two strangers living together find their way to a happy marriage?!

Review:

Chiwa and Hokuto, at this point, are still just having problems communicating. They have a hard time telling each other what they want, and only tend to do it after they’ve messed up. But I do think they’re learning, and they are starting to get used to each other.

One of the continuing problems for them now is Hokuto’s family. He doesn’t want to think about it, but Chiwa wants to fix it, and so is trying to find out what actually happened. In this volume, she made a surprising, possibly bad, revelation.

Then there’s Chiwa’s co-worker, who Hokuto still doesn’t really know is an ex of hers. And when Chiwa gets sick, she doesn’t want to burden him, and so he doesn’t know how to react, whether to rush to her or not. He might not have made the right decision, but he clearly already knows that. I look forward to seeing what they both do next. But on the other hand, Chiwa went to a business party with Hokuto, and was surprisingly helpful, which definitely helped her self-esteem.

I’m loving the romance and the comedy in this series. I can’t wait for the next book.

Manga Review: Happy Marriage?!, Volume 5, by Maki Enjoji

Rating (Out of 5): ~4.5

Publisher: Shojo Beat (VIZ Media)

Release Date: April 2014

Volumes: 10

Spoilers?: No.

Buy it here: Amazon. Barnes and Noble. Book Depository. Powells. RightStuf.

Volume: 1. 4. 6.

Goodreads Synopsis:

Chiwa Takanashi has married a total stranger—company president Hokuto Mamiya—to get her father out of debt.

Rather than having her husband continue to support her feckless father, Chiwa accepts a job at Shinjo Sakuraba’s startup without telling Hokuto. Will Chiwa and Hokuto’s newfound wedded bliss last now that she’s working alongside her crush from college?

Reads R to L (Japanese Style) Rated M

Review:

I absolutely love this series. At this point, it’s one that I reread while smiling, even while trying to review it.

The chemistry between Hokuto and Chiwa is amazing. They argue, but they do really love each other. Chiwa is still getting used to the way Hokuto handles things, and how he talks about his feelings, just as he’s getting used to interacting with her. That was really apparent when he got drunk and became much more open about his feelings, which was so sweet and adorable and hot.

Now that they’ve fully admitted their feelings and have had sex, I like that they didn’t revert back to how they were before. They’re a little unsure about the subject at first, but Chiwa isn’t so embarrassed about it anymore. She still blushes, but she’ll admit that she likes it and wants it, which I appreciate. That doesn’t happen nearly enough in manga, in my opinion.

Chiwa is working again, and I was waiting for Hokuto to get upset about her new boss, who’s an old boyfriend from college. I kind of hope that it happens in the next volume. The other problem they’re still facing is Hokuto’s family. They are strict, and Hokuto doesn’t get along with many of them, but Chiwa wants them to be closer. I’m liking the direction that is going in.

I’m overall just loving this series. It’s smutty and romantic and sweet and funny. It’s a joy to read and reread. I can’t wait to get the next volume.