MARRIAGETOXIN ‒ Episode 8

© Joumyaku・Mizuki Yoda/SHUEISHA, MARRIAGETOXIN Project

After last week's wedding detour, it's time for the show to return to its usual formula and to meet our latest bachelorette, Kimie, who might just be the best of the bunch so far. Unlike Gero's other potential brides, who were “regular” civilians, with nominal ties to the criminal underworld, Kimie comes from a branch of one of the big assassin families, and seems to have all the baggage that comes with it in terms of both her position on the social pecking order and finding herself with a target on her back. While all of that sounds like it would be a lot for Gero to deal with in his newest relationship, it's nothing compared to the actual danger she poses: forcing someone as awkward as Gero to try interacting with a woman who's already into him.

Fortunately, the episode doesn't waste too much time getting to her introduction as Gero runs into her during the middle of another “practice” date with Kinosaki, and we get a really quick handle on two key aspects of her personality. The first is that she's got more bravado than sense, as she barges into the date by “offering” Gero the chance to take a photo with her, and serves as her bodyguard before she even fully introduces herself, while the other is that she's not-so-secretly Gero's biggest fan. Just hearing him say her name is enough for her to practically melt from the walls with excitement, and for as much of a mess as Gero has been up to now, she easily gives him a run for his money. With all that established, it pretty much goes without saying that she makes the strongest first impression of the heroines we've met so far by a long shot, and the comedy she brings is enhanced even further by the fact that even with her literally throwing herself at him, Gero remains ever immune to the possibility that a woman could like him. While that would be a little frustrating under the circumstances of a more traditional rom-com, the show has already done a good enough job of establishing Gero's general cluelessness as a key feature, so that even with the aggressive hugs, it's honestly not too hard to believe he wouldn't register her as a potential partner. The fact that he isn't looking at her as a marriage option also makes his decision to go out of his way to guard her feel all the more significant. Partially because it shows how his interactions with the other women he's met have helped transform him into more of an altruistic person, but also, it's also starting to make him into more of an actual catch, and it's nice to see him making progress, even if he doesn't quite know that himself.

Besides what she adds to the comedy, Kimie also helps with furthering our understanding of how the relationship between the major families and their branches operates. Kimie comes from a branch of the Beast Clan. Her family used to be recognized for their skill at taming rats for assassination, but their bloodline has diluted so much that the best Kimie can do is to tame hamsters, and she's so low down the ladder that she's never performed a hit in her life. That also means she isn't particularly equipped to deal with the problem of a mystery hitman who's been going around killing pro assassins. The fact that the main branch of the Beast Clan was willing to use her as a walking target to save themselves paints a clear picture of how little those at the top think of the lower families.

That finally brings us to the hitman in question, Piichi, who actually ended up being a lot more entertaining than I expected him to be. Part of that lies in the twist that, rather than being from one of the major assassin families or their branches, he's actually just a “normal” guy who's taken it upon himself to clean up the streets by going after pro killers who don't care about any collateral damage their actions cause. Of course with MARRIAGETOXIN's world being what it is, a “normal” person in this setting is someone who can slice through buildings with a knife and swing around giant billboards like a baseball bat, which makes for both some really excellent bits of spectacle with the action scenes, as well as some really funny bits of dissonance (especially when Gero learns that he somehow wasn't fighting to the death against a pro this whole time). Since Piichi is so fun, it's a bit of a relief that he turns out not to actually be the villain of this particular arc and is more than happy to let Gero go once he sees that he's a stand-up guy. Instead, it looks like Gero might end up facing off with some members of the Beast Clan. While I'm not super thrilled about Kimie getting poisoned by them as motivation for this face-off, the show has been good about letting each of the heroines contribute to their arcs beyond simply needing to be rescued, so I trust it'll find a way to build more of a dynamic between her and Gero in the meantime. Between Kimie being a fun new addition to the show's growing roster of marriage candidates and a more elaborate setup, this new arc of MARRIAGETOXIN is off to a strong start. Considering how well its generally handled its love stories so far, I'm excited to see what blossoms between Gero and this hamster-wielding disaster.

Rating:

MARRIAGETOXIN is currently streaming on Crunchyroll.