Fall 2024 is a big season, I certainly knew that going in. But six premieres off my preview list on one day, including three big horses and probably my two main sleepers, is brutal. And a workday? I’m cooked. So forgive me if some of these posts are more truncated than is my norm – I’m in survival mode. I’ll do the best I can to get through today (and probably punt one or two of this half-dozen to tomorrow), and worry about the regular blogging schedule once I’ve figured out what’s sticking around and what isn’t. Could be a digest-y season though…
Kekkon suru tte, Hontou desu ka is one of those sleepers. It’s a story about working adults – series about grown-ups (and/or grown-up themes) are a trend this season. It’s a married couple to boot, and directed by the guy who helmed the modern pinnacle of marriage anime (Tonikaku Cawaii) Ikehata Hiroshi. And it’s set in a travel agency, which is an industry I labored in for a few years, so it has a personal connection. Including branch offices opening and transfers, which is the MacGuffin of the plot.
On that score, let me defend my error in stating in the preview that the branch office was going to be opened in Siberia – because that’s what the official synopsis claimed. I find it hilarious that it’s actually Anchorage, Alaska (same difference if you’re Japanese?). That certainly makes more sense (and it’s a pretty nice place to live, though not in this mythology). The focus of this tale is a couple of shy agents at a JTC branch in Tokyo, Oohara Takuya and Honjouji Rika. He takes too long to respond to people because he’s measuring what to say. She stares at them without saying anything or smiling (which freaks them out, including Oohara-san). Both profoundly fail to stand out, as introverts in an extrovert industry (as most of them are, really) generally do.
Introverts have been the theme of a lot of anime this year. And it’s probably not a stretch to say that a lot of folks who wind up in manga and LN – and anime – creation are introverts. These two are quite different – he dreads any human contract, really, and just wants to hang with his rescue cat Kama (a perfect companion for a person like him). She’s one of those introverts with a fearless streak, who doesn’t crave contact but just kind of dives in sometimes. The driver of the story is that new branch in Anchorage, and the brash manager’s declaration that someone is going to be picked to run it – and that unmarried people will be prioritized based on the distance (5500 km from Tokyo map otaku Rika declares, though I’d have sworn it was farther).
The idea she comes up with – faking a marriage to dodge the transfer – is not totally outlandish (it’s certainly been tried many times, and occasionally pulled off). The speed with which it all comes together – including Takuya’s acquiescence – is a bit far-fetched, but we’re not going for photo-realism here. I rather liked both Oohara and Honjouji, who were pretty relatable (more so him). And the way events played out was pretty believable. Like Honjouji-san proclaiming that no one at the office would care, a total misread someone like her would be very likely to make. If you’re ever worked in an office you know how this is going to turn out. And the fact that the principals are a couple of dormice just makes this twist that much more irresistible to their co-workers.
Is there anything more terrifying to an introvert than a surprise party? Especially under these circumstances. Poor Oohara is so out of the social loop he had to be told what the “usual place” for office hangouts was. I liked Honjouji’s attempt to construct a fake date, too – it was sad in an appealingly wistful way. I mean, obviously these two are actually going to develop feelings for each other but I don’t need the element of surprise here, as long as that process is enjoyable to watch play out. I see promise – yes, they’re both introverts but very different kinds (we’re like snowflakes that way). As a breezy and reflective comedy about appealing people Kekkon sure tte could work very well, and with Ikehata directing I think it has a real chance to be just that.
sonicsenryaku
October 4, 2024 at 10:36 pmuuuuuffff; Thursdays being as busy as they are for you sounds like the pits; truncate whatever write ups you need to, man. Will be checking Kekkon Suru out for sure though; sounds like the wholesome fix I’ll need for the season
Panino Manino
October 5, 2024 at 1:43 amThis gave me Netojuu nostalgia feelings…
Kongouji is really a “heroine”.
Marry me!
Nadavu
October 5, 2024 at 5:44 amThis all looks nice and all, but what I’m really excited about is getting some Northern Exposure vibes once they move to Alaska
Guardian Enzo
October 5, 2024 at 10:11 amBut who’s Dr. Fleischmann?
Truth is Anchorage is about as far from fictional Cicely as two places with moose in the streets can get. It’s an actual city with actual amenities (and moose).
ruicarlov
October 5, 2024 at 8:20 amFrom what I heard, in the manga the new branch is in Russia, not America. Irkutsk, it seems. It was an anime change to Alaska. Maybe related to the current geopolitical situaion? Who knows….
Guardian Enzo
October 5, 2024 at 10:09 amROFL! That makes even less sense but yes, maybe a concession to the current Ukraine situation.
Simone
October 10, 2024 at 12:07 pmCould make sense if they think tourism to Siberia sounds even more unrealistic under the circumstances.
Nicc
October 7, 2024 at 8:40 amI’m in the same boat as you when it came to last Thursday. I was looking up the schedule and I thought I brought up the schedule for Saturday by mistake. Nope, there are that many shows on Thursday. That many shows on a non-Friday weekday… Yeah, I’m not watching all that. I had to make some cuts already and shift some shows to Friday or Saturday. This one I shifted to Friday and here we go.
This is a series that I’ve been aware about for a couple of years already. It’s about a pair of adults working for a travel agency. Yep, they still do exist, though certainly not as common anymore as we can book flights, hotel reservations, rental car reservations, etc. on our own via online now. We’ve got Oohara Takuya and Honjouji Rika, both who are very quiet at the office. Right, Oohara has trouble communicating because he’s thinking about his words too much. Honjouji has a blank, stern expression which makes people think she’s upset at them, which includes Oohara and they happen to be office neighbors. It’s true that they’re both different. Oohara just wants to stay at home with his cat. Honjouji is a map otaku and doesn’t mind going out.
What kicks off the plot is when management announces that they’ll be opening a branch in Anchorage, Alaska. They’re going to send somebody from this office to manage it and they’re going to prioritize somebody who is unmarried. As we see from the calendar, it’s happening in 365 days. Indeed, it is a nice place to live and it’s still closer to Japan than the agent who is stuck in Tahiti. Or, move the location down the coast to Vancouver or Seattle and I think there would be far less complaints. Still, that means uprooting to head to another country and neither of them wants to do that. During a chance meeting outside of the office, Honjouji proposes to Oohara that they fake a marriage so that the both of them can dodge that transfer.
Now, it’s just a matter of making it convincing enough to their co-workers. It didn’t take long for them to accept as a surprise party is thrown for them. I was expecting something like this, though not so quickly. Honjouji is doing a lot of the legwork for this fake marriage, though she did inform Oohara about this in advance. She’s struggling with creating the fake date because even though this was here idea and they’ve been office neighbors some time already, she can’t remember his face. It was good for Oohara to show up to help, but he still has a ways to go to make this work too as we saw in the Ferris wheel. Sure, they’ll eventually get there and before the calendar runs out and I hope that the journey will be a fun one to watch.
leongsh
October 7, 2024 at 8:46 pmI hope they complete the whole adaptation into anime instead of leaving it halfway. The manga title is completed.
Zemox
October 11, 2024 at 4:22 amThe b£^^^ manager did a 180 once she heard our “couple ” are already engaged.