Shanai Marijjihani (2020)

Ah, what a feel-good series!

After reading the comments and reviews, I was expecting a lot of fluff, and that is exactly what this show delivered. This is truly a show with lots of heart, romance, and on-point comedy, one that is guaranteed to make you smile and cheer at least once.

It is a simple love story, almost entirely focused on the OTP. Where the show excels is with its romance and phenomenal chemistry between its two leads. Both Matsui Airi and Itagaki Mizuki are great in their roles, and I can really feel the warmth they have on-screen together. They are so cute together that I would watch this show just for the couple's interactions. Yes, I did cringe a lot but in a good way.

I like that the ML and FL are both mutually attracted at the same time even though Manatsu-san acts all cool and detached initially, and I enjoyed watching the flirty teasing, cute jealousy, and growing love between them. The almost immediate racy skinship is a plus for me since it is rare in most Asian dramas. What I truly appreciate is the emphasis on open communication in a relationship and how the couple values honesty and respect between each other.

Despite the fluff and the short length, the show is well-executed, and everything is tied up nicely in the end. The starting song is fun to listen to and lends the same tone of optimism and positivity that is infused throughout the show. I have to admit that I kept waiting for something melodramatic to happen since the show would tease the audience with hints of potential rifts or serious issues. Fortunately, matters and misunderstandings are cleared up quickly, and the serious moments would transition into sexy ones.

The cast is a bunch of good-looking actors, and if nothing else, no matter who you look at - either Ami-chan, Manatsu-san, or the other characters, the visuals are pleasing.

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Cute, but inconsequential

This drama goes down easy. It's cheerful and inoffensive. The leads are bubbly and good looking and pleasant. Having said that, there is little genuine emotion, no character development, little reason to form any particular attachment to the characters. This drama is pleasant enough to watch, but artificial, contrived, and entirely forgettable. It's worth watching when you want something brainless and simple. The poo music is irritating, the rewatch value is nil. The actors are constantly flashing enormous, fake looking smiles, which are a bit off-putting.

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Fun And Enjoyable

Great story and very different. The story about 2 people that meet and get married the same day. They show how they conquer each other hearts and fall in love. How they survive, understand, communicate to make their marriage last. The characters in this drama are so cute. Both lead characters make this drama, especially when they smile at each other. The chemistry between the lead characters are perfect to make you believe in their characters. The actors performance is great. I like how the writer stay in one subject with no other conflict then what we have in an everyday week as newlyweds. It will put a smile on your face and you will enjoy it.

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Feel Good Romance in a Class by Itself!

My first J drama has set the bar INCREDIBLY high and is right up there with my gold standard Hello Again! The writers have concocted a clever story with two extremely likable, attractive leads who start off with a happy beginning and elevate their romance to the happiest of endings. They're a couple of good hearted young people who find themselves in a hasty marriage and then start to fall in love with each other. It's just popcorn bubble gum sweet to watch their flirtations as their feelings deepen as much through their thoughts as their dialogue.

Everyone in the drama is as happy for their newlywed bliss as we in the audience are. His ex, their families, and their co workers all support their surprise marriage. There's no jealousy or resentment about how they tried to keep the relationship a secret or she's not good enough for someone's precious son. Every mini conflict results in a harmonious resolution and cementing their bond even further.

She sets out to "conquer" his heart and they're soon declaring their love and quickly behaving comfortably enough with each other to become physically intimate by the second episode! The skinship only picks up from there as the close-ups, kind words, and lovemaking will melt your heart as they get to know each other as husband and wife. The scene when she meets his mother is beyond cute and touching.

I'm surprised that Marriage Honey is only my first J drama as I lived in Japan for three years in the 90s and still love the sound of the language and Japanese movies. Now living in China I've sought out dramas in Mandarin, especially those from Taiwan, which bears some cultural similarities to Japan. Marriage Honey exemplifies the Japanese ethos of preserving harmony so I'm not surprised at how perfectly romantic this drama is and how captivated I was by every episode.

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Great chemistry, but a silly plot

Warning, DETAILED SPOILERS!! My review is basically an essay, so the TL;DR is that the lead actor and actress have great chemistry, but there are endless problems with the plot.

This drama had great chemistry between the lead actor and actress, which largely went to waste because one can’t help but be distracted by the silliness of the plot. I’ve seen my fair share of contract marriage dramas because I’m a sucker for this cliché, but never have I seen one which so egregiously fails to justify the reason for the parties entering into the contract marriage. For the lead girl, her “reason” for entering into the marriage is that she’s just come out of a 5 year relationship, with the guy cheating on her, and she just wants to get married and doesn’t care whether or not the marriage is loveless. Uh…what?? That makes absolutely no sense. With no real incentive e.g. financial, it’s completely illogical for someone who has just come out of a long-term relationship to go, ‘oh yes, let me get married to a stranger!’ For the lead guy, his “reason” is that his mum had recurrent breast cancer and he knows she doesn’t want to see him alone. And yet, despite him supposedly marrying to please his mum, she doesn’t even meet the wife until they’re well into their marriage. Oh, and of course, isn’t it oh so convenient that the “recurrent” breast cancer resolves itself, so that his mum is now perfectly fine!

So we’ve already got this ridiculous setup, but to make the plot even more egregious, we’re meant to believe that these strangers married without knowing anything about each other, not even where they work. Simply out of concern for your safety, as if you’d do that! But again, conveniently for the plot, they work at the same company and run into each other regularly at work once they’re married. Funny that, given they never ran into each other before marrying.

Now to dissect the idiocy in some serious detail…the pacing of this drama is ridiculous. We’re only half-way through Episode 1 (24 minute episodes mind you), and the lead girl's already fallen for the guy, with no time jump or anything involved. Also within the first episode, they’re flirting and kissing. The flirting and kissing was so ridiculous in its suddenness, that at first I thought the lead girl was fantasising but alas, despite them not even really knowing each other, I was wrong! There’s also straight-up plot holes, like the fact that in Episode 2 they both say ‘I love you’ (again, they hardly know each other), but then when the lead guy says ‘I love you’ again to the girl in Episode 3, she’s really surprised by it. Another plot hole in my opinion is that in Episode 6 we find out that the lead guy wants kids, even though we also found out that before his contract marriage, he never even wanted to get married. That hardly adds up.

There’s so many more examples of lazy writing. The girl repeatedly calls the guy a sadist, and he repeatedly calls her crafty and says she’s cute. Like, could you vary the dialogue a bit please? Then there’s the whole silly justification for keeping the marriage secret (he “missed the timing” to tell people, and “when my wife is trying to keep it a secret her reactions are cute” - Episode 4) which doesn't add up because it's so nonsensical and childish.

I also can’t help but be disappointed by the female lead. I’m not sure whether this is worth mentioning since it’s omnipresent in jdramas and films and it’s pretty scathing commentary, but we yet again have on our hands a boring, one-dimensional female lead. While the lead guy is (only naturally) a leader in his field, being at the top of sales every month, our main girl is thoroughly mediocre at work and at the end of the day, like all good Japanese women in jdramas, is above all else happy when she can please her man by acting like a good housewife. You know, despite her also working full-time…While she’s super-duper impressed by her husband cooking one meal (that apparently makes him the perfect husband), we see her frequently cooking up impressive meals for him. But not only that, when her husband’s friend comes over to their place, she’s over the moon about being able to impress him (and thereby her husband) with her cooking skills. As she says, ‘I’ve always longed for this’. Wow, isn’t that just fabulous, a woman longing to impress her future husband by feeding his friend. And if you think I’m being too harsh, think about how ridiculous you would find this scenario if the genders were reversed.

I’ve honed in on all of the bad things with this show deliberately, because I think it has an inflated rating on MDL and others have covered the good things already. However, I should briefly mention the good things. I absolutely love the chemistry and sensuality in the relationship, and love that they regularly have sex, like a normal couple does! I also love that the girl wants it just as much as the guy, even if he’s the initiator. I think it's great that their relationship is healthy, even with all of the plot holes. The show is sweet, with no over-the-top conflict. It's also the perfect length, great for a binge watch. While I was frustrated the whole time I was watching it, there’s something addictive about it (I’d say because of the leads’ chemistry).

So if you’re someone who just wants good chemistry between the leads and don’t care too much about a well-constructed plot, I’d say go ahead and watch! Otherwise, I’d say go into it without any serious expectations.

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A cute funny romance. Worth the watch

really enjoy this drama. The main cast had great chemistry in which made it fun. It was a storyline about ML wanting to get married as soon as possible in order to put his mom as ease.(she had breast ca). FL just broke up with BF of 5yr since he cheated and needed to get over him when an app on her phone popped up and showed her his add. So they meet and find each other cute and agree to marriage and he buys a house so it looks real and she moves into her own bedroom. At the beginning it was awkward, but soon they each found ways to learn about the other. Then one day they meet at work by accident and agree not to tell anyone at first.. The more she was cute he'd fall more in love, but he would play and tell her not to coddle with anyone but him. Since she was a little nieve and saw the best she never realized when the guys at work talked to her they really wanted to ask her out.
They meet each others families and all is good except her mom kept comparing him to her ex. Which is wrong, but it was funny. Then she looses her ring and goes a little nuts about it, but he tries to wave it over. Continue watching for the end
The whole drama 7 episodes 25min each well worth the watch it was a cute, sweet and loving drama and a few Hotties. Lately really enjoying Japanese drama/movie👍🏻

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A feel-good fluffy drama with little to no actual plot

This is the perfect drama to watch if you don't have anything else on your plate and don't feel like picking up yet another complex show that requires your attention.

The best part about "Shanai Marriage Honey" was undoubtedly the acting. The actors were required to do some pretty over-the-top stuff, but they managed to make it watchable. Both the ML and the FL were your standard romantic protagonists, so he was teasing her a lot, and she was *always* smiling unless she was upset. Nevertheless, they each brought very good chemistry to the table, and it was a joy to watch them interact and be sappy and in love with each other.

The romance, which was central to the show, itself was pretty good - we had the falling in love stage, getting to know each other, and of course a happily ever after. I liked that they both communicated their feelings (especially the FL) and the casual intimacy (both physical and emotional). My only gripes are: the *insanely* quick way they both fall in love. I'm not joking, in the morning they're taking very awkward wedding photos and the same evening the FL is already thinking of making him like her for real.
The other thing I'm displeased with is kissing - their hugs and love scenes had more passion than kisses. It seemed like actors were forced to press their lips.

The last thing I want to talk about is the plot. It was virtually non-existent, which I expected going in, but the drama really needed at least a few conversations between characters that didn't revolve around marriage/romance. I want to mention that I actually enjoyed the appearance of the ex - it didn't cause any issues between the couple, and the ex wasn't villainized. In fact, she had my absolute favorite conversation in the show with the FL. Meeting-the-parents trope was also easily subverted - both the FL and the ML were excited to meet each other's families, and the parents, too, were very kind and supportive.

All in all, it was a very fast binge that provided what I needed at the moment - some romantic fluff with good chemistry, and a marriage-of-convenience trope as a treat.

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It's just good.

Overall, I say that I recommend it to anyone that likes romance stories.

Story.
First, I have to say that the premise is just ridiculous. If it was real life, marrying a stranger would lead to disasters rather than true love. However, this is not real life and it is also Japan, so of course, this was going to work out. As many have stated, this story is just full of fluffy and romance, and that true. Really liked how each episode was about a small everyday problem they had, due to the fact that they didn't really know each other. It just adds a layer of realism to this cray set up. And the solutions were not just magically solved by plot convenience (looking at you Coffee and Vanilla)., instead, most were actually solved with some dialogue.

Acting/Cast
The two main characters were great! Matsui Airi just knows how to act, as always and this was no exception. I could help but fall for her smile and just want Ami-chan to be happy. As for Itagaki Mizuki, I had only seen him in a minor role before, and even though he is quite young, he pulled it off amazingly. Manatsu-san is just a caring and compaction guy and he didn't feel creepy as many "perfect" male leads feel.

Music
It was great and I enjoyed it.

Rewatch Value
I can definitely see myself rewatching this later on. Really liked it.

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Sweet, digestible and heart-pounding! Highly recommend!

Thoroughly enjoyed this drama from start to finish! The thing that I liked the best and stood out to me the most was how great the writing was! I was surprised how much they fit into 25 minute episodes without it feeling rushed - wonderfully paced. Adding to how great the writing was, these characters were actually CONSISTENT throughout (except one minor side character in my opinion, but that didn't really impact anything), and there were no weird unrealistic communication issues (I've found to be common in j-dramas particularly) or dumb overreactions.

The acting was good - Matsui Airi in particular did a fantastic job at her 'kawaii azatoi' character, and again, she was written really well. The side actors all did a great job - the only thing that sticks out to me as not great was Itagaki Mizuki, but I think this may have been how he was directed to act in some scenes. He does a great job 90% of the time, but occasionally he acts a bit differently in a way that feels forced, which I'm guessing is because he was directed to do that particular thing.
The chemistry between the leads is absolutely fantastic.

The music in this was inoffensive. Not jaw-dropping but it isn't something that stuck out, which I think more than suits this drama, hence my rating.

If you watch this all in one sitting, it may feel like it goes a bit quick, but when you think about how this was aired to be seen once a week, they paced it perfectly.

I would've loved to have seen a bit more of their back story, but maybe we'll see that in a second season?

A feel-good, heartwarming, refreshing rom-com. Watch this drama to let go and relax!

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Light and fluffy romance

I started watching this because of the marriage of convenience trope. The girl was really cute and the guy was so-so.

However, in episode 2 I finally found the guy HELLA CUTE. I thought he was the usual aloof character, but he was also extremely adorable in his own way.

I was so surprised to discover that they already started kissing in the first episode! Suffice to say, this short drama has a lot of skinship and you just can’t help but smile at the romance unfolding the entire time.

The plot is simple and slow, no overly dramatic characters nor dragged-out plot. This really is just a story of two people working together to make their marriage of convenience work, all the while learning how to compromise and communicate. No external factors that could potentially put a huge dent on their relationship.

So if you want some light, cutesy romance with lots of skinship, this one is for you.

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