I mean sure the circumstances of their marriage are kind of odd but since i'm a big fan of this author and i really enjoy tonikaku kawaii i'm willing to overlook it and just enjoy

If the premise of this story was that one of the characters was actually a space alien, I'll wager no one would have the slightest objection...

Or, more realistically, friends marrying for immigration reasons.

In the US we'd add marrying for health insurance but Japan is a civilized country.

If either of us falls in love with someone else, we'll go back to being just friends.

I went from fuzzy feels to ominous "GO GO GO" sounds in a microsecond.

Lol, talk about dropping a last-second bomb on us poor unsuspecting readers.

I feel like a lot of people are overvaluing the marriage in this case. The series takes place in a world where same-sex marriage is legalized and two women do it on a whim with zero social stigma, suggesting that it's roughly as acceptable as het marriage, at least in their general social circles. Lots of people get hitched on an impulse- marriage these days is just a matter of submitting the right documentation to an office, not some glorious union of destined love. It's not particularly inconvenient, they're on excellent terms with each other, and the whole thing is basically glorified cohabitation for the sake of wacky humour. Heck, it's even acknowledged in-universe as the premise of Kurumi's manga- people see the title, get intrigued by the premise and its potential for unique dynamics, and follow the narrative thanks to the novelty.

Just like the readers in-universe, we're trying to resolve the traditionally romantic connotations of marriage with a more realistic, formalized arrangement that resembles it in legal status alone, and wondering if reversing the order could lead to the same result. It's a premise that's been used to jump-start romance in countless series, het or otherwise, and I'd say that Shio giving it a legal basis, a genuine in-universe reason that reflects the process of the manga's creation, and a shared history between good buddies makes this one of the most realistic takes on the 'marriage-before-romance' story type.

If a straight male coworker of mine came into work tomorrow and told me he married his platonic female friend just cuz’ I would tell him that was the most insane shit I’d heard in my life

Also I don’t know if you live under a rock or at the Elvis themed chapel in Vegas but thats not how marriage usually works “these days”

last edited at Dec 30, 2020 3:31AM

It also seems like Ruriko added that last rule for no reason which confused me a bit since it seems like it is she who has feelings for Kurumi, unless that was already written and Kurumi added her own rule at number 4 and moved that one to number 5

Kurumi added it here last minute as "the most important rule", since at the top of the page the 4 other rules are already written by Ruriko.
https://dynasty-scans.com/chapters/trying_out_marriage_with_my_female_friend_ch02#3
Feel sad for Ruriko :(

I was thinking she wrote the one about trash since she says/thinks "the one who wrote the rule ended up breaking it" or something along the lines of that

If a straight male coworker of mine came into work tomorrow and told me he married his platonic female friend just cuz’ I would tell him that was the most insane shit I’d heard in my life

Also I don’t know if you live under a rock or at the Elvis themed chapel in Vegas but thats not how marriage usually works “these days”

There exist couples who get into amateur BDSM and need to call the police to get them out of handcuffs, people who take shits on each other every Sunday, people who get into heterosexual marriages to conceal their homosexual liaisons, people who use websites to track marriage partners or put ads in the paper so they don't end up single post-30 and people who get hitched because they had sex at midnight in a gas station bathroom, but live in a country where abortions are illegal. Surprise, surprise, diverse situations and individuals exist, and the planet doesn't end at the edges of your neighborhood.

Regardless, my original post explains the issue from an angle that examines and justifies the tropes put into use and acknowledges the way premises and demographics work for romantic fiction. Your post draws on your own hyper-subjective experience, which I'm guessing is not relevant here, and from a mildly condescending conclusion about how marriages work everywhere, which I'm assuming is also subjective. So maybe take a second to think carefully about you're what reading before lobbing rocks at people for not seeing 2-dimensional lesbians in the same way you do.

If a straight male coworker of mine came into work tomorrow and told me he married his platonic female friend just cuz’ I would tell him that was the most insane shit I’d heard in my life

Also I don’t know if you live under a rock or at the Elvis themed chapel in Vegas but thats not how marriage usually works “these days”

There exist couples who get into amateur BDSM and need to call the police to get them out of handcuffs, people who take shits on each other every Sunday, people who get into heterosexual marriages to conceal their homosexual liaisons, people who use websites to track marriage partners or put ads in the paper so they don't end up single post-30 and people who get hitched because they had sex at midnight in a gas station bathroom, but live in a country where abortions are illegal. Surprise, surprise, diverse situations and individuals exist, and the planet doesn't end at the edges of your neighborhood.

Regardless, my original post explains the issue from an angle that examines and justifies the tropes put into use and acknowledges the way premises and demographics work for romantic fiction. Your post draws on your own hyper-subjective experience, which I'm guessing is not relevant here, and from a mildly condescending conclusion about how marriages work everywhere, which I'm assuming is also subjective. So maybe take a second to think carefully about you're what reading before lobbing rocks at people for not seeing 2-dimensional lesbians in the same way you do.

There exist people who cover themselves in mountain dew before taking a shit, who only fuck during full moons, who think a garbage bag will protect them covid.

This somehow justifies this stories leaps in logic which everyone in the story views as completely normal and is definitely not a total non sequitur, I am very wise

last edited at Jan 1, 2021 1:38PM

There exist people who cover themselves in mountain dew before taking a shit, who only fuck during full moons, who think a garbage bag will protect them covid.

This somehow justifies this stories leaps in logic which everyone in the story views as completely normal and is definitely not a total non sequitur, I am very wise

Precisely. I'm glad you understand.

Kurumi hamster is adorable.

That last rule looks painful for her

Lasses and lads what is this larping

Or, more realistically, friends marrying for immigration reasons.

In the US we'd add marrying for health insurance but Japan is a civilized country.

Wow shots fired! But as a member of the USA I totally agree.

Lasses and lads what is this larping

It feels like soon it'll stop being larping.

umaibo are great

Hnnng, that bus stop comparison and callback to their HS days is just too sweet, parting ways sucks, but they no longer have to they're a family.
Also girls resting their head on your shoulder is A1, this whole chapter is A1.

Just imagine if comedies posited unrealistic scenarios as part of their setup—there would be things like one sloppy person and one over-the-top neat freak being roommates, or a male actor disguising himself as a woman to get more acting jobs, or a random group of tourists on a three-hour boat tour being shipwrecked for years on a tropical island. Stuff like that.

It would be so unrealistic.

Can I just say that I really appreciate Knight Heron's info/credits pages?

That was last scene so sweet, calling back to when they rode the train together in their school days. Really into this manga at this point!

I wonder why on every chapter the mangaka is mentioned as "Presented by" - could it be that the story is done by someone else and Usui Shio-san is presenting (drawing) it as manga?

Lasses and lads what is this larping

It feels like soon it'll stop being larping.

Certainly that's the premise. But IRL, I would consider this to be a Very Bad Idea to playact like a couple and family when you aren't one. That's a recipe for misunderstandings about what the other wants. You can have a sham marriage with a good friend to scam the welfare system, but imo you're either a real couple or you're not. Clean emotional lines save future hurt.

This isn't the sole way to interpret emotional relationships. For a counterperspective, A Room For Two posits and describes a happy long term life partnership relationship straddling the platonic and romantic lines, without clear definition. Though unnamed and unlabelled, it is a relationship built on lasting commitment, a shared understanding of each other's feelings, and years of comfortable cohabitation and change.

(There's been endless debate in the fanbase over whether A Room For You is "really" yuri, and if the relationship actually has sufficient emotional commitment from both sides. The point is that the narrative presents itself with the thesis that the relationship is valid, stable, and healthy.)

The relationship presented in "Trying Out Marriage With My Female Friend," on the other hand, is more flagrantly artificial. The last rule of "we are free to break up and pursue other partners" is evidence of a lack of true long-term commitment actively bought-into. Probably the artificiality and conflict in goals is a plot setup for future misunderstandings and necessary clarification of emotional lines.

This is the most wholesome thing I read since a long while

imo you're either a real couple or you're not. Clean emotional lines save future hurt.

That's certainly an opinion you can have. I'm personally committed to "clean emotional lines" myself

But I've also known any number of "not really a couple/off-and-on as a couple but always together/we prefer to leave it ambiguous/you thought we were together when we weren't but now we are," etc, couples, and the degree of hurt involved, if any, was (mostly) known only to them.

last edited at Jan 26, 2021 1:44PM

I love all the hand gestures going on in this series, it really brings a lot of personality out in both characters.

My heart feels so soft and fluffy after this chapter, what a lovely lovely manga.