Manga Review - 'I Married My Female Friend Vol. 1' by Shio Usui

From the creator of 'Doughnuts Under a Crescent Moon' comes another sweet little slice-of-life yuri manga, 'I Married My Female Friend'.

It is like 'I Married My Best Friend to Shut My Parents Up', only a more appropriate title would be, 'I Married My Best Friend Upon Losing a Five-Year-Long Singles Bet and As Part of My Lifestyle Column'.

Kurumi is a writer of magazine articles who lives a fairly carefree life, thinking she's too preoccupied and selfish to be married to anyone - that she's unsuited for that life - and Ruriko is her best friend since school, a chef and a caterer (I think? I'm not exactly sure what she does) who is clearly in love with her, and who immediately gets Kurumi to marry her as the result of a promise they made five years earlier - that if they are both still single after that time, they will marry each other.

It wasn't a silly whim made by two girlfriends, as Kurumi had thought. She decides to write a series column about it for an online mag, titled 'I Married My Female Friend', which grows popular.

Speaking of growth, let the feelings of love - of different kinds, gradually deepening - between "friends" who are already married and living together, begin! See their relationship change and develop in ways they could not expect or anticipate!

'I Married My Female Friend Vol. 1' is very simple slice-of-life, but it's engaging, endearing and sweet enough to never be boring. The cover, with the two women holding each side of a grocery bag as they walk together? It bookends the volume. And the end of the third chapter has them both on a train towards home after a picnic, and because there are schoolgirls on the train as well, in the same uniform the women once wore a long time ago, the sleepy Kurumi thinks they are still schoolgirls, and have to get off at different stops as they live in separate homes. Then she falls asleep proper, her head resting on Ruriko's shoulder. Ruriko finds this adorable.

I know I keep using this word, but it's so sweet! And modern and realistic.

Kurumi and Ruriko mean so much to each other.

'I Married My Female Friend Vol. 1' is a recommended yuri title, that's just wholesome and nice.

It also reminds me of 'She Loves to Cook, and She Loves to Eat'.



'We might have gotten married...on a bit of a whim... [...] But I wouldn't have done this with just anyone. [...] You're special to me, Ruriko. [...] You could never put me out.'


'I know that all of this... [...] Could disappear someday. [...] But... [...] But I pray this married life of ours... [...] Won't end any time soon.'



Final Score: 3.5/5