REVIEW: ‘Yakuza Fiancé: Raise wa Tanin ga Ii’ Episode 3 — “The Triangle From Hell”

Yakuza Fiancé Episode 3 is perhaps the most exciting episode in the series thus far. The episode reveals several details about the anime’s Yakuza world and some of its intricacies while adding a new character that shakes up the narrative.

Yakuza Fiancé Episode 3 begins in a rather explicit and unexpected way, with Kirishima having sexual relations with an unknown woman who asks if he has a girlfriend. Kirishima then begins to brag about Yoshino and how much he loves her despite her being very abrasive. The woman then claims that a woman who constantly acts angry isn’t the best for him, but Kirishima is indifferent to her statement. The first scene proves that anime isn’t afraid to explore adult themes, and it does this subtly, which is rare in recent anime and praiseworthy for the series.

After the opening credits of Yakuza Fiancé Episode 3, we see Yoshino sleeping in her room at night, but Kirishima stalks her sleeping body. The following day, she wakes up, recognizes it is him, and acts as bewildered as ever by his actions. The next night, the same thing happens again, but Yoshino, paranoid that Kirishima plans to kill her in her sleep, tries to stab him while he oddly braids her hair as she sleeps.

However, he quickly stops her and diffuses the situation by claiming he wants to see her in a less angry mood since she’s always mad when he’s around. Yoshino calls out his stupidity and notices that he’s been hurt and that he’s been fooling around with women. She also flat-out tells him that she doesn’t care because she doesn’t love him, but in the same scene, she notes she doesn’t hate him and highlights his positive points. This unsurprisingly makes Kirishima excited, and he yells that he loves her.

In the next scene of Yakuza Fiancé, Episode 3, Yoshino receives an album in the mail from her family and reveals details of her deceased father to Kirishima. She showed how he wasn’t a fan of the Yakuza life and always fought with his grandfather. He moved out to have a family after high school but died due to an accident. Kirishima then tells her that her grandfather is in town attending the Goyu-kai Yakuza convention, hosting prominent Yakuza members of the Kanto region. While the summit is usually only reserved for Kanto Kirigaya-gumi groups, the Somei group has been allowed to attend this time due to the new alliance between the Somei and Miyama families.

As the meeting takes place, Kirishima reveals that his granduncle and boss of the Miyama group and Yoshino’s grandfather were very close friends, as shown by some pictures, which shocks Yoshino. After the meeting, the characters in question begin interacting with each other like old friends, proving they’re still as close as ever, which, for some reason, angers one of the other Kirigaya-gumi Lieutenants.

These last two scenes reveal more details about Kirishima and Yoshino’s families without making viewers feel like they’re sitting through tedious exposition. They also perfectly portray the dynamic between both families and how the Yakuza families orchestrate their dealings. However, the details of the summit were left out, which felt odd.

Yakuza Fiancé Episode 3 sees Yoshino talking to the character seen in the last minute of the previous episode. She asks him to help her retrieve another family album. Afterward, Yoshino has lunch with a member of the Somei group called Hotei. They begin their conversation, and it’s revealed that he raised Yoshino. He also asks about Kirishima and says he’d like to meet him as she’s worried about how he treats Yoshino.

During their conversation, the man Yoshino was on a call with appears, and with this, the anime finally introduces what is presumably another central character in the series, Toriashi Shoma. Shoma and Yoshino have been childhood friends for a long time. The Somei group took him in as a Yakuza member at age 13, and he has a seemingly rough family background and upbringing. We also learn that Kirishima was looking into Shoma during their lunch, no doubt because he sees him as a threat.

Shoma and Yoshino reminisce about their youth in Yakuza Fiancé Episode 3. Shoma asks Yoshino how Kirishima is. She tells him he is crazy and she is not interested in marrying him. She plans to be with him for only a year and dump him afterward, just like her grandfather suggests.

Shoma then alludes that they got together in the first place not just because of a new family alliance but also because a new war may be coming, and putting Yoshino in Tokyo will help prevent opposing members from making some moves. This would explain why the lieutenant looked upset while watching the Somei and Miyama heads interact.

Afterward, Shoma suggests that if Yoshino is unhappy with her current situation with Kirishima, he can kill him if she just says the word. While not surprising to the viewer, given Shoma’s demeanor, his statement frightens Yoshino. The episode ends with Kirishima meeting Shoma outside his apartment as Yoshino rests in his room.

Production-wise, Yakuza Fiancé Episode 3 still features great animation from Studio DEEN. It’s hard not to highlight the anime’s excellent designs for the character’s eyes, especially that of Shoma’s in this episode, which looks withdrawn yet still captivating, depicting his character quite well.

All in all, Yakuza Fiancé Episode 3 fires on all cylinders and provides an engrossing viewing experience. The episode excellently highlights more details about its characters, reveals another interesting character, and leaves off with a cliffhanger that teases another potentially great episode. Every revelation felt important and left way for even more exciting events.