REVIEW: ‘Marriagetoxin’ Episode 1 — “The Poison Master’s Search for a Bride”

Marriagetoxin Episode 1 proves why it is one of the biggest anime adaptations and titles airing this season. The source material is one of the best modern Shonen titles in recent years, and the adaptation highlights all the best parts right from the start.

Marriagetoxin Episode 1 follows Hikaru Gero (Haruki Ishiya), the current only male in the direct line to be an heir in the Gero family,  a renowned clan of Poison Master assassins. Due to his line of work, Gero is unable to meet women, fall in love, or enter any romantic relationships. Because of this, he’s basically given up on the concept of love and marriage, despite everyone around him getting married and pressure from his grandmother, the current head of the family, to have him or his sister marry and continue the clan.

Things quickly take a turn for the worse when he learns his grandmother is now pressuring his sister into forcibly marrying and reproducing. To ensure he protects his sister’s liberty while also maintaining his choice in a partner, Gero teams up with Mei Kinosaki (Shion Wakayama), a marriage swindler who dresses as a woman, one of the targets he chooses not to kill, to be his matchmaker.

Marriagetoxin Episode 1 introduces Gero and Kinosaki wonderfully. 

Marriagetoxin Episode 1 does a fantastic job of showcasing the personalities and goals of the two protagonists. Though an oddball, Gero is determined and diligent, and only focuses on work while ignoring his wants and needs. He uses his job as an excuse to hide his fear of rejection and vulnerability, but finally decides to take the necessary first step.

Despite his job as a literal killer, he has a moral code of only killing bad people, and he clearly cares about those he gets close to. All these details are portrayed excellently through several scenes in the episode, especially the opening scenes and his meeting with Kinosaki.

Similarly, despite being a criminal, Kinosaki chooses his targets carefully through a similar code and is incredibly determined to help his sick brother, whom he claims is the only reason he swindles people. Despite being faced with danger several times, he always voices his opinions and never cowers in the face of it.

The adaptation delivers a strong blend of comedy and action.

Marriagetoxin Episode 1highlights the two characters well and serves as an excellent introduction to them. However, viewers notably get a clearer glimpse of Gero’s character than of Kinosaki’s, as he doesn’t get as much screen time yet.

The next segment, Marriagetoxin Episode 1, follows them as Kinosaki sets up dates for Gero, but he fumbles them all epically by scaring the women away with his quirks. This sequence of scenes showcases the anime’s humorous elements while also highlighting some really good character designs through the clothes and aesthetics of the leads and several characters.

While the character designs aren’t very distinct, each character’s outfits and fashion sense are eye-catching. However, the art direction isn’t as impressive in comparison as the plain backgrounds aren’t as striking or eye catching.

After a day of dating failures, the two separate, but Kinosaki is then captured by an associate of his captors from earlier in the episode, whom Gero had to poison. Despite having to run after a speeding car, Gero effortlessly catches up to them, easily dispatches Kinosaki’s pursuers, and rescues him.

Marriagetoxin has the potential to be one of the year’s best shonen adaptations. 

The scene showing Gero’s incredible speed and athleticism as he jumps over and splits a moving car in half with a caustic chemical looks immaculate. It showcases fantastic animation, with crisp, fluid motions that are swift and explosive. It also features several vibrant shots and amazing composition. Additionally, the episode showcases an amazing soundtrack with several tracks that elevate each scene.

Marriagetoxin Episode 1 ends with Gero saving Kinosaki and the two exchanging contact information, which shows how they’ve grown closer. While the episode adapts the first few chapters excellently, its pacing feels almost too fast, as the plot progresses quickly after the first few scenes.

Marriagetoxin Episode 1 serves as an excellent introduction to the protagonists and fantastically showcases excellent animation and production quality from studio Bones. As such, the anime has the potential to be one of the best shonen adaptations this season.

Marriagetoxin Episode 1 is streaming on Crunchyroll.