REVIEW: ‘Marriagetoxin’ Episode 8 — “The Hitman Hunter”

Marriagetoxin Episode 8 is an explosive episode that delivers insightful and entertaining moments through the introduction of new characters and the ensuing fight scene. Marriagetoxin Episode 8  begins with more casual dating training as  Kinosaki (Shion Wakayama) takes Hikaru (Haruki Ishiya) to an arcade to teach him how to impress girls by winning a variety of games. Hikaru unsurprisingly fails at the simple games but overdoes the physically demanding ones, leading to some cartoonish, humorous moments.

Eventually, the two go into a photo booth, where they discuss the recent string of assassinations by the Hitman Hunter. However, before they can finish the conversation, they are interrupted by Arashiyama Kimie (Hinano Shirahama). A boisterous assassin master who asks to take a photo with Hikaru and then begs him to protect her from the Hitman Hunter, as she believes she’s next on his list.

After an incredibly animated moment that makes her fondness for Hikaru clear in Marriagetoxin Episode 8, Kimie properly introduces herself as the Master of Hamsters, a member of the Hamster clan, which is a branch family of the Beast Clan. While Kimie’s ability to control hamsters is useful for intelligence gathering and espionage, she isn’t a fighter, as her abilities aren’t suited to it, especially since she’s never killed anyone. Because of this, she has basically been ostracised by the main family and the other branch families, who have decided she’ll be the shield against the Hitman Hunter while they plot to take him out themselves.

Kimie’s introduction in Marriagetoxin Episode 8 is incredibly impactful and leaves a lasting impression.

Hikaru decides to take on the job of being her protector, despite the price being significantly lower than what a job like that would cost her. This makes Kimie fawn over him even more, showcasing her loud, boisterous personality in the process.

Kimie is the opposite of Shiori: despite being the weakest Master so far, she’s incredibly energetic. However, like Shiori, she already seems to have a crush on Hikaru, judging by her actions. Kimie’s introduction does a great job of revealing more details about assassin clans and assassins in general. We finally learn about one of the other great five clans, the Beast Clan, and how their branches operate.

Marriagetoxin Episode 8 also reveals that some assassins aren’t all homicidal maniacs or even killers, as some, like Kimie, try to live normal lives. As usual, the anime does a great job of revealing these details through characters rather than just exposition.

We dive deeper into the world of assassins and, surprisingly, some are quite normal.

The next scene shows the three heading to a nearby Zoo to meet Kimie’s associates, only to find all the animal masters dead and the Hitman Hunter waiting at the scene. The Hitman instantly attacks Hikaru, who’s focused on protecting Kinosaki and Kimie, and a fight breaks out between them.

Despite Hikaru’s established physical prowess and accomplishments, he is quickly and easily overwhelmed by the Hitman, who not only is incredibly strong but also surpasses Hikaru’s swiftness. Hikaru tries to get an edge over him by injecting himself with more physically enhancing toxins. However, despite doing this twice, he is still no match for the jaded and unenthused Hitman. At some point in the fight, the hitman stops some animals from getting a stray hit.

Hikaru notices this and starts a conversation with him, where he learns that this Hitman is not an assassin and is not associated with any clan. Hikaru deduces that the Hitman is likely a “mutant,” but doesn’t elaborate on what that means. The Hitman reveals he’s basically just a regular guy. Hikaru tries to finish the fight with a third injection, but it knocks him out immediately, leaving him immobilized.

The Hitman proves to be more than a match for Hikaru, resulting in one of the best fight scenes yet.

The fight scene in Marriagetoxin Episode 8 is one of the best in the anime so far. While short, it is explosive and engaging, and does a great job highlighting the speed and strength of both characters, as well as the difference between them. The animation from Bones, while not the best in the series so far, is still captivating, fluid and engaging.

As the Hitman goes in for the kill, he’s interrupted by Kimie, who tries to attack him with a seemingly harmless hamster attack. But before it’s revealed what the attack is, the Hitman has a change of mind simply because Hikaru seems to be different from other assassins due to how his friends defend him, which is a rare sight among assassins.

This change of heart is somewhat unrealistic, especially given how close he was to killing Hikaru. Additionally, the revelation that this world has mutants, without additional information, such as what exactly they are and how they become mutants, is incredibly unsatisfying.

While the ending is a little chaotic, it sets the stage for the next phase of the series.

We only learn that they are unrelated to the assassin clans and are more formidable and stronger than assassin masters who have trained for years to get as strong as they are. However, more details are likely to be revealed in a future episode. But given how slowly the revelations come in this anime, it unfortunately may not be anytime soon.

After the fight, the Hitman introduces himself as Piichi Nakagawa. He’s going after assassins because he wants to open a café with his girlfriend, but he’ll only do that once all the dangerous people are dealt with. He learned about a malicious plot by the animal clan, which is why he was pursuing several assassins to learn more about it, while also taking out dangerous assassins associated with the clan.

Piichi asks Kimie if she knows anything, but before she can give a full response, her choker slowly starts killing her. An unknown assassin speaking through a bat reveals himself to be the culprit, and Marriagetoxin Episode 8 ends with him asking the group to come after him at the Beast Clan’s home, the Dogo Animal Kingdom.

Marriagetoxin Episode 8 is another engaging episode, thanks to the introduction of new, peculiar characters and its consistently high animation quality. While not wholly satisfying in execution, the episode also further expands the world of assassins in creative ways.

Marriagetoxin Episode 8 is streaming on Crunchyroll.

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