Dating feels more difficult than ever, and the hardest part seems to be meeting people. Signing up for dating sites shows there isn’t a shortage of others looking for romance; it’s difficult to find the one in the sea of profiles. After finding a match that may catch your eye, the next step is messaging, and if you click, the real challenge is the first physical date. This is where the magic of romance can wear away. It’s time to get more creative with dating, and asking for tips from friends on the dating scene never hurt either. Hikaru Gero is entering the dating pool for business with a marriage swindler turned consultant by his side. Together, they find Gero unique dates that don’t always go to plan, but they’re always successful. Find love in strange places in MarriageToxin.
Hikaru Gero, the head of the poison clan, suddenly finds himself in a predicament. He needs to find a wife. He has zero interest in dating or complex human companionship of any kind. He has one friend he sees for drinks, and that’s the extent of his life outside of his family and work. When the poison clan’s future is called into question, he knows he needs to start dating. Helpless in the ways of romance Gero’s lucky his next assassination target is a marriage swindler. Mei Kinosaki is a professional when it comes to love, and he’s no stranger to getting wrapped up with criminals. Kinosaki promises to find Gero a wife, and in return, his life is spared. In my opinion, MarriageToxin has a sharp opening to get viewers invested before the first ending song rolls.
At first I thought MarriageToxin was going to be a harem anime. Instead, it’s going to make me adore all the love interests and stress about who Gero is going to choose. Gero isn’t just pursuing a woman for the sake of fulfilling his duty to the family; he’s pursuing genuine love. When Kinosaki informs Gero he has another woman to meet after just finishing a date, he feels like a cheater. Especially because he just informed his date he wanted to get to know her more as a person before making anything official. That was enough in his mind to stop his search for love. To Kinosaki, there are a lot of people in the world to meet, and the first option isn’t necessarily the magical one. It’s just the excitement of a crush. I thought it was sweet that Gero was immediately mindful of the woman’s feelings. He tries hard from the start to be husband material. He’s just shy and awkward.
Gero is introduced as a cold, disconnected character, which I think makes sense for someone in his line of work. You can’t get attached to targets. The show often flashes through Gero’s past, letting viewers piece together the lack of emotional support he received as a child. His one role was to become the leader of one of the most influential assassin families. His goal to suddenly find a wife comes from a place of love. If he doesn’t get married, his sister, who has a girlfriend and is trying to lead a normal life, will be forced into a marriage to continue the bloodline. Gero doesn’t want to see his sister give up the life she’s made for herself with someone she loves, away from their complicated family business. He goes on this quest to protect his sister’s happiness. The root of MarriageToxin’s plot comes from love, and the show is Gero’s healing.
I personally love the gimmick of Gero’s phone filling with contacts of the woman he meets. I think it shows his growth in a unique way. His contacts list is virtually empty when he decides to start dating. With each mission completed, his contacts list gets longer. It’s not just with prospective dates either; he makes new friends on his missions. Gero gradually went from a solo act to a team player. I enjoy watching his confidence start to grow from only being himself around Kinosaki to being himself around Kimie quickly. Until she admits her love for him, then his own anxiety stops him. In a cute way. My favorite scene that shows how far Gero has come in one season is when he forces himself to give in and eat Kimie’s cooking. Gero mentions several times how he can’t eat any food he hasn’t prepared himself. It was drilled into him growing up how food could be poisoned to kill him. It was safest to only consume something he made to be sure. Eating someone else’s cooking shows he’s accepting the changes in his life that have happened from letting others in. It was a huge step.
All of the mental changes manifest in Gero’s newly unlocked ability at the end of season one. Poison masters eventually unlock the ability to have their very touch become toxin-like a poison dart frog. Gero’s differs from the typical poison touch every other assassin knows about. Radiant Burst is not fully lethal and does not kill the first time Gero uses it because he admits he had no intent to kill.
News about Gero going against the standards put in place by the high-ranking families doesn’t go unnoticed. The heir to a prominent family taking low-paying jobs to meet women gets whispered about around social circles. This gossip comes to a head in the final episode of season one as Gero’s sister informs him another member of the Poison Clan is said to be targeting Kinosaki. I was in disbelief when there was no next episode button after that reveal. The writers set up a good cliffhanger to set up season two, which of course got the green light. I had no worries about that.
There is so much to enjoy with MarriageToxin: well-paced fights, superhuman abilities, self-discovery, and romance. There’s meaning behind the gags and laughter dissecting how love changes people. Romantic or platonic, having a support system means something. Bug master is Gero’s best friend because he was the first one to reach out to Gero. He’s always been a master with a soft heart, which I thought seemed rare. His wedding episode is beautiful; for once, I wasn’t completely terrified of bugs. They were gentle, just like their master, who seems rough on the outside, but gentle on the inside.
MarriageToxins’ biggest question is who will Gero have the privilege of marrying? Personally, I think all of his options are great. The female cast is full of sparks, standing out in their own ways. If it could be anyone, I like to think he’d end up with Kinosaki, which is a hot debate between fans. Kinosaki just had great chemistry with Gero, and they complement each other. Gero is level-headed and calculated, but anxious. Kinosaki is bold and excitable, which gets him into trouble as he can miss the danger in a situation, acting first on instinct. He’s still kind of getting used to the danger associated with the life of being an assassin. If Kinosaki is off the table due to circumstances with an heir, I think Kimie would be my pick for Gero. She has that same excitable, ambitious air around her. Whose your favorite romantic match for Gero?
Leave a Reply