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As a deadly assassin from the poison clan, Gero swears he’ll never settle down—that is, until the family orders his sister to produce the poison clan’s next heir. Refusing to let his sister abandon her chance at true love with her girlfriend, Gero desperately turns to marriage swindler Mei Kinosaki for relationship advice. Can Kinosaki turn this trained killer into a charming husband-to-be?

Kindle Edition

First published August 4, 2022

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580 people want to read

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Joumyaku

32 books9 followers
静脈 (Joumyaku or Jōmyaku) is a japanese mangaka.

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5 stars
253 (26%)
4 stars
409 (42%)
3 stars
242 (25%)
2 stars
43 (4%)
1 star
11 (1%)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 140 reviews
Profile Image for Ricarda.
515 reviews336 followers
June 27, 2024
I don't know if it's a weird thing to say, but stories that revolve around poisons and assassins are just my thing. Also, this was so much fun and not at all what I expected. I will definitely continue in the series.
Profile Image for Mark.
2,819 reviews276 followers
January 18, 2024
To preserve his sister’s chance at happiness, Gero needs to get married and produce an heir to his line of poison masters. Enter Mei, a marriage swindler, but this isn’t going anywhere you expect it to.

There is a shark named Chompsky in this manga, and if that doesn’t immediately amuse you, you may not be the target audience for this content.

It’s been a minute since I read something this insane and the energy here reminds me of my beloved Can’t Stop Cursing You, but not quite to that level of brilliance. This is no slouch, mind you.

Where it falls down is with the Gero dating aspect, as the whole ‘oh I cannot talk to women, at all, in any romantic capacity’ angle has been done to death, reanimated by voodoo, then done to death again by this point.

Yes, we get some excruciating face game and some weird coping mechanisms (which reminded me of Toradora, of all things), but it’s not quite there for me. Mei’s a good balance to all that, with their freewheeling con artistry, but it’s definitely the point of the story where I’m checking my watch.

Oh, and while the art as a whole is good, there’s a weird imbalance to the action scenes that doesn’t entirely make them work for me, but I am also incredibly hard on action scenes.

Good thing everything else is so crackers that it’s hard not to love it for sheer inventiveness alone. And I do love that part, no mistake, but it’s an imperfect gem, just one that happens to sparkle incredibly brightly.

In literally one chapter, we meet a character who drinks bubble tea filled with lead balls that he spits out like bullets and then a van is literally split in two via a splash of a bottle of liquid. There’s no telling where a story like that is going to go and that’s actually really fun.

It’s also deadly funny at times when it isn’t doing the wheezy romance side of things (except that one guy with his wife, which you’ll have to see to believe). The art section starts off looking very serious and stuffy, but it quickly becomes obvious that it is taking so much piss out of the art world that it should have a catheter inserted.

And don’t get me started on the hats, which I thought was an artistic perspective thing, but, no, they’re really just like that. I started laughing so hard whenever they came back into the story.

There is a very bizarre skew to this that won’t be for everybody - there’s a joke about organ selling plus a callback to it that nearly killed me, just so you know where I’m coming from. I don’t always like absurdist stuff, but this is so wild that it does it for me.

Our leads take a bit too long to get into one another’s orbit, but they make a great pairing. I would not bother with this if it wasn’t so strange, so if you don’t have a penchant for seeing what nonsense is up around the bend, this will feel like hell for you, I’m guessing.

Oh, and they treat Gero’s sister having a girlfriend with actual respect and decency (minus an incredibly unwise forced conception threat from their evil grandmother that lands as well as you expect). Actually, the gender politics here are not what they seem and they’re handled really well overall.

4 stars - Chompsky. I just can’t. Yeah, there are a few sour notes here, but when this sings, like a demented calliope running on moonshine and rocket fuel, it really sings.
Profile Image for ☽。⋆ Naidah ₊˚ෆ.
337 reviews2 followers
October 19, 2024
4 ⭐️

I actually enjoyed this one. It was funny and pretty cool ngl. I liked the art style and it lowkey reminded me of MHA in some scenes because of the art.

The story was interesting too so I want to see where this goes.
Profile Image for Jessica (Odd and Bookish).
713 reviews854 followers
January 17, 2024
I received a copy of this book for free for promotional purposes.

What a wild ride!

The story is kind of absurd. It’s about an assassin who specializes in poison enlisting the help of a marriage swindler to help him find someone to marry. Crazy concept, but it’s so fun.

There’s a good balance of action and humor. One of the funniest parts was when the main characters went to an art museum and all the art was very tongue in cheek. There was one painting called “Girl with the Eggplant Earring” (an obvious parody of Girl with a Pearl Earring) and another that required you to tilt your head to see the picture and it was appropriately called “Person Tilting Head.” Since the main character is an assassin, there is no shortage of fast paced action scenes.

My only critique is that the ending did feel a little abrupt and rushed. The last chapter was much shorter than the rest.

Overall, this is a solid start to a new manga. I’m curious to see where it goes!
Profile Image for Tomato.
177 reviews10 followers
July 18, 2023
Wow this was super fun. I really love the dynamic between the main characters. The art style is right up my alley.
Profile Image for Toby.
184 reviews1 follower
March 9, 2024
aye we got a new trans icon lets go
Profile Image for Faeryn.
89 reviews3 followers
January 30, 2024
I swear this is a shoujo manga disguised as a shonen.
Profile Image for Martin Maenza.
1,005 reviews26 followers
December 8, 2023
Marriage Toxin vol. 1, with story by Joymyaku and art by Mizuki Yoda, will be released on January 2, 2004. VIZ Media provided an early galley for review.

The cover of this manga really caught my eye. With the colors and characters, it just looked like something different and interesting. It made me want to check it out.

Marriage Toxin appeared weekly in Shonen Jump starting in April of 2022 with over 70 chapters to date. The first 51 chapters have been collected in seven volumes; this is the first volume translated into English.

As the story starts, we meet Gero in an opening that could come straight out of any spy movie (right down to very bizarre behavior of a wealthy crime lord). Gero comes across as resourceful as he is handsome. We also are presented with the motivation as to why this lone killer needs to look into marriage. It is a quirky enough of a premise to pull the reader into this character-driven action tale, and the worldbuilding is top notch.

The artwork equally handles both the quieter character situations as Kinsaki walks Gero through modern dating as well as the intense action scenes of the darker corners of the world which these characters inhabit. I very much like the style of the series overall.

I will definitely be on the look out for more in this series.
Profile Image for Kelli.
2,174 reviews26 followers
October 3, 2024
So, this is a bit of an odd series.

Usually, the first volume of a manga gives you a pretty good idea of the basic direction a story is going to take and what roles your core characters will play. Sometimes, one of those pieces is a little more vague. For larger series, the accuracy of both pieces may also be a little off.

But, this mostly holds true.

Here, the first volume of this series just threw one perplexing detail after another at me.

Ostensibly, the plot revolves around our main character—Hikaru Gero—who comes from a prestigious family of assassins needing to get married ASAP to continue the bloodline.

Though he’s not much interested in love or romance, he’ll find a partner so his sister doesn’t have to break up with her beloved girlfriend and marry out of obligation. Unfortunately, the first potential partner he asks—Mei Kinosaki—turns out to be not only be a con artist—but a male con artist impersonating a woman. Go figure. Luckily, Mei agrees to help Gero not only find a partner but learn how to be a charming husband.

It’s actually an oddly progressive storyline for a manga that’s not in a specifically queer genre???

But, I’m not sure what else there is to say about this story.

Other than having this quirky premise, I don’t feel that this story is leaning into any kind of progressive storyline. It seems like the peculiar details are just that—flourish or embellishment. Otherwise, this story appears to be just another action-packed story with marriage being the “prize” sought.

I need to give this series another volume. I’d like to see if I can glean anything more about the direction of this plot.

If you’re a manga reader who enjoys a bit of an odd series and/or you’re a reader who’s willing to give a series a couple of volumes before making any judgements, you may be interested in picking this one up~
Profile Image for The Book Dragon.
2,523 reviews38 followers
February 1, 2024
So the criminal underworld has people called Masters, individuals who have full deadly mastery over a certain thing. Hikaru Gero is the Poison Master. However, his grandma wants the family line to continue so the Poison Master title can be passed down and Hikaru and his lesbian sister are the only two choices. So, to save his sister from having to become the family's baby-maker (gross), Hikaru promises to get married. However, Hikaru has no idea how to talk to girls and is unlikely to have any opportunities to have a relationship, being that he's an assassin. Until he meets Mei Kinosaki, a marriage con-artist who agrees to find him a wife after he saves her life from a group of thugs.

It's a complicated setup that doesn't really explain how these "Masters" are able to do their craft. Some of it seems like hand-wavy magic and then there's the question of "How is this hidden from society if you can easily cut a truck in half with your cleaning product?!" Not bad, but I'm still on team Sakamoto Days for best "Criminal wants a Family" series.
Profile Image for Of Butterflies & Books.
825 reviews25 followers
January 22, 2024
I was very surprised by the first volume of this series. Gero has never thought he could have what other people have, specifically having any kind of romantic relationship, given his profession inherited by his family. Now his family is putting even more pressure on him to get married and start a family. Through a series of circumstances, he encounters Mei Kinosaki, a marriage swindler. He employs Mei to help him find someone to marry him.

This series, I think, is perfect for fans of Hell's Paradise, but also looking for something refreshing when it comes to romantic comedies. I'm curious to see how the mangaka is going to handle the story from here on out. The art is truly exceptional.
Profile Image for Rereader.
1,445 reviews209 followers
January 28, 2024
The only issue I have so far is that the villains are way too over the top evil; yes, I understand its to show the difference between Gero's and other wrongdoer's actions morally gray actions and the "truly" evil guys, but unfortunately come off as so horrendously awful it becomes unbelievable/comical.

That being said, it wasn't enough to dock too many points, just needed to get that off my chest. The rest of the volume was great; Gero and Kinosaki are already an amazing duo and I love their banter, the art is really solid, the fight scenes are brilliantly executed, and the themes are pretty solid. Not much else to say really, this was an incredibly solid first volume, definitely looking forward to more.
Profile Image for Samuel.
413 reviews
April 1, 2024
3.3/5. started off a bit slow and bland for the first couple chapters, but started to pick up a little after that.

i don’t know if the author’s were on a tight page count for chapter 1, but idk why they chose to cut away from the fight with all the goons. would have been a good opportunity to actually show the mc’s capabilities imo.

and i don’t get how the mc just instantly trusted the criminal who literally lies to people for a living, he’s an assassin - you think he’d be more wary, but one conversation and he’s convinced I guess.

the mini-arc that started at the end of the volume was better tho, so could see this becoming better as it develops more. might pick up the later volumes idk
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Profile Image for Ailbhe.
199 reviews1 follower
January 4, 2024
I didn’t know what to expect starting this manga but I’m delighted I did.

The poison master Gero never thought about marriage but when his Grandmother starts to put pressure on him and his sister to continue the poison master clan line he decides to take the fall and let his sister be happy. This is where we find that Gero is no good with women.

This action packed story is filled with humour and hints of romance. A very solid debut!!
Profile Image for Sean Newgent.
23 reviews
January 5, 2024
What a fun start to a hopefully very entertaining series.

Simple premise. Gero is a poison master and needs an heir. But he has no hope with women. And the woman he tries to get with turns out to be a man. So he decides to help Gero find a romantic interest and train him to be the best date possible.

I love these characters. Gero is a typical romance protagonist mixed with a badass shonen hero. Mei being an Astolfo-type makes for a fun mix-up to the usual shonen tropes. And honestly, with the fact Gero’s sister is a lesbian, I have a hope this manga breaks some barriers and maybe Gero and Mei will get together…

Can’t wait for volume 2!
Profile Image for Bee C.
250 reviews1 follower
January 19, 2024
A fun and action packed first volume. A bit of a small surprise in the beginning but it starts to head in a weirdly fun story line. Poison Master Gero decides to finally look for a wife so his sister can live with the love of her life without the interruption of the head of their family. Well versed in poison but not so good with the ladies, Gero gets help from a new friend of sorts and soon begins their partnership to help him find a wife.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Profile Image for nush ❀.
608 reviews18 followers
January 30, 2024
— 4 ⚝

super delightful. the premise is so unique and interesting. a poison master asks his target to help him get married. i had a great time with this one! the interactions are so fun and im excited to continue on with the series.
Profile Image for Jill.
1,317 reviews26 followers
March 8, 2024
In this manga we follow our main character, Poison Master Hikaru Gero, as he begins on a quest to find someone to marry. He enlists the help of marriage swindler Mei Kinosaki after he rescues her from an almost certain death. This was a really fun first volume and I'm curious to see where it goes!
Profile Image for MajesticalLion.
677 reviews60 followers
October 1, 2022
Much like everything on Jump+, I'm all in on this series. It's just the right level of absurd fun, and it's a series I look forward to each week.
Profile Image for Fraaa.
251 reviews12 followers
December 6, 2023
Thank you Viz Media and Netgalley for this advanced copy.

Shonen Jump did it again! They were exploring LGBTQ in this manga. However the story didn't really have any special aspect and quiet forgettable but the combination of action in comedy in this manga was good for light reading.
Profile Image for brooke!.
22 reviews1 follower
March 30, 2025
i love the art style sm, usually im picky with manga but im so glad this didnt turn out to be weird or anything. this story is so interesting I LOVE IT
269 reviews
May 5, 2025
I wasn't quite sure if I would like it at the start, but it was really good! There were a couple of twists I really didn't expect and it was quite heart-warming in places!
Profile Image for Sim.
495 reviews1 follower
October 19, 2025
so whacky, let me chew lead balls, split a car in half, and state my income as a date opener
Profile Image for Annalise.
555 reviews10 followers
November 30, 2025
Gero is such a dweeb, but I’m here for it🙂‍↕️😂
Displaying 1 - 30 of 140 reviews

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