is a Japanese

manga Manga (Japanese: 漫画 ) are comics or graphic novels originating from Japan. Most manga conform to a style developed in Japan in the late 19th century, and the form has a long prehistory in earlier Japanese art. The term ''manga'' is u ...

series written and illustrated by NON. It was serialized in

Kodansha is a Japanese privately-held publishing company headquartered in Bunkyō, Tokyo. Kodansha is the largest Japanese publishing company, and it produces the manga magazines ''Nakayoshi'', ''Afternoon'', ''Evening'', ''Weekly Shōnen Magazine'' an ...

's ''

Weekly Young Magazine is a Japanese weekly anthology magazine published in Tokyo each Monday by Kodansha. The magazine was started on June 23, 1980 and is targeted at the adult male ( ''seinen'') demographic. It was published bimonthly (under the title ), on the seco ...

'' from July 2014 to June 2019, with its chapters collected in nineteen ''

tankōbon is the Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or cultur ...

'' volumes. A nine-episode

television drama In film and television show, television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or docudrama, semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humour, humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms t ...

adaptation was broadcast from January to March 2022.

Plot

Koharu finds that her boyfriend was a married man, who was cheating on his wife with her, and was the third guy to do so in a row. Desolate, Koharu decides to leave

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.468 ...

and move back home, rejecting a future of love and marriage for simpler life. However, once she arrives, she discovers that the

café A coffeehouse, coffee shop, or café is an establishment that primarily serves coffee of various types, notably espresso, latte, and cappuccino. Some coffeehouses may serve cold drinks, such as iced coffee and iced tea, as well as other non-ca ...

that her parents ran is closed and they are heavily in debt. A man, Ryunosuke Date, who was following Koharu, offers her to pay their debt, but Koharu has to marry him. Koharu learns that her hometown has legalized polygamous marriages to counter declining birth rates and becomes Ryunosuke's third wife.

Characters

; : :Koharu Date (née ) is the 22-year-old third wife of Ryunosuke. To save her family's home and café, she marries Ryunosuke and becomes his third wife. Koharu is short-tempered and often lashes out at slight annoyances. She was at first against polygamy and sexual intimacy due to past trauma caused by her exes, but she gradually resolves her issues as she comes to terms with her feelings for Ryunosuke, begins to get along with his other wives and becomes a bonding pillar in the Date family. ; : :Ryunosuke Date is the 25-year-old husband of Yuzu, Madoka and Koharu. He is a former celebrity pianist and is currently unemployed due to quitting the stage from anxiety. He is greedy and is not willing to settle for less than what he desires, including his three wives whom he wants all at once. ; : :Yuzu Date (née Ōtsu (大津)) is the 26-year-old first wife of Ryunosuke and is also the daughter of the town mayor who legalized polygamy. She has a typical

gyaru ( ja, ギャル) , is a Japanese fashion subculture. The term ''gyaru'' is a Japanese transliteration of the English slang word . The term for was introduced in Japan by the American jeans company ''Lee'', who introduced a new line of je ...

look with notable large breasts. Despite her appearance, she does the majority of the domestic chores in the Date family and is a good cook. She is the mother of Ryunosuke's first child, Rinnosuke. ; : :Madoka Date (née Saijō (西條)) is the 21-year-old second wife of Ryunosuke. She is a quiet beauty with short hair and often wears a

kimono The is a traditional Japanese garment and the national dress of Japan. The kimono is a wrapped-front garment with square sleeves and a rectangular body, and is worn left side wrapped over right, unless the wearer is deceased. The kimono ...

at home. Although she is the second wife, she has been with Ryunosuke the longest. She manages the family's financial allocations and spending habits. Madoka is the most jealous amongst Ryunosuke's wives and yearns the most for exclusivity with him.

Media

Manga

''Harem Marriage'' is written and illustrated by . It was serialized in

's ''

'' from July 23, 2014, to June 17, 2019. Kodansha collected its chapters in nineteen ''

'' volumes, released from November 6, 2014, to August 6, 2019. In November 2020,

Kodansha USA Kodansha USA Publishing, LLC is a publishing company based in New York, USA, and a subsidiary of Japan's largest publishing company Kodansha. Established in July 2008, Kodansha USA publishes books relating to Japan, Japanese culture, and mang ...

started the digital publication of the manga on January 5, 2021. An epilogue mini series started in ''Weekly Young Magazine'' on January 17, 2022. The mini-series will last eight chapters.

Volumes

Drama

In October 2021, it was announced that the manga would be adapted into a

. The series is directed by Takashi Ninomiya and Kana Yamada, with Yamada also writing scripts for the series. It was broadcast for nine episodes on

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...

from January 16 to March 13, 2022. The theme song is "Final Piece" by Hyde.

Reception

In 2018, the manga was nominated for the 42nd

Kodansha Manga Award is an annual award for serialized manga published in the previous year, the event is sponsored by the publisher Kodansha. It is currently awarded in three categories: '' shōnen'', '' shōjo'', and general. The awards began in 1977, initially w ...

in the General category.

References

External links

* * * * {{Weekly Young Magazine - 2010–2019 Asahi Broadcasting Corporation original programming Drama anime and manga Harem anime and manga Kodansha manga Marriage in anime and manga Romance anime and manga Seinen manga