Spoilers because I can't figure out the markdown to hide stuff 😭!
I LOVE yanderes especially male ones. So it is with a heavy heart that after 65+ chapters I am disappointed in where the story has gone.
The series starts off with high hopes as Satoko and Shinpei make a daring escape off into the unknown. There are assassins, thugs, and powerful people pulling strings behind the scenes that Shinpei will have to defeat to protect his fragile newly minted fiancee. Meanwhile Satoko has to rely on her sharp wit and strong will to survive from the greatest threat to her life, her new murder-happy fiancee Shinpei, in order to return home and fulfill her dream of becoming useful to her household by marrying someone her father wishes before her illness takes her life.
Can Satoko keep Shinpei's protection without alerting him of her true intentions? Can she balance the feeling of filial responsibility she has with these unusual new feelings for this man who smiles gently at her as he stabs a man straight through the heart? Will Satoko be able to survive long enough before her illness takes her life?
Sound good? Well great because now for the next 55 chapters this "journey" is stuck in the same location!
The problem with the really good setup of this story is that the author doesn't know how to take advantage of it to place the characters in new and interesting situations. The series does a bad job of advancing the plot, and instead focuses solely on character development without real escalation. Instead of focusing on Satoko and Shinpei's story on keeping her alive, the main objective Satoko has is:
- Escape off the island (somehow)
- Try to convince Shinpei that staying on the island isn't a good idea
The main characters almost seem like they don't WANT to get off the island,!! It's like the stakes rise, and then immediately fall back down because oh no we can't pay the ferry fare, oh no someone burned a key item to help us get off the island safely even though we've done nothing but be nice to this person, OH NO SHINPEI CAN'T KILL ANYMORE BECAUSE SATOKO PROMISED HIM NOT TO? PLEASE LET THE YANDERE BE THE MEDIEVAL NUKE HE IS DESIGNED TO BE THANK YOU.
The stakes rise, and then immediately fall back down to the status quo. And this basically happens for 50+ chapters and that is the problem with this story that it doesn't escalate properly like an AMAZING story would.
I cannot stress enough that with such interesting leads to the story, the lack of new locations and actual progress in the main questline are basically it's downfall. There is a reason most adventure stories do not take place in the same location. You need new characters, new locations, and new information to spice things up! Yes it is fun to see Satoko battle against her bullies and threaten to sew up their v----- with a needle and thread. Yes it is insanely fun to see Shinpei malfunction and go yandere and threaten to murder other people because he thinks they are trying to take Satoko away from him. But ultimately for 50+ chapters, the story is like a car stuck in the snow turning it's wheels. The wheels of the story turn, and the characters might learn more about each other during this time, but it is not moving forward and it is not satisfying.
[DO NOT READ IF YOU DON'T WANT TO KNOW]
My Prediction for How the Story Will End:
Firefly Wedding begins with someone at a grave reading a letter saying "I loved someone I should not have. I was so happy." Ok we know from the beginning that this story is (likely) going to be a tragedy unless the author hopefully does a bait and switch at the end and turns out both of them are alive.
Well, towards Ch 60 of the manga Shinpei has broken his promise and has killed the sons of the neighboring houses to Satoko. Like this man's demons have been unleashed and the author has basically set him up to be irredeemable (booo!). I predict Shinpei is going to die-thus redeeming himself- and his strong yandere samurai heart will be transplanted into Satoko. Giving her a very long life that she will live while holding his dear memory.
With a prediction like this, I really wish I could have all my time back that I spent reading this manga 🤡
(-139)
(+10)
