At a certain point there’s just no more room for discussion. While Marriage Toxin isn’t the second christ of combat manga for Shueisha, it’s still impossibly hard to find new praise to offer author Joumakyu and illustrator Mizuki Yoda. There are more spreads in this volume than there are chapters. It just doesn’t feel right, does it? Not that Joumyaku is left in the dust, but Yoda’s evolution and the limits they continue to push (which we see in Marriage Toxin volume 4) just feels insane. There’s not many words for the acceleration of their talent and just how broad their arsenal is currently.
There’s plenty of words, however, for Joumyaku’s side of things- which makes sense, considering that it’s their forte. Picking up in the dire situation volume 3 left us in, Joumyaku very quickly drops the ball and resets the encounter. It’s funny, yes, but I also think that it’s important. Rather than following through on the cliffhanger, Joumyaku subverts the expectations of the reader and pulls off a soft reset in regards to tension and action. Marriage Toxin volume 4 gets to start its slow ascent to climax from scratch, and that gives it some well needed space and opportunity to take things on.
Namely, I would argue, Gero’s relationship woes. He’s not stumped, but he’s sort of spinning his wheels this last while, really struggling to find a person to take that next step forward with. Thankfully, the Hamster Master is right in front of him- but that presents an interesting conundrum. Two damsels exist in Gero’s world currently- the aforementioned Hamster Master Arashiyama, and Gero’s right hand…. man? Woman? Accomplice, Kinosaki. Evidently, he focuses on the more pressing matters with Arashiyama, during which Joumyaku wastes no time pushing Kinosaki towards the ridiculously overpowered and enigmatic Piichi. It’s an absolutely stellar narrative decision for two reasons. One, Piichi has a girlfriend which helps frame Kinosaki’s romantic mindset. And two, it takes Kinosaki out of Gero’s protection and into the protection of another man- not necessarily a rivalry or anything of the sort, but an eye opener for sure.
If you want to keep talking about opening some eyes, Mizuki Yoda makes sure that Marriage Toxin volume 4 has its fair share of… visually exciting pieces. That’s right, I’m talking about the art spreads! Or not. The romance thread is always rather faint when not out in public view, and these characters are adults… Either way, Yoda makes some business decisions and decides to provide some eye candy to those who desire, helping both round out the appeal of the volume as well as the villain’s constant relations to romance. Looking at it from a less subjective (and horny) perspective, it fits in rather well as a way to hone in on the idea of love against the typical habits of the various assassin clans. On one hand you have Gero doing whatever he likes in the name of love, and on the other we have the Beast Master Toshiro Dogo engaging in forceful blood mixing (known as cross sanguination in the world of Marriage Toxin). It’s a very surprising connection to make, but Joumyaku finds a way somehow, and it does well to keep the series on task.
As the above illustrates, that eye candy isn’t just characters, but action as well. Yoda continues to mess with composition and post processing in their panels, they love to mess around with art style, and it feels like more and more regular panels are stolen away in favor of stronger perspective pieces with each volume. It’s consistently great work that builds on the shoulders of what Yoda’s presented so far. Similarly, while Joumyaku’s foundations are a little less concrete, Marriage Toxin volume 4 exposes some really outstanding forethought from them as a familiar face returns.
Arguably, in the most surprising decision Joumyaku opts to bring back Water Master Ushio- sans diving suit (relax, they’re still wearing a swimsuit) for… ahem, “reasons”. Regardless, it’s the smartest decision out of all the possible characters as it (once again) proves how well Joumyaku is able to balance action and amor. In regards to the latter, Ushio holds a place in Gero’s history as the first “bad guy” he beat to save a girl. Teaming up with her, or rather having her come to his rescue, brings it full circle in a sense while keeping the volume on task romantically (we couldn’t have a guy show up to help Gero, right?). As for the action segment, well, I would say look around but that only works in the figurative sense. Ushio is very well suited to an island locale and is much better at crowd control and head on combat than Gero. And to think, all of this happened because Ushio was initially mild mannered about fighting Gero.
Marriage Toxin volume 4, and the series as a whole has an incredibly solid grasp on its direction and interests. While none of our damsels have ever really been in that much distress, this latest volume sees Gero admit to his selfish approach to fighting, and that awareness almost comically awards him some support (aside from letting Arashiyama shine). Similarly, it begins to drive a slight wedge between Kinosaki and Gero as some distance forms between them on the Beast Master’s island. Then there’s the pieces I’ve already discussed about Yoda’s art, the other odds and ends of Joumyaku’s story, and so on and so forth. While I wouldn’t categorize Marriage Toxin as a tight story, it’s absolutely a series with a strong sense of direction and understanding. There’s never a head scratching moment or a panel that will leave you with a puzzled look. Every step, no matter how little it may end up, pushes Marriage Toxin in the direction this pair of creators want. And I should add, that’s a very good direction as well- one I look forward to learning more about with the next volume.
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