Oohara Takuya and Honjouji Rika work at a travel agency in Tokyo. They rarely exchange a word, and when they do, it often leads to minor misunderstandings. One day, their superiors announce that they are opening a new office in Alaska and are looking for employees to relocate there. At the same time, they point out that if there are no volunteers, they will choose people themselves, starting with the singles. Neither Takuya nor Rika can imagine moving away. One day, while walking through the city on their day off, they unexpectedly run into each other. One thing leads to another, and they begin their first normal conversation, clearing up all their past misunderstandings. At one point, Rika reveals a plan to him that would ensure they aren’t considered for relocation.

Kekkon suru tte, Hontou desu ka (2024) – Audiovisual Design

Video

The visual design as a whole looked very nice. The backgrounds were beautiful, the lighting was handled very decently, and the character designs were simply pretty and quite detailed. While the animation could have been executed a bit better in certain moments, it didn’t significantly spoil the overall viewing experience.

Audio

The the main heroine, Rika, was voiced by Hayami Saori. There isn’t much more to add here; every of her roles is wonderful, and she showcases her immense talent every time. Among the more popular names in supporting and minor roles, we hear the likes of Touyama Nao, Taketatsu Ayana, Koshimizu Ami, Fairouz Ai, Genda Tesshou, and Itou Shizuka. The cast is, therefore, truly solid.

The soundtrack captured the atmosphere of individual scenes and events well, though unfortunately, it didn’t feature any tracks that made me want to return to it outside of the series.

Kekkon suru tte, Hontou desu ka (2024) – Plot and Characters

Introduction

While choosing series to watch in the Fall of 2024, the poster for Kekkon suru tte, Hontou desu ka immediately caught my eye. As I’ve mentioned many times—posters really say a lot about what kind of anime we’re dealing with and what can be expected. A poster serves as an excellent initial filter. As it turned out, this method did not fail me again.

A Brief Overview of the Kekkon suru tte, Hontou desu ka (2024) Plot

Oohara Takuya and Honjouji Rika work in the same Tokyo travel agency, yet they rarely speak to each other. Their sporadic interactions usually end in minor misunderstandings. The situation changes when management announces the opening of a new branch in Alaska (in the source material it is Siberia—a pointless change, though it doesn’t have much impact on the plot, even if Siberia makes much more sense in the general context), noting that if no one volunteers for relocation, those not in relationships will be chosen.

Neither Takuya nor Rika wants to leave Japan. Fate brings them together when they accidentally cross paths in the city on a day off. For the first time, they have a normal conversation, during which they clear up all previous misunderstandings. During this honest exchange, Rika presents him with her idea to protect them from the forced relocation.

What is the series about

Kekkon suru tte, Hontou desu ka is a series telling the story of two travel agency employees who are essentially forced into pretending to be married. It all starts with the company announcement regarding the planned opening of a new branch, to which one of the employees will be delegated—with priority for “promotion” (relocation) given to those who are unmarried. This leads the two main characters—Oohara Takuya and Honjouji Rika—to decide to inform their colleagues that they are planning to get married. They do this to avoid the forced relocation. The plot focuses on the development of the relationship between the protagonists as they gradually transition from a fake relationship to genuine feelings.

It is worth mentioning the fairly fast pace of the plot development. The relationship between the main characters evolves in a quite natural way. Each subsequent episode brings us closer to the moment when the characters must face their true emotions. Given that both are quite eccentric in their own way, the portrayal of their development turned out quite well. The initial reason for the whole situation might seem a bit far-fetched. However, it is precisely this absurd starting point that allowed for the construction of an interesting story about how two lonely people find support and understanding in each other.

The series does not idealize marriage or serious relationships. It shows various facets of it, both the positive and negative sides of living together. The relationship of the main characters develops gradually—from mistrust, through getting to know each other’s weaknesses and strengths, to a genuine feeling that both of them don’t understand at first.

Characters

Honjouji Rika

Honjouji Rika is a character whose depth is revealed gradually as the plot progresses. A key element of her personality is a strong need for independence and self-sufficiency, shaped by childhood experiences and a difficult relationship with her mother. Importantly, these traits are not shown as something positive that gives her an advantage, but rather as a result of inadequate patterns passed down by her mother. Although she initially gives the impression of being distant and withdrawn, we discover her more sensitive side as her relationship with Takuya develops. Her social withdrawal and problems with showing affection are not just superficial character traits; they are deeply rooted features resulting from her past.

Ohara Takuya

Ohara Takuya comes from a large, loving family living in the picturesque town of Aso in Kumamoto Prefecture. This provides an interesting contrast to Rika’s experiences with her own family. When the couple visits Takuya’s family home after announcing their marriage plans, Rika has the opportunity to experience a completely different model of family life. She is warmly welcomed by her fake fiancé’s parents, siblings, and grandparents. In Aso, she also meets Nao, Takuya’s childhood friend, who, like the rest of the family, welcomes her with open arms. These experiences allow Rika to see a completely different side of family relations than those she knew from her own experience. The contrast between their family histories—Takuya’s warm, love-filled home and Rika’s complicated family situation—is an essential element in the development of their relationship and Rika’s understanding of what a true family can be.

Other characters

Several supporting characters drift through the background, having a real impact on the development of the main plot. Among them, the subplot of Gonda and his feelings for Komiya stands out, adding an extra perspective on workplace relationships. However, this subplot is never concluded, which disappointed me a bit. Sure, it was likely intended to show the main character that he should respect the situation he found himself in, but it was interesting enough that I regret it wasn’t developed further. By the way, I’m curious if Gonda’s situation was treated similarly as an afterthought in the source material. We see the aforementioned Nao not only during the main couple’s trip to Aso; after she moves to Tokyo, she also has a significant influence on helping Rika organize the thoughts in her head.

Kekkon suru tte, Hontou desu ka (2024) – Evaluation and Summary

The adaptation covers barely half of the entire story presented in the source material, which in this case is a manga. While the ending gives the impression of a closed arc and allows the viewer to fill in the rest, it didn’t completely satisfy me. The events of the final episode were presented too hastily, and the dialogues themselves could have been handled a bit better. Considering that we likely won’t get to see the entire journey toward Takuya and Rika’s marriage, the ending of Kekkon suru tte, Hontou desu ka in anime form leaves a bit of a feeling of being unfinished. This doesn’t mean, of course, that the series isn’t worth watching. This is just my minor observation summarizing a truly interestingly realized series. Romance lovers likely won’t be disappointed.

Finalny werdykt

Final evaluation

Which translation do I recommend to watch Kekkon suru tte, Hontou desu ka (2024)?

• Crunchyroll (official) – fortunately, the series was assigned to one of CR’s best translators (judging by the translation style, as CR unfortunately doesn’t provide the names of the translators). Therefore, I can recommend the official translation with a clear conscience.

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