Manga Monday | Firefly Wedding

It’s been a hot minute since I wrote a Manga Monday, not because I haven’t been reading manga, but I just haven’t been reading anything that’s finished or that I haven’t already reviewed. However, the last chapter of Firefly Wedding came out in January, and I needed to talk about it, so here we are. SPOILER ALERT!

About the Mangaka

In 2016, while raising children, Tachibana Oreco began painting landscapes with acrylic paints and shared them on Twitter. Progressing from illustrations to creating doujinshi (self-published works). In October 2016, an original piece she posted on the illustration sharing site Pixiv caught the attention of the Shogakukan MangaONE editorial department. From January 2018 onwards, she commenced the serialization of “Promise Cinderella.”

Starting from January 1st, 2023, she began serializing Firefly Wedding on MangaONE and Ura Sunday.

About the Manga

Set during the Meiji era, Satoko Kirigaya is the daughter of an earl and renowned for her beauty and position. However, she does not have a lot of time left to live due to a heart condition; her only dream is to marry for the good of her family. However, her peaceful existence is unexpectedly disrupted by the attack of a mysterious assassin, Shinpei Goto. In desperation, Satoko proposes marriage. Although it was supposed to be a fake relationship, Shinpei proves to be a man full of love. Over time, his deep love touches Satoko’s heart, and her guilt over the false engagement begins to grow.

Let’s Talk Manga

I have noticed that I have become a fan of the genre where there is one deranged person and one normal-ish person and they end up falling for each other despite their differences. I don’t remember how I stumbled upon this manga, but I did read it for maybe a year and a half ago after catching up to the now-haitus-status Yakuza’s Fiance (of which is the same type of relationship). Not sure if it was the synopsis or the way that it was drawn or what may have you, but I dove into it headfirst and when I caught up to the manga, was glued bi-weekly when it syndicated online on Comikey.

I truly enjoyed the ride that our Mangaka put us on throughout the entirety of the story. I liked learning about the island and seeing inside Shinpei’s chaotic mind and his demons. As things came to light on the island, I also found the dynamic between Satoko and her father quite interesting. I also enjoyed our side characters, and while their moments were brief, they played big roles without stealing the spotlight, and for this manga, I didn’t think they needed to.

Now onto the ending. The ending was… not what I wanted…yeah. I came into the manga fully expecting to cry at the end, which I did. I cried for Satoko, who seemingly didn’t get the chance to live out her wishes, and I cried for Shinpei, who also just wanted to live a normal, happy life with her. What I wasn’t expecting was for her to still be alive decades later, and them reuniting at the end, after old age had already caught up to them. It felt like the build-up, and the title of the story was for nothing because Satoko lived at the end. Not that I wouldn’t have been unhappy if she lived, but in that scenario, I would have wanted her to live her life with Shinpei, not just their final years together. It seems cruel to the characters and unnecessary; either kill her or let them live happily ever after together, not this weird limbo in between.

Nevertheless, I did enjoy my time reading Firefly Wedding, and I will be watching the anime adaptation when it comes out. Will I still cry? Probably not, now that I know if she lived. Would I have cried if she hadn’t surprisingly lived? I think I would. Anyway, did you read Firefly Wedding? What did you think of the overall story and the ending? Let me know!

Until next time, Happy Reading!