Natsume Arata no Kekkon

Natsume Arata no Kekkon
First tankōbon volume cover
夏目アラタの結婚
Genre	Psychological thriller[1]
Manga
Written by	Tarō Nogizaka
Published by	Shogakukan
Imprint	Big Superior Comics
Magazine	Big Comic Superior
Demographic	Seinen
Original run	June 28, 2019 – January 26, 2024
Volumes	12
Live-action film
Directed by	Yukihiko Tsutsumi
Released	September 6, 2024 (2024-09-06)

Natsume Arata no Kekkon (夏目アラタの結婚, lit. 'Arata Natsume's Marriage') is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Tarō Nogizaka. It was serialized in Shogakukan's seinen manga magazine Big Comic Superior from June 2019 to January 2024, with its chapters collected in twelve tankōbon volumes. A live-action film adaptation premiered in September 2024.

Natsume Arata no Kekkon won the 70th Shogakukan Manga Award in 2025.

Plot

Arata Natsume, who works at a child protection center, receives a request from Takuto Yamashita, the orphan of a victim of a bloody serial murder, to meet his father's killer on his behalf. Takuto had been exchanging letters with Shinju Shinagawa, the murderess, under the name of Arata in order to discover the location of his father's head, which remains unfound.

Arata decides to help Takuto and gets a prison visit with the assassin. When the eccentric and weird Shinju infers that Arata was not the real author of the letters she decides to get up and leave. Arata, desperate for the meeting not to end, decides to shout at her impulsively that he wants to marry her. This arouses Shinju's interest, who accepts the proposal and orders her lawyer, Miyamae, who believes in her innocence, to follow the proceedings.

Arata pretends to be in love and wants to go through with the marriage proposal, particularly when Shinju seems to have changed her attitude and appears willing to collaborate with justice, revealing the location of another victim's arm, which had also not been found. Miyamae asks Arata to continue collaborating with the case so that Shinju's memory will return and she will be exonerated of guilt, suspecting that Shinju is not the murderer. Arata reluctantly decides to continue to make her believe that his marriage intentions are honest despite believing that Shinju is really the murderer and possibly wants to kill him as well.

Characters

Arata Natsume (夏目 アラタ, Natsume Arata)

Voiced by: Yūki Ono (PV)[2]

Portrayed by: Yuya Yagira[3]

Shinju Shinagawa (品川 真珠, Shinagawa Shinju)

Voiced by: Akari Kitō (PV)[2]

Portrayed by: Yuina Kuroshima[3]

Media

Manga

Written and illustrated by Tarō Nogizaka, Natsume Arata no Kekkon was serialized in Shogakukan's seinen manga magazine Big Comic Superior from June 28, 2019,[4] to January 26, 2024.[5] Shogakukan collected its chapters in twelve tankōbon volumes, released from November 29, 2019,[6] to March 29, 2024.[7]

Volumes

No.	Japanese release date	Japanese ISBN
1	November 29, 2019[8]	978-4-09-860484-5
2	March 30, 2020[9]	978-4-09-860656-6
3	July 30, 2020[10]	978-4-09-860682-5
4	November 30, 2020[11]	978-4-09-860769-3
5	April 30, 2021[12]	978-4-09-860872-0
6	August 30, 2021[13]	978-4-09-861130-0
7	January 28, 2022[14]	978-4-09-861238-3
8	June 30, 2022[15]	978-4-09-861238-3
9	December 28, 2022[16]	978-4-09-861488-2
10	April 28, 2023[17]	978-4-09-861693-0
11	September 28, 2023[18]	978-4-09-862526-0
12	March 29, 2024[7]	978-4-09-862692-2

Live-action film

In April 2024, it was announced that a live-action film adaptation, directed by Yukihiko Tsutsumi; it premiered on September 6 of the same year.[3]

Reception

By April 2024, the manga had over 2.4 million copies in circulation.[3] Natsume Arata no Kekkon received the Next Manga Awards' U-Next prize in 2020.[19] Along with Burning Kabaddi, Kore Kaite Shine, and Puniru Is a Cute Slime, Natsume Arata no Kekkon won the 70th Shogakukan Manga Award in 2025.[20][21]

The series was recommended by Blue Period author Tsubasa Yamaguchi.[22]

See also

• Iryū, another manga series by Tarō Nogizaka

References

1. "Pour le pire - Tome 1" (in French). Glénat Editions. Archived from the original on June 10, 2021. Retrieved June 10, 2021.
2. 小野友樹と鬼頭明里が腹の探り合い、「夏目アラタ」4巻購入でボイスドラマ聴ける. Comic Natalie (in Japanese). Natasha, Inc. November 30, 2020. Archived from the original on June 1, 2022. Retrieved June 10, 2021.
3. Hodgkins, Crystalyn (April 19, 2024). "Iryū – Team Medical Dragon Artist Tarō Nogizaka's Natsume Arata no Kekkon Suspense Manga Gets Live-Action Show". Anime News Network. Archived from the original on April 19, 2024. Retrieved April 19, 2024.
4. 「医龍」の乃木坂太郎が新たな“結婚”の形を描く新連載、スペリオールで開幕. Comic Natalie (in Japanese). Natasha, Inc. June 28, 2019. Archived from the original on June 1, 2022. Retrieved June 10, 2021.
5. 映画化も控える「夏目アラタの結婚」完結 女殺人鬼への求婚から始まるサスペンス. Comic Natalie (in Japanese). Natasha, Inc. January 26, 2024. Archived from the original on January 26, 2024. Retrieved January 26, 2024.
6. 女殺人鬼と獄中結婚？「医龍」の乃木坂太郎が描くサスペンス「夏目アラタの結婚」. Comic Natalie (in Japanese). Natasha, Inc. November 29, 2019. Archived from the original on June 1, 2022. Retrieved June 10, 2021.
7. 夏目アラタの結婚 １２ (in Japanese). Shogakukan. Archived from the original on March 29, 2024. Retrieved April 19, 2024.
8. 夏目アラタの結婚 １ (in Japanese). Shogakukan. Archived from the original on June 10, 2021. Retrieved June 10, 2021.
9. 夏目アラタの結婚 ２ (in Japanese). Shogakukan. Archived from the original on June 10, 2021. Retrieved June 10, 2021.
10. 夏目アラタの結婚 ３ (in Japanese). Shogakukan. Archived from the original on June 10, 2021. Retrieved June 10, 2021.
11. 夏目アラタの結婚 ４ (in Japanese). Shogakukan. Archived from the original on June 10, 2021. Retrieved June 10, 2021.
12. 夏目アラタの結婚 ５ (in Japanese). Shogakukan. Archived from the original on June 10, 2021. Retrieved June 10, 2021.
13. 夏目アラタの結婚 ６ (in Japanese). Shogakukan. Archived from the original on June 10, 2021. Retrieved June 10, 2021.
14. 夏目アラタの結婚 ７ (in Japanese). Shogakukan. Archived from the original on September 3, 2022. Retrieved October 4, 2022.
15. 夏目アラタの結婚 ８ (in Japanese). Shogakukan. Archived from the original on September 3, 2022. Retrieved October 4, 2022.
16. 夏目アラタの結婚 ９ (in Japanese). Shogakukan. Archived from the original on December 4, 2022. Retrieved June 15, 2023.
17. 夏目アラタの結婚 １０ (in Japanese). Shogakukan. Archived from the original on May 30, 2023. Retrieved June 15, 2023.
18. 夏目アラタの結婚 １１ (in Japanese). Shogakukan. Archived from the original on September 2, 2023. Retrieved October 2, 2023.
19. 「次にくるマンガ大賞 2020」の特別賞「U-NEXT賞」が『夏目アラタの結婚』『パリピ孔明』に決定！. Da Vinci News (in Japanese). Kadokawa Corporation. August 20, 2020. Archived from the original on June 10, 2021. Retrieved June 10, 2021.
20. Hodgkins, Crystalyn (December 5, 2024). "12 Works Including The Apothecary Diaries, Kagurabachi Nominated for 70th Shogakukan Manga Awards". Anime News Network. Archived from the original on December 5, 2024. Retrieved December 5, 2024.
21. Mateo, Alex (January 17, 2025). "Kore Kaite Shine, Burning Kabaddi, Puniru, Natsume Arata Win 70th Shogakukan Manga Awards". Anime News Network. Archived from the original on January 17, 2025. Retrieved January 18, 2025.
22. 「夏目アラタの結婚」新刊記念、山口つばさから描き下ろしイラスト＆コメント到着. Comic Natalie (in Japanese). Natasha, Inc. April 30, 2021. Archived from the original on April 14, 2022. Retrieved June 10, 2021.

Further reading

• Kobayashi, Kyō (February 9, 2020). 花嫁は獄中にいる猟奇殺人犯…？ 遺体のありかと事件の真相をめぐるアクリル板越しの駆け引きに背筋が凍るサイコサスペンス. Da Vinci News (in Japanese). Kadokawa Corporation. Archived from the original on January 19, 2021.
• Masami (January 30, 2020). 殺人犯は結婚に希望を見出しているのか？ 『夏目アラタの結婚』に漂う、怖さと愛おしさ. Real Sound [ja] (in Japanese). Blueprint Co., Ltd. Archived from the original on June 10, 2021.

External links

• Official website at Big Comic Bros (in Japanese)
• Natsume Arata no Kekkon (manga) at Anime News Network's encyclopedia