365 Days to the Wedding Anime First Impressions
Written by Rei Caldombra 10/20/24 Video: https://youtu.be/WjaKj9cWlnI
The first show I’m talking about in Fall 2024 is 365 Days to the Wedding or Kekkon suru tte, Hontou desu ka. I wanted my wholesome fix this season and after reading the description I knew this show could be a great fit for me. Basic explanation of the premise is that the two main characters work for a travel agency that needs to send someone overseas. Both of them realize that the only way to avoid this is to fake getting engaged to each other. One of the reasons why I picked this show is because it follows genuine working adults. I went into it hoping for a more mature perspective and reflection on romance, working, marriage, etc. So far I am very satisfied with its delivery of that expectation. It also delivers strongly on establishing its leads, who both have endearing quirks and intriguing issues that lead to personalities that don’t synchronize well with the world around them. There are spoilers for the first 3 episodes.
This anime did a great job introducing us to our leads, Takuya and Reika who I absolutely love. Their quirks and headspaces were quickly established to great effect, with them both coming across as very endearing and relatable to me. One of the reasons why is that in the first episode, where we organically get to see the inner thoughts of both of them as they go through their day working near each other. And as we go through the rest of episode 1 and then episode 2, we get a strong understanding of how these two act and think.
The cat humor in these episodes is really good, him begging Kama on his knees to behave was hilarious. His devotion to his cat is very sweet and cute.
Takuya would love nothing more than to live a quiet life with his cat (hopefully he isn’t a murderer with explosion powers). He struggles with making quick actions, needing a little more time than most to think before responding. I relate to this a lot. This can get him in hot water with his coworkers, making him seem like he is not paying attention. It also makes it more difficult to participate in conversations around him, which increases the challenge of building relationships. We get some glimpses of animosity from him towards others as a result of getting criticized and not fitting in. On the spectrum of introversion, I put him more towards lonely rather than loner because of this point. If he truly doesn’t care about other people’s opinions then he would be less inclined to get hung up on the misunderstands and criticisms. Another trait of his I really like is how seriously he takes meaningful concepts such as marriage. Even when he was alone with Reika, the person he was putting on this fake marriage with, he could not get himself to utter a proposal. Words and the meaning behind them are very important to him. This matches very well with his trait of taking time to think. He believes strongly in the weight words carry, so when he speaks he wants them to be right. Perhaps later on we will see why, it could have something to do with the strained relationship he seems to have with his family. He also has some serious insecurity. When he struggles to speak up, he berates himself and is left with regret. We also see this with his escorting of the princess. It’s obvious (at least to us) how much the princess enjoyed the tour he put on for her. While he seems to accept that she enjoyed it, he rejects the idea that it was as great as she said. But he is not all doom and gloom, as his relationship with his cat is genuinely touching. We also see his sweet side, where he gives many compliments to Reika. I can’t wait to see more of that, such as how they are seemingly both outcasts.
Reika is a map fanatic who wants to live a quiet life focused on her passions, particularly towards maps. She is also awkward, but is not a slow thinker like Takuya. She struggles to come up with anything to say to people period, which can come across as basically giving people the silent treatment. This along with her neutral look when disinterested and tendency to unintentionally stare, makes her come across as an unpleasant person. I love her monologue where she says that she is not angry (as she comes across) but it is not that she is happy deep down either. She does not desire to talk to people enough that she doesn’t think clarifying is worth it. She is more neutral about these misunderstandings, rather than getting angry like Takuya. She does not want to waste energy on things she is not interested in. This falls firmly in the loner territory. Her neutrality towards life vanishes once she is out of social situations. When she is alone, she goes from a stone-faced woman to a giddy little girl.
She seems like the type to have a few hyperfixations that she devotes most of her time to, rather than someone with more broad interests. She hits on the endearing qualities of people who have a deep passion for specific topics, it’s very cute watching her pour over maps and other things. There is definitely some deep-seated insecurity about her passions. When she is around people, she puts on her neutral mask and hides her enthusiasm. I’m sure we will find out more about this as it goes on. We have some hints, such as her anger towards the person she was angry about being texted by.
Both of our leads are super likable and engrossing to engage with, they do not rely entirely on the dynamic between them to be entertaining. But together they also bring a lot of sweetness, comedy, and reflection on various themes.
These two have a lot in common as struggling introverts and have great chemistry for it. They’re both wallflowers who have trouble fitting into the office environment, which makes navigating their job more difficult. Both of them do not have much interest in social situations, though their specifics vary. They both also seem deeply insecure, frequently belittling themselves. They keep instinctively holding themselves back from changing. They can be very similar when it comes to tackling challenges. They both take on things with stiff business-like procedures, planning details to the dot as best as they can. They both struggle with surprises, so they do their best to prepare ahead of time. But because of their unique ways of thinking and experiences that are out of touch with the average person, these plans can fall apart. They also both struggle to see the appeals of marriage and why others get excited about theirs. Their conversation about the concept of people “glowing” is really great. They glow from spending time with their cat and indulging in maps respectively, rather than view themselves as glowing because of marriage as the other office workers see. We see them connect the most when they are talking about their different passions and their shared experiences brought about by their introversion (like being trees in the school play, the stereotypical school play role for people who don’t want to stand out and are viewed as boring). I also loved the scene of Reika giving Takuya the frog-shaped rock, that is great representation of them noticing each other’s quirks and appreciating them. In these moments their chemistry is at its best and when I am being brought on board to them actually being a couple. They also struggle to work together due to their status quo of handling things on their own. Another similarity that also makes them both much more appealing as characters is that they are willing to step up to challenges when they feel it is the best thing to do, despite not wanting to. Takuya still did his best to be an attendant despite that not being his job, and Reika stepped up to help Takuya’s father as a customer when everyone else was busy despite not having that role. As someone who also does not have a customer-facing role at the company I work for, I understand the fear of having to step into that position. They also both struggle to work together, keeping the facade going mostly through one sided efforts.
Both of them have at least one moment where they take action and insist on handling an issue on their own, even though this facade can only hold if they coordinate. They are slowly learning to let down their walls and communicate better. I’m super excited to see them work together better as coworkers and fake fiancés.
One compliment I can give to this series is that it is not super predictable so far. I was genuinely taken aback at the call they received threatening them about their fake marriage. The tone was pretty lighthearted when it came to keeping up the facade, but then this added some genuine tension. And even better is that this is not immediately taken care of. This is a looming threat that we have to settle with alongside the wholesome shenanigans. This is excellent for making the show engaging and not too light. While I did expect the part about the misunderstanding from the princess, I was very pleasantly surprised that she was not coming on to him.
It has been established that a running theme of this series will be exploring unconventional people and relationships. We already have our abnormal main duo, navigating a fake relationship that seems to be blossoming into a real one. I was interested in the potential for an aromantic relationship from this premise, but I would also be happy if we get to see a relationship between them that is unconventional to fit with their unconventional tendencies. This theme is also solidified by the main premise of episode 3, where we learn the princess Takuya had been escorting is a lesbian who wants to break away from the heteronormative expectations thrust on her as a royal. I appreciate the representation and good handling of it, this leaves a very strong impression going forward. As we progress in the series I hope to see more unconventional relationships and how they can be just as valid and healthy as conventional ones. We’ve been getting a lot of touches on the various elements that play into marriage. Such as family, local culture, expectations, and social pressures. I’m looking forward to seeing this explored more.
Some final notes, the opening is fine but the ending is especially adorable.
I am loving this show so far! As someone who loves wholesome shows, this is hitting the mark for being above average thanks to its adorable and endearing leads and strong handling of the topics it is focused on. I am so excited to continue exploring these characters. Thank you for reading!
My Patreon to support me and the website: patreon.com/ReiCaldombra
More struggles of the working adult: https://www.blogunderalog.com/blog-collection/uramichi-onii-san-the-woes-of-the-working-adult-anime-review?rq=uramichi
Another unconventional relationship: https://www.blogunderalog.com/blog-collection/dont-mess-with-me-nagatoro-one-of-my-favorite-romance-manga?rq=nagatoro
