Missing the Wholesome Chaos of 'Spy x Family'? This New Anime Is the Perfect Cure

The spring anime season is coming to an end, which means it's time to take stock. Marriagetoxin is the story of a hereditary poisoner and his con artist companion who trick women into falling in love in order to find a bride for the main character.

While the title is reminiscent of Spy x Family in spirit – featuring fictitious relationships, unusual abilities, and plenty of humor – it also has its own unique features.

What Is 'Marriagetoxin' About?

Hikaru Gero is a loner who hates marriage, love, dating, and all things romantic. He runs the family business, which produces poisons for torture and murder. His grandmother has been pressuring him to marry for a long time – she won't pass the business on to him unless he settles down.

Everything changes when his beloved sister is forced into a sham marriage. To save her, Hikaru takes the fall. He promises to find a bride with the help of marriage swindler Mei Kinosaki.

Hikaru meets Mei at work – her colleagues decide to poison her because everyone is tired of her. Before she dies, she confesses that she resorted to scams to treat her brother. Hikaru lets her live on the condition that she become his matchmaker.

'Marriagetoxin' Uses Typical Tropes, but They Work Brilliantly Here

Marriagetoxin is built on tried-and-true formulas, such as the transformation from hate to love and the savior syndrome, however, this is not a drawback. Like Agent Forger from Spy x Family, Mei devises a grand plan.

She recruits girls in need of Gero's help to act as bodyguards or rescue them from captivity. This allows the plot to feature a variety of villains.

Each of them possesses a hereditary talent for producing poison or deadly sound. Marriagetoxin attempts to resemble Jujutsu Kaisen with its curses, but the anime leans toward comedy and romance rather than large-scale action.

'Marriagetoxin' Is a Light and Entertaining Story With a Sense of Humor

Marriagetoxin is a simple and entertaining story. A touch of absurdity and fairly standard visuals prevent it from becoming a big hit this season. However, the seriousness of the show offsets the abundance of humor, and it's quite good.

The team generously incorporated references: Hikaru holds vials of poison as if he had Wolverine's claws, and bullets hover in front of him like in The Matrix. These moments lift the spirits and make you smile.

Marriagetoxin is worth watching if you want to unwind after a hard day without straining your brain to keep track of every plot twist. There's action, romantic turmoil, and even a character arc for the killer.

What Did Viewers Think of 'Marriagetoxin'?

• On IMDb, Marriagetoxin has a score of 7.3/10.

Where to Watch 'Marriagetoxin'?

Marriagetoxin is available to stream on Crunchyroll.