The Spring 2023 Manga Guide

The Dragon's Betrothed

What's It About? 

Troubled writer Chiharu Izunome reluctantly returns to his rural hometown, hoping some R & R will refresh his creative juices. Instead of finding respite, he's quickly entangled by an old promise to wed a local god!

Rin, the water dragon god to whom Chiharu has been betrothed, can be disarmingly friendly and charming, but inside lurks an animalistic ferocity. Can Chiharu escape Rin's protective embrace, or is his fate already written?

The Dragon's Betrothed has story and art by Meguru Hinohara, with English translation by Adrienne Beck, lettered and touched up by Annaliese "Ace" Christman. SuBLime released its first volume both digitally and physically on March 14.

Is It Worth Reading?

Rebecca Silverman

Rating:

Meguru Hinohara's third English-language release (following My Secret XXX and Therapy Game/Therapy Game Restart) is far sweeter than her previous titles. It's also a lot tamer; this first volume, despite the “explicit content” label, barely even has kissing, let alone graphic sex. And you know what? That's actually lovely, because this is, in many ways, a story about the slowly growing bond between two people. Or rather, between a man and a dragon god.

The story follows Chihiro, an author who is returning to his small hometown for the first time since his grandmother's death. Chihiro is clearly carrying a lot of emotional baggage – his grandmother, an author herself, raised him, but he's very conflicted about her, the way he treated her, and the town in general. There are hints that he suffers from social anxiety and that he had a miserable time growing up, not because of his grandmother, but it was bad enough that he didn't want to stay there and has a hard time being there now. At some point in his childhood, he apparently met Rin, the dragon god, and after he left, Rin befriended his grandmother, who asked him to…do something for Chihiro. Rin interpreted that as marrying him, but whether that was the actual promise is at this point unclear.

What is obvious is how much Rin cares for Chihiro. This often comes across to the insular writer as Rin overstepping, but mostly that stems from Rin simply not understanding introversion or how basic human society functions. He's got the energy and affection of a golden retriever: goofy, loving, and finely attuned to his person. Chihiro, whose only comfortable companion is his dog Urara, takes time to warm up to anyone, and Rin really comes on too strong for him. But Rin is also ultimately a comforting and healing presence, and watching Chihiro come to terms with that is heartwarming.

There are a lot of undercurrents to this book, and hopefully, Hinohara will take the time they deserve to explore them. The art does a very nice job of blending fantasy elements with a town past its prime, and this just overall feels like a book you want to immerse yourself in. If you like your romances slow, definitely check this one out, and that goes double if you're already a fan of the creator. This is a good one.