Nōnai Poison Berry

Nōnai Poison Berry (脳内ポイズンベリー) is a Japanese slice-of-life romance manga series written and illustrated by Setona Mizushiro. It was serialized in Chorus magazine, later relaunched as Cocohana magazine, from December 2009 to March 2015 and collected as five volumes by publisher Shueisha. The series was adapted into a live-action film that premiered in Japan in May 2015, as well as a stage play that ran at the New National Theatre, Tokyo, in March 2020, both directed by Yūichi Satō and officially titled Poison Berry in My Brain in English. The Stage play was rerun in 2022 with a different cast.

Characters

 * Ichiko Sakurai (櫻井 いちこ)
 * Portrayed by: Yōko Maki (film), Misako Renbutsu (1st stage play), Yuika Motokariya (2nd stage play)
 * The series' main character, a shy 30-something whose inner thoughts appear to readers as a board of five very different individuals. When she falls for a younger man at a drinking party, the board members fall into a panic.


 * Ryōichi Saotome (早乙女 亮一)
 * Portrayed by: Yuki Furukawa (film), Aoto Watanabe (1st stage play), Shunya Shiraishi (2nd stage play)
 * Ichiko's love interest.


 * Ochi (越智)
 * Portrayed by: Sonha (film), Shunya Shiraishi (1st stage play), Ryo Hirano (2nd stage play)
 * A publishing company editor who shows interest in Ichiko.


 * Yoshida (吉田)
 * Portrayed by: Hidetoshi Nishijima (film), Hayato Ichihara (1st stage play), Yusei Yagi (2nd stage play)
 * The leader of Ichiko's board members. He is generally the member who initiates group votes on Ichiko's next actions.


 * Ishibashi (石橋)
 * Portrayed by: Ryunosuke Kamiki (film), Katsuki Motodaka (1st stage play), Hiroki Ino (2nd stage play)
 * An optimistic board member with a hopeful outlook for Ichiko's future.


 * Ikeda (池田)
 * Portrayed by: Yō Yoshida (film), Seina Sagiri (1st stage play), Hanayo Kimura (2nd stage play)
 * A negative board member who believes that most of Ichiko's actions will end badly.


 * Hatoko (ハトコ)
 * Portrayed by: Hiyori Sakurada (film), Yūri Saitō (1st stage play), Yuna Hayakawa (2nd stage play)
 * A Gothic Lolita board member who thinks and votes on impulse, rather than weighing the pros and cons.


 * Kishi (岸)
 * Portrayed by: Kazuyuki Asano (film), Kim Kwangsu (1st stage play), Ken Ishiguro (2nd stage play)
 * An elderly board member caught up in the past.

Reception
Nōnai Poison Berry ranked 20th in the 2013 Top 20 Manga for Female Readers survey. It was also a Jury Selection in the Manga Division at the 17th Japan Media Arts Festival Awards.