Natsume Arata no Kekkon

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

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)


 * Shinju Shinagawa (品川 真珠)

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

The manga is licensed in France by Glénat.

Live-action film
In April 2024, it was announced that a live-action film adaptation, directed by Yukihiko Tsutsumi, is set to premiere on September 6 of the same year.

Reception
By April 2024, the manga had over 2.4 million copies in circulation. Natsume Arata no Kekkon received the Next Manga Awards' U-Next prize in 2020. The series was recommended by Blue Period author Tsubasa Yamaguchi.