Top 20 Manga With Forced Relationships and Arranged Marriages
If you’re looking for the best mangas with forced relationships and arranged marriages, look no further.
+If you’ve dated in the modern world. I salute you. And if you’ve used dating apps… I hope you’re doing okay.
Point is, at some point, arranged marriages start to sound like a good idea to some of us. Alternatively, giving up on dating for a while and cocooning yourself in a romantic manga with forced relationships can renew your hope in the dating world (for a short-lived time). The stories in this recommendation list are mostly funny, heartwarming, and romantic, while some are also dramatic and intense, and all are worth a read if you like the romance genre in mangas.
+Top Romance Manga With Adult Couples+
1. Yakuza Fiancé: Raise wa Tanin ga Ii
来世は他人がいい - Raise wa Tanin ga Ii
Yoshino Somei is the granddaughter of the leader of the Kansai region's largest Yakuza organization: Somei. She lives the life of an average high schooler in Osaka until her world turns upside down when her (rather idiotic) grandfather suddenly arranges her marriage with the grandson of another Yakuza organization: the Miyama group. Yoshino is forced to start living in Tokyo at the Miyama group house to get to know Kirishima Miyama. Although Miyama seems like a prince charming at first, he has a darker side which Yoshino never expected to see, one that is twisted and borderline crazy. Yakuza Fiancé is a unique romance manga with hilarious characters and an exciting plot.
+Volumes: +6
+Chapters: +31
+Published: 2017 to Present
+Genres: Drama - Romance - School
+Authors: Konishi Asuka [Story&Art]
+Serialization/Other work: Afternoon
2. Spy family
SPY×FAMILY
The nation of Westalis and Ostania are on the brink of war against each other. An agent named 'Twilight' is responsible for maintaining peace by spying on Donovan Desmond, a political party leader in Ostania. But Twilight can only get close to Desmond by having his 'child' acquainted with Desmond's son by enrolling in the same school. Twilight now has to establish a pretend family, for which he adopts Anya, a young girl (who happens to be a telepath), and marries Yor, a worker in government administration. Here's another twist: Yor's secret job is working as the 'Thorn Princess,' an assassin.
+Volume: +10
+Chapters: +73
+Published: 2019 to Present
+Genres: Action - Comedy
+Authors: Endou Tatsuya [Story & Art]
+Serialization/Other work: Shounen Jump+
3. Watashi no Shiawase na Kekkon
わたしの幸せな結婚 - My Blissful Marriage
Miyo Saimori was born to the prestigious gifted Saimori family, but she was constantly belittled by her step-sister, Kaya, and stepmother, which made her life a living hell. One day, it is decided that she will marry Kiyoka Kudou, a military commander and heir of the noblest gifted family in the country. But it is rumored that Kiyoka is so cruel that no woman has ever been able to stay with him. Thinking that she doesn't have much to lose, Miyo accepts her fate of misery and decides to try to make her marriage work. Surprisingly, as Miyo and Kiyoka spend more time together, they realize that love and happiness are written in their fate. This is a beautiful love story of a girl who had nothing and ended up having everything *cries in single*.
+Volumes: +4
+Chapters: +26
+Published: 2018 to Present
+Genres: Romance - Historical
+Authors: Kousaka Rito [Art] Agitogi Akumi [Story]
+Serialization/Other work: Gangan Online
4. Otoyomegatari
乙嫁語り - A BRIDE'S STORY
Otoyomegatari is a splendid historical manga with a high degree of accuracy in the portrayal of old Turkish customs. The story centers around Amira, a vibrant and charismatic 20-year old who gets married to 12-year Karluk Eihon. Due to their age gap, their relationship starts very awkwardly but slowly matures and blooms into one of mutual love and respect. The story expands on the hardships of relationships -especially of marriage- and the daily life and drama of Central Asia in the 19th century. This is a wonderfully refreshing story with side characters who are also given intricate depth, and development.
+Volumes: 13
+Chapters: 94
+Published: 2008 to Present
+Genres: Drama, Historical, Romance, Seinen
+Authors: Mori Kaoru [Story & Art]
+Serialization/Other work: Harta
5. Harem☆Lodge
ハーレム☆ロッジ
Losing her mother at a young age and being raised by a single father, Midori's life gets even more miserable when her dad suddenly passes away. As she mourns, she is left with only one message from him: to go visit Katagari Tetsuya. Honoring her father's last wishes, Midori heads over to the Tetsuya's residence but begins to panic, and she keeps meeting one weirdo after another in his home. Expecting Tetsuya to be the reigning eccentric of this weird place, she is surprised to find a lone handsome guy instead. But Tetsuya decides to shock her even more, declaring that Midori's father arranged a marriage between them and Midori is to be his wife.
+Volume: 2
+Chapters: 9
+Published: 2006 to 2007
+Genres: Romance
+Authors: Fujisawa Shizuki [Art&Story]
+Serialization/Other work: Betsucomi
6. Dawn of the Arcana
黎明のアルカナ - Reimei no Arcana
The kingdoms of Senan and Belquat have been at war against each other for many years. As an attempt for peace, the princess of Senan, Nakaba, is married to Ceaser, the second prince of Belquat. Nakaba has always been discriminated against because of her red hair and is sent as a sort of hostage to Belquat's Royal Family. Unbeknownst to them, Nakaba has a special ability, an inherited power that allows her to see both the past and future of the places she inhabits. With this power, she aims to change her fate and that of her country.
+Volumes: 13
+Chapters: 65
+Published: 2009 to 2013
+Genres: Drama - Fantasy - Romance
+Authors: Touma Rei [Story & Art]
+Serialization: Cheese!
7. Ookami-heika no Hanayome
狼陛下の花嫁 - Wolf King's Bride
As Yuurin struggles to survive life with her poor finances, she one day hears of a job at the palace that might take her out of her misery. Although the job sounds very shady, she takes the risk for the sake of money (same sis). Upon her arrival, she's told that she will need to act as a 'temporary' bride to the King. He's called the 'Wolf King' throughout the kingdom due to his expressionless face and ruthlessness. But Yuurin soon learns that this King is very kind-hearted and humorous, putting on a ruthless act only to intimidate his enemies. Yuurin knows she's at the palace only for her job, but she can't help but fall in love with the true side of the King, which is so pure.
+Volumes: 19
+Chapters: 118
+Published: 2009 to 2018
+Genres: Romance - Historical
+Creator: Kauta Mato [Story&Art]
+Serialization/Other works: LaLa
8. Marry Me!
マリーミー！
This manga's plot perfectly exemplifies 'Modern problem requires modern solutions.' In modern-day Japan, a 'NEET protection' law has been passed to bring the NEET back into society for the sake of unemployed issues and a decreasing birth rate. (NEET stands for "Not in Education, Employment, or Training," thx wikipedia). The law? they are to be married. As such, 28-year-old Akiyasu Shin, who has just started a job in the government, is selected to marry Sawamoto Himari, a NEET living alone. But when Shin arrives, he finds out that Himari is reluctant to get married to him as her grandmother had signed her up for the program without her knowledge. Shin now faces a major hurdle: he must convince Himari to marry him for the sake of his job and Japan's future.
+Volumes: 11
+Chapters: 101
+Published: 2015 to 2019
+Genres: Romance - Slice of Life
+Authors: Miku Yuuki [Story & Art]
+Serialization/Other work: LINE Manga
9. Ojousama wa Oyome-sama.
お嬢様はお嫁様。- The Lady Is a Bride
According to her family’s tradition, Towako was destined to be with a man named Yuuga, who was born in the same year, same day, and at the same time as her. On each birthday, Towako is given a picture of Yuuga until 18, when she would finally meet him for the first time and marry him. Towako spends every single day thinking about Yuuga, the handsome boy whom she’s going to marry. However, when she finally meets him, he turns out to be nothing like the ideal husband she had imagined. He’s rude, arrogant, and not the least interested in her. But Towako realizes that though Yuuga isn’t the sweet, romantic hero she had imagined, his coldness, shyness, and inexpressiveness give him a strange charm of his own.
+Volumes: 18
+Chapters: 122
+Published: 2007 to 2013
+Genres: Drama - Romance
+Authors: Hazuki Megumi [Story&Art]
+Serialization/Other work: Margaret
10. Takane to Hana
高嶺と花
Hana Nonomura is a high schooler forced to go to an arranged marriage meeting originally scheduled for her older sister. Her forced partner is Takane Saibara, the one and only heir to the prestigious Takaba company. On their first meeting, Takane insults Hana because he believes she’s a gold digger. But Hana insults him back and shows no interest in him. Takane is surprised by her reaction and takes her out for dinner the next day, despite knowing she is ten years younger than him. Takane and Hana live in two different worlds, yet they can’t help but feel attracted to each other. While spending more time together and teasing each other, love begins to bloom. Now obviously, there's a big age gap in this manga. If you're not comfortable with that, don't read it and skip to another recommendation!
+Volumes: 18
+Chapters: 115
+Published: 2014 to 2020
+Genres: Comedy - Romance
+Authors: Shiwasu Yuki [Art&Story]
+Serialization/Other works: Hana to Yume
11. HARU’S CURSE
春の呪い - CURSE OF SPRING
Haru's curse is a complex story about the diverse spaces people affected by grief must navigate. After losing her sister, Haru, to cancer, Natsumi becomes overwhelmed with the idea of living life without her by her side. But she also harbors guilt because she is now dating Togo, her dead sister's fiancé. Haru and Togo were together due to an arrangement between their families, but Haru was in love with him. Natsumi clings to Togo in a twisted way because she feels he's the only thing left of her sister. Following her struggles, the story delves into the mystery of human sadness and love. It also examines the limits of these emotions, simultaneously asking many questions, one of which: is it possible to miss someone so much that you become compelled to live their life instead of them? Although this is a manga, its style resembles manhwa character design, so I decided to include it here.
+Volume: 2
+Chapters: 8
+Published: 2015 to 2016
+Genres: Drama - Romance - Slice of Life - Psychological
+Author: Konishi Asuka [Story&Art]
+Serialization/Other works: Comic ZERO-SUM
12. Kimi no Koe
君ノ声
Kazunari Kyougoku rose from the bottom of poverty to the top of riches by establishing his own trading business. Kazunari’s business growth is due to his exceptional psychological negotiation skills. But what no one knows is that these skills stem from a special power he possesses: he can hear people’s inner voices. Realizing early on that people’s inner voices differ from their outer voices, Kazunari develops a deep distrust of everyone around him. Ever the businessman, he one day decides it is time to marry, and to make the best out of it, he sends a marriage proposal to the daughter of the noble Suwabe family. His only aim is to develop better future connections, but when he finds out that their daughter cannot speak, he is happy that he gets to hear her inner voice. But to his dismay, when they meet, she ends up being the only person whose voice he cannot hear (twilight, anyone?)
+Volumes: +4
+Chapters: +21
+Published: 2020 to Present
+Genres: Romance - Historical
+Authors: Morinaga Miku [Story & Art]
+Serialization: Gene LINE
13. Soredemo Sekai wa Utsukushii
それでも世界は美しい - The World Is Still Beautiful
The King of the Sun Kingdom, who rules the world, allows the Rain Dukedom to get autonomy in exchange for one of their princesses in marriage. Deciding which princess to send is determined over a game of rock, paper, and scissors (I am as confused are you are), and as such, Nike loses and is sent off to marriage. Since King Livius conquered the world in only three years, she expected him to be a cruel womanizer, but it turns out he's only a kid.
+Volumes: 25
+Chapters: 150
+Published: 2009 to 2020
+Genres: Adventure - Fantasy - Romance
+Authors: Shiina Dai [Story & Art]
+Serialization: Hana to Yume
14. Tsuki no Shippo
月のしっぽ - Tail of the Moon
After failing to qualify as Ninja, Usagi decides to lean on her gender as a backup: forget about the shinobi life, she will become a mother instead. Having heard of Lord Hanzo's handsomeness, she heads to the village and proclaims her intention to marry him. Hanzo is kind to Usagi, but he has no intentions to get married or have children and thus begins a lighthearted story of push and pull.
+Volume: 15
+Chapters: 105
+Published: 2003 to 2007
+Genres: Adventure - Comedy - Fantasy - Romance
+Author: Ueda Rinko [Story&Art]
+Serialization/Other works: Margaret
15.HAPI MARI: HAPPY MARRIAGE!?
はぴまり
Poor-girl-marries-rich-guy-to-pay-off-family's-debts. That's it. That's the plot. In all seriousness, there is some profundity despite the cliche plot, particularly when it comes to depicting relationships: Bickering, small and big fights, the eruption of jealousy, and different daily struggles, as well as more complex conflicts. Through them, the characters establish stronger connections and comprehension of one another. Our main protagonists are quite interesting: Hokuto is an ego-centric flawed guy, and Chiwa doesn't tolerate any nonsense and has rough skin and a soft interior. Again, cliche, but the way their personalities interact is entertaining and refreshing: there is a level of maturity that isn't usually portrayed in such mangas.
+Volumes: 10
+Chapters: 40
+Published: 2009 to 2012
+Genres: Comedy, Drama, Romance, Josei
+Authors: Enjouji, Maki [Story & Art]
+Serialization/Other works: Petit Comic
16. Tenju no Kuni
テンジュの国 - Blissful Land
Imagine having a beautiful guest at your home who's meant to be someone's bride. You're wondering who's lucky enough to have her, and it turns out it's you. That's basically this manga's plot. lol. The story follows Kang Shiva, a doctor-in-training living a peaceful life in his village. Though he's at the age of getting married, he doesn't think about it and mainly enjoys treating others. One day, a merchant tribe arrives at Shiva's home with a beautiful woman, and Shiva is suddenly unable to get his eyes off of her. When Shiva finds out that the tribe brought her to be his wife, he is delighted, even though this is essentially an arranged marriage. You won't find much drama in this story as this is mainly a slice-of-life romance manga (with a forced relationship that is very much wanted).
+Volumes: 5
+Chapters: 25
+Published: 2017 to 2019
+Genre: Slice of Life
+Authors: Izumi Ichimon [Story & Art]
+Serialization: Bessatsu Shounen Magazine
17.TAISHO MAIDEN FAIRYTALE
大正処女御伽話 - TAISHOU OTOME OTOGIBANASHI
Tamahiko Shima is the son of a powerful and wealthy family. Blessed with fortune since his childhood, he grew up wanting nothing but affection from his distant family. After losing his mother and crippling his dominant arm in an accident, he falls into despair and is cast aside by his father for his handicap. Condemned to live isolated in the countryside where he would not bring shame to his family, he resigned himself to dying alone—until Yuzuki Tachibana appears on his doorstep, proclaiming that his father sent her to be his bride. She brings a feeling of springtime into his dreary life, gradually healing the deep emotional scars of his youth. Their lives slowly intertwine as they taste the fruits of their first love.
+Volumes: 5
+Chapters: 42
+Published: 2015 to 2017
+Genres: Comedy, Historical, Romance, Shounen, Slice of Life
+Author: Kirioka Sana [Story & Art]
+Serialization/Other works: Jump SQ.
18. Ranma 1/2
らんま½
One day, Soun Tendou decides to marry one of his three daughters to his friend’s son, Ranma Saotome. His girls are understandably confused as they’ve never met Ranma, and their confusion only worsens when a panda and a girl arrive at their front door. To their disbelief, they learn that Ranma and his father, Genma, were training in the cursed springs of China, where they fell into a...well... cursed springs. As a result, Ranma transforms into a girl whenever he touches cold water, while his father becomes a panda. Despite the curse, Tendou decides that his youngest daughter, Akane, will marry Ranma. And so begins Ranma and Akane’s life, laced with hilarious situations and trouble as they start school together while living under the same roof with a crazy family.
+Volumes: 38
+Chapters: 407
+Published: 1987 to 1996
+Genres: Action - Comedy - Romance - Ecchi
+Serialization: Shounen Sunday
+Authors: Takahashi Rumiko (Story & Art)
19. Jishou Akuyaku Reijou na Konyakusha no Kansatsu Kiroku
自称悪役令嬢な婚約者の観察記録。- An Observation Log of My Fiancée Who Calls Herself a Villainess
Most girls would be terrified to know they're villainess, but not Bertia. On her first meeting with her fiancé, the Crown Prince Cecil Glow Alfostar, Bertia openly claims to be a villainess in this world. Explaining to him that her current world is the same as the Otome game she used to play in her previous life, and she is bound to misery as Cecil will later fall in love with the heroine and leave Bertia. Naturally, Cecil doesn't understand her, but he grows to enjoy her company: his life used to be incredibly boring, but Bertia's absurdity brings spice to it.
+Volumes: 6
+Chapters: 38
+Published: 2018 to 2021
+Genres: Comedy - Fantasy - Romance
+Authors: Hasumi Natsume [Art] Shiki [Story]
+Serialization/Other works: AlphaPolis Web Manga
20. Zettai Heiwa Daisakusen
絶対平和大作戦 - Peace at Any Price
The north and south kingdoms have been at war against each other for several years. Until the North Country's Prince, Johanne, an army commander, and Princess Euda, a nurse of the South army, fall in love with each other. Despite receiving criticism from their country's citizens and their father, the couple still manages to convince everyone to let them get married. While this plot sounds like that of a very romantic manga, Euda and Johanne only got engaged in ending the war and achieving peace. In reality, they have completely opposite personalities and are always fighting and at each other's neck.
+Volumes: 4
+Chapters: 19
+Published: 2007 to 2010
+Genres: Comedy, Drama, Fantasy, Romance
+Authors: Ogura Akane [Story & Art]
+Serialization: LaLa DX
