Raise wa Tanin ga Ii

After years of animosity, the leaders of Osaka's Somei and Tokyo's Miyama yakuza groups have called a truce—by arranging an engagement between their respective grandchildren, Yoshino Somei and Kirishima Miyama. To this end, 17-year-old Yoshino moves to Tokyo to live with the Miyama family and attend school with her new fiancé. Although Kirishima is all smiles and perfectly polite, there is something unsettling about his demeanor that Yoshino cannot put her finger on.

Yoshino's suspicions are soon confirmed: despite his manners, Kirishima is a masochistic maniac. He hurts people without batting an eye and also revels in being punished verbally and physically himself. What he wants most is a spoiled and arrogant fiancée who will ruin his life. When Yoshino does not quite meet his expectations, he reveals his true colors and openly insults her. However, instead of running away in fear, Yoshino decides to take revenge by making Kirishima fall in love with her and then ruthlessly breaking his heart.

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

Somei, Yoshino Main

Ueda, Hitomi Japanese

Miyama, Kirishima Main

Ishida, Akira Japanese

Toriashi, Shouma Supporting

Yusa, Kouji Japanese

Suou, Azami Supporting

Kamiya, Hiroshi Japanese

Somei, Renji Supporting

Ueda, Youji Japanese

Akashigata, Tsubaki Supporting

Ueda, Reina Japanese

Inamori, Souta Supporting

Shimozaki, Hiroshi Japanese

Miyama, Gaku Supporting

Nakai, Kazuya Japanese

Teacher Supporting

Kuroki, Shintarou Japanese

Utsugi, Mansaku Supporting

Chiba, Shigeru Japanese

Kuwayama, Yukari Producer

Konishi, Yuuki Producer

Santou, Shunsuke Producer

Shimizu, Akira Producer

Reviews

Mar 14, 2025

Sakurai_Aoi

Recommended

I'm honestly a little surprised that this series doesn't have a better rating.

But then again... I saw some of what people complained about with this series and it's honestly quite silly.

For starters, this is an anime about YAKUZA. Don't go into this series thinking that these characters are going to be pure of heart, morally upright, or even sane or healthy. This series is a bit more adult and, in a way, more realistic; some people can't seem to handle that. Some characters sleep around, many are violent, and a lot of characters have their own crazy agendas and motivations that fuel their actions. ... Kind of like real life, people cheat, get hurt, and aren't always mentally healthy to be around. This anime isn't very dark, but it does seem to have irked some people. To any who may be offended by its subject matter, I say this: a romance isn't always GOOD, and the people involved may not be either. In fact, some shows categorized as "romance" are MEANT to focus on toxic character dynamics. You're not necessarily supposed to root for the main couple all the time. Sometimes, you just go with the flow and observe their journey to see where the people involved end up. Yakuza Fiance is one of those series.

With that out of the way, I can delve a little bit deeper into the characters themselves.

The female main character, Yoshino Somei, seems to be a generally good person with a bit of a dangerous side that she ends up indulging in when a member of a different yakuza group comes into her life. I think with this yakuza anime the sides of the characters are actually supposed to come out as if being activated by a switch. They switch between their usual personality and their darker one, sometimes in quite abrupt ways that people may find jarring. However, I found it to be quite refreshing and even humorous. Yoshino is a tough girl; she just doesn't seem like it in the first episode. Perhaps her general niceness hides this. Yoshino's switch though...Kirishima Miyama. Once she figures out that something weird is up and that this new guy is interested in her, we get a fuller image of who Yoshino is. She's quite the fiery to say the least.

As for Kirishima Miyama, he's ridiculously toxic. It's obvious that his upbringing or something in his past scarred him in some ways, although this isn't explored very much. I can only assume that they'll get around to that in a second season... If not, I guess they'll leave it at "He never learned basic decency due to his background". His interactions with the people around him, especially Yoshino, are the highlight of the series. I've gotten a good laugh out of the many ways they try to get ahead of/maneuver around each other's tendencies and the lengths they'll go just to show that they mean business. Kirishima is awful, and he hides it all behind a smile. And even that doesn't quite do the job. It almost feels forced. Their facades definitely make for an interesting show though. For one reason or another, those two have a compelling chemistry that I think even they aren't quite sure of.

As for the other characters, they serve their purpose, often adding to the somewhat episodic nature of the show. They have a bit of mystery and humor to them as well, but don't expect very fleshed out characters.

The plot, as I mentioned before, is mostly episodic. I personally found it difficult to keep track of the little details from previous episodes that came up again in future episodes, but maybe that's just me. The show is mostly just yakuza fights with some foreshadowing of a power struggle that the main characters find themselves involved in. It's also just a lot of crazy situations jam packed into a show with the plot used as a mere means for those situations to occur. The story is not perfect by any means, but it is enjoyable if you just want a crazy ride. It's a ride revolving around impulsive decisions, plain crazy decisions, hedonism, and simply the joy of a challenge. The amount of fun and glam in this show is more than enough to make up for the areas where it's lacking. And a warning: a large part of this show's appeal is IN its ridiculousness. A lot of characters, scenarios, and dialogue would obviously not be acceptable in real life, and the show does not promote it; it merely depicts it, and says "Look at how insane this is!" It's pretty much daring you to keep watching and see how things escalate.

Anyway, back to the glam I mentioned earlier... I'm absolutely in LOVE with the art style. The opening and ending themes are a good example of the best that the show has to offer, but there's plenty in the show itself that looks stunning. Although it can be a hit or miss for some people, especially with certain characters, it can be absolutely beautiful. I love the vibrant colors, the highlights and shadows in the hair, and even the eyes. The emotional intensity of the characters is expressed wonderfully in their faces. It leans into those Yakuza vibes perfectly, especially in the way the character's faces contort and appear ominous. There are a lot of "What did you just say?!" faces that scream "There's gonna be a murder" so that's a plus if you're into that. There is a scene where the clothes look weird on Yoshino, but I think that was a one off. The art is usually well done. The animation is just...fine. Not spectacular, but fairly good.

The soundtrack is fine as well. It's quite effective for the moment, though I can't really say that it's memorable. The opening and ending themes are the best samples of music in the show.

Overall, it's a pretty good anime. Just watch it if you want a good laugh. Or maybe if you want to see some wacky character dynamics. It put a smile on my face for sure despite everything. It's hard to not enjoy it. For some people, it's a guilty pleasure, but for me... It's just a show of extremes. Stylish, extravagant, and excessive while also generally lacking depth and seriousness. It's a balance I find to be intriguing. Maybe you will too.

Reviewer’s Rating: 9

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Mar 27, 2025

Animegirl625

Mixed Feelings

umm really not sure how to feel about this anime tbh. It has a good premise, some plot and decent character development. It is definitely absolutely not a rom-com, there is barely and romance anyways. The show is definitely aimed for an older audience, there's a lot of nuance in it. I wouldn't recommend it if you want a light watch but it is interesting. Definitely your cup of tea if you like dark romance.

Very unique story, personally I do hope for s2 not sure if it'll get one though. The art-style was an absolute BANGER tho! I honestly watched it, at first at ... least, because I really liked the art-style. It was really unique and the fight scenes were well animated too.

Reviewer’s Rating: 6

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Feb 8, 2025

Tooootla

Not Recommended

Funny

What the fuk is this? Just tell me. I was hoping for a decent romance, but all I got was nonsense, cringe, and a story with no sense whatsoever. Stupid characters who keep changing their personalities every second, and guess what? It’s always for the worst. That’s all this show is about.
The Only Watchable Episode? The First One.
Yep, just episode 1. That’s it. We saw an innocent girl suddenly living with a yakuza for some random reason. The MC? He has this fake smile, but inside, he looks like a violent psychopath. And guess what? That was the only interesting thing about him. That’s ... it. After that? A complete mess that makes zero sense.

The Big Dumb "Twist" – Personality Switch Gone Wrong! ------

Suddenly, the FMC’s personality does a complete 180. This dumb, annoying bitch suddenly starts acting all mighty like she’s some queen. “You mess with me, and you’ll pay.” Yeah, sure. And our MC? The same guy who was acting all violent suddenly turns into a dumbass lapdog. And it’s not just them—every character goes through these stupid personality changes that have no logic whatsoever. And guess what? It stays that way till the end.
STORY ------

There Is No Story. Heh-heh, No story in this show. It is like a one-time watch of the same episode until the final credits roll.The MC was destined for better things, but after that first almost worthy episode, all he does is act like a stupid-ass, chasing around a stupid bitch who isn't worth anything. That is it. That's the whole complete story.

And the FMC? She even doesn't have character. She does the same thing again and again, acting high and mighty for no apparent reason and bringing nothing serious to the story.


in the end This show is garbage. A wannabe dark romance that doesn’t know what the hell it’s doing. It’s cringe, the story is nonsensical, and the characters are the worst part of it all. Don’t even bother watching unless you enjoy pain and disappointment.
At this point, you might as well start watching a hentai at least it would make more sense than this.

Reviewer’s Rating: 2

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	Poll: Raise wa Tanin ga Ii Episode 4 Discussion Stark700 - Oct 28, 2024	38 replies	by Magicmist »» 12 hours ago
	Poll: Raise wa Tanin ga Ii Episode 3 Discussion ( 1 2 ) Stark700 - Oct 21, 2024	79 replies	by Magicmist »» Yesterday, 5:41 PM
	Poll: Raise wa Tanin ga Ii Episode 2 Discussion ( 1 2 ) Fynel - Oct 14, 2024	81 replies	by Magicmist »» Apr 19, 2:06 AM
	Poll: Raise wa Tanin ga Ii Episode 12 Discussion ( 1 2 ) Stark700 - Dec 23, 2024	90 replies	by Elpibex »» Apr 16, 11:23 AM
	Poll: Raise wa Tanin ga Ii Episode 1 Discussion ( 1 2 3 ) Stark700 - Oct 7, 2024	133 replies	by Magicmist »» Apr 15, 8:35 PM