No, your eyes do not deceive you, I Married My Best Friend To Shut My Parents Up is the actual title of this fairly short yuri manga. And I really do mean short, as it's only about three chapters long. Yes, really. But what's it about, you might ask? All her life, Machi Morimoto has lived for the sole purpose of meeting her parents' very high expectations and doing everything they tell her to do, no matter how much she might be opposed to it. But currently, she's grown tired of her parents pressuring her to marry a man of their choosing, knowing that they're only doing it so they can brag about having a son-in-law. In comes an old acquaintance, Hana Agaya, who needs a place to stay while her apartment building's being renovated, and convinces Machi to fake a marriage with her as a way to solve both their problems. But there's a catch: while Machi is straight, Hana is gay, and both are aware that Hana was interested in her romantically back in school. Machi has to figure out how to deal with this new "relationship", as well as navigate her possibly changing feelings toward her "wife".

From what I can see, the artwork is pretty nice. Nothing that'll bring the house down, but it does its job. The panels are easy to follow, the character designs are decent and down-to-earth, and the backgrounds are the right amount of detailed without being intrusive. If I can name one complaint though, it'd be that the mangaka relies way too much on screentones for everything. Seriously, they put them on shadows, clothing, random knick-knacks in the background, transition panels, I don't think there's any scene that doesn't have screentones. They're all over the place to the point that it's really hard to ignore them. They really ought to dial them back a bit. Eh, the art itself is competent, and I'm sure the mangaka is doing the best they can. Not everyone can be Kamome Shirahama or Kentaro Miura.

The manga also has a fairly small cast of characters, and the only one who really receives much in the way of development is Machi. If there's one thing about the manga that I appreciate, it's that the artist doesn't waste any time. The pacing is fast, yet not so fast that you can't follow what's going on, and the artist makes good use of the short time they have to flesh out Machi as a person and show her changing over the course of these three chapters. There's no filler so the story never feels bloated, and any potential cliches that are typical of the romance genre are actually skillfully avoided. You know how in most romance media, someone will suspect their boy/girlfriend is having an affair when they find out they're with an ex, even if the context isn't romantic, and they jump to conclusions that result in a lot of pointless drama? I'm so glad that I Married My Best Friend To Shut My Parents Up doesn't go that route and instead has Machi just go to where Hana is, at her ex's bar, and they talk things out afterward. Speaking of other characters, I do wish Hana got more background aside from just having a crush on Machi. I would have liked to have learned her history with her ex, Ayaka. Machi is the most developed character in the cast, which is fine since she's the main focus of the story and has a good head on her shoulders, but I wish more had been done with the other characters.

Yeah, there really isn't much to talk about with I Married My Best Friend To Shut My Parents Up. It's a nice little time killer that's short, sweet, and to the point without coming across as saccharine or shallow. It's short length can be a dealbreaker for those who want something longer to read. While I do wish the manga had been longer so the other characters can be expanded on, it does manage to make good use of the time it does have, and it doesn't try to drag itself out, so I don't mind what we do have. But you're looking for something longer and has more meat to it, you'd best look elsewhere. I did enjoy my time with I Married My Best Friend To Shut My Parents Up, though there are other romance and even shoujo-ai manga I enjoyed a lot more, but feel free to check this out if you're looking for something short and sweet.