This review covers key character dynamics, tone shifts, and narrative developments that may reveal thematic trajectory or resolutions.

An angular, intense, and distinct looking art style.

The central tension of the series comes from the eccentric relationship between the two main characters. Its coded as dark, psychological, and grim. Our female lead avoids falling into tropes by one-upping Kirishima's psychotic behaviour. This subverts the hyper-competent male romantic interest by making him a little more eccentric, and refusing to reduce the female lead to an archetypal foil. It's an interesting dynamic so credit where credit is due.

The manga definitely feels aesthetically desperate to come across as serious. The usual shadows-over-eyes type artistic flairs are injected into every chapter, and become increasingly formulaic in how and where they are used. In this sense the author's art style and liberal use of artistic flair works counter to the genre Yakuza Fiancé is operating within. In character heavy, psychologically focused stories, you'll find it hard to make important moments stand out if you focus all your artistic energy into playing up every melodramatic interaction. This manga really wants to come across as serious but it's intense efforts eventually come across as desperate, juvenile, and edgy.

The plot progression is also strange. I previously highlighted how the main relationship dynamic was an interesting premise. This is why I'm lost on why the series doesn't really take advantage of that, instead electing to develop complex and convoluted yakuza politics that don't really align with the tonal register of the series premise. A psychological examining of a messed up relationship, and yakuza politics each take up too much narrative economy on their own to co-exist (to me).

Beyond that, the Yakuza politics are only important to the series' later tensions because they puppeteer some of the character motivations for the series antagonists.

I think in the service of worldbuilding they completely crippled the relationship dynamic. At the point where I stopped I'm not even sure they're exploring the dynamic between the two main characters anymore. Its like the tension between them, one that the series premise was built on, silently resolved overnight, and I'm puzzled as to how or why.

So, does this series' crime and politics become worth it in its betrayal of interpersonal dynamics? I wouldn't necessarily say so. Unless you gaze at the page in blissful wonder when the exposition chapters arrive, I think you'll be disappointed. This is to say, you're gonna get most of your joy from reading the worldbuilding, not seeing it come to fruition. This also comes with a heavy caveat that the series is ongoing (hiatus), so I'm not 100% certain the series doesn't gracefully slide into a profound crescendo, tying together all the exposition perfectly. I've read up until chapter 22. This is around volume 5, I think. There are 8 total.

At the very least, the way the exposition serves as an immediate backdrop to the events in the story isn't entirely satisfying. They exist just to have antagonist motivations most of the time, but the central conflict turns out to be on a much quieter magnitude than any of the formerly introduced politics. This isn't an issue on its own to be clear.

To wrap up, unique and striking art style, immature tone and genre drift, convoluted and irrelevant exposition to central conflicts. On a less analytical note, I just think it's really edgy and doesn't really know what it's doing.