megan deyarman

Covers all 9 volumes of The Full-Time Wife Escapist by Tsunami Umino

What would it be like to get married as a job? Megan DeYarman (of The Manga Test Drive) and host Ashley dive into The Full-Time Wife Escapist’s (very good) takes on alternatives to traditional marriage, family generally, and employment in particular (scheduling out twice-monthly hug dates may not be as weird and emotionless as it seems!). Plus, there’s plenty of gushing about the respectful representation of older virgins, a nice in-depth character walkthrough of the main cast (Mikuri, Hiramasa, Kazami, Yuri), and a helpful quiz to figure out what job Mikuri should be pursuing with her psychology degree.

EPISODE CHAPTER TIME CODES

• Intro: 0:00 to 5:19
• SPOILERS AFTER 5:19
• Character walkthrough: 5:30 to 21:15
• Proverbs: 21:16 to 23:45
• Alternative relationship structures: 23:45 to 29:45
• Alternative business ideas: 29:45 to 35:10
• Alternative family structures: 35:10 to 38:10
• Art corner: 38:10 to 42:35
• Quiz: 42:35 to 50:00
• Shipping corner: 50:00 to 57:30
• Final thoughts/outro: 57:30 to end

LINKS

• This series is available from Kodansha USA
• This manga was the basis for a very popular drama in Japan that, at the time of this podcast episode’s publication, isn’t available in English. But you can watch a trailer from the TBS Company (with subtitles) here.
• Also you may remember some “koi dance” videos from a few years ago. Those were based on the ED for the above-mentioned drama. Definitely check out this one done by folks working at the American Embassy in Japan for Christmas 2016.
• If you don’t like reading manga digitally, tell Kodansha which of their digital-first initiatives you’d like to see in print via this survey. (Be sure to include The Full-Time Wife Escapist!)
• Mitsurou Kubo (creator of Yuri on Ice)
• Tokyo Tarareba Girls is a Kodansha digital-first series that is now getting a print run. Volume 1 came out recently. Listen to our episode about this amazing Akiko Higashimura work (creator of Princess Jellyfish).
• Quiz: This quiz will show you the job that best fits your work style (Quartz at Work)
• Outro song: “Koi” by Gen Hoshino

SOCIAL

• Read Megan’s manga reviews on The Manga Test Drive
• Follow Megan on Twitter @brainchild129
• Follow Shojo & Tell on Twitter @shojoandtell
• Follow Shojo & Tell on Instagram
• Follow Ashley on Twitter @AshMcD00

Comments, questions, concerns? Want to tell us how cute you think Mikuri and Hiramasa are? Have suggestions for the show? Email shojoandtell [at] gmail.com or simply leave a comment on the episode page.