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 its only about three chapters long. Yes really. But whats 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 shes grown tired of her parents pressuring her to marry a man of their choosing knowing that theyre only doing it so they can brag about having a soninlaw. In comes an old acquaintance Hana Agaya who needs a place to stay while her apartment buildings being renovated and convinces Machi to fake a marriage with her as a way to solve both their problems. But theres 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 thatll bring the house down but it does its job. The panels are easy to follow the character designs are decent and downtoearth and the backgrounds are the right amount of detailed without being intrusive. If I can name one complaint though itd be that the mangaka relies way too much on screentones for everything. Seriously they put them on shadows clothing random knickknacks in the background transition panels I dont think theres any scene that doesnt have screentones. Theyre all over the place to the point that its really hard to ignore them. They really ought to dial them back a bit. Eh the art itself is competent and Im 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 theres one thing about the manga that I appreciate its that the artist doesnt waste any time. The pacing is fast yet not so fast that you cant follow whats 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. Theres 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 theyre with an ex even if the context isnt romantic and they jump to conclusions that result in a lot of pointless drama? Im so glad that I Married My Best Friend To Shut My Parents Up doesnt go that route and instead has Machi just go to where Hana is at her exs 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 shes 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 isnt much to talk about with I Married My Best Friend To Shut My Parents Up. Its a nice little time killer thats short sweet and to the point without coming across as saccharine or shallow. Its 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 doesnt try to drag itself out so I dont mind what we do have. But youre looking for something longer and has more meat to it youd 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 shoujoai manga I enjoyed a lot more but feel free to check this out if youre looking for something short and sweet.