Content warnings: sex and nudity. Mild spoilers for Volume 1.
The negative aspects of living in a homophobic society—somewhere with little to no rights for queer people—can build up and wear you down. That is what Rei Shigisawa feels whenever a woman gets married and quits the company or goes on maternity leave. As a lesbian in Japan, marriage and kids are not an option in her future. The extra workload she must take on is a heavy reminder of her societal position- and what’s missing from her life.
The Lying Bride and the Same-Sex Marriage Debate explores this intersection between sexism and homophobia lesbians experience in their daily lives.
Shigisawa’s life takes an exciting turn after bumping into an old colleague, Goto Saya, who needs a place to crash. As if it already wasn’t stressful that Goto is totally Shigisawa’s type, she’s straight (allegedly) and married. The two women begin a co-living situation that feels awfully like married life, which naturally stirs up Shigisawa’s emotions. She is constantly telling herself that Goto’s personality is naturally flirty. That she knows exactly what she causes in Shigisawa, thus using her to keep staying at her house. Aside from these thoughts stemming from internalized misogyny, I would argue that they are a defense mechanism. Preventing her from getting too attached to someone unattainable a direct consequence of trust issues.
I cannot tell yet if this is the author’s own internalized misogyny seeping through or if this is shaping up to be a commentary on societal expectations for women in Japan. Thus, causes many lesbians to succumb to heteronormativity by getting married to men and having kids. After all, a reality where you can openly be a lesbian and married with a family is not currently possible.
Furthermore, we do not learn much about Goto in this volume, aside from some hints on what is possibly affecting her marriage, because she is clearly putting up a front. Initially, I thought the reason would simply be that she’s a lesbian and could no longer pretend. But it actually seems to be more complicated than that. This makes the story richer and makes me want to read more.
This manga feels like a work of advocacy for same-sex marriage and equal rights for queer people in Japan, which I think is great.
Approaching this from a lesbian perspective gives us unique insights into the harm of gender roles, resulting in compulsory heterosexuality and a hostile work culture for women. I also enjoy that the author doesn’t sanitize their characters’ sexual desire. Which is something I have sometimes encountered in sapphic romances. I am definitely curious to see where this is going. I urge others to support this story, since GL/yuri always needs it!
Seven Seas released The Lying Bride and the Same-Sex Marriage Debate Volume 1 on October 7th, 2025. Volume 2 is set to release on March 31st, 2026.
