カッコウの許嫁

A COUPLE OF CUCKOOS

MANGA

STATUS
RELEASING
VOLUMES
Not Available
RELEASE
January 29, 2020
CHAPTERS
Not Available

DESCRIPTION

16-year-old super-studier Nagi Umino, second-year student at the Meguro River Academy high school, was switched at birth. On his way to a dinner to meet his birth parents, he accidentally meets the brash, outspoken, Erika Amano, who is determined to make Nagi her fake boyfriend as she never wants to actually marry. But once Nagi makes it to dinner, he finds his parents have decided to resolve the hospital switch by conveniently having him marry the daughter his birth parents raised...who turns out to be none other than Erika herself!

(Source: Kodansha USA)

Note: Fourteenth place of Tsugimanga 2020 Award in the Manga Category

CAST

Erika Amano
Hiro Segawa
Sachi Umino
Nagi Umino
Ai Mochizuki
Namie Umino
Youhei Umino
Ritsuko Amano
Shion Asuma
Souichirou Amano
Sousuke Amano

CHAPTERS

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Cover Art for A Couple of Cuckoos Season 2

ANIME ComedyA Couple of Cuckoos Season 2

REVIEWS

UltimateHope
58/100
An amusing disappointment to read.

Common teenage school harem.
ˏˋ°•*⁀➷
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In this manga we will follow Nagi, an outstanding young man in school who, one day by chance, discovers the secret of his life: he was switched at birth. He and another girl, Erika (of the same age and school) were switched at the hospital, so they grew up with the wrong families. After the meeting with the families, they decide that, to keep the families together, both young people get engaged in marriage (as if we had gone back two centuries). Since then, Nagi and Erika will try to break their commitment to show their parents that they cannot decide for them.
. . Plot to what we are used to seeing. ˏˋ°•*⁀➷
The harem revolves around Nagi and her indecisiveness about her love life. Thus, more girls join the "battle" for who Nagi will finally marry... And with that I have several problems. But let's start with the members of this circus.

Nagi: Unbelievably I don't find it annoying. Usually in harems, the "all the women fight" guy is either very boring or overly perverted. Nagi doesn't fit these roles 100%. Yes, he is quite cold, serious and antisocial, but he is not extremely annoying. With him I can understand that someone falls in love with him; he is very intelligent, kind, tolerant, calculating and always arranges the benefit of others for his own. But of course that doesn't mean he's dumb enough not to notice the VERY direct hints from the girls around him.
✧˚ · . ✧˚ · .
Erika: The "rich girl" description, too energetic and positive. Which is perfect for being the contrast to the introverted Nagi. I repeat, she's not essentially annoying, but she's very stereotypical. Erika is famous on social media (for no logical reason other than being beautiful and charismatic) and lives completely in her world. She is the one who is often in charge of moving the "story", she is the one who advises and pushes the characters to move and make a decision, and that is why she is the one who gets stuck the most in development. And I think it's a shame because she has a lot of potential: A rich teenager but lacking in family love who seeks independence and rebellion from the strict control of her parents… As I said, it bothers me that there is not much potential shown.
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Hiro: Nagi's crush. The "perfect model girl from school". Intelligent, supportive, kind, dedicated and committed. In theory, she's a very mysterious character, but little is revealed about her, and the "secrets" she reveals don't seem serious and shocking enough to keep secret... I mean, I'm disappointed that her mystery isn't about of something SO indispensable to the plot. And, what's worse, that's what most of her presence in the story is based on.
✧˚ · . ✧˚ · .
Sachi - Nagi's "younger sister", who begins to visualize a crush on her "brother". She sincerely worries me that her personality is so based on the Japanese cliche "himouto". A lot of what Sachi does is so childish and selfish, but she brushes it off because "oh, she's her little sister, she's okay with her being wrong." She worries me how stereotyped her whole situation is... Not to mention, yes, they are not blood brothers, but neither Nagi nor Sachi stop calling each other brothers even in matters of romantic love.
. . The lack of logic. ˏˋ°•*⁀➷
I KNOW this is a fictional wizard and a lot is not to be taken seriously or personally... But the level of reasoning in the plot doesn't let me brush it off that easily. I'm going to list a few (needless to say these are my personal problems).
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The exchange: It seems so bad taste to me that the decision of both families to solve a problem as serious as the exchange of their children, THEY GET MARRIED NOW?! It is assumed that with this commitment families would be "united" or more in contact with those who are supposed to be their children... but no. They rarely interact, even between parents. (Are you seriously telling me that neither parent was upset by such an unexpected situation? My God, your son/daughter spent his whole life with the wrong family and that doesn't bother anyone?)
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Problems are solved so easy: It seems that the manga is a constant cycle in which: a problem arises, they don't solve it the first time, it gets complicated, someone becomes inert, it is solved and we move on to the next. ??????
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The goal is marriage: I find it so funny that everyone's ultimate goal is to marry the person they like. But don't first think about getting to know each other better, start dating, graduate, work, etc... Just that, "someday I would love to get married--" or "I don't want you to get married-- ". I think Erika is the only one wondering if marriage is the happy ending she wants. Still, it is very strange that it is so idealized.
✧˚ · . ✧˚ · . . . My honest conclusion: ˏˋ°•*⁀➷
From what I read every week, this manga has no intention of outdoing itself. At no time do I see the interest and affection in the story that apparently wants to be told. But I suppose that it is an advantage that does not intend to worsen what has already been built. He doesn't take risks but he doesn't falter either, he just stays on the tightrope.
It's been fun to read, despite my complaints I've been able to turn off my brain and keep reading each chapter. I don't know if it would be good to highlight that, but the reading becomes so light that the chapters fly by, in the blink of an eye.
Anyway, I'm not too excited about how things will end, the "mysteries" of the story don't interest me much because they're solved. And I haven't been able to get attached to any particular character either. I guess I should wish him the best, whoever enjoys this manga cliché continue to enjoy it, no problem for me if this becomes popular. But I'm careful trying to recommend this. It's an "ok, read it, but it's not a big deal."
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gomruuu
10/100
Amazing potential with terrible writing and delivery
A Couple of Cuckoos started out well. The initial chapters created good characters and credible relationships, and the plot had a clear direction where it suggested authentic development. The integration of romance and comedy was appealing, and the novel possessed an individual charm that kept readers curious to know more. The characters were established, and their circumstances sounded realistic. For a while, the series might have been one of the greatest romance manga series out there.

But ultimately, the series strayed off.
What was initially a cute and emotionally deep series eventually turned into an infuriating and shallow read. The characters who initially reacted in thoughtful and realistic manners began reacting in seriously irrational manners. It seemed like the author was out of ideas and began introducing random dramas just to prolong the story. Rather than actual growth or emotional scenes, the manga resorted to repeating the same misunderstandings, love triangle scenes, and conflicts that led to nothing.

The writing became dull, and the plot lacked the real attachment that initially made it special.
Consider Hiro Segawa as an example. She was once one of the strongest characters in A Couple of Cuckoos. She was cool, mature, and a pleasure to root for. She loved her friends and always put them first. And then she dropped Nagi for no reason. There was no build-up or emotional consistency to this betrayal, so the break-up felt entirely out of place. This discredited her character. After the breakup, Hiro began acting completely out of character for who she was before it happened. She started sabotaging other characters and trying to get back together with Nagi after being the one who called it off. It feels like the writer forgot who the character was meant to be. Why would someone break up with someone that they still love? It completely erased what people enjoyed about her.

The same issues also strike the rest of the characters.
Erika, the previous fun and uninhibited girl, is now erratic. She's good one moment but a plot device to serve up laughter or drama relief the next. Nagi, the previous conscientious and easy-to-relate-to character, is now wishy-washy and aimless. He gets himself into the same trouble over and over again and never learns anything or progresses. It's heartbreaking to witness these characters reduce to flatness.

The worst thing about the situation is that the manga would have concluded so much sooner.
There were plenty of points at which the story could have concluded well, but the writer went on to add unnecessary side stories and filler chapters. When something would finally be going to happen, the story would loop back, and the impression would be given that nothing was that important. It's evident the manga was prolonged just to make more money and not give the fans a pleasant conclusion. The pacing has been slowed down, the jokes were no longer effective, and the romance is artificial rather than natural.

A Couple of Cuckoos would have been great.
It had a great concept, a great cast of characters, and a story that was capable of finding love and family in a great way. But now it's just a disappointment. The magic that kept me interested from the beginning is lost. The characters don't develop, the story doesn't progress, and everything feels forced and strained. You can still catch glimpses of what made it great, but they're smothered under terrible writing and melodrama.

Reading the manga today is tiring.
Every chapter is a copy of the last chapter. It hurts to see how something that had so much potential in the beginning became such a shallow and dull flop. The author had something better, but they messed it up by stretching it too thin. Hiro, Erika, and Nagi deserved better than this. I only wish that the author can figure out a means of bringing back the charm and atmosphere that initially caught people's hearts to A Couple of Cuckoos. Because currently, it is difficult to be concerned with a series that lost everything that made it good.
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