Manga / I Married My Female Friend

Kitabeppu: So... does this piece have a title?
Kurumi: A title? Hmm...(turns to her wife Ruriko and gives her a thumbs up)
Kitabeppu: Sera-san?
Kurumi: Sorry! What were you saying? A title, right? I'm thinking, I'm thinking! Oh! Okay, how about this? "I married my female friend."

—Kurumi decides upon a title for her book, as well as the series.

I Married My Female Friend is a Yuri Genre manga by Shio Usui.

Kurumi Sera is a free spirit who fears that no one would want to marry someone like her. During her Coming of Age Day ceremony, her best friend Ruriko Aizawa then notes that Japan will soon legalize same-sex marriage and makes a suggestion- if neither of them are married in five years, they can hook up.Five years later, Ruriko returns from patissier training in France, and makes good on her promise. Now that they're "married," do Ruriko and Kurumi have what takes to be a good married couple, and might their marriage of convenience eventuallly become real?

The series was serialized in Yuri-Hime starting in January 2021, and concluded in November 2023.

This series contains examples of:

• Affectionate Nickname:
  • Kurumi calls Kuroda "Daa-san."
  • Ruriko's parents call her "Ruri-chan."
• Armor-Piercing Question: After Ruriko's parents learn about her arrangement with Kurumi, they ask Kurumi, "But you're only friends. Do you really want to be stuck in a loveless marriage?" After a Beat Panel, Kurumi thinks "Oof... that hit hard," but luckily, Ruriko answers.
• Christmas Episode: There is one late in the series, but as a patissier, Ruriko is too busy to enjoy it.
• Cliffhanger:
  • Chapter 7 ends with Kurumi getting home, seeing no one there and learning that Ruriko has been taken to the hospital.
  • Chapter 12 ends with Kurumi requesting a house meeting after she and Ruriko are barely able to talk to each other for the entire chapter.
  • Chapter 20 ends with Ruriko asking Kurumi if Rio can stay with her. Kurumi's response is not shown until the next chapter.
• Deadpan Snarker: Kurumi's coworker Nomura is rather snarky about Kurumi. She's annoyed to find out that Kurumi slept in and forgot her chores, and when Ruriko replies that Kurumi's a night owl, asks, "Aizawa, did you marry a damn hamster?" Later, when Ruriko mentions that Kurumi gets the urge to travel when she's stressed, Nomura asks if Kurumi's a bird, not ahamster.
• Don't You Dare Pity Me!:
  • After Kuroda reads some comments that not only criticize Kurumi's "marriage" with her friend but feel sorry for the friend and gets upset on Ruriko's behalf, Ruriko politely takes exception and says, "I'm the one who gets to decide whether I deserve pity or not."
  • The sentiment is also somewhat present in Ruriko's opposition to buying a combined washer-dryer. Due to having just paid for a brief stay in the hospital, Ruriko would be unable to pay for half of it, and she rejects Kurumi's proposal to pay for it by herself on the principle that they agreed to split expenses 50-50.
• Feud Episode: In Chapter 11, Kurumi proposes buying a combined washer-dryer, but Ruriko, having recently paid for a brief hospital stay, is hesitant to pay the money. Kurumi proposes paying for it herself, but Ruriko is hesitant about owing her anything, which offends Kurumi. After a chapter of awkwardness in Chapter 12, the dispute is resolved in Chapter 13; they agree to buy the washer-dryer together after Ruriko gets her bonus to pay for her half, and agree to set aside time for "couples' bonding days."
• Friendship Moment: While Ruriko is rather annoyed to see Rio again, she quickly moves to Change the Uncomfortable Subject after Kurumi brings up Rio's parents, and later asks if Rio can stay with her and Kurumi.
• Idiot Hair: Nomura has a single strand of hair sticking up.
• Innocently Insensitive: Kurumi asks Rio if her parents are living far away, causing an uncomfortable silence. After Rio leaves, Ruriko points out that Rio doesn't get along with her parents.
• Japanese Honorifics: Ruriko uses appropriate honorifics on most people, and even uses "-san" on her long-time friend and "wife" Kurumi, but uses yobisute on her relatively new friend Rio, since she considers Rio a friend but finds her rather annoying. Kurumi feels a bit jealous and tries to get Ruriko to address her without honorifics, but Ruriko can't manage it.
• Jerkass to One: Downplayed. Ruriko is generally a Nice Girl, but she displays a more snarky and temperamental side around Rio, who is the one person she doesn't address with honorifics, although this shows how close they are.
• Last-Name Basis: Kuroda is generally referred to by her surname despite having known Kurumi and Ruriko since high school. Oddly enough, it stays the same even after she gets married.
• Romantic Fake–Real Turn: While it's implied that Ruriko has always been in love with Kurumi(or at least since they came of age), Kurumi only sees Ruriko as a friend at first, but falls in love with her over time.
• Romantic Spoonfeeding: Ruriko does this to Kurumi at their wedding in the final chapter.
• Sick Episode: In Chapter 7, Ruriko comes down with appendicitis and spends the next chapter hospitalized.
• Sleeping Single: Ruriko and Kurumi sleep in separate rooms, partly because of their different schedules.
• Tsundere: Ruriko is a mild case, as she's a bit heavier on the tsun toward her parents and Rio, and more dere towards Kurumi. A post-chapter illustration shows Kurumi imagining how Ruriko acts toward her and her parents- the former shows Ruriko with a cheerful smile while the latter shows her with an irritated frown.
• Vitriolic Best Buds:
  • Kurumi and Kuroda often snark at each other, but they're quite close, and have known each other longer than either has known Ruriko.
  • Ruriko and Rio. Ruriko finds Rio exasperating, but also genuinely feels bad for her. Kurumi is slightly jealous that Ruriko is close enough to Rio to forgo honorifics with her.
• Wham Line: In Chapter 7, Kurumi gets a disturbing call from Kuroda after getting home and seeing no one there.
  Kuroda: I'm at the hospital with Ruriko.