The Great Snake's Bride (Daija Ni Totsuida Musume) is a supernatural romance manga that began serialization in 2021.
Miyo is a village girl with a rough life who is offered as a bride to a giant snake that goes by the name of Daija and is revered as the Lord of the Mountain. She is initially frightened out of her wits at her new husband and expects him to eat her at any moment. However, she gradually sees that Daija is a surprisingly kind and understanding husband who truly desires her companionship and love, and she starts returning his feelings. As they get to know each other, they also contend with the demons in their pasts.
Tropes:
- All of the Other Reindeer:
- Miyo and her family are pariahs in their village because Miyo's father, Seinosuke, is thought to have committed a murder and killed himself the day after being accused. Miyo was bullied a lot as a child because of this.
- Tokitaro and Ina aren't warmly welcomed by the villagers for being a snake and a snake-girl. Ina doesn't care about others' opinion of her, but Tokitaro would like to have friends.
- Asshole Victim: Tokuro, the mayor of Miyo's village, was the one who committed the murder Seinosuke was unjustly accused of and wanted to get rid of Miyo's entire family to ease his own conscience, so it's hard to feel sorry for him when Daija eats him.
- Beware the Nice Ones: Daija is courteous and a perfect gentleman to Miyo. Anyone who dares to threaten his family, however, will learn firsthand what a gigantic serpent can do.
- Blemished Beauty: In a flashback in chapter 19, one of the villagers comments that nobody would want to marry the otherwise attractive Miyo because of the huge scar on her forehead (another reason why she gets sent to Daija).
- Driven to Suicide: Miyo's father Seinosuke committed suicide after being accused of murder, leaving the family in dire straits as her mother fell into depression. Her grandfather tried to help but could only do so much at his age and died shortly after, so she and her younger brother were forced to fend for themselves.
- Eaten Alive: Daija eats Tokuro alive when he threatens to kill Miyo and her brother.
- Enfant Terrible: Baby Ina is temperamental and quick to bite or hit anyone who isn't her parents when they get too close. She's still ill-mannered as a kid, but prefers to run off on her own than start fights.
- Every Scar Has a Story: The scars on Miyo's forehead are a product of her being bullied as a child; some of the village children pushed her down a slope and she struck a tree branch with her forehead.
- A God I Am Not: Daija is revered as a god by Miyo's village, hence why they send her as a sacrifice to him. He denies having any divinity and only sees himself as a plus-sized snake.
- The Great Serpent: Daija is constantly lampshaded as being a very large serpent, most of all by himself whenever he says that he is no deity, but just a big snake. He achieved this size due to his long life.
- Half-Human Hybrid: The human Miyo and the serpent Daija have two children. The boy, Tokitaro, looks entirely like a snake, while the girl, Ina, is more obviously a hybrid, looking mostly like a human but having scales around her eyes, a forked tongue and sharp teeth; she also dislikes breast-feeding and goes right to eating meat.
- Hibernation/Migration Situation: Daija hibernates during the winter, which means he has to leave Miyo for some time as he retires into a cave. The first time Miyo experiences this, their relationship is still fraught and she has mixed feelings about it, but eventually she realizes she misses him and goes to the cave to be with him.
- Interspecies Romance: A human woman and a male snake are happily married. Their relationship is clearly shown to be physical as well.
- Kill the Ones You Love: In a previous form, Daija fell in love with a young woman who was being raped and abused by her uncle, a Buddhist priest. When he learned what was happening to her, he ate her so that nobody would be able to hurt her again.
- Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Hachibei is a grouchy, aloof tanuki who remains rude and blunt towards Miyo even after they become friends, but he does genuinely care for her well-being, as seen when he rushes to inform Daija (at great risk to himself as Hachibei knows he's prey to Daija) that Miyo has collapsed.
- Marriage Before Romance: Miyo is married off to Daija before she even knows him and everyone involved with arranging the marriage thought she was really going to be sacrificed to him. Once she understands that Daija's intentions are harmless, she starts loving him.
- Metamorphosis Monster: Daija was once a venomous snake, and in a prior form had black scales. After being struck by lightning conjured by a vindictive priest, he was reborn as a white snake with red sclerae and white irises.
- Mistaken for Dying:
- Miyo worries Daija is sick when he loses his appetite and his eyes turn foggy, when he's actually getting ready to shed his skin. This concern is the first sign that Miyo cares about Daija.
- When Miyo becomes lethargic and achy, she and Daija are afraid she is sick, only for Hachibei to tell the couple that she's most likely pregnant.
- The Nose Knows: Or rather, the tongue does. Daija detects scents with his tongue like an ordinary snake, only significantly more acute. He can even notice decade-old blood traces on a kimono.
- Parental Neglect: Miyo's mother went catatonic after Seinosuke's suicide and wouldn't leave her bed, forcing the young Miyo to work and look after her little brother.
- Polar Opposite Twins: Tokitaro and Ina by the time they're seven years old. Tokitaro is mild-mannered and wants to get along with the village people, but Ina is aggressive and wild. Essentially, Tokitaro is a snake in body but a human in heart and Ina is the reverse.
- Pregnancy Scare: After Miyo and Daija spend some time together at a cave Daija was hibernating in, Miyo discovers that her period is late and thinks she has gotten pregnant from the encounter. When she tells Daija, he points out that they did nothing more than make out; Miyo thinks that Daija's supernatural powers can make her pregnant from just that, but Daija explains that he has no such ability. The missed period is because she had little food to eat throughout the winter.
- Rescue Romance: A turning point in Miyo and Daija's relationship is when he slays an attacking bear in defence of her.
- Scared of What's Behind You: Ina and Tokitaro are out exploring on their own (with Miyo and Daija secretly watching from among the bushes) when they run into a pair of wolves. The toddlers hiss at the wolves, who are intimidated and run away, but it's actually because their father Daija is right behind them and making a threatening expression.
- Single Woman Seeks Good Man: Miyo's reasons for loving Daija revolve around how kind and gentle he is.
- Snakes Are Sexy: After overcoming her fear of Daija and falling in love with him, Miyo develops a sexual attraction to his serpentine aspects, and the manga has few compunctions about framing him in a positive sexual light.
- Stress Vomit: During her first dinner in her new home, Miyo hears Daija eating loudly in the other room. Fear that she will eventually be the prey drives the woman to run outside to throw up.
- Surprise Multiple Birth: While pregnant, Miyo expects to give birth to a snake, having felt a tail moving around in her womb. She and Daija are caught unaware the night their snake son and human daughter are born.
- Swallowed Whole: Daija, being a snake, is in the habit of swallowing animals whole for his meals. He prefers foxes and tanuki (thouroughly repulsing Miyo when she first dines with him), but is capable of swallowing a bear, which he does when he saves Miyo's life from one.
- Tanuki: Miyo's first friend after moving in with Daija is a grouchy and earthy tanuki called Hachibei. His ability to talk and his abnormally long life (80 years) are the marks of his supernatural nature.
- Their First Time: Miyo and Daija have a difficult time consummating their relationship for obvious reasons (with Miyo panicking when she first sees what a male snake's genitalia is like) and it takes them several days to go all the way, but they manage.
