Tales of Wedding Rings (Japanese: 結婚指輪物語, Hepburn: Kekkon Yubiwa Monogatari) is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Maybe. It was serialized in Monthly Big Gangan from March 2014 to August 2024 and has been published in fifteen tankōbon volumes as of September 2024. The series tells a story of a high school boy, Haruto Satou who falls in love with a young woman named Hime from another realm who moves back to her home world to get married and he crashes the wedding.
An anime television series adaptation produced by Staple Entertainment aired from January to March 2024. A second season has been announced.
Plot
Satou pines for his childhood friend Hime. One day, she says she is moving away, so he follows her into a portal where she is about to be married to a prince. When a demon attacks, Hime gives Satou her ring, granting him light-based powers he uses to defeat the demon. She explains she is a princess from another world who lived on Earth for her own safety. Her world is under attack by demons and she was destined to marry a hero and pass her ring to grant him power.
The prince was supposed to be the hero, but Satou usurped his position. The ring is one out of a set of five. To become powerful enough to save the world, he must marry four other princesses and gain their rings to get power over four of the elements: earth, fire, air, and water.
Characters
Satou (サトウ, Satō)
Voiced by: Gen Satō[2] (Japanese); Corey Wilder[3] (English)
Written and illustrated by Maybe, Tales of Wedding Rings was serialized in Monthly Big Gangan from March 25, 2014,[7] to August 23, 2024.[8][9] As of September 2024, the series' individual chapters have been collected into fifteen tankōbon volumes.[10]
In November 2017, it was announced that a virtual reality version of the manga was in development.[41] The adaptation was first released in March 2018 at Square Enix's AnimeJapan booth.[42] It was made available on the HTC Vive on September 25, 2018.[43]
Anime
In January 2023, an anime television series adaptation was announced.[2] It is produced by Staple Entertainment and directed by Takashi Naoya, with scripts written by Deko Akao, character designs handled by Saori Nakashiki, and music composed by Satoshi Hōno.[4] The series aired from January 6 to March 23, 2024, on AT-X and other networks. The opening theme song is "Lover's Eye", performed by Sizuk, while the ending theme song is "Kokoro no Naka" (ココロノナカ, "In the Heart"), performed by AliA.[5]Crunchyroll streamed the series.[44]Medialink licensed the series in South, Southeast Asia and Oceania (except Australia and New Zealand) and is streaming it on the Ani-One Asia YouTube channel.[45]
A second season was announced after the airing of the twelfth and final episode on March 23, 2024.[6]
Ten years ago Satou witnessed Hime and her grandfather Alabaster teleport to Japan from another world. In the present Satou and Hime are best friends, though Satou secretly is in love with Hime. However, he fears confessing his love as Hime possesses two rings meant for marrying her future husband. When Hime abruptly reveals she is returning home, Satou, unable to accept her absence, follows her to the teleportation circle where she reveals her real name is Princess Krystal of Light Kingdom and she is returning for an arranged marriage. Impulsively he follows her to the world of Arnalus and interrupts her wedding to Imperial Prince Marmarugius / Marse. The wedding is attacked by an Abyssal Demon seeking to assassinate Hime. Only Hime’s Ring of Light can defeat it, so she quickly saves Satou’s life by giving him the ring and a kiss. Marse throws Satou a sword, allowing him to slay the demon with Light magic. Satou is alarmed to learn he has unintentionally become Hime’s husband, Hero of Light and King of Light Kingdom. Despite the danger he decides to continue protecting Hime. Hime starts to develop her own feelings for Satou but reminds him their marriage is a formality so they will not be sharing a bed. More demons attack so Alabaster, revealed as Great Sage of the Light Kingdom, prepares Satou to fight once more.
2
"Episode 2"
Matsuo Asami
Deko Akao
Masayoshi Nishida
January 13, 2024 (2024-01-13)
A knight of the Abyss King injures Satou. Alabaster explains the ring draws power from Satou and Hime’s marriage, and since they married only recently Satou is powerless before the knight. To protect both himself and the kingdom, Satou flees with Alabaster, Hime and Marse. Alabaster reveals Satou will need four more rings to achieve his full powers, so Satou will need to marry four princesses with rings from other kingdoms. Hime is not happy at this. The rings were crafted by the first Ring King to seal away the Abyss King generations ago. Each of his five wives received one ring each and founded the five kingdoms. Hime blames herself for Satou’s lack of power, but Satou finally confesses to her and Hime admits she loves him back. As they are too nervous to have sex they decide to date first. Alabaster is disappointed by their decision. Their first destination is Romca, kingdom of the elves whose princess holds the Wind Ring. Unfortunately 50 years ago a wind barrier appeared around Romca that prevents entry by any species except elves. Elven hunters show them an underground passage so they can meet the princess. Unfortunately, Princess Nephrites is terrified by anything from outside Romca, and when she learns Satou and Hime are married she runs away to be sick.
3
"Episode 3"
Ryo Nakamura
Deko Akao
Katsumi Terahigashi
January 20, 2024 (2024-01-20)
Nephrites' brother Jade, who suffers from an extreme sister-complex, imprisons Satou. Satou is broken out by Peridot the elf Elder who believes the elves need to re-join the outside world. She sneaks him into the temple where the Wind Ring generates the barrier by drawing power from the petrified bodies of Nephrites' parents. After kidnapping Nephrites, Peridot assures Satou that Nephrites is stronger than she seems. Jade secures the ring, reasoning Satou can’t take it via marriage as long as Nephrites still hasn’t removed it from her mother’s finger. Satou is able to show Nephrites he is just an ordinary man who stumbled into his position due to falling in love with Hime. She admits she is curious about the world, so he offers to show her but won’t force her to marry him. She tries to stand up to Jade but is forced to obey him. Peridot reveals Nephrites' aunt should have inherited the ring, but when her human lover was murdered to keep him from inheriting the ring by marriage she fled the kingdom after cursing it to be destroyed. The ring was passed to her younger sister, Nephrites' mother, whose fear of the curse grew so great she and her husband made Nephrites promise never to leave the kingdom, then sacrificed their lives to create the barrier.
4
"Episode 4"
Ryo Nakamura
Deko Akao
Katsumi Terahigashi
January 27, 2024 (2024-01-27)
An Abyss Knight breaks through the barrier. Satou battles the Knight to protect the kingdom but is still too weak. Hime realizes their marriage isn’t enough, overcomes her jealousy, and implores Nephrites to marry Satou. Nephrites shatters her parents' statues to retrieve their rings, one for herself and the Wind Ring for Satou, causing the barrier to vanish. With two rings the Knight is defeated and revealed to be Smaragdi, Nephrites' aunt who cursed the kingdom, revealed to have been enslaved by the Abyss King with an inferior copy of the Wind Ring. She fully apologizes for her actions. Later, while sharing a bath, Hime attempts to brag about their non-existent sex life to impress Nephrites, which backfires when Peridot joins them to demand details. Hime stubbornly offers Satou sex straight away, but he feels pressured due to Peridot watching and refuses. Alabaster informs Smaragdi her human lover wasn’t murdered, he chose to leave hoping her life would be easier without him being hated by her people, and is now an old man living in another kingdom. Nephrites chooses to go with Satou to see the world. Peridot is revealed to have been one of the original Ring Princesses and wife to the first Ring King hundreds of years ago. Smaragdi realizes her human lover who is now an old man was actually Alabaster himself.
5
"Episode 5"
Matsuo Asami
Natsu Yoshioka
Kōji Iwai
February 3, 2024 (2024-02-03)
As they travel, Hime becomes increasingly jealous of Satou doting on Nephrites and has a nightmare of being separated from him. They stumble upon Needakitta, the moving kingdom of merchants and cat people whose princess holds the Fire Ring, disappointing Marse who wanted to go to the Water Kingdom first. After the boys and girls get separated, Nephrites apologizes to Hime for coming between her and Satou and assures her that Satou loves her. Satou is shocked when all the girls in the kingdom admire Marse but dismiss him as a weakling. They regroup at an arena where Princess Granart faces her suitors for she will only allow a man who can beat her in a fight to marry her. Satou challenges her, but is knocked out in one blow. Marse trains him in swordsmanship and Alabaster trains him in magic for a rematch, but he does not make much progress. Hime comforts him by assuring she does not mind if he is weak. In a mixed gender spa, Granart allows a shocked Satou to massage her nude body. As he does, she confides she is tired of fighting weak suitors. Since their cause of defeating the Abyss King is just, she offers to throw their rematch so she can marry him and give the Fire Ring. Insulted, he declares he will fight her for real and defeat her.
6
"Episode 6"
Matsuo Asami
Natsu Yoshioka
Masayoshi Nishida
February 10, 2024 (2024-02-10)
Nephrites tries to seduce Satou, but is ignored. He is reluctant when she and Marse tell him to just use the Rings against Granart. As their rematch begins, a defeated, jealous suitor is tempted with a cursed ring by the Abyss King and turns into an Abyss Knight, attacking the event with several monsters. As Granart's guards slay the monsters, she takes the knight on, but he is protected by an aura of flames. Satou uses the Wind Ring to blow out the flames and the Light Ring to destroy the cursed ring and cure him of possession. Granart says he has proven himself worthy, but he insists on the duel. He starts losing, but insists on not using the Rings because he wants to win with his own power. Hime offers to have sex with him if he wins, firing him up, then a voice only he can hear gives him advice that allows him to win. Granart kisses him, gives the Fire Ring, and wants to have sex, but he says Hime is his first wife and he will do it with her first. They try to have sex, but he passes out from exhaustion, so she is satisfied with just sharing a bed with him. They later have a feast to celebrate Satou and Granart's marriage, but Hime drinks too much wine and Satou takes her to her room. He confides that he wants to return to Earth before they have sex and she allows him to fondle her breasts. Nephrites and Granart arrive and complain because they cannot have sex with Satou until Hime does.
7
"Episode 7"
Ryo Nakamura
Deko Akao
Takashi Naoya
February 17, 2024 (2024-02-17)
The group reaches Maasa, capital of the Kingdom of Water. Satou is grabbed by a girl from the crowd who kisses him, granting him the Ring of Water as she is Princess Saphir of the dragon people. Saphir quickly drags him into her kingdoms politics; Maasa has no army so it utilizes soldiers from Marse's country, the Gisarus Empire. Unfortunately Marse's father the Emperor and older brother Prince Sluder are expanding the Empire’s territories and Saphir fears he intends to seize Maasa. Her father suffers from an illness weakening his mind, so he relies heavily on Sluder and a mysterious Seer. It transpires Saphir’s younger twin Saphira was supposed to be Ring Princess and marry the Ring King, which should have been Marse, but now she rejects him, believing he broke his promise to marry her by letting another man become Ring King. Saphir admits she married Satou so Saphira would be free to marry Marse, though that now seems unlikely. Saphir intends to prove the Seer is an Imperial agent, meanwhile the Seer orders Satou be assassinated. The assassins are foiled repeatedly by Granart and Alabaster. Marse admits to Satou he didn’t want to be Ring King as the responsibility was too much, plus it meant taking Hime away from Satou, which wouldn’t be right. Sluder pressures Marse to remain loyal to the Empire. Shortly after, the Seer passes Marse an order from the Emperor; during the next monster attack kill Satou and replace him as Ring King.
8
"Episode 8"
Ryo Nakamura
Deko Akao
Kōji Iwai
February 24, 2024 (2024-02-24)
The Seer promises Marse that his father, the Emperor, will finally accept him if he fulfills his mission and gives him an anti-magic sword. As Marse remembers his father always berating him as a failure, the sword possesses him. Sluder leads troops to fend off a monster attack, but one slips through and attacks the palace. As Alabaster fights it, Marse attacks Satou. The voice tells Satou he can overwhelm the anti-magic sword and kill Marse, but he refuses. Believing in their friendship, Satou lets his arm get stabbed, which snaps Marse out of it, then destroys the cursed gem on the sword. Enraged, the Seer reveals herself as an Abyss Knight and the source of the monsters, then takes Saphira hostage. Satou and Marse rescue her, making her fall in love with Marse again, then Saphir kisses Satou and uses the Water Ring to turn into a dragon and devour the monster, forcing the Seer to flee. Saphir's father regains his health and mind. He tells Sluder that Maasa and Gisarus will have an equal partnership from now on, approves of Satou and Saphir's marriage, and gives Marse and Saphira permission to marry. The Seer reports to the Emperor and attempts to seduce him, but he kills her with his sword, saying he knew of her treachery. He declares he will kill anyone who stands in the way of his conquest, even the Abyss King and Ring King.
9
"Episode 9"
Matsuo Asami
Natsu Yoshioka
Masayoshi Nishida
March 2, 2024 (2024-03-02)
The girls insist on sharing Satou’s bed every night. The voice tells Satou to stop resisting and take all four of them but Satou announces Hime will always be most important and invites her on a date without the others. Alabaster nags Satou to have sex with Hime on the date, meanwhile Hime also secretly hopes for this. The date, secretly being watched by the other girls in disguises, keeps being interrupted by people eager to meet the Ring King. At a park popular with couples they attempt a kiss but Satou is too nervous to do it in public. The other girls leave, disappointed nothing happened. Nephrites is happy she, Granart, and Saphir are becoming friends. Hime tells Satou that while she enjoyed the date the reality is she cannot keep him for herself and advises him to include all his wives in the future. Satou kisses her and for a moment they are tempted to find a hotel, but come to their senses and return to the palace. The next morning, they depart for Idanokan, the kingdom of the dwarves high in the mountains who hold the Earth Ring. Unfortunately, after the last war with the Abyss King the dwarves were almost wiped out and the few survivors hid underground, so Alabaster is unsure if there even exists a surviving dwarf princess or if she even possesses the Earth Ring.
10
"Episode 10"
Matsuo Asami
Natsu Yoshioka
Masayoshi Nishida
March 9, 2024 (2024-03-09)
The group spend three days hiking through the mountains. At night Satou asks Alabaster why they are bothering to collect the rings when the Empire already opposes the Abyss King without the rings, and so far no one he has met has much faith in the power of the Ring King. Alabaster is certain all will work itself out when the time is right, though while Satou sleeps Alabaster fears he is failing as Great Sage. They finally reach Idanokan but find it in ruins, so they decide to start searching, hoping by some miracle to find the Earth Ring. Hime is certain someone is watching them. Exploring, they learn the dwarves specialized in crafting robots and other machines powered by magic, which includes Granart’s home the moving kingdom of Needakitta. One robot abruptly awakens, its power source recharged by another of the Abyss King's rings. Full of bitterness at the dwarves' extinction, it attacks Satou. It tries to convince him to give up fighting for others and return to his own world but Satou is determined to fight for Hime’s home and defeats the robot. Suddenly, all the cursed rings teleport to the Abyss King and revive him, and he sends an endless horde of Abyssal Demons against the group. Seeing the fight as hopeless, Alabaster teleports Satou and the girls to Japan, though Marse chooses to stay and fight by Alabaster's side. Satou and the girls settle in his apartment.
11
"Episode 11"
Ryo Nakamura
Deko Akao
Takashi Naoya
March 16, 2024 (2024-03-16)
Hime found a letter from Alabaster directing her to his stored money and telling her to live happily with Satou. They get Nephrites, Granart, and Saphir modern clothing and help them get used to the modern world. Hime and Satou go back to school. At home, they are still too shy to have sex. One night, Amber Idanokan, who has the Earth Ring, appears to the two. She explains that before the dwarves went extinct, they created her, a robot modeled after the dwarf princess, and sent her to Earth to safeguard the Earth Ring until she met the Ring King. She is ready to send the group back to Arnalus, but Hime refuses due to not wanting Satou to be hurt and wanting to live happily ever after with him. Satou spends time with Amber and after she talks about duty, he makes up his mind and kisses her to gain the Earth Ring. He tells Hime that they must stop running away and defeat the Abyss King to truly live happy. They attempt to have sex, but Amber interrupts and creates a portal to Arnalus. Satou and the girls step through it.
12
"Episode 12"
Matsuo Asami
Deko Akao
Takashi Naoya
March 23, 2024 (2024-03-23)
The group arrives in Idanokan to find soldiers fighting a desperate battle against the Abyss King and his demons. Satou plows through the demons to attack him. The voice makes his five rings combine into one to amplify their powers and he slices the Abyss King in half vertically. However, his left side that holds his cursed rings does not die, shocking even the voice, and he tortures an exhausted Satou. The girls save him, but are surrounded by demons. Satou dreams of marrying Hime and then being tortured by the Abyss King. He wakes up to find Alabaster and Smaragdi rescued them on a giant bird and the Abyss King retreated due to his injuries. They stop in a town and reunite with Marse. Alabaster says the cursed rings saved the Abyss King, then says in the past, the wives of the Ring King fought by his side, so they must train the girls and deepen their bonds. The girls try to seduce Satou, but he is still too nervous. Later, they visit the grave of Hime's parents. Her little sister Morion arrives to be her teacher in magic.
Reception
Rebecca Silverman from Anime News Network praised the characters, fan service, and use of body language, while criticizing characters' facial expressions and the story's direction.[1] Brandon Varnell from The Fandom Post also praised the series, especially the plot due to it not sticking to trends established by other works.[49] Takato from Manga News also offered praise for the story, calling it a promising start.[50] Aurélien Pigeat from Actua BD [fr] was more critical, fearing the series would abuse other plot elements common in this type of work.[51]
