The Fall 2024 Anime Preview Guide

365 Days to the Wedding

The J.T.C. travel agency is looking for someone to manage its brand-new branch in Anchorage. But for employees Takuya Ōhara and Rika Honjōji, they'd rather just stay home in Tokyo. Thankfully, they've discovered a way out—their manager has narrowed down the recruits to bachelors, so they decide to get married. The problem is they barely know each other at all.

365 Days to the Wedding is based on the manga series by Tamiki Wakaki. The anime series is streaming on Crunchyroll on Thursdays.

Something tells me that the two primary characters of 365 Days to the Wedding are going to resonate with a lot of anime viewers. I admit to wincing in recognition at Ohara's slow processing time being mistakenly perceived as incompetence, and Honjoji's habit of looking at people in an unintentionally intimidating way. Most characters I've seen get interpreted as neurodivergent are squeaking moe girls, so it's nice to see a pair of odd adults trying to navigate the workplace, with their differences affecting their relationships with coworkers in a realistic way.

But I'm not sure this one has the juice to keep me interested for the whole run. I like the characters individually! I like the idea! However, Ohara and Honjoji distinctly lack chemistry, which makes the scenes between the two of them fall slightly flat. That could be intentional – after all, the two aren't in love and only pretending to be engaged. Both of them are awkward with other people and have atypical communication styles because, let's be real, both of them are probably autistic. However, that means that the scenes between the two of them tend to drag, while the ones involving their coworkers are much more dynamic and fun. It's hard to see the two of them carrying a full series.

An underwhelming visual presentation actively hampers this. I like the character designs, especially Ohara's – his fluffy sideburns remind me a bit of a grown-up version of early Clamp designs like CLAMP School Detectives. The animation is never noticeably bad, but it certainly didn't blow my socks off either; it's mostly carried by voice acting by Saori Hayami and Kentarō Kumagai, both of whom have experience playing weirdo characters who are commonly interpreted as neurodivergent as well. But the direction and animation are just kind of… there. Perfunctory, literally interpreting the manga without any sense of how to make a big moment or a punchline land. We barely hear Honjoji's supposedly hellish karaoke performance, and there's virtually no tension to the giant Ferris wheel scene where the two put on their wedding rings for the first time.

This kind of sauceless direction can really hold an adaptation back, and I'm sad to see a story like 365 Days to the Wedding suffer from it. I want to love it, but this one might end up shipped to Siberia… er, Anchorage.