Only Just Married

Synopsis

Year aired: 2021

Number of episodes: 10

Average Run Time per Episode: 57 minutes (jone special of 75 minutes)

Alternate titles: Konin Todoke ni Han wo Oshita dake desu ga (original Japanese), I Just Stamped the Marriage Registration, and translations like "Only Just Married" or "We Just Got Married on Paper."

Genres: Romantic Comedy, Romance, Life/Drama (with elements of contract marriage and cohabitation tropes).

Akiha Okado is a fiercely independent 27-year-old graphic designer who thrives on her freedom, late-night drinks with friends, and a budding career she refuses to sideline for anyone—least of all marriage. When her beloved grandmother’s restaurant faces financial ruin, Akiha’s world collides with Shu Momose, a 30-year-old diligent advertising professional whose buttoned-up exterior hides an unconventional need for the social camouflage of married status.

What begins as a purely transactional agreement—sign the papers, lend the money, share an apartment on paper only—quickly unravels into an intimate dance of clashing habits, quiet revelations, and unexpected tenderness. Shu’s logical, almost emotionally analytical approach to life challenges Akiha’s passionate impulsiveness, while her warmth slowly chips away at his carefully constructed walls. As they navigate nosy family members, meddling colleagues, professional pressures, and the blurred lines between pretense and genuine connection, the couple discovers that “just married” might be the most authentic relationship either has ever known.

Major Character List

• Akiha Okado (played by Nana Seino): Independent, career-driven designer who values her single life but enters a fake marriage to save her grandmother’s restaurant.

• Shu Momose (played by Kentaro Sakaguchi): Reliable, somewhat eccentric advertising professional who proposes the fake marriage for his own initially undisclosed reasons.

• Asahi Momose (played by Tomoya Maeno): Shu’s brother.

• Miharu Momose (played by Kana Kurashina): Asahi’s wife.

• Yuito Makihara (played by Mahiro Takasugi): Nurse and supporting character.

• Satoshi Morita (played by Seiichi Tanabe): President of Akiha’s design firm.

• Shoko Mamiya (played by Mai Fukagawa): Supporting character, often involved in workplace or social dynamics.

• Hatsue Okado (played by Hana Kino): Akiha’s grandmother.