Covers all 9 volumes of The Full-Time Wife Escapist by Tsunami Umino
What would it be like to get married as a job? Megan DeYarman (of The Manga Test Drive) and host Ashley dive into The Full-Time Wife Escapist’s (very good) takes on alternatives to traditional marriage, family generally, and employment in particular (scheduling out twice-monthly hug dates may not be as weird and emotionless as it seems!). Plus, there’s plenty of gushing about the respectful representation of older virgins, a nice in-depth character walkthrough of the main cast (Mikuri, Hiramasa, Kazami, Yuri), and a helpful quiz to figure out what job Mikuri should be pursuing with her psychology degree.
EPISODE CHAPTER TIME CODES

Intro: 0:00 to 5:19
SPOILERS AFTER 5:19
Character walkthrough: 5:30 to 21:15
Proverbs: 21:16 to 23:45
Alternative relationship structures: 23:45 to 29:45
Alternative business ideas: 29:45 to 35:10
Alternative family structures: 35:10 to 38:10
Art corner: 38:10 to 42:35
Quiz: 42:35 to 50:00
Shipping corner: 50:00 to 57:30
Final thoughts/outro: 57:30 to end

LINKS

This series is available from Kodansha USA
This manga was the basis for a very popular drama in Japan that, at the time of this podcast episode’s publication, isn’t available in English. But you can watch a trailer from the TBS Company (with subtitles) here.
Also you may remember some “koi dance” videos from a few years ago. Those were based on the ED for the above-mentioned drama. Definitely check out this one done by folks working at the American Embassy in Japan for Christmas 2016.
If you don’t like reading manga digitally, tell Kodansha which of their digital-first initiatives you’d like to see in print via this survey. (Be sure to include The Full-Time Wife Escapist!)
Mitsurou Kubo (creator of Yuri on Ice)
Tokyo Tarareba Girls is a Kodansha digital-first series that is now getting a print run. Volume 1 came out recently. Listen to our episode about this amazing Akiko Higashimura work (creator of Princess Jellyfish).
Quiz: This quiz will show you the job that best fits your work style (Quartz at Work)
Outro song: “Koi” by Gen Hoshino

SOCIAL

Read Megan’s manga reviews on The Manga Test Drive
Follow Megan on Twitter @brainchild129
Follow Shojo & Tell on Twitter @shojoandtell
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Follow Ashley on Twitter @AshMcD00

Comments, questions, concerns? Want to tell us how cute you think Mikuri and Hiramasa are? Have suggestions for the show? Email shojoandtell [at] gmail.com or simply leave a comment on the episode page.