Sommerleigh Pollonais, Senior Writer
Plot: An unhappy young woman from an abusive family is married of to a fearsome and chilly army commander. But when the two learn more about each other, love may have a chance.
Review: I’ll readily admit when it comes to anime, my tastes tends to veer towards action, fantasy and horror. This one was recommended by a friend who I owe a big thanks to as never in a million years would I have chosen this title on my own and boy what a shame that would’ve been!
Beautifully animated with gorgeous use of colours and light, My Happy Marriage sits firmly in the realm of romance with a touch of fantasy added (I’m guessing) to keep its audience invested. If you’re a fan of angst-filled drama this one’s right up your alley, with the tale centered on a Cinderella-like young woman named Miyo who, due to being born without any obvious signs of magical ability, is rejected outright by her father who instead puts all his love and attention into his youngest to the delight of his new wife. All three treat Miyo like a servant and while her father chooses to ignore her, her stepmother and sister make it their mission to gleefully cause her pain.
Young Miyo is eventually sent to marry an allegedly abusive and cold nobleman named Kudo with no further thought to her safety or existence. But things aren’t as they seem, and Kudo may not be the heartless beast the world sees him to be. The two slowly begin to understand and maybe even love each other but in a world of magic and menace they will have to fight enemies known and unknown for their happy ending.
I’m dead inside so it takes a lot for me to get emotional about an animated tale. Most recently it was Demon Slayer: Mugen Train that hit me right in the feels but My Happy Marriage is poignant in a whole different manner. Besides the eye-catching visuals it’s the voice cast that resonated the most with Reina Ueda’s delivery making me wish I could reach in the screen and comfort poor Miyo, Kaito Ishikawa fulfilling all our romantic fantasies as the dashing, brash but deeply caring Kiyoka Kudo and Ayane Sakura is perfectly diabolical as the spoilt entitled younger sister Kaya Saimori. Just three examples of the wonderful work put forth by the voice cast here; I’ll admit to watching this one dubbed (don’t hate me) but I can imagine if it’s this well executed with an English dubbing it must be near perfect in its original Japanese.
The episodes are being released weekly on Netflix which for myself is perfect as time is not something I have a lot of these days, but if you prefer to have your meal all in one sitting, all 12 episodes of the first (but hopefully not the last) season will be out by mid-September. Whatever your viewing preference My Happy Marriage should definitely be added to your watch list. Engaging, thoughtful and genuinely touching, even if you’ve never seen anime this would make a wonderful jumping on point for anyone.
Sommer’s Score: 8 out of 10
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Sommerleigh of the House Pollonais. First of Her Name. Sushi Lover, Queen of Horror Movies, Comic Books and Binge-Watching Netflix. Mother of two beautiful black cats named Vader and Kylo. I think eating Popcorn at the movies should be mandatory, PS4 makes the best games ever, and I’ll be talking about movies until the zombie apocalypse comes. Double Tap Baby! Read More