Review: MY HAPPY MARRIAGE

It's January again, which means once more it's Dealer's Choice Month.  That means there's no theme tying together this month's review beyond the fact that I want to talk about them...or in this case, that the second season of the anime adaptation of this work is currently airing. 

MY HAPPY MARRIAGE (Watashi no Shiawase na Kekkon), based on the light novels by Akumi Agitogi and illustrations by Tsukiho Tsukioka, with art by Rito Kohsaka.  First published in 2018 and first published in North America in 2022.

PLOT:

For almost as long as Miyo Saimori can remember, her life has been nothing but misery.  She was the product of a loveless arranged marriage, lacking in the hereditary magical powers that noble families like hers are supposed to possess.  When her mother died and her father remarried, her life became nothing but an endless wave of drudgery, abuse, neglect, and depression.  Miyo has no reason to believe her life could be anything different, even when her father sends her off to be married to the notoriously icy Lord Kiyoka Kudo.

With the help of Kiyoka's kindly housekeeper Yumie, Miyo slowly begins to open up to others and piece together her sense of self-worth.  In turn, Kiyoka finds himself drawn to this strange, sad, lonely young woman, even as outside forces conspire to sabotage their romance before it can properly begin.

STORY:

This is another one of those rare times where I have read both the manga and its source material, so I can state with good confidence that My Happy Marriage is not just a compelling story in its own right but a good adaptation thereof.  It covers all the important plot beats at a good pace, all without losing sight of its tender emotional core.  

If it has one major flaw, it's that this version is far wordier than it really needs to be.  Like so many light novel-to-manga adaptations, it too often tells instead of showing.  By their nature, the books must rely a lot on Miyo's internal monologue but more than once there were moments that would have been more powerful if Kohsaka just allowed for a moment of quiet or for Miyo and Kiyoka to demonstrate their feelings in subtle actions instead of words.

It's easy to look at the premise of this story and dismiss it as a Cinderella-style fantasy for its readers, but the writing makes it clear that Miyo's issues run deep.  It's not just the fact that she's been abused by her own father and stepfamily and forced to slave away in her own household, it's the fact that she's basically dead inside after years of systematic abuse telling her that she is worthless, unlovable, and undeserving of even the slightest comfort.  Furthermore, it's made clear that Miyo's recovery will require a lot more than just leaving her terrible home and getting the approval of a hot guy.  It takes a long time and a lot of gentle, loving support from Yumie and (eventually) Kiyoka to make even a little progress, and even a single encounter with her odious stepsister can cause her to backslide.  Her recovery becomes something of a healing process for Kiyoka as well, as the longer he's around her the more his icy mask slips and the more his better qualities come to light.  This helps the both of them reach a point where they can begin to understand and tentatively love one another, and it's legitimately heartwarming stuff.

Of course, there are larger plots afoot around all this tenderness.  Kiyoka may be an officer in a military squad that hunts supernatural threats, but right now the biggest threat to him and Miyo are the machinations of Miyo's family and other scheming nobles around them.  If anything, this particular version is making more of an effort than the light novels or later anime adaptation did to spotlight the mystery of Miyo's background and connect to larger political conflicts that show up in later volumes.  Even then, there's more than enough going on with Miyo and Kiyoka's fledging romance to keep my attention and carry the story forward.

ART:

This is also one of the few series where I sincerely prefer the manga artwork to the light novel illustrations.  Tsukiho Tsukioka's art is pretty enough, but sometimes I feel like their illustrations can get needlessly fussy with details.  This is especially true on the color cover art, where Miyo and Kiyoka often seem to be drowning in flower petals and flowing hair.  Kohsaka takes that foundation and streamlines it into something more in line with what you might see in a modern-day shojo manga and I think it's to the work's benefit.  

That said, as I noted before I do wish Kohsaka had more confidence and freedom to let their art convey more of Miyo's emotions versus relying entirely on her internal monologues.  They are more than capable of doing so, as you can observe how Miyo's eyes subtly lighten as she grows more confident and how Kiyoka's neutral expressions begin to soften around her.  They don't neglect the period details either.  This story is set in an alternate version of Taisho-era Japan, but since these two were raised among the nobility much of the backgrounds and costumes are rooted in the older, more formal architecture and style of the Meiji era.  It's a subtle but effective way to communicate just how old-fashioned and uptight the world of nobility can be and how it quietly stifles and oppresses both of our leads.

RATING:

Honestly, if not for all the excessive dialogue I might have recommended this version of My Happy Marriage over the light novels, and something I very seldom do.  It captures all that's good about the story and its sleeker art helps those qualities to better shine.  As it is, it's a perfectly fine compliment to the light novels and worth a look even if you're familiar with the other versions.

This manga is published by Square Enix Books.  This series is ongoing in Japan with 5 volumes available.  4 volumes have been released and are currently in print.