Watashi no Shiawase na Kekkon

I don't know what's the best way to describe this anime other than a Cinderella-esque story, just told in a Japanese timeline where magic is power and such. Other than a magical fairy godmother coming to give you the wish of what you truly desire, this tale is about a man saving a woman from a life of abuse and neglect. Without further ado, here I want to provide you with the pros and cons of doing something the audience is familiar with.

(Warning: There will be mentions of Cinderella in here.)

First, let's talk about the merits of starting on a familiar story everyone is adjusted ... to. Of course, it may come off as a little too similar and boring to tell otherwise, but it does help people understand the characters quicker and more used to at first glance. Starting as a classic tragedy story about a girl being mistreated is an easy way to gain sympathy and emotion, you just want to see her win now. Not only that, you also have a clear contrast of what characters are adversaries or allies to the main protagonists of this story. So if you're looking for a light-hearted, sometimes dramatic, sometimes cute, and nothing much to make you go big brain, this can be worth of your time. A lot of shows I've enjoyed are particularly simple and fun to watch, so there's nothing wrong with being entertained watching characters doing their mundane things in life. Along with some pretty fantastic animation made by Kinema Citrus and good voice acting by the cast, it would be a breeze to go through.

Now the bad part of starting with a familiar story is that any story that is inspired from other sources will always be an inferior way to experience the original source. They never managed to keep up with the level of writing the original did and thought they could get away with it just by plastering a different setting and timeline in it along with a different name. And when I say inferior, I mean by having mediocre storytelling, the only thing this story had to offer was the old tragedy tale and it doesn't capture that kind of charm you would expect from a classic Disney movie (We don't talk about the remakes). Albeit, the chemistry between the main lovers and some of the side characters is decent at best, the story starts to falter apart when the tragedy ends and delves into a less-focused subject with entry-level writing.

What fuels a character is dialogue. They're what drive the story forward and give us an insight into what the character is like. Now look at the characters and tell me what they think normally. Anything they could strike up for conversation other than Miyo is tragically boring to listen to. This is why I tend to like stories made as simple and less thematic as they can since trying to grasp multiple themes requires you to scrutinize and capture that lightning in a bottle to show the audience the exact feeling of it. A mediocre writer just uses it as a way to progress the story without much thought behind it. It's a result of just taking a story everyone is accustomed to and making it your own without trying to grasp the special inspirations that might have made this tale a lot more special. I know it's still just a Cinderella tale, but looking at its setting and the themes it seemed to tackle, I was hoping there was something more it could offer. Turning these fantasy powers into a race of power and influence was a bold move to be made and it could have fared as a great way to provide high stakes and tension which would be perfect for drama, only for its wonder to be diminished by the mediocre storytelling, a bit sluggish pacing, and poor handling of the characters that could have meant much more than a simple one-note exposition on scene.

If you didn't bother to read any of that, let me give you these simple notes:

Watch My Happy Marriage if you want:
- Decent romance chemistry
- Good animation
- Cute moments

Don't watch it if you expect:
- A well-written drama
- No gimmicks
- Real tension

READING TIME
1.5 – 2 minutes

INTRODUCTION
My Happy Marriage is the only Summer 2023 anime that I am so hooked by that I am watching on a weekly basis. This show delivers strong, if not sentimental, character writing, beautiful production, a great OP, and plenty of plot depth to attract those who are not solely interested in the romance genre.

WHY YOU MAY ENJOY MY HAPPY MARRIAGE
The compositing and backgrounds are all excellent. Most people will point out the spectacular focus on main female character Miyo’s eyes, but the detail put into the towns, homes, workplaces, and dream sequences are all noteworthy. Quite unexpectedly from this series ... are some actions sequences that, frankly, are unexpectedly impressive and very relevant for the story overall. The OP is passionate, colorful, memorable, and sets a good sentimental tone for the series.

Story-wise, the romance between Miyo and the head of the Kudo family Kiyoka is very satisfying to watch. As of episode 6, Kiyoka is an excellent man and is easy to admire. For me personally, he is in my list of favorite male protagonists in anime. In addition to a great romance, My Happy Marriage also introduces a really unique alternative history world of Meiji era Japan and a tight plot hinting at large scale political intrigue. It certainly offers more than just a かわいい romance.

WHY YOU MAY NOT ENJOY MY HAPPY MARRIAGE
The tone of the show bridges authentic drama-romance and melodrama. Therefore, some people may be turned off by the premise because it could come off as “manufacturing” sympathy for Miyo rather than earning it. However, similar to how the exaggerated emotional tone of Violet Evergarden did not, in my opinion, hinder its overall presentation, I think this presentation works with My Happy Marriage as well. Further, anyone who is not a fan of romance will probably not like this show, though the action and mystery elements are very satisfying additions to offset this emphasis.

Additionally, Miyo is a victim of domestic abuse, so some scenes depicting these circumstances could be disturbing to some viewers. Relatedly, Miyo is very soft spoken, submissive, and unnecessarily apologetic. I am on the fence regarding whether this presentation is brilliant or perhaps too exaggerated. Though her behavior is representative of some people growing up in these circumstances, some may find her character difficult to relate to because she, frankly, is so weak and discouraged. Either way, Miyo will challenge how you respond and relate to people from abusive families.

CONCLUSION
My Happy Marriage is undoubtedly the best romance anime of the Summer 2023 season and is certainly on track to be a contender for best romance anime of the year. I'd even go so far to say it should be in the best anime of the year discussion as of Episode 6. Additionally, it provides enough action, mystery, and political intrigue to stand above the average romance anime experience.

I decided to write this review because after rewatching some of the episodes again, it made me remember how much I loved this anime. It such a beautiful romance/drama and I think its one of my favorites and its hard to beat it. I wasn't expecting much when I watched it, but I was completely wrong. Its a very beautiful story and the ending makes me warm inside. I'm super excited for season 2 which should be airing sometime in 2024! Can't wait.

Music- 10/10. Can't beat it, one of my favorite OPs and ending songs.
Animation- 8/10 only because I think a majority of the scenes ... are beautiful and it makes you admire the work the animators do.
Story- 10/10 because the story is well written in a way to where you want to binge the whole show in a sitting, which I did and I highly recommend it.

I think you will be surprised with this one if you decide to watch it!

The fact that this anime has such a high rating and is so popular really surprises me. It's one of the most boring animes I've ever seen. The pacing is off, the characters have about one personality trait each, and the plot is basically nonexistent until the last few episodes (which is the only reason I managed to finish it at all).

The main character undergoes approximately zero growth and continues being a crybaby doormat throughout the whole thing, which is understandable to some extent upon learning about her background but it happens SO OFTEN that eventually it just made me roll my eyes every ... time she started crying. Obviously year-long trauma doesn't disappear overnight but it feels like nothing ever improved and the only chance the viewer gets to develop any kind of sympathy for her is through feeling sorry for her which just didn't work for me.

I really wanted to like it because I usually love the "arranged marriaged to genuine love" trope but this didn't meet my expectations at all; the pacing of the relationship between the characters goes from nothing to everything quite suddenly and after minimal interactions between them which felt a little off for the ML who is portrayed as very cold at first.

(Side note but something that bothered me unreasonably much was one of the characters shooting unlimited bullets from a revolver which visibly had 6 bullet chambers without reloading it a single time LOL)

what in the Y/N world is this, when can we finally leave this trope behind. abused-since-childhood-weak-coward-mc, perfect-in-every-aspect-but-is-scared-by-many-ml, unreasonable-behaviour-from-side-character-just-to-add-the-mc-suffering…we already have 29286th different version of this so why would we get another one. the conflict, the premise, and especially THE CHARACTER all feel so shallow. the female lead? many man would go feral for her, why? no reason, but apparently the ml thinks she is different than his ex(es) spouse and want to protect her since she is so weak UwU. the male lead? of course it’s the perfect, kind, overpower, attractive, rich, no flaws, high ranking, protective guy who fumble instantly for her inner beauty. ... the second male lead? guy who are always kind for her and been there for her since day one but because he is soft author make him coward and he just there because this world is only belongs to main couple, in fact every side character acts only revolves around those two, even if the “plans” dont make sense they always to that, why? because they didnt have any personality and goals other than making them both suffer. not impressed and mentally cant finish this.

Your title doesn't match your anime.
Fk who made this anime, I already hated it in episode 2, I jumped to eps 12 but the results are annoying, the mc is so dogwater, pretentious cool, better throw people like that into the sea, even that guy is worse than an introvert.
The poor girl is already depersonalised and mixed up with a man like this, And the guy with brown hair, why are you so weak goddamint dog.

Your drama really makes me uncomfortable to watch,

Overall I give a rating of 2/10
Nothing good here.
Whoever titled this anime fk you.

Dropping this show. The writing is so fanfictiony/amateur... very evidently a sheltered adolescent girl's romantic fantasy. The characterization, plot, dialogue, drama, setup, execution... all are very tropey and reeks of a teen girl's wish fulfillment throughout. The people do not feel real, they are so nauseatingly one-dimensional and wooden. Just a collection of what middle school girls imagine love and romance to be like.

If you want something grounded/realistic, then avoid this.

MAL auto-mod ain't letting me publish as is, so I will write more. The characters feel like plot devices used to push narratives, whatever the writer feels would [shallowly] get the readers/viewers to FEEL. The ... plot and characters are not organic. Things happen constantly in the plot for convenience, and the character motives and relationships, treatment toward the MC, are so superficially comically evil. This is not a show for those looking for mature characters and writing. This is akin to a popcorn flick, but even worse in artistic merit.

Agitogi Akumi's 'My Happy Marriage' begins as a beautifully animated series that effortlessly captivates as a historical period drama. However, the enchantment starts to fade as prominent characters abruptly reach their designated story arcs. Meanwhile, the introduction of an expanded cast feels hastily expedited, and as a result, struggles to maintain the emotional investment established by the previous characters. All of this unfolds against the backdrop of a world-ending supernatural fantasy, for which viewers receive an abridged exposé. Much like its main character, Miyo Saimori, the anime begins with modest origins, gradually gaining confidence over time and daring to dream for more. While this transformation ... is admirable, it's also tinged with sadness, as the series finds itself constrained by the limitations of a restrictive 12-episode cour.

TLDR: If you don't like wishy-washy cliché romance, don't bother watching.

Animation: Great (it's a netflix anime after all).
Plot: Good. (Nothing exceptional, but has good pacing).
Characters: Awful. (Character's personalities and development is very awkward.)

Heroine: A Cinderella that is very submissive, her voice actress makes it sound like she's always on the verge of crying (honestly, the voice really got on my nerves), she's always almost whispering (she's noticeably quieter than every other sound or voice in the anime), and she is weak-willed, accepting all abuse from her family even though she's officially a daughter of that family.

Male lead: He is a rude guy that mistreats the ... heroine when they meet, and upon seeing that she's prone to be abused and that she is totally submissive, he suddenly falls in love with her and becomes a totally different person that is now romantic and caring. This is awkward! This damages the plot, messes up the pacing of the anime.

Other characters: They are plain bad. All the key-characters around her (specially both her families on mom and dad's side, and the guy that likes) have very flat personalities that are all focused on tear-jerking us through making the heroine suffer. Any more than this would be a spoiler, but be assured, the characters won't earn your sympathy, you will be triggered.

Honestly this anime didn't have a strong promise from the beginning, so the enjoyment is really steady on each episode, not great but not bad.

Overlydramatized sob story. If you're a man don't watch this. This loser women's power fantasy.
While male power fantasy characters start of average looking, this girl is beautiful.
As discarded she was now she's wanted by everybody. Being wanted is the power fantasy of women.
Drawing quatility is fine but there is little to no animation as images are mostly still.
protagonist's voice is very annoying.
Well I think the actions of this girl is very feminine which goes with the theme, it's not something for men.
Honestly I was bored as I saw where the story was going, I didn't want to put more commitment to it.

Why do we have Indian serial stories in our anime ? This storyline was so uninteresting. They try to be too dramatic about the simplest of things. Also the story never lets the main couple settle and have a few enjoyable moments between them. The MC and FMC are thrust into one problem after another. This is like amc drama level writing. So boring. It's sad to see such beautiful animation got wasted on such a bad story. Only old grandmas and grandpas who are used to watching old drama romance shows can appreciate this lame story in this modern day.

MC is very boring. She has no personality besides being sad. The entire premise is that she’s been abused and so is always submissive and depressed . But that shouldn’t preclude her from being interesting in any other way. she’s basically there for sympathy points.

The rest of the characters have been extremely one sided with no depth. Her family is very abusive and mean. That’s it. Cool.

The world is somewhat interesting which is the only thing making this watchable at all. There are supernatural powers and I’m pretty sure the series is depending on that to make the MC interesting. It is ... a VERY slow burn so far. Three episodes in and they still haven’t shown much of the powers besides set the groundwork for it.