English Dub Season Review: My Happy Marriage Season One

Overview (Spoilers Below):

Taking place in the 19th century Meiji Restoration era, Miyo Saimori (Miranda Parkin), who was born without supernatural talent, is forced into an existence of servitude by her abusive stepmother. When Miyo finally comes of marriageable age, though, her hopes of being whisked away to a better life crumble after she discovers her fiancé’s identity: Kiyoka Kudou (Damien Haas), a commander apparently so cold and cruel that his previous would-be brides all fled within three days of their engagements. With no home to return to, Miyo resigns herself to her fate—and soon finds that her pale and beautiful husband-to-be is anything but the monster she expected. As they slowly open their hearts to each other, both realize the other may be their chance at finding true love and happiness.

Our Take:

My Happy Marriage is an anime adaptation of a Japanese light novel series written by Akumi Agitogi and illustrated by Tsukiho Tsukioka. It was produced by Kinema Citrus, and Takehiro Kubota directed the series. Takao Abe supervised the series and handled the storyboards, while Ami Satō, Takahito Ōnishi, and Momoka Toyoda wrote the scripts. Shōko Yasuda created the character designs, and Evan Call composed the music. The opening theme is “Anata no Soba ni” by Riria, while the ending song is “Vita Philosophica” by Kashitarō Itō.

Almost every fairy tale has a “happily ever after” that resulted in a marriage between a man and a woman. An engagement usually symbolizes a brand new chapter of someone’s life or, in this case, a chance to escape from their miserable one. For someone like Miyo Saimori, this fairy tale emphasizes the latter. This brings us to the long-awaited television adaptation of the beloved manga series depicting a powerless woman’s coming-of-age journey of self-discovery, compassion, family, and self-love. It was first adapted as an ongoing manga series in 2018, followed by the recent live-action film that premiered in Japan in March. Now, we see if the anime version on Netflix is worthy enough to honor this concept. Since this is my first experience with My Happy Marriage, I will look at it as its own thing, like how I view the previous anime adaptations. 

The series almost resembles an anime version of Charles Perrault’s 1697 fairy tale, Cinderella, in which a servant finds love amid the cruelty of their stepfamily. That’s the best way to describe my experience with the series after the first few episodes, which saw Miyo mistreated by her stepmother Kanoko (Erica Schroeder) and stepsister Kaya (Lizzie Freeman). Of course, there are a few differences that make it stand apart from the iconic love story. Despite it having fantasy elements, especially people with supernatural gifts, there are no talking mice and magical fairy godmother present to save Miyo from her torment. Additionally, Miyo’s biological father, Shinichi (Ricard Tatum), is still alive but is just as heartless to her as the stepfamily. Yeah, you can say this is nowhere near as cheerful as the Disney version of Cinderella. However, that doesn’t mean there’s nothing magical from experiencing this emotionally compelling take on the timeless fairy tale.

The series’s first half consists of Miyo moving away from the dreaded Saimori residence to be engaged to Kiyoka Kudou, a soldier with an assumed reputation for driving his previous wives away with his behavior. Seeing how handsome he is despite his rudeness, Miyo considers this as an opportunity to live the happy life she deserves and strives to be a good wife to Kiyoka. Unfortunately, the Saimori and Tatsuishi clans are willing to tear them apart for their selfish gain. Initially, I thought My Happy Marriage would be an overly depressing and frustrating experience based on the first few episodes and its tone. Some episodes have a few occasions where the highly apologetic and shy Miyo is badly abused by Kanoko and Kaya, even in her flashbacks. It would’ve been enough to watch something else or climb inside the screen and set these people on fire.  

However, as I progressed through the first half, I surprisingly found myself engaged in Miyo’s harrowing journey; maybe even loved it. Yes, it can be a difficult watch for those who aren’t into shows involving trauma and abuse, but regarding the direction of its topics, it didn’t come close to being an unwatchable piece of “torture porn”. My Happy Marriage has a proper balance of its depressing nature and uplifting themes to authentically generate several emotions, such as anger and hope. What makes the first half even better is that it has an immensely gratifying conclusion that’s also my favorite episode of the season, “Determination and Thunder”. That episode involved Kiyoka using his abilities to rescue Miyo from the Saimoris and Minoru Tatsuishi (Mick Wingert). It served as an emotional closure to Miyo’s torment and a satisfying punishment for the inhumane family who had been abusing her for years. 

The season’s second half consists of Miyo and Kiyoka making their engagement official, but more trouble arises to break them apart. One involves the Grotesqueries, vengeful spirits unleashed by a cult to invade the imperial capital. The other is the arrival of Arata Usuba (Ryan Colt Levy), Miyo’s cousin, who knows the shocking truth behind the eldest Saimori daughter. While Kiyoka struggles to protect the country from the Grotesqueries, Miyo is trained by his older sister, Hazuki (Felecia Angelle), to be a proper lady and perfect wife to Kiyoka.

The second half is also when its fantasy elements play a crucial role in My Happy Marriage, as it introduces viewers to the malicious gifted specters and further showcases Miyo’s history regarding the Usuba family and their profound abilities. This would’ve been a selling point for the show’s second season, but it has to settle for being a continuation of season one. Fortunately, it’s all the better for it regarding the characters and the season finale, even if it didn’t match the emotional standards of the series’s first half.  

Periodically, the second half felt more like any other fantasy action series regarding characters using their gifted powers than the first half. However, it still managed to pull me into its world regarding its characters and direction toward its formula. One example is its tenth episode, “Summer Cherry Blossoms, and the Mistake”, which reveals Miyo’s hidden Dream Sight ability and a duel between Kiyoka and Arata. That episode further develops the stakes for the characters regarding their development, mainly Miyo, but it also provides solid animation for the action, mainly for Kiyoka and Arata. It may not be as sentimentally poignant as the first six episodes, but the second half proves the fantasy elements can be as emotionally compelling as the show’s romantic vibes and themes.

The series also benefits from its talented English dub cast, consisting of new and familiar faces. Miranda Parkin offers a delicate yet strong performance that manifests Miyo’s shy and compassionate nature. Although she is also apologetic, Parkin did pretty well ensuring her character isn’t annoyingly repetitive with her remorse. She also voices Miyo’s mother, Sumi Saimori, in a few episodes, as I recently found out. Damien Haas also did very well as Kiyoka, a ruthless yet caring head of the Kudou family. As for the antagonists, the highlights of the cast go to Lizzie Freeman and Erica Schroeder as Kaya and Kanoko, respectively. These two are undeniably despicable and cold-hearted, as they resemble symbols of greed, jealousy, and arrogance. They’re enough to make me want to shoot them with multiple arrows, which is why I applaud Freeman and Schroeder for their attempts at making them highly spiteful. When a character makes you hate them that much, whether they’re real or fictional, that means an actor behind them succeeds at their job.

Kinema Citrus is known for producing animation for shows like The Rising of the Shield Hero and Made in Abyss. However, my first experience with the animation company came from “The Village Bride”, an episode from the fantastic Disney+ anthology series Star Wars: Visions, which I thought was superb regarding its quality. So now, we see the studio with the task of bringing Akumi Agitogi’s beloved light novel to life on the screen. Based on my experience with “The Village Bride”, I wasn’t surprised that it accomplished that task easily. In fact, I would say it’s the studio’s best work I’ve seen so far.

Regarding the serene backgrounds and character designs, the animation style resembles several Japanese arts brimming with life and soulfulness. It also works well for its mild action sequences, with the best example being the duel between Kiyoka and Arata in the show’s tenth episode. I would also credit composer Evan Call for his beautifully tranquil score, which emphasizes the emotional standards of My Happy Marriage.

Overall, My Happy Marriage offers a ray of emotions, including happiness, to provide a highly diverting and sentimental take on the romance and fantasy genres. While far from perfect, the series is a fulfilling journey that delivers a huge amount of emotion in its direction, themes, and characters to overcome some of its formulaic standards. Based on the first few episodes regarding the provocative nature of Miyo’s abuse by the Saimoris, I was initially concerned about how the series would turn out. However, once we see Miyo with Kiyoka, it immediately finds its footing with its storytelling and never lets up until its final frame. From its strong direction for its themes to the stellar animation, My Happy Marriage is one of the best surprises of 2023 that shouldn’t go unnoticed in the anime category. If you have a Netflix account and enjoy watching romance anime, this show is worth checking out.