My Happy Marriage - anime season 1

My Happy Marriage (わたしの幸せな結婚) is a 12 episode historical supernatural romance based on the light novel series of the same name by Agitogi Akumi.  The first season of the anime aired on Netflix during the Summer of 2023.

 

    Saimori Miyo is the eldest daughter of the Saimori household but is treated worse than a servant.  In an alternate version of the world, great families exist in Japan, gaining social and political power through super natural abilities latent in their family.  Miyo's mother was married into another powerful family, looking to gain offspring that would combine their powers together.  Her mother, deathly ill for her life, dies when she was very young.  Not wanting to waste his families future, her father remarried again and sired another daughter, Kaya.  When the girls were young their father put them through a test to determine the presence of supernatural abilities.  Unfortunately for Miyo, only her younger sister passed the test.  With her no longer being a useful heir to the Saimori household, Miyo is forced into a life of squalor and service to her father, step-mother and half sister.

    While not willing to outright kill her off, Miyo's father see's an opportunity to rid himself of his useless oldest daughter.  A marriage proposal has been offered to marry her off to the head of another family who has a fearsome and ruthless reputation.  Kudou Kiyoka, head of the Kudo family and a young militry officer who leads men to fight against supernatural threats called Grotesqueries.  Unsure of what fate has in store for herself, she heads off to the house, to buy her self a short time away from her life of pain.  Kudou is a stern man who says little and becomes annoyed with his newest potential fiancees servile nature.  Miyo is afraid to let him know that she has no abilities, understanding that is really all he is after, hoping to stay in the sanctity of his house as long as possible.  She knows that when he finally rejects her, she will be all alone in a world she has little chance of living in, rejected by her terrible family and her potential husband.  But things aren't as they seem with Kudou, who is a more caring and compassionate person than his reputation and attitude suggest.  Before they can truly have honest conversations about their fears and desires, an external threat rises, looking to weaponize Miyo's familial blood and take her from her quiet happiness.

 

    Going into this I just accepted it as another take on the Cinderella fairy tale, little did i realize the importance of supernatural abilities in the plot.  While annoying to me, over all the series, at least this first season, was really enjoyable.  The character animation is gorgeous.  This story has the hallmarks of similar classic shojo romance stories, and its a welcome return to old form.  Miyo is the heroine who needs to come into her own ability through gaining self confidence.  She is surrounded by strong men who want to protect her...though some want to use her for their own desires.  The men are hansom and strong and will fight each other to the death with her as the prize going to the victor.  It's not really my place to criticize or comment on character representations such as Miyo and it's effect on gender rights in the modern world.  Miyo's personality are thoroughly explained by her terrible life at the hands of the people she calls her family.  She isn't useless or weak, she lacks confidence and authority.  By the end of the first season, she is well on her way to finding that power with in her.

    It will be interesting to see where the story goes from here.  I suspect it was written originally with the idea that a single season might only be made.  The story actually ends on a really good place, with all of the plot threads being tied up in satisfying ways.  Yet, a second season was green lit, but no word yet on when that will be released.  Either way, this series was a pleasure to watch, I just can;t praise the animation and directing enough, even if some of the elements of the show are not exactly my favorite styles.  Season two can't come soon enough!!!

 

    The anime was produced and released by Netflix and is available in sub or dub formats.