Review of My Happy Marriage

The revitalisation of Shoujo in recent years has been a welcome surprise. Starting with Fruits Basket(2019), we’ve had solid female targeted stories for the past few years now. I think Watakon is easily the second best of the bunch, only behind Fruit’s Basket and is a beautiful and harrowing tale of overcoming abuse, trauma and finding true love. “What is a family anyway” At its core, Watakon is a juxtaposition of familial bonds. On one hand, Miyo’s toxic and abusive upbringing and on the other, the patient, accepting and healthy relationship she develops with Kiyoka. The story follows Miyo as she breaks free of the metaphoricalchains that bind her and learns to live life on her own terms.

This isn’t easy and it takes time. We gradually see Miyo take strides episode after episode. Despite everyone seeing her as a defective product she eventually comes to realise that her worth isn’t tied to a magical ability or her family’s perception of her.

What I love most about the series is its realistic portrayal of PTSD. After years of abuse from her father, step mother and sister, Miyo is understandably extremely timid and introverted. Even speaking her mind and making eye contact are big tasks for her. Dealing with someone who’s suffering from PTSD and anxiety is a very delicate issue and requires a tremendous amount of reassuring, patience and compassion. Fortunately, Kiyoka has an abundance of all of these qualities. Seeing their relationship develop and Miyo begin to open up and accept that she herself has value, regardless of how her family treated her, was a heartwarming experience.

Speaking of her family, I have to give it to the author. Bravo, the Saimori family are easily one of the most dislikable families in fictional history. Kaya is the worst sister I’ve seen in the history of this medium and I could write a dissertation alone on the punishment she deserves. Alas, there are so many scenes in the first half of the show that made me legitimately angry at Miyo’s mistreatment. Seeing such a kind and innocent soul go through the things she does, purely out of vindictiveness and jealousy.. it’s rough. But it is a testament to the emotional connection the author is able to establish between the audience and Miyo. Every hit, every cruel word she endures, it resonates with you. I’ve always subscribed to the notion that if fiction makes you feel this way, it’s done its job. I’m very pleased with how their story arc ended in this show and believe justice was done.

I am a sucker for a well written realistic feeling romance and there aren’t many series that do it better than Watakon. It doesn’t feel rushed, contrived or cliche. In real life, relationships require a lot of work. It’s constantly compromising and trying to see where your partner is coming from. Very few anime ever really get that right. It’s easy to show off the honeymoon and emotional high of being all cutesy with your partner. But it’s a daily grind to build and sustain a “happy marriage” and the author does a great job of conveying it. Obviously, it’s a fantastical story, but I believe the magical elements are analogous to the real life struggles that couples face. Especially those that involves survivors of abuse.

While there’s an incredible romance, Watakon is more than that. There’s actually a really cool magical ability system in the story that acts as the driving force for the primary conflict. In the anime so far it’s not been explained at tremendous depth, but there is quite a bit of potential to the system and I’m looking forward to expanding upon what I know already by reading the books. There’s a main antagonist who looks like he’ll pose a tremendous challenge in terms of overcoming and some other really cool directions the story can go in if a season 2 is confirmed. While I love romance, I also like getting more than just a couple holding hands and being cute all the time. I like a central conflict that’s happening around the main cast while their love acts as a focal point of the story. Watakon has that making it an ideal experience for me.

You’ve probably seen clips talking about how good the animation is and for good reason, it is absolutely stunning in this show. It’s not Kyoani, but it’s very close to that quality. I was absolutely blown away when I first watched this show. Every single scene is screensaver worthy. The colours are all so bright and for lack of a better word, beautiful. There’s not a ton of action in the story, but when there is, the sakuga really delivers.

I could honestly go on and on about Watakon and in fact, I’m sure I will write and create videos on the story in more detail at some point, but the short of it is, this is one of the best written romances I’ve ever seen. One of the best anime of 2023 and a must watch. It combines gorgeous visuals with a compelling and authentic romantic relationship that you can’t help but root for.

Watakon gets the easiest 10 out of 10 of the year.