Review of My Happy Marriage

Watashi no Shiawase na Kekkon overall is a fine romantic drama, but lacking any impact that distinguishes it. However, it has a lot of aspects which made me enthusiastic to watch all the way through. For one, the production value of the visuals is breathtaking. Every scene, has a high attention to detail. The setting is, while not unique, intriguing as it is set in a feudal early 1900's Japan where powerful families have unique powers - which the story does not rely heavily on at first. Which is interesting because this story is at it's best when it doesn't rely on the fantasy elementsand focuses on the human emotion and politics. The first 7-8 episodes were very enjoyable and i think i might recommend it to anyone purely because of that. However, they go for a full fantasy superpower arc and it feels... Dumb. New characters are introduced and motives hastily explained at the end. Suddenly all the fantasy elements are front in center instead of being a cool aspect in the background. It almost feels like a different story. To make matters worse, they basically repeat the same damsel in distress plot as the first arc which really hurts Miyo's character. In a weird analogy; it felt like one of those rushed anime original endings - the type that is thrown in to mark a dramatic end to the story but doesn't fit.

In my opinion Miyo is a good character, her backstory is well written and interactions with other characters feel genuine. However, good does not mean interesting. She is a meek character who has been abused all her life, and she plays that role perfectly the entire cour. It can get frustrating to watch her suppress even the most basic responses because she is afraid. As an introverted hermit, even i was rolling my eyes at how annoying she felt to watch. She does develop, but even when there isl development (where she opens up to the lead) at her core she is still the quiet introverted character she was at the start and it is hard to notice the difference. Somebody who is analyzing her can see it but there is no payoff for the viewer.

The other characters were fine- weird vibe that the entire show revolved around everyone being infatuated with marrying her except for Kudou and her own family. Kudou is cool, but does seem like mostly your white knight character who can do no wrong.

I would recommend if you enjoy the setting and theme, but i do have to put this slightly above average at a 6/10.