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The Beauty of My Happy Marriage
129 Plays9 months ago
WARNING: This episode contains discussions of abuse while discussing the anime My Happy Marriage. Listener discretion is advised.
In this episode of Chatsu-Nani?!, Satsunami is joined once again by the wonderful Wysteria Moth to discuss the anime My Happy Marriage. After the duo both found this anime on Netflix, how does it fare against other romance animes? Is it worth the watch? Or is there more to this anime than meets the eye? Let's find out!
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Review it Yourself
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Transcript
Introduction and Content Warning
00:00:00
Speaker
Hey everyone, Satsunami here. Just to let you know that today's episode is going to contain discussions of themes that some listeners may find upsetting. Listener discretion is advised. Welcome to Chatsunami.
00:00:27
Speaker
Hello everybody and welcome to another episode of Chatsunani. My name's
Enthusiasm for 'My Happy Marriage' Anime
00:00:33
Speaker
Satsunami and joining me today to talk about all things Happy marriage apparently is another than the one and only Wisteria Moth. Hello, hello again. How are you doing tonight? You know what, I'm doing alright. Listen, I am just super, super excited to be discussing this because I have wanted to talk about this for a long time and now we're finally here and I'm buzzing.
00:00:54
Speaker
I mean, you were standing outside my house with a bin box. You were throwing stones at the window being like, Satsu, you need to talk about this anime. Satsu, let's talk about it. I'm like, for the love of God, I'll talk about it. Well, no, literally, like we started watching it around the same time. You're like, hey, do you want to do an episode about this? And I'm like, uh, yeah. And I finished it as it was coming out. I'm not even joking. Like this anime has been the cornerstone of my mental health or was the cornerstone of my mental health for a hot minute there.
00:01:22
Speaker
And so whenever I finished it, I was just standing outside of your house crying in the rain going, please, I want to talk about it.
Netflix and Streaming Rights Challenges
00:01:30
Speaker
Yeah, of course, that anime that we are going to be talking about is 2023's My Happy Marriage, which seems to be an anime that is getting a lot of critical acclaim from anime aficionados, casual anime fans. I myself only just saw it because it got released on Netflix. Yeah, it was released on Netflix as it was being produced rather than it being a Crunchyroll release or anything like that. It was a Netflix original.
00:01:56
Speaker
Yeah, which was really surprising because you don't really get many of them, do you? The thing is, I feel like Netflix is doing more and more Netflix originals when it comes to anime, and I am not necessarily opposed to that because some of the content that they've come out with has been really, really good. My happy marriage included.
00:02:13
Speaker
I mean, that is true. Although I have to say, I do feel betrayed, see, when you've seen a show before and then it comes to Netflix and they say, it's a Netflix original. You're like, wait, a hot melody. That's not a Netflix original. Oh, but the worst part about it is you go and check the other platform that it was on and it's not there anymore. Oh, God. Don't get me started, by the way.
00:02:34
Speaker
Did I tell you the time I nearly got into fisticuffs were Crunchyroll because of One Punch Man? Really? Well, I say fisticuffs. It was more of a one-sided scolding. Basically, I had a Crunchyroll subscription to watch Spy Family, Attack on Titan, things like that.
00:02:51
Speaker
I think at the time, the Attack on Titan finale hadn't come out. The second season of Spy Family hadn't come out. There was a lot that wasn't really out, and the stuff that I had seen was a bit dry. It wasn't very exciting. So I thought, you know what? Maybe I should just cancel it. And then I thought, do you know what would be cool? Because my partner and I watch a whole bunch of shows together, this one included, that we're about to talk about today. I thought, do you know what would be fun?
00:03:17
Speaker
if I showed her One Punch Man because, you know, it's very light-hearted, it's goofy. And I remember watching it on Netflix years ago but clearly the licenses run out for it so they don't have it there. So I thought, well, obviously it must be on Crunchyroll. It is. It is in French only. What? Yeah. What do you mean, madame? What? You mean Phil Scottish then?
00:03:44
Speaker
What? What? That's a choice. It was no très bien. No, no, no. No, no, n'est pas bien. N'est pas bien. This is a French podcast.
00:03:58
Speaker
You know, there's a couple of people I know who will be listening to this being like, oh, thank God, like, out of the shade. But yeah, I went on and I was like, all right, I've clicked on the French version. Silly Satsu. Let me click on the English version. No, English version. Oh, OK. Yeah, maybe they have the Japanese version because, you know, it's a Japanese show. It comes from Japan. Nope, nothing. It was just all in French. So I cancelled my Crunchyroll subscription right there. And then I was like, no.
00:04:30
Speaker
again people will say oh it's due to licensing and things but how does that happen? Well you've got a show that comes from Japan and the only version of it you've got is one that speaks in French because even the comments it's like a mixture of Japanese and English saying what the hell where's the original and everything
00:04:48
Speaker
It's crazy and considering that Crunchyroll's the biggest anime platform right now as of 2024, it's not a good look. I'm going to be honest, it's a really, really bad
Anime Viewing Preferences and Trends
00:04:59
Speaker
look for them. So. Yeah. RIP Funimation. Yeah. Rest in pepperoni Funimation. Taken too soon. Much like Goku versus Cell. See, I know anime. See, I can do the skateboards. Yeah. Do you skateboard?
00:05:21
Speaker
Yeah, it's absolutely crazy, I couldn't believe it. So I have to admit, I have been looking elsewhere at a few terrible saying that. Lurking the shrooming streets being like, those are any anime here that I'm gonna like. My faith in anime was kind of shattered by things like Jojo when they brought out part six and ridiculous segments. They brought it out with little fanfare and things. So I didn't really expect Netflix to have much.
00:05:37
Speaker
Thank you for getting the reference.
00:05:47
Speaker
as it were. But of course, then I stumbled across quite a few really good ones recently, like Delicious and Dungeon. I would recommend that. That is such a crazy, yet quite entertaining anime. JG See, that one's on my list. I really want to watch that one. SC Oh, I would wholeheartedly recommend it because I think, as of recording this episode, I wouldn't say the last episode is out, but there could be more. But it's a fun time overall. JG Ah, so you mean there's a binge for me to have? Perfect. I'll get right on it. SC Exactly. At last.
Themes and Tone of 'My Happy Marriage'
00:06:17
Speaker
I will finish it in a day and a half. I need you to stop standing outside and go watch it, yeah. That's the way that I watch anime. Like, unironically and being entirely serious, I like to wait. Like, I'm one of the people that very rarely do I watch an episode on a weekly basis. I like to wait for either the entire season to be out, or at least a good chunk of episodes for me to binge in one before I start watching it. I'm the same, to be honest, because I love knowing that I can just binge it, so when you realise that it's like, oh, next week's episode's coming out soon, then you're like, oh, no.
00:06:47
Speaker
Oh my god, what is this? The 2000s? Like you turn into a toddler just sort of throwing a tantrum on the floor. I don't want to wait a week. I want it now. No, that's exactly it. And that's pretty much why I've taken my approach. I mean, it's not even just anime. I do that with other series as well. Like I did that with Loki and I still haven't seen the most recent season of it because I'm like, I know it's out, but I'm not in the mood.
00:07:12
Speaker
But it's amazing to see that this anime which spawns from a manga that came out in 2019 seems to be very popular. What I didn't realise as well was it was published by Square Enix, which is absolutely wild to me, I have to say. Yeah, it wasn't until July 5th, 2023 that Netflix acquired the rights to publish it and that's the day that they ran it. I can see why it's popular.
00:07:38
Speaker
It's one of these kind of, I want to say, romance period dramas. Well, that's exactly what it is. It is a period drama because it takes place in, I wouldn't say necessarily historical, but it is a period drama. And it's also a supernatural period drama, which is something that I wasn't expecting. But I think my favorite thing about the series itself is that the supernatural elements aren't the forefront all the time. Like it's a nice, healthy balance that focuses on our male and female leads.
00:08:07
Speaker
in a way that you can see that this is a part of their daily lives but it doesn't overwhelm the story. Yeah, I am gonna hold my tongue in that because I do have not harsh words but maybe slightly critical about the way they handled that because you have just informed the listeners at home so
00:08:27
Speaker
much better I think than this show did to say that there are supernatural elements because for anybody, well any historians out there as well listening, as far as I know and I'm just checking my notes here, the era that this is based off of and it's like an alternate reality based off of the high show era which is really cool to see that they incorporated all of that and then they of course included the supernatural stuff
00:08:54
Speaker
but they didn't really advertise. I feel as if they advertised the show in a very particular way, at least when I saw it. But before I jump into that, because I know we're both itching to talk about the fantastic of this anime and the maybe not as fantastic, but see without any further ado, will we just jump into it? Absolutely. And as always, we will be looking up some fake marriage certificates for this anime.
00:09:20
Speaker
We'll be right back after these messages. Welcome to Chatanami, a variety podcast that discusses topics from gaming and films to anime and journal interests. Previously on Chatanami, we've analysed what makes a good horror game, conducted a retrospective on Pierce Brosnan's runs James Bond and listened to us take deep dives into both the Sonic and Halo franchises.
00:09:42
Speaker
Also, if you're an anime fan, then don't forget to check us out on our sub-series, Chatsunani, where we dive into the world of anime. So far, we've reviewed things like Death Note, Princess Mononoke, and the hit Beyblade series. If that sounds like your cup of tea, then you can check us out on Spotify, iTunes, and all big podcast apps. As always, stay safe, stay awesome, and most importantly, stay hydrated.
Plot and Character Development
00:10:04
Speaker
Hello and welcome to Myth Monsters! I'm Erin, a self-confessed mythology addict and occasionally scholar. Myth Monsters focuses on the monsters of global folklore and mythology. With sometimes a cryptid thrown in once or twice, we go from looking at Jackalopes to Gorgons to Wendigoes to Bigfoot from dwarves to elves.
00:10:26
Speaker
And honestly, everything in between. Why should I listen to this podcast over any other mythology podcast out there? Well, we're only 15 to 20 minutes long so we're perfect in time for your little commute. And also we focus on a different culture and monster every single week, a real in-depth look into modern media, where they're found in films, TV, video games and books, and also the origin description and if I believe they existed.
00:10:52
Speaker
So it's perfect for any short trips or if you're into any specific monsters that you fancy. So come join the fun every Thursday and stay spooky babes!
00:11:08
Speaker
That joke never gets old, honestly. So yeah, let's talk about My Happy Marriage, which is an anime that focuses around the life and misfortunes, as it were, of the very poor heroine, Mio Saibori, who is
00:11:24
Speaker
basically being raised by this very… it's almost like Cinderella, in a way. You know, she's waiting for the right prince to come along, as it were, and things don't go away. She ends up getting married off to what seems to be a very cruel and callous lord called Lord Koodle, and then over time, spoilers. And again, there will be spoilers in this episode. I probably should have mentioned that there will be spoilers, so feel free to pause this episode, get a cup of tea, watch the series, then come back
00:11:52
Speaker
listen to her thoughts but over time they are heart-meld into one and they become attracted to one another, they develop feelings and yeah overall it's quite a... I was about to say cosy anime but I wouldn't use the word cosy for this one. It's heartwarming but I would say there's a sense of bitter sweetness about it.
00:12:13
Speaker
Oh, yeah, there's definitely a melancholy to it. And I think that that's something that I really appreciated about it because sometimes you get a lot of like when you think of romance anime, right? Sometimes you think of the very saccharine sort of pink flowers and sparkles and everything like that of young first love and Doki Doki and all that stuff. But I think that the tone for My Happy Marriage was a more mature tone for a more mature audience.
00:12:39
Speaker
And it's not to say that it was explicit, but it was definitely aimed for an adult audience than a young adult demographic rather than like teenagers. Yeah, that's true because the setting definitely lends itself to that. I felt as if when I was watching it, it felt very much more like a period piece. This isn't really a shock for the listeners out there who have been listening for a while, but
00:13:03
Speaker
Now, I wouldn't say a massive fan, but I do enjoy a good k-drama every once in a while. But of course, there's the overlap between k-dramas, c-dramas, even Japanese period dramas where they talk about this time capsule of history and how they used to do things, love flourishing through adversity, that kind of storyline. That is something that I have to admit I do really like about these stories because I'm a softie at heart.
00:13:29
Speaker
Let's face it, I'm a huge romantic but the main thing is that it's quite interesting to see how this anime dealt with it and especially with the more serious themes because they don't shy away from them. Don't get me wrong, we will get into that and again, we've had the content warning at the beginning of the episode about what we're going to go into.
00:13:48
Speaker
There are some truly, truly disheartening and even disturbing subjects, and some of it even I could relate to. And I think that's probably why I liked it so much. It's because I could see myself in our female lead in a way that I don't see myself in others.
00:14:06
Speaker
because this anime does deal with a lot of quite harsh topics in terms of characters' mental health, the way that they view themselves, their self-worth and self-preservation as it were when dealing with these horrible situations. This is the problem that I kind of have with this anime. I'll get this out of the way first because I know there's a massive elephant in this corner of the room right now and he's eating all my snacks so
00:14:34
Speaker
gonna get rid of him first. But I feel as if the strongest part of this anime is the characterization. And I love the exchanges between characters, even the ones that are really horrible. You know characters well written when you hate them actively. You know, like our sister who's just aerial looks down her nose and is quite abusive towards her, the evil stepmother, which is very much a fairy tale-esque story. And again, that's probably
00:15:04
Speaker
It is a Cinderella story. Yeah, exactly. It's one of these things that I think it does translate well, but the one thing, and it's something you brought up earlier when you mentioned that there are supernatural elements, I feel as if all of that really detracts from the quality of the show, and this might be a very spicy take, and there might be people with pitchforks coming at me for this, but I feel as if it's one of the weaker parts, and I don't know if it's just because it's an add-up.
00:15:34
Speaker
or how they dealt with it. Because genuinely, you watched the first episode and you're fully invested. You think this is going to be a period drama, you think it's going to be based on this era, they set up the characters well, you've got this poor, as you said, Cinderella character being shipped off to the evil, well not evil, but the very cold Lord Kudo who just, he's got no time, he makes a woman cry, throws them out of his house. Which is a trope I'm a sucker for, by the way.
00:16:01
Speaker
Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. They're like melting the cold-hearted male lead. Mmm, love it. I mean, to be fair, as I said, I've watched so many of Chinese and Korean dramas where there's like a template
00:16:13
Speaker
where they're like colds and they don't really show any emotion, but then as soon as they do show emotion, that's when you break down, you're like, oh my god, he does care. No, that's exactly it. And then especially, like, I've been reading more menlo and stuff like that as well. And so there is just a whole category of cold, emotionally unavailable nobles from the northern lands that need to be melted. There's just a whole category for it. It's just so great. But again, it's a trope that we know. Oh, yeah.
00:16:42
Speaker
But it's a trope that works. All the tropes that I use in this show are done absolutely fantastically, and they all fit in place. But again, as I said, I haven't really read the manga for this, so I don't know if they handled it in a different way or not. So this would be purely going by the anime, but I feel as if it's half of it
00:17:02
Speaker
is this really compelling drama and I have to admit the other trope I'm a sucker for as well is the overpowered love interest. They could look after the love interest or the female lead. I absolutely love that. I think that's just so, I don't know, it's just so, so inwardly, yeah.
00:17:19
Speaker
Yeah, I love that sort of thing, especially when you pair it again with the cold, emotionally unavailable one where he does that 180 and suddenly he's the one that's wanting to look after his wife and take care of her. I love that. But then I also love the opposite of that as well, where you have the strong woman who wants to look after and protect her man. I think that's so great. And again, it's again, I'm a sucker for that sort of trope. Some could argue misogyny. On the other hand, I'm just kind of like, it's entertainment.
00:17:46
Speaker
I completely agree because this happens in this anime as well and I have to admit there are some moments where Mio feels like on the one hand they do well to talk about you know her being quite broken and everything and it makes complete sense that she acts the way she does but then sometimes they kind of go over the top and just repeat what she's
00:18:05
Speaker
feeling and saying and things like that and are they trying to create this compelling character or are they just layering it on thick so that they know that by the end of it when she does, again spoilers, but she does transform into her own character, her own individual of self-worth that she's able to protect the man that protected her.
00:18:26
Speaker
And I think that in itself was really good. But what do you think about this? Do you think that the action and things was well deserved in this, or do you think it was just unwarranted? See, I am of the mind that I'm on the other side here. I think that the supernatural elements were a narrative choice in the story. And I think that it makes sense for the story that they were trying to tell. Now, I have read the manga up to a point.
00:18:52
Speaker
And they did change a lot of things around to the point where not a lot of things, but there were some fundamental differences that they made between the manga and the anime that narratively made sense. But on one hand, I understand why they sort of lessened the impact of the supernatural bits and the anime because they want you to really focus on our male and female lead.
00:19:13
Speaker
But on the other hand, again, you have people walking away from it feeling like you do, where you felt like it was an unneeded addition to the plot. But the way that I look at it, right? If we were to look at this as another period drama, right? In this sort of situation, Neo would have been married off to Kudo for XYZ reason. It could either be for an alliance, it could be for money, it could be for anything, really. In this case,
Character Dynamics and Relationships
00:19:36
Speaker
and this is what I mean, the supernatural element was the reason that she was married off.
00:19:41
Speaker
She was married off to Kudo because they wanted Kudo's lineage in their family tree because he had great power. So in that case, it makes sense that for other stories, it's okay. So we're going to take this girl who is inconsequential to our family and just marry her off to some lord because he has money or he has connections or he is close to the emperor or any other list of reasons.
00:20:08
Speaker
In this case, the marrying her off to him, one, because they see it as a suitable punishment for her and they just want her out of the way. And two, because even if she is inconsequential in their eyes, they still get the kudo name. So in my point of view, supernatural element of it is always latent in that world. It's just accepted as a part of the story that they're trying to tell and the world they are building.
00:20:29
Speaker
So of course it makes sense that they're going to have arranged marriages based not only around rank, but around power. Because more often than not, these mystical abilities are hereditary. That's the whole reason why Neo's parents got married. So it makes sense that this happened.
00:20:45
Speaker
and that the powers exist in that way. As for how the action is treated in the show, again, when I said earlier, I like the fact that it took a back burner to the character development that we have between our male and female lead and how they interact with each other and the world versus it becoming a sort of, oh, this is going to be an action anime with a little bit of romance on the side. No.
00:21:06
Speaker
was important first and foremost was the relationship between our characters. But you couldn't ignore the reason that they were together and the fact that both of them were significant in their own way because of the abilities that they carried. I do agree with you there, I have to say. I feel as if it is a good thing that the supernatural elements and the action took a backseat to the main focus, which of course was the romance. But I think
00:21:31
Speaker
what probably is my main gripe with it. And again, don't worry, I'll go into more positive things after this point, but I do feel as if because it took such a backseat and then by the end of it they tried to make a big thing about it, because the whole idea of a culture and a society that is built on this hierarchy of powers is absolutely fascinating. Because as you said, you know, it leads to powerful wealthy families wanting to marry off
00:22:00
Speaker
their sons, their daughters to other equally powerful families with the great abilities. And of course the Samori household is the one that is considered to be very influential, it's very rare but everybody wants to see what their abilities are and we find out later that Mio doesn't have an ability until she unlocks it at the very end. But I feel as if
00:22:24
Speaker
even if they had spent a little bit of time at the beginning maybe just explaining it a bit better because what I found quite funny was you would have moments where Mio is trying to again fit into this lifestyle. She has really terrible moments where she meets her half-sister in town who's rubbing her nose and the fact that she's stolen her child to crash. That's another story.
00:22:49
Speaker
okay to him, but you know you've got those moments and they are very compelling and you want to see what goes on after that and how she copes with that. Is she going to confide in Lord Kudo? But then like halfway through all of a sudden it just cuts to them firing bolts of energy in the forest with these non-descript ghosts. Then it cuts back to the actual drama, then it cuts back to the, again, the act.
00:23:12
Speaker
and you're like, who knows, like, the romance, and I think that's just my personal preference, or I get why they do it, but I feel as if maybe that could have been done better, but that's my only nature gripe. I definitely agree that it took a back burner, but because they put so much of it in the back line, I definitely agree that it suffered for it. I think the importance of the supernatural element to it
00:23:34
Speaker
is because the thing is, right? It's supposed to be a transition. You're supposed to know that it's there. You're supposed to know that it's happening. But because Mio is believed to be powerless, it doesn't affect her. Or doesn't affect her in a way that's very personal. The biggest way that it does affect her is the fact that she is treated horribly because of her lack of power. But if you look at Mio as a character, once she's out of her abusive household,
00:23:54
Speaker
And she's living with Kudo. And once she started working with Yurie and you start seeing her learn to navigate the world as she is and trying to find herself, it's something to remember that even though this is her reality, this is her trying to navigate the world as she is now with no power.
00:24:11
Speaker
So there isn't going to be a lot of supernatural power around her. But then when you see the other side of things, it's almost like a parallel running at that case. Because you have Mio's story, which is her story of self-discovery outside of the supernatural element. But then you have Kudo's story.
00:24:27
Speaker
where Kudo is so deeply embroiled in the supernatural element because that's what he does. It is his duty to defend against the things that go bump in the night. That is a major part of his identity. But it's when those sections overlap that Kudo is brought into Mio's lane a little bit. And he's trying to learn to navigate life with Mio. And I think that that's something that's so important to remember because it's a transition period.
00:24:50
Speaker
Kudo is ultimately Neo's gateway into his world, but she has to do it her way. And I think that that's what's really important, and I think that's an aspect that can be easily overlooked, especially with the way that they handled it in the anime, by making the difference so distinct and so stark. I think sometimes people forget, and it can be jarring whenever it does come on screen, and suddenly, you know, we have them out there fighting demons, or there are flaming birds following people home, that sort of thing. Or when they blow up a half-naked man in a cave,
00:25:19
Speaker
Exactly. Which I have to admit, I was both laughing in horror and hilarity. And again, it can be so very stark when it does happen, but it's necessary. And again, they handled it so much better in the manga, but that's because with the manga, they have the time to do that. They have the time to go into it and add more nuance to things. Yeah, I mean, that is true. They definitely have time to pace themselves. I was going to make a Hunter x Hunter joke, but I better not because the pain's still too real, a bit high to say excited.
00:25:50
Speaker
I know he said he's coming back but it's a source subject. There is definitely a contrast in some of the tones and I have to say the action does work in some moments, especially when Mio gets kidnapped again and it's absolutely a horrific scene where she gets abused again in their own
00:26:09
Speaker
our old household and Lord Kudo and this is one of the other tropes I have to admit I do enjoy where the love interest comes to rescue them but they do it in such an over-the-top bombastic way. Oh god yeah like he will burn the world to get to her. It's just it's so satisfying to watch him look at this family who are just like utterly reprehensible and he just doesn't care he just clicks his fingers and that's it they are gone. Oh he
00:26:36
Speaker
And the best part about it is they deserve it. It's justified. And that's the best part of it. But a really interesting thing about that whole scene, right, is in the manga, the aggressor in that moment, because, again, sort of spoiler alert, and this is like the, again, the trigger warning that was earlier, this is where it starts to come in. The aggressor and the one who was raising their hand to Mio in the anime was Kaya, the sister,
00:27:00
Speaker
which I understand why they did that because they wanted to paint Kaya as more of an active villain. They wanted people to hate Kaya more because in the manga, it was the Stepmother. Oh, okay. It was the Stepmother that was abusing Neo. And it was, oh, it was so much worse in the manga. It was horrific in the manga. Kaya and this one slapped her around a little bit, cut her kimono with some scissors, threatened to cut her, but the Stepmother made her bleed.
00:27:26
Speaker
beat her to the point where she fell unconscious when Kudo entered. She had just enough strength to make her final stand against her stepmother and to defend herself, and then Kudo had to carry her out. She was unconscious. It was horrific to watch.
Family Dynamics and Personal Struggles
00:27:41
Speaker
But in a way, I understand why they dial it back. One, because it has a certain rating it has to adhere to.
00:27:46
Speaker
and you can still invoke those same feelings of horror in an animated format without the rawness of the manga. And the fact that they switched the tone to where Kaya was no longer watching on as a willing bystander, but instead was the aggressor herself, also narratively made sense. Because again, she held so much rage for Mio, who was meant to be somebody who was nothing but dirt under her foot, suddenly gained everything that she ever wanted. So it makes sense in that moment that she would be the aggressor.
00:28:14
Speaker
After a minute, I do like the scene where Lord Kudo actually takes Neo out of the barn or wherever it is they've been held and I think his sister says something like, oh, we could have been together. And what I love about that scene is just not the fact that he could have easily again snapped his fingers in the lecture or something, but he just uses his words to break her.
00:28:38
Speaker
and just completely destroys her by saying, I can't remember the exact words, but it's just above the lines of, oh you're basically ugly on the inside, I'd never go out with you, be gone, etc. He turned her down in the worst possible way, put her in her place. It's almost like a joke of the worst he can say is no, and then it's just that scene.
00:28:58
Speaker
And it's like, no, he can do a lot worse. And the fact is that scene was already just so great. And it also the whole moment, right? That whole rescue of Mio from the Saimori estate already was such a pivotal moment as well. And it showed Kudo as a man, you know, it showed his principles, his values. Yeah, he was ready to raise the estate to the ground for Mio. And he did to an extent, but he never raised a hand to the women.
00:29:26
Speaker
It shows that he is a man of his time. He is a man of, I wouldn't say chivalry, but he is a man of respect and virtue. And he demonstrates that even in his rage. And I think that that is something that makes him such a compelling character. And something else that I really appreciate about Kudo is in that moment when he wanted to discourage Mio from pushing herself too hard because he was worried about how much effort she was putting into her etiquette lessons and things like that.
00:29:56
Speaker
He knew that she wasn't well. He knew that, and this is something that they sort of, again, didn't really get a chance to cover in the anime, but they covered so much better in the manga, is that she notices that Kudo is tired. He's not sleeping well. He's going to work very tired. So she thinks, oh, I have to do more. I have to do more to help him. But really, the only reason why he is going to work tired is because he is staying up at night, sitting at her bedside, preventing nightmares for her.
00:30:19
Speaker
And these are two people that are seeing two very different perspectives on things and they only want the best for each other. But Kudo really put his foot in it when he sort of put his foot down and said, you're not able to do this thing. You need to stop. And that really hurt Mio. But the best part about it is he realized his mistake. And sure, he didn't act on that immediately. He didn't get the chance to. Mio was taken the second time before he got an opportunity to properly apologize to her. But he still came to her and he was still able to give her his apology.
00:30:49
Speaker
end. And it shows that their communication is still open, and he's willing to listen to her and willing to see her. And I think that is just so important for a male lead, because more often than not, you get these, I will say a lot of the male leads that I've experienced in romance animes are kind of dunderheads. Yeah, yeah.
00:31:07
Speaker
they uh they put their foot in it and they pretty much have to have it spilled out to them like yeah dude you fucked up you need to go say something to her but Kudo caught his mistake near immediately. Well what's actually interesting about that is the other love interest that pops up yet completely gets sidelined thankfully for the better and that is Mio's friend Koji.
00:31:30
Speaker
I totally don't have a character list up and ready to reference. Yeah, me neither. I forgot we all got the Wikipedia article. Yeah, Koji, part of the Tatuishi family. Yep, that's the one. Koji, who, again, is quite interesting. You said that the fact that a lot of these male leads are usually the gearheads and they try their best, but they never quite succeed. And the word's a cool play. Some of them will try to fix you. Great song. Absolutely excellent. I'll probably listen to it after this.
00:31:59
Speaker
Hopefully, not only being sad boy hours. No, exactly. Why them of Andrew like I just talked about my happy body
00:32:06
Speaker
To be fair, who hasn't laid on their floors staring at the ceiling crying over a romance anime? True, true. But yeah, Koji is the stereotypical romance lead. He's not very sure of himself, but he's willing to initially defend Mio and Mario and take her out of this life. And of course, the father of Mio Shinichi says, haha, lol, no, I don't know what that is in Japanese, please feel free to translate.
00:32:35
Speaker
Anyway, so he ends up saying no and he's not a very strong character but again that is quite good in a way because it shows a kind of complexity. You expect this kind of really nice marriage story, this nice wee neat bow and everything and then that gets absolutely shattered at the beginning when you see him get married off to myo's sister who is absolutely the smuggest person in this anime.
00:33:03
Speaker
Despicable. Yeah, absolutely. You know, it's heartbreaking for Mio because then you're like, oh no, we don't want her to go to Kudo because we've heard the reputation, but of course over time we as the audience and of course Hara as the protagonist get to know her and he reveals himself to be very protective. But what I love about this, because I do have my fair share of experiences with these kind of romance shows where there's a
00:33:29
Speaker
fine, fine line between a male protagonist who is protective but also understanding and gives her the autonomy to do what she thinks is right versus one who completely disregards that autonomy and says, I am your husband, boyfriend, whatever, I am going to decide what you're doing and of course there's a back and forth of the female protagonist saying, oh no, I'm not going to do that and then eventually she does do that which
00:33:59
Speaker
is kind of a so gymnastic in the way. Oh, it absolutely is. I'm looking at you, Rift and Calipse, for anyone who might get that very niche reference. No, there absolutely is a difference between a protective male lead who still allows the person of his affection to sort of spread her wings and do her thing and trust her in doing it, but still be there and present if need be. And then there's the domineering male lead who again, very much loves his wife. You can tell that he loves his wife, his
00:34:26
Speaker
partner. But he is like, I'm the only one who can protect you, you have to listen to me. And that can be so domineering and overwhelming and downright misogynistic again. But I think that's why Kudo was such a breath of fresh air because I think he started borderline on that when he was really starting to understand his affection that was building
00:34:45
Speaker
her but he again is self-aware to the point where he realized no that isn't what she needs and I think that that's what makes him such a great male lead. Now Koji is such a strange situation for me because any other time I would have a bit of sympathy for the childhood friend who missed his chance and the female lead becomes his one that got away but Koji in this case I feel like I can't really feel bad for him if anything I feel like that their relationship has come to a clean and
00:35:13
Speaker
tidy end because they had their moment where they were able to speak after it all went down and they have their closure. But he missed the train. He did. That's just how it is. He missed the train. He knows he missed the train. And he realized very quickly and the hard way that he wasn't able to be the man that Mio needed him to be. And so why would he stand in the way of the man that Mio needs at that moment?
00:35:36
Speaker
And I think that that's a very healthy rival because, good lord, sometimes the misunderstandings and the this versus that and the love triangles just goes on obnoxiously long. There's nothing worse than a love triangle that's just overstating that's welcome. Oh yeah. I cannot stand that between love triangles and misunderstandings, that's the worst one.
00:35:57
Speaker
the miscommunications, dude. Oh my god, I have dropped so many because of that." And again, this is a trope about rom-coms and things like that where it's like, oh no, it's my sister. Where, oh no, you know, it's like there's a line that could easily fix the situation.
00:36:13
Speaker
It's just it's not said at all. And then you have to spend another hour of show watching these people go back and forth until they get back to the point they were already at. Or another two or three episodes. At least two of those being a flashback episode providing context as to why this was significant. And I'm like, oh, give over. Come on.
00:36:33
Speaker
but I do agree with you though, I feel as if this is one of those enemies that doesn't fall into these tropes. It has a lot of tropes, don't get me wrong, as you said it's got the strong male lead, it's got the Cinderella aspects and you could potentially say it's like a Cinderella damsel in distress kind of thing but at the same time it's not your archetypal damsel. She is quite timid, she's very scared of the world but it
00:37:02
Speaker
It's not done in a way that you get annoyed at it, where you think, oh god, she's saying sorry again, etc. There's a reason behind why she acts the way she does, and the reason of course being is her very traumatic upbringing, her abuse at the hands of her step-parent and half-sister.
00:37:21
Speaker
And really, her father is not innocent in this as well because he allowed the behavior to continue and he willingly forsook his first daughter. Honestly, if he loved her mother, it doesn't show in the way that he treated Mio after she passed. I wonder what the thing is. He treats her basically like a commodity or a bargaining chip.
00:37:39
Speaker
As we were talking about before, we have found out that this is a society that heavily values powers and supernatural abilities to one-up themselves within society. It's not even just the case of having that monetary wealth, although granted that does help a wee bit in here. But at the same time, you've got that monetary wealth, but you've also got that
00:38:02
Speaker
financial wealth where they've got these different abilities that can be weathered against, you know, other families and things and it is interesting to see that aspect but for a man to have a daughter and look at her as just this object that he can trade off essentially like a Pokémon and just say, oh you're gonna make our family better because you're marrying Lord Kudo who is this very powerful, I don't know if he's a general but bear with me.
00:38:29
Speaker
Yeah, he's pretty much a general. And I think something else that's really important to note here is that it wasn't even so much that he was treating her like a commodity. She was a pest. She was a blight on their home. And he says, Okay, well, nobody else wants to marry this guy, but he's a high ranking guy. So you know what, you're worthless. We're gonna throw you into the ring, see what happens. Even if you're worthless, we still gain something out of this because it's the Kudo family.
00:38:52
Speaker
for disclosure. I'm not a parent myself at this stage of my life but I think it's more of a human reaction that I don't think if I did have a child that I would ever even conceive of thinking of them like that, of treating them like
00:39:08
Speaker
a pest, so just something that I can throw away. If that's your child, you should be first and foremost be concerned about looking after them, taking care of them. And I know this is a different time period. I always make that joke saying, oh, it was a different time. But I know based on the time period, even though there is a spiritual element, there is a background for this anime.
00:39:31
Speaker
you know, historical background where people did marry off their daughters. I mean, obviously it's not Japan exclusive, it did happen in Europe as well and so on. So it's a horrible thing because, you know, this happened in a historical sense, you know, why they're doing it. But it's the fact that he didn't feel anything at all. We didn't even follow up to see how she was. If she managed to settle in and even send her a bloody care package or jaffa cakes, you know, there was absolutely
00:39:58
Speaker
nothing going on there and it's just either reprehensible because the thing is with the stepparents they are in the archetype of oh we're the evil stepparents we don't like her because she's different etc in some twisted way you can understand that motivation for the plot but
00:40:14
Speaker
it's harder to understand why a father would turn on their child like that. And again, I think that's where the emotional resonance of this anime comes from, where you feel sympathetic for Mio being alone in this vast world full of nasty gribblies that are coming out of the forest and a half-naked emperor for some reason in a cave. There's all this horrible harshness in the world and yet
00:40:37
Speaker
ironically enough, that harshness draws her to Lord Kudo, whose own harshness ends up becoming melted, and then it kind of wraps them in their happy marriage. It's just absolutely fascinating how we really deal with those characters here.
00:40:53
Speaker
Yeah, and again, I mentioned earlier that I related to Mio's story a lot more than I would other female protagonists. And it mostly comes from, of course, I'm not going to get into the bread and butter of it, but I came from a very difficult background. I came from a very difficult childhood. I came from all of that.
00:41:12
Speaker
So I was in a position in my youth and in my childhood where I was forced to face impossible things, things that I should have been protected from. And so Mio's story just resonates with me so much because I have a similar experience. Of course, you know, two very fundamentally different lives were living here.
00:41:32
Speaker
but I can relate to overcoming the trauma and trying to overcome that and how it affects your daily life and how even when you feel like, and this is something that a lot of people don't think about and it's something that Mio was going through as well, when you think that you've made progress only to have a backslide. Oh my goodness,
Symbolism in 'My Happy Marriage'
00:41:49
Speaker
the failure that you feel like comes from that. And so the fact that she has someone like Kudo in her corner, it made me root for them. And more than anything, it made me root
00:42:00
Speaker
for Mio because she can succeed and she does succeed. Again, I keep going on about it. I keep harping on about it, but I was so pleased when Kudo gave her the space that she needed to succeed. It's a great story, one, because we love the romance and two, because Mio's story and her strength and her evolution and her self-realization is just such a comfort to watch as someone who can relate to the sort of upbringing that she had.
00:42:29
Speaker
they peel it away and you see the aspects of the story it is definitely quite a raw story beat I have to say and first of all thank you for sharing that but it's quite an emotional experience I have to say when you're watching Mio who's this very innocent girl who she's lived a life of relative happiness before her mother passed away but then of course when her mom passes away she is
00:42:55
Speaker
Ironically enough left in this world of darkness because you know you could compare a mother to being this guiding light that was making sure she was alright and I have to admit the only other minor thing I would again say I don't know if that worked was when she does die and I don't know again if the manga explains this better but if it was if it was generic death
00:43:18
Speaker
as it were, her mum really just dies, not for no reason, because obviously there's an illness, but again it's like as an anime mum illness, as it does now parent illness kind of thing, that they just have to get her out of the picture in a way to proceed with the story. And there's a lot of that, there's a lot of moments where you think, oh I don't know if that works, but on the other hand you think, well if this didn't happen then
00:43:42
Speaker
Mio and Kudo and all the other characters, wouldn't be who they are by the end of the story. It's their turmoil and tribulations that shape them into who they are, even though they have humps in their relationships. It is good to see that they overcome it in a relatively realistic way. There's no Mio storming out the house or anything or getting herself into danger on purpose.
00:44:06
Speaker
which again is another trope that is very frustrating, like the female lead. She's like, oh, I'm going to go out myself. And then she gets kidnapped or something like that. Whereas Mia, when she gets kidnapped, it's not her fault. She's not looking for danger or anything. She just wants to live her life.
00:44:24
Speaker
but of course Danger keeps finding her rather than it being there because oh the plot has to go on you know it's nothing like that and I feel as if that's where this anime is at its strongest when it focuses on this love story, it focuses on the growth of these characters. It's interesting how the symbol of the cherry tree is used quite a lot because obviously when male's mum dies it gets cut down and everything and
00:44:50
Speaker
you know, she's really upset about it. But of course, when she gets reintroduced to the Symori household, I think they have another tree, don't they? They have like another cherry blossom tree. I don't think that they have another one. So the biggest thing about the cherry tree at the Symori estate is it was planted by her mother.
00:45:06
Speaker
The sakura is a symbol. The sumi-suba, I think, is the family name. It's essentially the symbol of her mother. So she would sit with her mother underneath that tree when she was young, and of course when her mother passed, you know, again, sumi was the one that planted that tree. So of course, when the stepmother came into the picture,
00:45:26
Speaker
Who was her father's lover before they were actually married, by the way? So that's a whole other can of worms. Them cutting down that cherry tree was just a flagrant act of spite towards Sumi. And it was one of the last things that Mio had of her mother. And so the sort of cherry blossom symbolism is carried through. It's sort of a reminder that life is fleeting, at least to me anyway. The life can be fleeting here one season gone the next like Sumi was from Mio's life.
00:45:56
Speaker
but then also it can be applied to Mio as well because of a rebirth. She can finally bloom into whom she's meant to be. No, I think you hit the nail on the head there. Because at least that's whether it was a cherry blossom tree or not, and the Samori household was because the tree itself is very symbolic in Japan as well, and Europe, of course, and other cultures. But in this particular case, it's exactly what you said. It
Final Thoughts and Closing Remarks
00:46:22
Speaker
is a symbol of
00:46:23
Speaker
I suppose mortality might sum it up as the best word. The idea of course of trees in general and especially the cherry blossom trees is there's that idea of rebirth and of course the inevitability of the cherry blossoms and of course on trees themselves leaves dying off in the winter and it's almost like there is that cold period of time where the trees are barren, they've got nothing on them but then the spring comes and these blossoms
00:46:53
Speaker
bloom. Much like what happens with Mio in this anime, she goes through that period where literally they cut down the tree of course, but metaphorically nothing is growing there. She is in that dark period of a life where she's alone, she feels as if
00:47:08
Speaker
everything is in darkness it's never gonna get better but the symbol of course of the cherry blossom tree is that one day it's gonna bloom again and much like Mio in this anime she does find herself she manages to get to her somewhat spring and she is able to blossom into the woman that she knows that she can always be eventually
00:47:30
Speaker
And I do think that is beautiful because they use that imagery a lot in the opening as well, which I have to say the opening song is absolutely beautiful as well. Oh, it is. The opening is gorgeous. That is something else that I have to admit. I love about this anime as well, that the animation is really well done.
00:47:48
Speaker
Oh, it's beautiful. I don't know what it is. I think it's either between the aesthetic of it being this very historical period, but then also mixing in their own lore and backstory to it. I think they do an absolutely fantastic job of illustrating this world, illustrating the characters, the care of them, the care that they have for one another. And I do think it's just a beautiful anime at times, genuinely. It is just so beautifully handled at times.
00:48:16
Speaker
Again, I feel like that My Happy Marriage was an anime, a manga, and a series that was just all built around tropes that anybody who's familiar with the sort of romance genre is well acquainted with. We are not strangers to the story that they were trying to tell here at its base form. But I think the way that they built the anime itself and just everything from the visuals to the opening to the pacing of the story and even some other narrative changes they made as well. I didn't even go over some of the others that they made.
00:48:46
Speaker
but just the way that they crafted this story in such a delicate and nuanced way, again, not only visually, but narratively as well, it's just, it was an experience. And that's really the only way that I can describe it. I feel that I've become quite jaded when it comes to watching some romance anime, because again, you've seen one, you've seen quite a few, right? But it was such a refreshing take on these tropes and things that we know so well. And it just, I can't wait for season two.
00:49:13
Speaker
this anime definitely treads over old ground when it comes to certain tropes but that's not necessarily a bad thing because it does lure you into a sense of feeling comfortable with what you're getting yourself into and as we said you know you have the distant cold male love interest, you've got the very timid
00:49:34
Speaker
female love interest. You've got the very horrible family and the obstacles that they have to face. And of course, you've got the comic relief as well, which I have to say, the comic relief, I cannot remember his name off the top of my head. But I can't either. But I know you're on about. It's Kudo's assistant. Yeah, he is fantastic. He's insane. I love it. He was actually one of the highlights of the anime for me.
00:49:55
Speaker
Which is weird because sometimes those sidekick characters can come across as quite grating but in this case he was delightful. Oh yeah 100% because I have to say I was expecting him to be annoying and oh look at me very over the top and you're kind of thinking oh hope I could test
00:50:11
Speaker
he'll kill them but no no by the end of it I was glad he survived and I just thought he was a delight to watch all the time but yeah if you haven't seen this anime and by what we've been seeing if you are still curious again I would watch this with a hint of caution
00:50:28
Speaker
if you are sensitive to the themes that we've raised, like whether you're sensitive to themes of abuse or emotional neglect, because they can get quite serious at times, these themes and these moments. So it's something that I feel as if, and I have to admit I maybe didn't do my due diligence, but I feel as if when I started off the anime it doesn't really paint a clear picture of what is going to be going forward.
00:50:54
Speaker
like, it hides certain elements. As I talked about the spirituality and the action scenes, it hides that until episode two. You've got the abusive family, but the abusive family are more tame, I suppose, in the first episode, and I could be totally wrong in remembering that.
00:51:10
Speaker
You see the abuse in the way that Kaya handles Mio and the way that she's around, but again, it's only an introductory to it. You don't really see how deep it goes until you watch more. But I would also recommend reading the manga if you haven't, because again, there's a lot of nuance that is missed in the show that is explained so well in the manga. And it just adds a little extra tidbit to our characters and our main characters and things like that. And it just paints a much clearer picture.
00:51:36
Speaker
I would totally second that. If you're wanting more of my happy marriage, then definitely, and this is coming from somebody who hasn't read the manga, granted, but I feel as if there has to be more context about what's going on in certain areas and from what I've heard.
00:51:52
Speaker
It may be explained some bits better, but again, the anime's going to take liberties and indeed so is the manga. So as I said, definitely go check it out. Take it with a hint of caution though, but if you love romance animes and pseudo-media dramas, then definitely go check out My Happy Marriage, which as of recording this episode and as of its release, it is currently out on Netflix, at least in the UK, and I'm assuming the US because they get everything.
00:52:21
Speaker
It's out on Netflix, so definitely give it a go. But on that note, Moth, thank you so, so much once again for joining me in another episode. No, it was an absolute pleasure. Before we wrap up tonight, where can these lovely listeners at home find your content?
00:52:36
Speaker
Alright, well you can find me on the Purple app, you can find me on Twitch.tv at WisteriaMoth, and you can also find me on places like TikTok and Twitter with the same name. I also have a community discord that is open. So if you like the content you find everywhere else and you want to get a little inside scoop into what's going on, feel free to join my discord, we love having new people and we like to have fun. If you want to listen to more episodes from ourselves, not just Sonic ones, because we can do other ones. We're branching out here, it's revolutionary really.
00:53:02
Speaker
Exactly. This is the first, just striking the iron while it's hot.
00:53:07
Speaker
But if you want to listen to more episodes from ourselves, as well as other content, then you can listen to us on our website, chattsunami.com. I also want to thank our Pandora patrons, Robotic BattleToaster and Sonya. Thank you so, so much for supporting the show. And of course, if you want more exclusive content from ourselves, then you can check us out at patreon.com forward slash chat tsunami. But until next time, stay safe, stay awesome and most importantly, stay hydrated.