My Happy Marriage Volume 4 (Light Novel) Review
My Happy Marriage is now back on our screens for its second season, so what better time to return to the original light novels and find out what’s to come for Miyo and fiancé Kiyoka? With Volume 4 in hand, let’s take a look at how this series is progressing.
We pick up immediately after the end of Volume 3, where Kiyoka and Miyo have just returned from visiting the Kudou family at their estate out in the country. Upon their return, they’re ambushed by a man known as Naoshi Usui, the head of the Gifted Communion who claims to be Miyo’s father. Although he doesn’t harm Miyo or Kiyoka in this encounter, he swears to come for Miyo in the near future which puts the pair on edge.
Usui is a dangerous man who will stop at nothing to get what he wants, and he has an incredibly powerful Gift. So Kiyoka insists that Miyo accompany him to his workplace every day, where there’s a barrier in place and many strong military personnel to protect her (himself included, of course). As part of Miyo’s protection, Kiyoka also calls in Kaoruko a strong female soldier he used to work with. As one of the few women working in the army, Kiyoka figures Miyo will be more comfortable with her than a male bodyguard and he knows she has the strength to face off against anything that could cause Miyo harm. There’s only one problem: Kaoruko was one of Kiyoka’s previous marriage candidates, which immediately puts Miyo on edge…
At this point in their relationship, Miyo is certain that she doesn’t ever want to leave Kiyoka’s side and she knows he at least appreciates her, even if she hasn’t yet realised he’s in love with her. But Kaoruko and Kiyoka’s history stretches back far enough that Miyo knows she can’t compete. Kaoruko knows things that she never will and as she watches the two interact, she realises how close a bond they share. And more than that, it’s obvious Kaoruko still has feelings for her old companion.
Miyo is understandably anxious, not only about Kaoruko but also Naoshi’s claims of being her father, something that surely can’t be true. Nevertheless, she does her best to sort through these feelings.
Despite her apprehensions about the relationship between Kaoruko and Kiyoka, Miyo still wants to be friends with her bodyguard who is the first person she’s met of the same gender and similar age. Unfortunately, what Miyo doesn’t know is that Kaoruko is working as a traitor behind the scenes (which we learn in the opening scenes of the volume), so we readers are left with mixed feelings about this budding friendship.
While author Akumi Agitogi opens this novel with Naoshi’s ambush, that’s a storyline that frankly plays second fiddle to Kaoruko and Miyo’s. I expected it to come to a head in this volume and while things certainly do happen, by the end I was left feeling like this instalment of the series is simply setting up for something bigger. Maybe in Volume 5, but possibly even much further on.
Still, that doesn’t mean it was bad. While it might feel like a middle of an arc storyline, I still appreciated it introducing Kaoruko who like many of Agitogi’s characters has a lot more depth than you’d initially expect. Being one of the only women in the military, she’s understandably frowned upon by her co-workers and she’s worked hard to get to where she is. One of the reasons she loves Kiyoka is because he’s never treated her poorly, something Miyo can certainly relate to. She’s set up as a traitor, but that adds to her character development as we’re left wondering if she is truly evil, misguided, or if there is something else entirely going on.
Miyo’s presence in the military office also causes a stir thanks to her relation to the Usuba family, who have always controlled Gifted families behind the scenes. Arata Usuba (whom we met in Volume 2) is here helping Kiyoka chase down Naoshi, but like Miyo, there’s a lot of pressure on and scorn toward him due to the Usuba’s reputation and that may lead him to make a rash decision later…
Still, although I felt somewhat underwhelmed by this volume, there’s no denying that Agitogi’s approach to character writing is still top-notch. I think at this point any other series would feel like it’s simply spinning its wheels with Miyo and her anxieties, but to Agitogi’s credit, it never feels like Miyo is simply struggling with the same emotions as before. If anything it’s because of her growth since meeting Kiyoka that she’s encountering entirely new situations that make her anxious or depressed for different reasons. The more positive mindset she’s developed recently goes a long way to balancing this too, so it never overwhelms the reader but still allows Agitogi the leeway to explore all of this without it feeling repetitive. That’s a hard balance to strike, but the fact that Agitogi does it so well and so consistently is one of the selling points of My Happy Marriage on the whole.
My Happy Marriage Volume 4 comes to the West thanks to Yen Press where it continues to be translated by David Musto. The translation reads well and as usual for the series, this is a problem-free release.
Since I last reviewed the series, Yen Press has certainly kept busy and managed to effectively catch up to the Japanese releases of the series. Volumes 5 through 7 are available now with #8 set to follow later this month, so if you’re looking to carry on after the anime (or can’t wait to see where it goes) there’s certainly plenty of material out there for you. If you’re wondering, Season 2 has started with Volume 3 of the series, so it’ll be a few weeks until they start on this one.
Overall, My Happy Marriage Volume 4 firmly feels like the midpoint of an arc and that leaves it a bit underwhelming in my opinion. Still, the introduction of a new character is always welcome and the author provides us with some good development for both them and the rest of the cast. So this is certainly still worth carrying on with if you’ve enjoyed the series so far.
Our review copy from Yen Press was supplied by Diamond Book Distributors UK.
