My Happy Marriage (Manga) Volume 5 Review
Growing up, Miyo Saimori was told she had no spirit sight and lacked any magical gift, and was abused by her family as a result. Only when she became the fiancée of Kiyoka Kudo did she finally find a place to call home and feel safe. However, nightmares soon plagued her sleep, and choosing to take lessons on how to be a lady pushed her physical health to its limits.
Kudo seeks help from Arata Tsuruki, a man who has made contact with them both separately. It turns out that Arata is Miyo’s cousin on her mother’s side, and Miyo is actually part of the Usuba clan, an extremely secretive and powerful family, who reveal that Miyo DOES have a gift, but they now want her back! Who will Miyo choose to stay with? Can she train her new gift and keep Kudo by her side?
It’s been over a year since we last had a volume of the My Happy Marriage manga, but the latest release has been generous with its thickest volume yet at 238 pages, including 6 chapters, some concept art and a short story from the light novel author. Since the last volume of the manga, the anime has blasted through the manga material, and continued with the light novel material, way beyond the events of this volume. It feels a bit surreal going back this far in the story, that I was worried I wouldn’t have much to write about, especially as I wasn’t overly fond of Season 2. However I’m pleased to say that I did enjoy this manga volume very much, and it brought forward what I was missing from the anime: internal character arcs and emotional drama.
If you’ve been following the anime, this volume takes place over Episodes 10 and 11 of Season 1. The volume starts with Kudo and Miyo meeting the Usuba clan, and them revealing Miyo’s powerful gift. Then there’s Kudo’s and Miyo’s separation after Kudo loses a duel with Arata, then Miyo learning about how her mother came to marry into the Saimori family, before Kudo’s eventual fall in battle. The volume is very close in terms of plot to the anime and (from what I’ve researched) the light novel too, but with a minor detail that I wanted to mention.
One of the things I found to be stronger in the manga than the anime, is the sense of Miyo’s internal struggles and emotional state. She’s been abused her whole life, and despite being taken out of that situation and into a much happier, healthier home, wounds take time to heal and therefore things she used to do to avoid scolding or abuse will be the hardest to break. Miyo’s habits for self preservation, including lying by omission to ‘not worry’ others, are still strong in her, and will be difficult to shake off, no matter how much Kudo reassures her that she’s safe to express her true feelings with him. So when she says ‘I don’t know’ when Kudo asks her if she wanted to stay with the Usuba’s or not, it wasn’t out of callousness but a deep-rooted fear that she’s a burden to Kudo and is afraid to make the decision to stay with him and possibly cause more pain. I also like her internal call back to her conversation with Kudo’s sister, where she reminisces about being indecisive about her own marriage and its eventual falling apart. It was a brief moment but it shows how much Miyo’s new family has had an impact on her, and shows internal growth too, even if it comes too late to save Kudo from Arata’s wrath.
We also get a sense of conflict within Miyo about the revelation about her powers, that she had them all along but her mother had them sealed, and Miyo feels sad and pained by it. This is understandable as she has been abused and told her whole life is worthless without a gift, so did her mother’s binding end up only bringing Miyo unnecessary pain? Or was it really a blessing in disguise due to the nature of the gift? We will never know but you can feel on the page that conflict within Miyo’s heart. This comes at the same time as her wonderful conversation with her grandfather, who wants to be a part of Miyo’s life, and Miyo – due to her upbringing – is expecting her grandfather to want something from her in return. Her whole life has been about transactions; you don’t have a gift so you’re worthless, you must clean the house and obey us or you won’t eat, etc, so having someone – not just Kudo – wanting to get to know her and not ‘what she can provide’ is a very emotional realisation for her, and one she sorely needed.
I also want to talk about Arata, as his part in the manga is interesting. It’s no secret that he cares deeply for Miyo and his character revolves around her. Mostly because they’re part of the same clan, and Arata grew up waiting for his time and place in the clan to start: being Miyo’s protector. In the manga however we get a small glimpse into his psyche, how he felt ‘empty’ his whole life, putting on a mask as the obedient clan member, waiting for his moment to finally be with Miyo. He saw himself reflected in her, thinking she was as ‘empty’ as he was, and wanting to lead the clan together, only to realise that she’s more ‘bold’ than he gave her credit for. I found this interesting and a pattern that started with Miyo’s childhood friend, Kouji Tatsuishi. If you recall, Kouji also loved Miyo, but a dark internal thought in Volume 2 revealed he saw Miyo as someone he had to save at all costs, and thought the best end for her was to kill them both by his hand, if Kudo couldn’t save her from the Saimoris. It was a selfish and deadly train of thought that luckily never came to pass. Arata is in the same ballpark: he sees Miyo as an extension of himself, she gives him ‘purpose’ – in the family and in life – therefore she must stay with him, regardless of her own wants and needs. It shows Arata’s lack sense of self, choosing to put his whole life in Miyo’s hands, rather than seek a reason to live in his own terms. If you’re up to date with the anime, you’ll see this leads to dark consequences later, but for now I do like this parallel, and another reason why Kudo is the best match for Miyo, because he doesn’t see her as a trophy to be won, a person to save or a reason for living. Kudo sees Miyo as herself, and accepts her as she is, regardless of her upbringing or status.
The side story provided from the light novel author comes from Kudo’s maid, Yurie, as she gives her thoughts on Kudo’s condition after his duel with Arata, and missing Miyo in the home, as well as a brief look at Kudo as a child. Its a sweet story, and nice to see a different perspective on the scene as well, considering how emotionally charged it is with Kudo failing the duel and then having to rush off and fend off grotesqueries.
Jasmine Bernhardt continues to translate this series and it’s an easy read. Art by Rito Kohsaka also continues to be beautiful, but I couldn’t help but feel that the cover doesn’t really fit the contents of the manga; shouldn’t it have been saved for the next volume…? Oh well.
The latest volume of My Happy Marriage manga is a good, chunky read with many layers of your favourite characters to uncover. Even if you’re deep into the light novels, or have watched all the anime by now, the manga continues to bring its own flavour of the story to the table. Now to wait for Volume 6…
Read a free preview on Square Enix’s website here.
Our review copy from Square Enix Manga was supplied by Turnaround Comics (Turnaround Publisher Services).
