Watashi no Shiawase na Kekkon
My Happy Marriage

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I'll just outline why I like 'My Happy Marriage' and then proceed to compare and contrast the differences of the media.

*Advertised as a Cinderella story, I think it is better framed as an Ugly Duckling story, and this would make you appreciate the supernatural aspects.

*Since this is better framed as an Ugly Duckling story, this makes Miyo relatable to late bloomers or any person who has ever felt talentless.

*Framing this merely as a Cinderella story does a disservice to the story in that the power dynamics between Kiyoka and Miyo are unequal, that Miyo is one pathetic creature who needs a saviour in the form ... of Kiyoka. But by understanding that within this Cinderella story is an Ugly Duckling story, we learn later that it is Kiyoka who is actually lucky to be betrothed to her. Both are made for each other.

With that out of the way, let's move to the review itself. I first saw the live-action movie of My Happy Marriage and loved it. Later I watched the anime, then read the first two volumes. Out of curiosity, I checked this manga to remind myself of the salient points of the story.

Unlike the original light novel source, it's easier to visualise what's happening in the story. Sure, there are more details in the light novels, and those are to be recommended, but this manga has its certain charms.

It provides some slight differences that help clarify what happened to certain events that were unclear or not shown in the anime and light novels. So even if you've seen the story in other forms, it may be worth checking out.

Downside: It is not updated and sometimes feels like it's an abandoned project. As of the 26th of September, 2024, the latest chapter was before a crucial event that corresponds to Episode 12 of the anime. Whilst I recommend this manga, it is unfortunate that I cannot give it full marks owing to its incompleteness.

As someone who grew up with a variety of Shoujo and romance manga in general, this manga was right up my ally. It has been on my list for a while and after one episode of the anime, I couldn't wait for the next episode. So, I went onto the manga and honestly read all 23 chapters in one night. I'm a sucker for a good romance and this definitely did it for me. Here is my personal breakdown of my opinion:

Story: 8/10
While I do understand its somewhat of a Cinderella story, it is still beautiful and well written. I love the historical Japanese vibe ... it gives and the mystery surrounding the Main character (Miyo) background is also Interesting and continuously made me curious. I love me a good story with some trauma in the mix and boy, Miyo gets a lot of it. The soft romance is very sweet and wholesome it just makes you happy there is a sense of healing going on in the development of Miyo herself. Kiyoka Kudou I really enjoy how he comes across in the beginning and as you continue reading it, you just see how much of a sweet and loving man he really is.

Art: 9/10
I absolutely love the art. It's a very soft art style and the covers for each chapter and volume is absolutely stunning. There are scenes that give off that sweet romance energy and then scenes that give you that heartbreaking traumatic feeling within Miyo's life. The artist did a beautiful job capturing the emotions of the characters in my opinion.

Characters: 8/10
I personally enjoyed all the characters! They all help bring the story to life. I will say my least favorite is probably Kouji Tatsuishi. He's not a bad character or anything it's just more of he feels like he's just kind of there; it's not a bad thing though. I do hope to see more development with him because I do feel like he could be a great ally later on. I am currently only 23 chapters in at the moment so things could change.

Final Opinion: Manga is an 8/10 for me!
Beautiful art and story! If you are a fan of historical drama, romance especially the sweet lovey-dovey ones, traumatic backstory, and mystery, please do give this a try!

Well, first of all I would like to say that this review is based of personal preference (as all reviews usually are) and I only read 2 volumes. Also, english is not my first language.

My thoughts:
▪️A Cinderella type of story it's not my thing. The FL suffers her whole life until a male "prince", strong, beautiful and wealthy appears to save her, and he's the only reason she begins to overcome her traumas
▪️About the character development of the female lead, it's too fast, and too simple (if you consider the amount of trauma she's been through).
▪️The Kouji problem: Kouji it's a pick ... me boy, he totally suffers from the "nice guy syndrome". He thinks he's the only one who can save the FL, and even considered a horrible thing as the only option, while thoghtout his entire life he just watched everything. He's pissed me off, A LOT
▪️The storyline is pure cliche. And don't get me wrong, I enjoy a cliche done right, which it's not the case here. It was just boring and looked like a manga that I would read in the 2000's. Villains that the only reason they are villains it's because they hate the FL and because they are bad people, like seriously?
▪️Initially I was going to give it a 7, but I read the first chapter of the light novel that this manga is based on and the writing it's so much better. Like, seriously, the manga did dirt to the original novel. That just proves that the same story can cause emotions in different ways just by the author writing skills. So if you like the manga, give the light novel a try. Knowing how the original it's better I had to give it a 5

Overall, week FL that are saved by the man around her and only manage to grown because of them, it's not my thing at all. If you don't mind that you probably will enjoy way more than I did, so give it a try. If you don't like this type of story like me there's plenty of good fantasy in historical setting with better storylines and characters, specially in korean webtoons.