My Happy Marriage S2 Ep 12 & 13 [FINAL]

Episode 12

It’s time for Miyo and Kiyoka to confront Usui one last time, and boy it wasn’t a pretty one.  Kiyoka tried to take him out himself, but god damn… Usui’s powers of illusion and the manipulative of ones senses is super messed up, and a terrifying weapon to use against someone.

First he toyed around with Kiyoka, playing mind-games of illusions where he had gotten a fatal hit, and then actually slashing him bit by by. Kiyoka eventually countered by taking a freaking stab to the hand to get a clear shot at him. Unfortunately for him, Usui countered with a barrier and was able to get out of that attack unscathed. But the real mindfuck started when he trapped Kiyoka in darkness, and had him helplessly watch Miyo get brutally killed over and over, and over again. Like holy shit. That’s fucking traumatic man!

Although Miyo was on the sidelines, she also had her own share of horror of having to watch Kiyoka being hacked and slashed like a rag-doll while the he and Usui were duking it out. And then it only got worse when Usui started to psychologically torture him. Of course Miyo wasn’t going to standby and let Usui continue doing that, so that’s when she jumped in to save him from Usui’s clutches.

Miyo really wanted to resolve this peacefully, especially after having the brutal foresight of a fatal outcome where not only Usui would be killed, but Arata as well. And she tried her best, even going as far SLAPPING HIM IN THE FACE in attempt to snap him out of his delirium. Now that’s something we wouldn’t have seen from Miyo in the first season that’s for sure. But unfortunately for her, Usui’s just not that sort of guy, and most importantly– she’s not her mother. Sumi’s the only one Usui was willing to abide to, and nothing, not even her final wish for him to find something or someone else that he can care about would change that. In the end, the only death she was able to prevent in her vision was Arata’s. Usui’s fate was already good as sealed.

Now this episode… Man, don’t get me wrong, it was good, but the anime portrayed the dream space quite differently, and some bits it drew a mixed response from me. Usui didn’t have a final dramatic moment when his powers weren’t working as intended, nor did Sumi ever show up, nor did Usui have a moment when Sumi out on his last breath. It was short and simple: Arata killed Usui in a single headshot (just as Miyo had originally envisioned). The only thing that didn’t change was him getting stabbed by Usui.

So despite my gripes, I think I kind of understand why they may felt it’d be better to do it this way. Truth to be told, I did initially find the resolution to this arc to come off as somewhat anti-climatic in the novel. Maybe it was just me, but I did find it had ended very abruptly to the point I had wondered: Is that it?! I had even gone as far as rereading the last two chapters to see if I had misread something. In the end, I came to the conclusion that while the crisis came to an abrupt end, you could say Arata’s action was a pragmatic one. Remember, Kiyoka gave him the directive to kill him, and that’s exactly what Arata did. So in some ways, I did feel the anime’s approach made the conclusion of this fight feel less abrupt.

Still, I’d argue Sumi didn’t need to make an appearance, and they didn’t need to try and humanize Usui’s character when he’s written to be a psychopath to begin with. Frankly, we didn’t need any of that. In fact, by the end of episode 12, I was finally able to pin-point another thing that bothered me so much in episode 11. I had come to realize that all of Kiyoka’s and Miyo’s time in that episode had been effectively replaced with extended Sumi and Usui scenes that didn’t get drawn out in the novel in the first place. And not gonna lie, I find that very infuriating!

Episode 13 (FINAL)

With Usui finally dealt with, the quiet and peaceful days has finally returned. Miyo and Kiyoka are finally able to sit back, relax and actually focus on their wedding plans. But before that, had one last thing to do before embarking together to the next chapter of their lives.

Kiyoka has officially resigned from the military, and nominated Godou to be the next Commander. From the start, he never considered himself suitable for the nature of the job, nor was never something he wanted to do. The only reason he took up the mantle after the death of the former commander (Godou’s father). But now that he has finally found what he wants to protect the most: Miyo and their happiness, he’s finally ready to retire and be liberated from the responsibilities that came with the job. And I’m happy for Kiyoka, because this means he can finally give undivided attention to his and Miyo’s happiness.

Opposite of Kiyoka’s resignation, Miyo had actually received a recruitment from Takaihito and Takakuro. They gave her a proposal to move into the Imperial Palace with Kiyoka, and assist them in forming a new Gift Defence network. The crisis with Usui exposed many vulnerabilities, and they wish to have her and her power by their side to protect the capital and nation. When this came up, I‘m sure I wasn’t the only one who wanted to yell: Bro! Just let them have their freaking wedding and honeymoon man before bombarding them with this shit!

However after all the the atrocities Usui had committed, and everything she and Kiyoka had been through, Miyo absolutely detests her powers. Due to its nature, it makes her incredibly uncomfortable to wield. If she could, she’d rather never be put in a position where she’d need to use them again. Additionally, she hated being dragged into violence, so she knows it’s beyond what she’s capable of putting herself through. And no shit: She’s been through enough of this crap already! But above all, the main reason for her refusal is a simple one: Miyo has finally found happiness, and she doesn’t want to let go of that. All she wants is to just lead an ordinary and peaceful life with Kiyoka. And damn straight she deserves that much! Thankfully Takaihito is a good guy and respects her decision. More than anything, he’s happy to see she had finally found happiness, but I digress.

But most importantly, I’m so proud of Miyo for finally be able to say this. She has come such a long way, and now she can hold her head up high and it’s okay to be selfish for herself! It was an absolute delight to see Miyo being able to speak freely of her love, and the fact she feels so comfortable now that we finally get to see her precious smile all the time now.

Meanwhile Arata’s still recovering in the hospital. He was finally able to explain to Miyo about how he saw an opportunity with the way Usui saw himself in him. So when Usui extended the offer to him to join his side, Arata jumped on it and carried out his ruse, waiting for the critical moment Usui finally had his guard down. The second he saw it, there was no hesitation– he took it. So he didn’t actually betray them, but hey credit where it’s due: Arata did a really good job playing the role as the bad guy, because if there had been even the slightest hesitation involved, Usui would’ve killed him first. For that reason he was especially apologetic to Miyo for having hurt Kiyoka, since he knew it’d make her sad. It’s worth noting though, Miyo didn’t forgive him for it. Instead she had confirmed yes it had hurt her deeply, and emphasized she never wants to experience that again.

To make up for all the pain and suffering, as mentioned earlier we were finally able to indulge in relaxing fluff in this episode. There were a lot of sweet moments in this episode, notably with Miyo seeing her wedding kimono for the first time. It had belonged to Fuyu, gifted to her by her husband when they got married. And then it was passed down to Hazuki, and now she wishes to pass it down to Miyo, so she could wear it for her wedding too. This really meant a lot to Miyo since all of her mother’s belongings had been destroyed, so to be able to inherit something from someone was something she thought would never experience. And god damn, that got me right in the feels. Although she and Fuyu had a rocky start, I’m really glad that Fuyu has come around to full embrace her, and that Miyo has an awesome sister-in-law like Hazuki. Thanks to Kiyoka, she has found a new family who cares and cherishes her.

Another moment was when Miyo and Kiyoka had gone to the place where they went on their first date together. At the time, she was so on the edge, that she couldn’t even taste nor have a chance to enjoy her desert. Now she can actually relish the taste and beam about how much she’s enjoying it! Look at that sunshine!

And finally, we got to see Kiyoka propose to Miyo again. This time it was very special, as both them, especially Miyo in this case, is able to freely express her joy and love for him while doing so. She is finally free from the chains of the past, ready to fully embrace her new life and love for all it’s worth.

Oh, and to put the cherry on top of all of that? Kiyoka suggested they plant a Cherry Blossom tree in their yard to commemorate their wedding. I’ll never get over how thoughtful and sentimental Kiyoka is! I’m so happy they have each other!

Final Thoughts

Well, this season has been a roller-coaster for me! The first two episodes were good, and then episode 3 to 4 started to get hasty, slowed down again from episode 5 to 9, and then they ticked me off at episode 10, and thankfully managed to salvage ep 11. Episode 12 had really awesome moments– but some of the changes still irked me, a lot. Episode 13 thankfully, ended on a high note. In fact if you ask me which was the strongest episode of the season, for me it was episode 5 and 6. I felt the build up to everything was excellent!

It goes without saying, this season the anime took a lot more liberties in adjusting and extending certain scenes compared to the first. But if you ask me if that was worth it, honestly I’m going to say no. I’ve been very critical of what they chose to prioritize versus what they chose to leave out, because as a reader of the novels, somethings just didn’t make any senses to change or leave out altogether. It’s also hard to say whether they needed more than thirteen episodes. I think a lot of us can agree, yes they would’ve benefited having one or two more episodes to work with. But did it absolutely need more time? I would say, yes probably so. But there’s a part of me that still thinks we probably think they still could’ve pulled this off with only thirteen had they prioritized some things better. I also won’t sugarcoat the fact it would still be difficult to do unless they had decided to end the season with Kiyoka getting arrested. That’s probably the only way it would’ve worked with thirteen episodes, ending at at volume 5 instead of 6.

That said, it was precisely because of the time crunch there were two major problems that had plagued this season. They rushed the first half of the season story only to barely cram enough time to cover the entirety of the Gifted Communion Arc. And to make matters worse, they failed to balance the plot of the crisis with Kiyoka’s and Miyo’s relationship development during this period. As result, we really didn’t get to see the two have their first spat, we didn’t get to see the true depth of Miyo’s fear to admitting love, as well as other scenes where Kiyoka was synced with his shiki. In many ways, I felt this season largely overshadowed them more so than the novel had. The main reason why I was still able to enjoy the Gifted Communion arc, was because we still had these moments sprinkled in between. Ultimately the one who suffered the cutbacks of these scenes the most was none-other than Kiyoka.

And I’ll reiterate what I’ve said before: While Kiyoka took more of a backseat during this arc, he was not completely written off as I felt he was in this adaption. The novel had extended scenes, more little moments in between, as well as perspectives that helped flesh out the development of both of their feelings towards each other. So it was tiresome to see Kiyoka’s already limited time being cut in favour of extending scenes about Sumi and Usui. And this was so frustrating because this isn’t their story. This is Miyo’s and Kiyoka’s. So when you take away time from the main characters, of course I’m going to feel annoyed about that! The novel kept their backstory to the absolute bare minimum. And I preferred it that way.

Final Score: 8/10

After putting a lot of thought into this, I concluded that despite my gripes, I’m going to give it 8/10. The way I rationalized this was, if we’re talking how well it adapted the novel, I’d give this a 7.5, if we’re talking about the overall enjoyment for both readers of the novels and anime-only viewers, I’m going to this an 8, and for that reason that is my final score.

While there were undoubtedly things the anime did improve upon, (such as: making Fuyu and Kaoruko likable, giving Miyo some more opportunities to be a badass with her powers, really good fighting scenes, such as Kiyoka VS Usui), the overall rushed pacing and Kiyoka was shafted so badly that it makes it hard for me to say this was a great season like the first one was. It was good, and good enough that despite all my gripes, overall I still enjoyed watching this, and I will still watch it over again. We got a lot of good fluffy moments that made my heart all warm and fuzzy. I will savour all the goodies they managed to include this season, including Kiyoka’s and Miyo’s first kiss, blushing mess and just being so utterly adorable around each other. It’s the wholesome content we need in this world right now!

I also think it would be fair to say, anyone who has only watched the anime very likely were (and will be) able to enjoy this season more so than some novel readers like myself, simply because they don’t know what’s being left out. It’s often always easier to enjoy a series you’re going into a blind, because there’s no comparisons to be made. And as someone who really loves the novels, more than anything, I’m just disappointed they didn’t do better job with this.

With that said, I highly recommend anime-viewers to consider reading the novels up to vol 6 AFTER watching this season. Make no mistake, the Gift Communion is the focus of the arc, but I never felt it overshadowed Miyo and Kiyoka’s respective developments like the anime had. They are given the time to be better fleshed out and you’ll be able to enjoy the little extended times the two have together that were left out altogether. It may seem like little things, but they all add up to go a long way to make it a more fulfilling experience. The choice is yours if you wish to indulge yourself beyond that before the next season, hahaha!

And finally, as teased earlier: A sequel anime has been officially announced for My Happy Marriage! It is unclear at the moment whether it’s a Movie or 3rd Season, though I suppose there’s enough material for a third season with 3 volumes to work with! Either way, HURRAY~ I love this series, it’s one of my favourite romances, so I’m absolutely down for more!!!