One of the rare shojo series to receive a second season, Netflix’s My Happy Marriage, is officially coming back in 2025. To promote the continuation of the series, Kinema Citrus has released a beautifully serene poster celebrating the turn of the new year with Kiyoka Kudo and Miyo Saimori visiting a shrine with one another. The art piece is absolutely stunning, featuring soft, warm lighting highlighting the two characters’ traditional outfits to celebrate New Year’s Day.
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My Happy Marriage has been a major proponent in the recent “shojo renaissance” in the anime industry. Releasing on Netflix during the Summer 2023 anime season, Kinema Citrus’s gorgeous adaptation of the original novel series by Akumi Agitogi and Tsukiho Tsukioka was able to capture the literary romance of the original work while allowing the franchise to connect with brand-new audiences around the world.
[RELATED: My Happy Marriage Brings Season 2 to Life in New Trailer: Watch]
My Happy Marriage is a low fantasy romance story that takes place in an alternate version of Taisho-era Japan, wherein most humans possess some level of magical power or abilities. The series’ protagonist, a soft-spoken young woman named Miyo Saimori, was born lacking any kind of magical power. Under the care of her emotionally abusive stepmother and crude step-sisters, Miyo is swiftly arranged to marry Kiyoka Kudou – a military commander rumored to be so callous and cruel that all his former brides fled before their wedding day. Miyo, cautious but determined to make a better life for herself, follows through with meeting with Kudou. What she discovers is that those around him have horribly misrepresented the man and that, under his icy exterior, he is a kind, caring individual.
My Happy Marriage Spins Beauty & the Beast With a Classic Cinderella Story In the Best Way Possible
Part of what makes My Happy Marriage such a special love story is how the story truly feels like a fairy tale the entire way through. While there is drama following Miyo due to her family history, the effort that Kudou puts in to make his bride feel like she is always enough is truly endearing. While an arranged marriage is an interesting enough plot device on its own, mixing in the idea that Miyo’s status in society made her a “last resort” for the commander adds a bitter weight to their initial arrangement that makes their budding feelings for one another feel important.
Both Miyo and Kudou have to work through the labels attached to them by people who were meant to care for them in the past while having the expectations of a newly engaged couple placed on them. It’s a love story that beautifully captures how freeing it can be to finally find someone that does not see your past but instead only wishes to embrace the future.
