"We should try to find our own shape of happiness."
Hello everyone!
I've never really been an anime girlie, and I don't really consider myself one at the moment either, HOWEVER, Netflix has suddenly grabbed onto me with some of their select choices that they suggested I watch, and I have to say ... there's something there.
Howl's Moving Castle was of course my first foray into this animated world as an adult (I think I watched something else by accident when I was much younger, and I don't clearly remember it), but I've since expanded a little.
And I may have ordered all the manga volumes for this particular title because ... well.
Listen, if there's one thing that will ALWAYS get me, it's a ridiculously good story. And this is a ridiculously good story.
We'll be dividing the topic into two posts, as the show consists of two seasons, so tonight is covering the first. Just get your fans and admire the kimonos, because we're diving into My Happy Marriage.
Since I haven't ACTUALLY watched anything like this before there aren't any links down at the bottom.
My Happy Marriage is a Cinderella meets Beauty and the Beast sort of retelling (I may have added the Beauty and the Beast part, but I'm sure reminded of it) of a girl named Miyo Saimori, who is ridiculously unhappy in her family home and constantly (as well as consistently) abused. By her own family.
God, can we smack imaginary people?
See her mother died when she was very young, and after her father remarried and had another daughter, it was discovered that her sister Kaya has Spirit-Sight, with which she can see the dangers that lurk and normal civilians can't, and so gradually and steadily, Miyo fell out of favour, as she doesn't have any supernatural ability.
Oh yes, this is an alternate reality where gifted individuals serve the Imperial palace while handling supernatural entities called Grotesqueries.
Miyo's only light is her friend Koji, of another prominent family, and her world comes crashing down around them when the two families decide Koji will marry Kaya to continue to Saimori name, while Miyo will leave the house and go to marry one Kiyoka Kudo.
Kiyoka is purportedly the strongest supernaturally gifted individual in the realm and head of the Kudo family; he's also made every single other fiancée of his run off after about three days of living with him, so everyone is convinced Miyo will suffer the same fate and end up on the streets afterwards.
Charming, aren't they?
Miyo meets Kiyoka and his servant, Yurie, and while Yurie welcomes her with open arms, Kiyoka is cold and aloof, but considering Miyo's used to far worse, she probably sees this as a welcome time-out.
Despite her initial blunders, she slowly starts becoming an integral part of Kiyoka's life and routine, and he himself thaws by increments, especially as Yurie points out that Miyo owns so very little, what she owns seems to be falling apart, and that she's perfectly content being bossed around as a maid, which prompts her fiancée's curiosity.
Digging a little, he discovers the truth about what happened to her in her own home, and pays the Saimori's a visit, which might be one of my favourite scenes in the whole show as he rips them a new one for their treatment of Miyo, lays down the law of how relations between their families will proceed from there on out, and that unless they apologize to Miyo they'll just cut them loose, and shed no tears about it.
Kiyoka's serious, too: he doesn't give a rat's ass about the Saimoris, who, on the other hand, DO care that a prominent family like the Kudos - who have always produced exceptionally gifted individuals generally serving in high positions across the nation - wants nothing to do with them.
Even so, as Kiyoka and Miyo slowly draw closer, outside forces want to separate them, because Koji's father is incensed that Miyo's old man sold her to the Kudos. He knows, you see, what Kiyoka hasn't himself quite figured out yet (but he's looking, trust me), that Miyo carries Usuba family blood, as her mother came from that family, and the individuals from that one are rumoured to be even more powerful than the Kudos.
So, essentially, the Saimoris handed Kiyoka their potentially strongest member, and they don't even know it.
Kaya's pissed off, too, because she can't stand the thought of her older sister being happy, so she helps in Miyo's kidnapping, then proceeds to aid her mother as they beat her up to get her to renounce the engagement, so Kaya can marry Kiyoka instead.
Koji, however, having learned of the plan, runs off to Kiyoka, and leads him to the Saimoris, where our commander (oh by the way, yes, the guy is in command of a special military unit that fights the Grotesqueries) faces off with the two older men trying to stop him from getting to Miyo, and eventually finds her in the poor shape she's in. He rips Kaya a new one, carrying his unconscious love home, and the Saimori part of the arc is over for the season.
The second half of season one focuses more on Kiyoka's work with the Grotesqueries, as someone opens up the Grave, a place where all supernaturally gifted were buried, and those with negative desires or harmful ideas became Grotesqueries in the after-life. Kiyoka's unit is hard-pressed to deal with them, especially as more and more seem to just collapse after facing off with the things.
Things aren't really calm on the home front, either, as, while Kiyoka invites his older sister Hazuki to help Miyo learn how to be lady of the house, Miyo begins suffering nightmares that no one can quite understand, least of all herself.
Her husband-to-be can sense traces of supernatural ability he has no clue about, too, and is beginning to wonder where her Usuba blood might be the cause of it all. He tries, very hard, to get Miyo to lean on him more and talk to him about what might be troubling her, but Miyo, worried, doesn't want to burden him when he's already got so much on his plate, so they're at an impasse.
It doesn't help that a new advisor who just popped up, Arata, seems to be trying to weave discord between the couple, although I'm happy to report that Miyo and Kiyoka both steadfastly refuse to listen to him on that count.
However, as Miyo pushes herself too hard, Kiyoka reaches the end of his rope and loses patience with her, which results in an emotional outburst that causes her to faint. Now knowing he can't properly help her, he takes her to Arata, who reveals he's Miyo's cousin, of the Usuba clan, and oh by the way, they'll be keeping Miyo with them, k thanks.
Not on their lives, Kiyoka snorts.
Turns out, the Usubas are basically a bunch of hypocrites. This is almost an exact copy of the conversation he has with Miyo's grandfather.
Kiyoka: Nobody's taking Miyo from me, because I'm going to be her husband.
Gtandfather: You have no choice, she's an Usuba, and we claim our own.
Kiyoka: And where where the Usubas when she was alone and suffering at the Saimori house, or when she was sent to me as punishment? Why didn't you intervene then?
Grandfather: Well, see, we thought she didn't have any ability, but turns out she does! She had no value to us before so we didn't care what happened to her, but really she has Dream-Sight, the most powerful ability of all us Usubas, so now we can use her to our advantage and that's why she's staying with us.
Kiyoka: Asshole, I'm the only one who wants her for who she is and not what she can do, so your argument is moot point, and also fuck off.
That last is my own addition, but the rest is basically what happens. The Usubas finally take note of Miyo because of her wakening ability, and Kiyoka duels Arata over his right to take his fiancée home, which boggles the mind as she is categorically NOT an Usuba, but a Saimori, and technically her mother's family has no say over her fate, but I digress.
Arata beats Kiyoka on the premise (that I find insulting) which is the Usuba abilities aren't for fighting Grotesqueies, like most other's, but for taking down ability users themselves.
Thus, Miyo's imprisonment within her mother's home begins, the things her husband-to-be lovingly gave her are taken away from her, and everyone wonders why she's not happy as a clam to be staying with them, whereas she can't seem to get through their thick heads that she wants to return to Kiyoka.
Arata is annoyed, because in another life he probably would have been picked to marry Miyo himself, but Miyo is like ew, gross, no thanks, I want my pale and beautiful husband-to-be.
Elsewhere, as Hazuki mends Kiyoka's wounds, she explains (while whacking him a couple of times, as an older sister should) that Miyo was working so hard because she wanted to please him and prove herself worthy, that she didn't want to worry him, and that she cares more than he's capable of seeing. However, an emergency arises before Kiyoka can return to the Usubas to get her back, and as he's needed at the front, even Hazuki can't argue (considering who her ex-husband is, she has no ground to stand on there*).
The front has gone from bad to worse with the Grotesqueries, and Kiyoka arrives in the nick of time to rescue his men, but the battle goes badly when the last of the bad spirits passes through Kiyoka and sends him into the same coma-status as the others who've succumbed (it needs to be said this happens because he's saving his assistant Godo's ass). Koji's older brother, whose ability is curse-breaking, explains this isn't something he can handle, and they're all like, now what do we do?
Well, now Miyo comes into play.
Learning Kiyoka's down for the count, she's leaving the Usuba house no matter what, and Arata reveals he made a deal with the Emperor to keep her confined because the Emperor categorically does NOT want Kiyoka and Miyo joined, as he fears their combined powers, but Miyo's like, get gone, I'm off, and also I want my cherry kimono that Kiyoka gave me.
See, we learn during her stay that her mother sealed off her ability before dying, and that she married into the Saimori family to help her own, which was looking at hard times, against the wishes of many Usubas. The Saimoris cut her off from them, and she died alone, but through her Miyo gained the ability of Dream-Sight.
This is what she uses to enter Kiyoka's subconscious, battling her own inner demons that try to convince her she's not good enough for him, and using the hair cord she'd made him to find the piece of his soul still resisting in an endless battle against the Grotesqueries. They're accosted by the Emperor himself, who learns of her rescue attempt, but their combined powers overwhelm him, and they return to consciousness - much to Godo's tearful happiness.
Kiyoka promises Arata a rematch of their duel someday, incensed that the man thought he could take Miyo from him, and our couple attend the party she's been working so hard toward, learning all the Western mannerisms and whatnot. It's at the party where she meets the Prince, the one in the Imperial family who can see glimpses of the future and thus will eventually ascend the throne.
He explains that his father feared the Usubas and the Kudos, and was largely responsible for the hard times the Usubas fell on which forced Miyo's mother to marry Saimori, as well as what followed. However, the Emperor will be made to repent, particularly as he's lost his revelation ability, and his fears drove him, so the Prince apologizes to both Miyo and Kiyoka about what happened.
The two of them return to enjoy the party, where Miyo meets Hazuki's son, learning the boy's jealous because his mom spends so much time with her as well as talks about her a lot, and we also FINALLY meet the ex-husband: he's Major General Ookaito, aka Kiyoka's superior, aka Hazuki has to be mad stupid to have walked away FROM SOMEONE LIKE THAT.
The season comes to a close with our couple happily returning to their usual rhythms at home, disrupted only - to Kiyoka's annoyance - by Arata's reappearance as he offers himself as Miyo's bodyguard and teacher to help her with her ability.
But that's where we leave them!
Emotional, poignant, and beautifully animated, Miyo and Kiyoka's story takes vivid shape before your eyes in this visual medium, and I for one love it. There's no back-and-forth, will-they, won't-they, which I appreciate, just straightforward into love, and I promise you'll enjoy Kiyoka's gentle but firm guidance to help Miyo feel more confident and to trust that he'll stand by her side no matter what.
It's just beautiful, and the side-characters are all also super fleshed out, so if you've enjoyed this post, stick around until next week when we dive into season two, and what else is in store for our couple!
xx
*images and video not mine
*Hazuki tells Miyo during their lessons that she was married young, a politically advantageous marriage as she was the eldest Kudo child, but that she didn't get along with her husband's family and had issues adapting as the perfect housewife. Her husband, a good man who loved her, supported her throughout, until a fight where both of them got emotional, and she walked away from everything.
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