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はぴまり〜Happy Marriage!?〜 #1
Happy Marriage?!, Vol. 1
In order to help her father, Chiwa Takanashi agrees to an arranged marriage with the company president, Hokuto Mamiya—a man she doesn’t know—at the request of Hokuto’s grandfather. Chiwa believes the arrangement isn’t binding, but her new partner seems to think otherwise. Can two strangers living together find their way to a happy marriage?!
192 pages, Kindle Edition
First published June 10, 2009
106 people are currently reading
3472 people want to read
About the author
Maki Enjōji
87 books376 followersName (in native language): 円城寺マキ (えんじょうじ マキ)
Maki Enjōji is a Japanese manga artist. Among her works, Happy Marriage!? is one of the best known and it has been published in English under VIZ Media’s Shojo Beat, in French by Kazé, in German by Tokyopop and in Italian by Star Comics.
Maki Enjōji is a Japanese manga artist. Among her works, Happy Marriage!? is one of the best known and it has been published in English under VIZ Media’s Shojo Beat, in French by Kazé, in German by Tokyopop and in Italian by Star Comics.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 354 reviews
July 12, 2019
There are a ton of romance novels and manga out there with this plot. Virginal girl suddenly forced into marriage with rich, hot overbearing dude (in this case, her boss). This really brings nothing new to the party. She's not the most stupid and supine heroine ever, he's not the most alphaholic hero. But he's pretty jerky and spoiled, and she's boring. If you like this sort of plot a lot, you may enjoy this, if not you'll be bored.
The only scene I found amusing was when they hide in a love hotel and see each other's areas of ignorance.
Her: mistakes condom for teabag.
Him: mistakes Wii controller for sex toy.
Then they play computer games.
The only scene I found amusing was when they hide in a love hotel and see each other's areas of ignorance.
Her: mistakes condom for teabag.
Him: mistakes Wii controller for sex toy.
Then they play computer games.
November 28, 2014
1. Do you like rich guys?
2. Do you like girls who are forced to marry the rich guy kind of stories?
3. Do you like romances that start out with the two hating each other but then they slowly begin to like each other?
4. Do you not care that there are tons of stories like this out there?
IF YOU SAY YES TO ANY OF THESE THINGS, THIS STORY IS MOST DEFINITELY FOR YOU!
(*wears cheery, gigantic smile)
2. Do you like girls who are forced to marry the rich guy kind of stories?
3. Do you like romances that start out with the two hating each other but then they slowly begin to like each other?
4. Do you not care that there are tons of stories like this out there?
IF YOU SAY YES TO ANY OF THESE THINGS, THIS STORY IS MOST DEFINITELY FOR YOU!
(*wears cheery, gigantic smile)
August 27, 2012
~"Do you want me to save you?"~
Am I the only one thinking, that if this was a TV drama it would be awesome?
Am I the only one thinking, that if this was a TV drama it would be awesome?
September 17, 2021
This was fun really, I don’t read much josei but i did enjoy this!
March 29, 2013
This series was recommended to me by someone on MangaUpdates, I think, when I asked for "classic" Josei.
I'll copypaste the following part to all my reviews of this manga, because my main point of critic remains the same: It's annoyingly sexist, to the point where the male MC tells the heroine to shut up or else he rapes her. It was said jokingly, while they were both lying in bed, but seriously, while there are most certainly a lot of words to express what I think of it, I decide to just keep it at.. "It's sexist", because I'm too lazy to turn this one into a rant.
My standard for romantic manga is surprisingly low. It's not like I expect women and men to be in any form equals anymore, but there's a line you really shouldn't cross. I don't care if your male character is the #1 sexual harrasser, the point is, don't trivialize it. If he says shit like it, at least have the heroine be genuinely offended and have an open discussion, instead of scandalized in the typical "blush blush oh he said something related to sex blush"-way that is so common in many manga these days, I just want to slap people.
Otherwise not bad, in how there are several real conflicts and a relationship that doesn't just magically work because the mangaka wants it to. (As flawed as their working their issues out might be.)
No rating.
I'll copypaste the following part to all my reviews of this manga, because my main point of critic remains the same: It's annoyingly sexist, to the point where the male MC tells the heroine to shut up or else he rapes her. It was said jokingly, while they were both lying in bed, but seriously, while there are most certainly a lot of words to express what I think of it, I decide to just keep it at.. "It's sexist", because I'm too lazy to turn this one into a rant.
My standard for romantic manga is surprisingly low. It's not like I expect women and men to be in any form equals anymore, but there's a line you really shouldn't cross. I don't care if your male character is the #1 sexual harrasser, the point is, don't trivialize it. If he says shit like it, at least have the heroine be genuinely offended and have an open discussion, instead of scandalized in the typical "blush blush oh he said something related to sex blush"-way that is so common in many manga these days, I just want to slap people.
Otherwise not bad, in how there are several real conflicts and a relationship that doesn't just magically work because the mangaka wants it to. (As flawed as their working their issues out might be.)
No rating.
March 2, 2019
This premise (and this relationship) is definitely straight up soap opera levels. But it was fun to read, and I’m definitely curious to see where it goes from here...
November 25, 2025
As with all my manga reviews, this is an overview of the entire series and may contain spoilers as a result.
Hapi Mari (original Japanese はぴまり〜Happy Marriage!?〜; where "Hapi Mari" is a shortening of the phonetic transliteration) is a josei manga (targeted at adult women) that has a pretty typical "contract/arranged marriage leads to true romance" type of plot.
If you've ever watched any media where a regular girl is forced by circumstance to marry a man (usually wealthy or famous) who she barely knows and doesn't want anything to do with, you basically already know this manga in its entirety--every misunderstanding, every conflict, every basic plot beat.
It really doesn't offer anything new or different, I assure you.
In fact, the main reason why I rate this manga so low is because it's just very basic and tired. It's a considerably conservative, heterosexual relationship with a subtle--but nevertheless unrelenting--sexist air that enforces stereotypical modern gender roles on its characters in practically every situation.
The crux of the story is that our female lead, a 22 year old woman named Chiwa, is presented with an unusual proposal: marry the president of the company where she's a temp worker and all her family's debts will be settled. The president, a 28 year old man named Hakuto (our male lead), presents this arrangement to Chiwa because if he marries her, his grandfather, the company chairman, will step down and allow allow Hakuto to take over in his stead (the reason for this isn't that important, the old guy knew her grandma and thinks marrying their grandchildren to each other is a good idea).
Thus, despite not particularly liking each other or wanting to do this, Chiwa and Hakuto eventually agree to marry one another in order to achieve their respective goals and, over the course of living and working together, find that what began as a means to an end has given way to real feelings and a desire for their marriage to become genuine.
It's all pretty standard stuff. In fact, it has most of the usual tropes you see in "we're begrudgingly marrying for a reason that isn't love" stories.
For example:
For me, all this sort of stuff could be overlooked if handled right by a qualified author. I actually rather enjoy forced-marriage plots because it's interesting to see how people react in unfavorable circumstances and how romantic attachment can bloom once those initial feelings of unwillingness and mistrust are replaced by familiarity and understanding as they go about their daily lives, helping one another overcome problems together.
What really did this series in for me me was how Chiwa and Hakuto behave as people once they're married and how the progression of their "romance" ultimately sends a really outdated and unhelpful message about romance, relationships, and marriage.
Chiwa initially starts out as someone who seems pretty independent and isn't losing her mind over men like her coworkers, since she has an irresponsible, deadbeat dad who acts like a man-baby that she must constantly parent and manage. This home life situation has turned her off the idea of men and dating, she's wholly focused on working hard, paying bills, and getting through each day.
I liked that she had this kind of weary, annoyed attitude towards dating and men. It made her more interesting. She came off as snarky and mature because she's burnt out and has lost all starry-eyed fantasies about romance even though she's young and hasn't had much personal dating experience.
You'd think with this sort of start , Chiwa would reject the whole "a wife is basically a surrogate mom that a man can also have sex with and order around" thing, yet she throws away all previous character and quickly becomes a wife in a very traditional sense.
Not only does Chiwa have to basically become a housekeeper and cook because Hakuto, despite being a 28 year old man who has lived on his own for ages, is both unwilling and incapable of properly taking care of himself and his own apartment, she abandons her own goals in life and lives to ensure that Hakuto achieves his while hoping each day that he learns to appreciate her for being a good, dutiful, supportive wife who keeps the house cleans, cooks dinner, emotionally regulates him, and is ready for fucking whenever he wants.
I gotta say it, that's gross and sad.
She's basically doing exactly what she had to for her dad, except this time the man-child she has to baby gets to have sex with her and gave her a new surname, so she manages to convince herself the situation is better than what she had living at home with her dad and that it's not just that sad, ancient transference of a woman's enforced obligation to take care of the men in her life shifting from father to husband.
Sure, you can argue Chiwa wasn't especially ambitious to begin with, but it's really unsettling how quickly her identity is swallowed up and becomes little more than that of "wife." She doesn't have any hobbies or wants besides domestic chores and trying to convince Hakuto to spend time with her as a married couple. So... her personality quite literally becomes "being Hakuto's wife." Big yikes.
Even when she leaves Hakuto's company and starts working for some guys she knew in college, she doesn't do it for the right reasons. It's mostly just to spite Hakuto because of a spat they have, not for her own career's sake or to show Hakuto that she's her own person with a freewill or anything like that. It's just... a petty stuck up middle finger she does because of an argument and it remains a constant source of strife between them because Hakuto, on top of being incapable of keeping his apartment clean, is a petty and immature asshat, harboring jealousies towards her former classmates and fearing she's cheating on him with one of them despite there existing no love or commitment in the marriage.
I will say right now that Hakuto isn't really abusive. He never hits Chiwa, he doesn't sexually assault her, he doesn't subject her to harsh mental abuse, and he does experience some growth throughout the story, HOWEVER, he isn't all that great of a person either. The bar for passable is just that low.
His attitude is better than a lot of other manga love interests I've seen--he does say he loves her and will defend her... sometimes--but then, like all the bad ones, he just turns around and yells at her, makes her feel bad, and then refuses to address their relationship problems until Chiwa is in tears, so it's like... we took a step or two forward, only to take three back, so, no true progress was made, it's just that he's less worse than some.
A lot of the ways be behaves aren't likeable. He's moody, he's mean, he's selfish, he's thoughtless, he's stubborn, he's bigoted, he's petty, he's controlling, he struggles to handle having feelings (i.e. has the emotional intelligence of a small child), he can't take care of himself despite being an adult, and he never tries to communicate with his spouse.
He's super prone to overreacting to the things Chiwa does. If she makes a mistake or her attempts at helping don't go as planned or she tries to take the initiative in some way to ask him on a date or do something with her, odds are he's going to yell at Chiwa and treat her like a nuisance or problem, rather than appreciate what she was trying to do and help her do better next time around.
And you'd think with him constantly regarding Chiwa like she's baggage he puts up with for a greater purpose, he wouldn't be jealous and possessive, but, he is. Very much so. Some of the things he says and does are very much in line with that old-fashion male possessiveness and arrogance where he thinks himself so great and so owed by Chiwa because of their marriage that he can't abide by her interacting with other men for any reason.
In other words, Hakuto is a very boring, stereotypical male love interest that's outdated and has the qualities and values of heroes from a bygone era where a conservative man's man was considered incredibly sexy and desirable.
And what's even sadder is that despite his "growth" his entire arc of development essentially boils down to that tired, overused, and unhealthy notion that he just needed a woman to make him want to act like a man and be a functioning adult human that can take care of themselves, process their feelings, and not be a cranky douchebag.
Hakuto very much epitomizes the archtype's development of, "Wow, until my wife made me think about acting better, I was a man-baby jerk who couldn't keep his house clean or have any meaningful connections with others emotionally! A woman really fixed everything!"
Which is so sad and boring and terrible and I hate that Chiwa is relegated to being his life coach, inspiring him to finally act right, on top of all of the other shit she's had to become for him.
These qualities of Hakuto's constantly trigger countless fights and misunderstandings and petty spats, and it's beyond exhausting to watch a grown man struggle to do something as basic as communicate with his wife so that they can proceed through things together as two adults who are married to each other. It's like he expects Chiwa to just mindlessly bobble her head without question, have as few emotional needs as possible, and understand his every want and need without being told.
Speaking of the fights and misunderstandings... they got real old, real fast.
For real, there's way too many instances where she's like "Oh no, his mom is dead, I can't believe I stopped doing his laundry to make him appreciate how I'm contributing to the marriage because he keeps invaliding my thoughts and feelings! I need to go home and be a meek wife for him right away because he's mad and has a dead mom! I'm such a bitch to want him to respect and value me! His mom is dead, so he's allowed to be selfish and childish and expect me to do all these things for him! I'll go do the laundry right now and then beg for forgiveness and then suck his dick for hours in repentance for my wrongdoing!"
Like, what the ever loving FUCK?
I can't stand stories that have a woman get reasonably mad and then IMMEDIATELY she's made to regret being upset over an injustice done to her and it's framed as her being thoughtless/selfish/stupid/petty towards her otherwise undeserving male partner, so her feelings are invalidated and discredited and she's responsible for reconciling and admitting wrongdoing.
It's even worse because when a story does that, it'll generally then give focus to petty grievances because it's easier for a man to appease a woman's childish problems than to address the actual flaws in their relationship and still get that veneer of "look how good I am and how hard I try to make peace with my wife!"
Hakuto gets to be made into a good guy when he settles some trivial problem of Chiwa's, so the focus is taken away from all the times she had a legitimate concern that he ignored or invalidated because it's too much effort to address actual problems and try to grow as a person. I guess it would also mean he'd have to admit to an actual, important wrongdoing and we can't have that because... I don't know, his fragile masculinity couldn't take it?
Essentially, what this sort of tactic does is trivialize and discredis women's feelings when they're legitimate and reasonable, instead shifting to push forth the outdated and frankly insulting belief that if a woman raises a concern, it's just some small, stupid, emotional thing that can be easily remedied by the man in her life, who is all logic and sense and rationale, like an adult giving candy to a small child who's crying for no reason.
Honestly, as I read this manga, I was angry. Like, wow thanks for infantilizing and invalidating women's feelings when they're serious and painting us all as crybabies whose emotions are all senseless things with no foundation.
I absolutely hate seeing this portrayal of adult women as children that men must graciously manage and put in their place, lest they hurt themselves because they're helpless and stupid.
Like, Hakuto is as emotionally developed at an eight year old boy with how he handles everything in his life, yet the manga wants me to believe Chiwa, who has been managing her deadbeat father all her life and took the initiative to not only take care of the household but hold down two jobs, is the one who ought to be handled with kid gloves like she's just a fussy baby???
It's insulting that it's framed like Chiwa should be glad a man would deign to put up with her feelings and want to take care of her basic needs while actively ignoring and denying her complex emotional and mental needs. Like, she's a human, to be happy and fulfilled she kind of needs to be seen as a person, not an easy-to-subdue child in an adult body that can be fucked on demand.
If you're more into standard, outdated ideas of marriage and romance, this manga will probably be a good read, but if you're more progressive and appreciate adults who like... talk about things and work through things calmly and openly without anger or judgement or pettiness or bigotry, then this manga will just read as kind of sad because it could have been a nice, tidy, but fun read about two people coming together in their unique circumstances and finding genuine love and companionship.
Chiwa is only 22 and has limited dating experience, so a lot of her behavior isn't especially weird to me, it's just a little rash and naive, which makes sense, whereas Hakuto is a 28 year old man who runs a freaking gigantic company and has dated countless women, so his behaviors are much less forgivable because he should know better than to act the way he does.
I'm not sure if the characters were modeled in a way intentionally for comedic/dramatic purposes, but they really just kind of grated on me and I felt disappointed in how contrived so much of this was. I think the author could have done something worthwhile, but allowed old traditionalist views to get their filthy claws into every aspect of the story.
Ultimately, I leave the manga feeling tired and irritated. I'm really quite over it.
Hapi Mari (original Japanese はぴまり〜Happy Marriage!?〜; where "Hapi Mari" is a shortening of the phonetic transliteration) is a josei manga (targeted at adult women) that has a pretty typical "contract/arranged marriage leads to true romance" type of plot.
If you've ever watched any media where a regular girl is forced by circumstance to marry a man (usually wealthy or famous) who she barely knows and doesn't want anything to do with, you basically already know this manga in its entirety--every misunderstanding, every conflict, every basic plot beat.
It really doesn't offer anything new or different, I assure you.
In fact, the main reason why I rate this manga so low is because it's just very basic and tired. It's a considerably conservative, heterosexual relationship with a subtle--but nevertheless unrelenting--sexist air that enforces stereotypical modern gender roles on its characters in practically every situation.
The crux of the story is that our female lead, a 22 year old woman named Chiwa, is presented with an unusual proposal: marry the president of the company where she's a temp worker and all her family's debts will be settled. The president, a 28 year old man named Hakuto (our male lead), presents this arrangement to Chiwa because if he marries her, his grandfather, the company chairman, will step down and allow allow Hakuto to take over in his stead (the reason for this isn't that important, the old guy knew her grandma and thinks marrying their grandchildren to each other is a good idea).
Thus, despite not particularly liking each other or wanting to do this, Chiwa and Hakuto eventually agree to marry one another in order to achieve their respective goals and, over the course of living and working together, find that what began as a means to an end has given way to real feelings and a desire for their marriage to become genuine.
It's all pretty standard stuff. In fact, it has most of the usual tropes you see in "we're begrudgingly marrying for a reason that isn't love" stories.
For example:
- They try to establish boundaries/rules, but these rules ultimately are rendered worthless and the act of crossing them is part of how the leads grow closer.
- They fight over petty things to try to showcase how, at least on the surface, they are too different and unsuitable they are for one another and this creates tension, casting doubt on whether the marriage will ultimately work out.
- They have instances where potential rivals for their partner's attention either urges them to confess their love to retain their spouse or detours feelings from being acted upon because they believe their spouse prefers the potential rival.
- They get dumbly jealous of their partner in any situation where they interact with someone of the opposite sex, making a state of jealousy a frequent situation in the story, and will happen even when plot-wise it doesn't make sense for them to be jealous at that point.
- They have problems in their relationship because of family matters, like disapproving in-laws or being expected to conform to unfamiliar expectations.
- Their jobs and/or goals intersect with and disrupt their ability to be a spouse, causing tension that threatens the relationship from becoming genuine.
- They constantly fail to communicate with one another, usually because of something that amounts to "I'm just a means to an end, not a true spouse, they don't actually care about me, so I can't be open/vulnerable with them." Very classic "stupid misunderstanding is the root of major conflict" plot stuff.
For me, all this sort of stuff could be overlooked if handled right by a qualified author. I actually rather enjoy forced-marriage plots because it's interesting to see how people react in unfavorable circumstances and how romantic attachment can bloom once those initial feelings of unwillingness and mistrust are replaced by familiarity and understanding as they go about their daily lives, helping one another overcome problems together.
What really did this series in for me me was how Chiwa and Hakuto behave as people once they're married and how the progression of their "romance" ultimately sends a really outdated and unhelpful message about romance, relationships, and marriage.
Chiwa initially starts out as someone who seems pretty independent and isn't losing her mind over men like her coworkers, since she has an irresponsible, deadbeat dad who acts like a man-baby that she must constantly parent and manage. This home life situation has turned her off the idea of men and dating, she's wholly focused on working hard, paying bills, and getting through each day.
I liked that she had this kind of weary, annoyed attitude towards dating and men. It made her more interesting. She came off as snarky and mature because she's burnt out and has lost all starry-eyed fantasies about romance even though she's young and hasn't had much personal dating experience.
You'd think with this sort of start , Chiwa would reject the whole "a wife is basically a surrogate mom that a man can also have sex with and order around" thing, yet she throws away all previous character and quickly becomes a wife in a very traditional sense.
Not only does Chiwa have to basically become a housekeeper and cook because Hakuto, despite being a 28 year old man who has lived on his own for ages, is both unwilling and incapable of properly taking care of himself and his own apartment, she abandons her own goals in life and lives to ensure that Hakuto achieves his while hoping each day that he learns to appreciate her for being a good, dutiful, supportive wife who keeps the house cleans, cooks dinner, emotionally regulates him, and is ready for fucking whenever he wants.
I gotta say it, that's gross and sad.
She's basically doing exactly what she had to for her dad, except this time the man-child she has to baby gets to have sex with her and gave her a new surname, so she manages to convince herself the situation is better than what she had living at home with her dad and that it's not just that sad, ancient transference of a woman's enforced obligation to take care of the men in her life shifting from father to husband.
Sure, you can argue Chiwa wasn't especially ambitious to begin with, but it's really unsettling how quickly her identity is swallowed up and becomes little more than that of "wife." She doesn't have any hobbies or wants besides domestic chores and trying to convince Hakuto to spend time with her as a married couple. So... her personality quite literally becomes "being Hakuto's wife." Big yikes.
Even when she leaves Hakuto's company and starts working for some guys she knew in college, she doesn't do it for the right reasons. It's mostly just to spite Hakuto because of a spat they have, not for her own career's sake or to show Hakuto that she's her own person with a freewill or anything like that. It's just... a petty stuck up middle finger she does because of an argument and it remains a constant source of strife between them because Hakuto, on top of being incapable of keeping his apartment clean, is a petty and immature asshat, harboring jealousies towards her former classmates and fearing she's cheating on him with one of them despite there existing no love or commitment in the marriage.
I will say right now that Hakuto isn't really abusive. He never hits Chiwa, he doesn't sexually assault her, he doesn't subject her to harsh mental abuse, and he does experience some growth throughout the story, HOWEVER, he isn't all that great of a person either. The bar for passable is just that low.
His attitude is better than a lot of other manga love interests I've seen--he does say he loves her and will defend her... sometimes--but then, like all the bad ones, he just turns around and yells at her, makes her feel bad, and then refuses to address their relationship problems until Chiwa is in tears, so it's like... we took a step or two forward, only to take three back, so, no true progress was made, it's just that he's less worse than some.
A lot of the ways be behaves aren't likeable. He's moody, he's mean, he's selfish, he's thoughtless, he's stubborn, he's bigoted, he's petty, he's controlling, he struggles to handle having feelings (i.e. has the emotional intelligence of a small child), he can't take care of himself despite being an adult, and he never tries to communicate with his spouse.
He's super prone to overreacting to the things Chiwa does. If she makes a mistake or her attempts at helping don't go as planned or she tries to take the initiative in some way to ask him on a date or do something with her, odds are he's going to yell at Chiwa and treat her like a nuisance or problem, rather than appreciate what she was trying to do and help her do better next time around.
And you'd think with him constantly regarding Chiwa like she's baggage he puts up with for a greater purpose, he wouldn't be jealous and possessive, but, he is. Very much so. Some of the things he says and does are very much in line with that old-fashion male possessiveness and arrogance where he thinks himself so great and so owed by Chiwa because of their marriage that he can't abide by her interacting with other men for any reason.
In other words, Hakuto is a very boring, stereotypical male love interest that's outdated and has the qualities and values of heroes from a bygone era where a conservative man's man was considered incredibly sexy and desirable.
And what's even sadder is that despite his "growth" his entire arc of development essentially boils down to that tired, overused, and unhealthy notion that he just needed a woman to make him want to act like a man and be a functioning adult human that can take care of themselves, process their feelings, and not be a cranky douchebag.
Hakuto very much epitomizes the archtype's development of, "Wow, until my wife made me think about acting better, I was a man-baby jerk who couldn't keep his house clean or have any meaningful connections with others emotionally! A woman really fixed everything!"
Which is so sad and boring and terrible and I hate that Chiwa is relegated to being his life coach, inspiring him to finally act right, on top of all of the other shit she's had to become for him.
These qualities of Hakuto's constantly trigger countless fights and misunderstandings and petty spats, and it's beyond exhausting to watch a grown man struggle to do something as basic as communicate with his wife so that they can proceed through things together as two adults who are married to each other. It's like he expects Chiwa to just mindlessly bobble her head without question, have as few emotional needs as possible, and understand his every want and need without being told.
Speaking of the fights and misunderstandings... they got real old, real fast.
Basically every bit of conflict followed the formula of:
1) Chiwa has a rational, reasonable concern to raise over something Hakuto did or said.
2) Hakuto proceeds to have a fit and/or yell at Chiwa, claiming she's causing trouble.
3) Chiwa gets upset and does something in retaliation like not talk to him or stop doing the laundry.
4) Hakuto, in turn, stays huffy and angry like a brat.
5) Chiwa, after being upset for a little while, suddenly abandons her feelings because she remembers that Hakuto has a dead mom or had a rough childhood or something to that effect, which is accepted as a coverall excuse for all his terrible behavior.
6) Chiwa starts doing housework again and all but begs for Hakuto to forgive her and stop being mad at her, essentially framing herself as wrong for everything and solely to blame.
7) Hakuto learns no lessons and makes no efforts to not cause similar problems in the future.
8) The cycle repeats again shortly after.
For real, there's way too many instances where she's like "Oh no, his mom is dead, I can't believe I stopped doing his laundry to make him appreciate how I'm contributing to the marriage because he keeps invaliding my thoughts and feelings! I need to go home and be a meek wife for him right away because he's mad and has a dead mom! I'm such a bitch to want him to respect and value me! His mom is dead, so he's allowed to be selfish and childish and expect me to do all these things for him! I'll go do the laundry right now and then beg for forgiveness and then suck his dick for hours in repentance for my wrongdoing!"
Like, what the ever loving FUCK?
I can't stand stories that have a woman get reasonably mad and then IMMEDIATELY she's made to regret being upset over an injustice done to her and it's framed as her being thoughtless/selfish/stupid/petty towards her otherwise undeserving male partner, so her feelings are invalidated and discredited and she's responsible for reconciling and admitting wrongdoing.
It's even worse because when a story does that, it'll generally then give focus to petty grievances because it's easier for a man to appease a woman's childish problems than to address the actual flaws in their relationship and still get that veneer of "look how good I am and how hard I try to make peace with my wife!"
Hakuto gets to be made into a good guy when he settles some trivial problem of Chiwa's, so the focus is taken away from all the times she had a legitimate concern that he ignored or invalidated because it's too much effort to address actual problems and try to grow as a person. I guess it would also mean he'd have to admit to an actual, important wrongdoing and we can't have that because... I don't know, his fragile masculinity couldn't take it?
Essentially, what this sort of tactic does is trivialize and discredis women's feelings when they're legitimate and reasonable, instead shifting to push forth the outdated and frankly insulting belief that if a woman raises a concern, it's just some small, stupid, emotional thing that can be easily remedied by the man in her life, who is all logic and sense and rationale, like an adult giving candy to a small child who's crying for no reason.
Honestly, as I read this manga, I was angry. Like, wow thanks for infantilizing and invalidating women's feelings when they're serious and painting us all as crybabies whose emotions are all senseless things with no foundation.
I absolutely hate seeing this portrayal of adult women as children that men must graciously manage and put in their place, lest they hurt themselves because they're helpless and stupid.
Like, Hakuto is as emotionally developed at an eight year old boy with how he handles everything in his life, yet the manga wants me to believe Chiwa, who has been managing her deadbeat father all her life and took the initiative to not only take care of the household but hold down two jobs, is the one who ought to be handled with kid gloves like she's just a fussy baby???
It's insulting that it's framed like Chiwa should be glad a man would deign to put up with her feelings and want to take care of her basic needs while actively ignoring and denying her complex emotional and mental needs. Like, she's a human, to be happy and fulfilled she kind of needs to be seen as a person, not an easy-to-subdue child in an adult body that can be fucked on demand.
If you're more into standard, outdated ideas of marriage and romance, this manga will probably be a good read, but if you're more progressive and appreciate adults who like... talk about things and work through things calmly and openly without anger or judgement or pettiness or bigotry, then this manga will just read as kind of sad because it could have been a nice, tidy, but fun read about two people coming together in their unique circumstances and finding genuine love and companionship.
Chiwa is only 22 and has limited dating experience, so a lot of her behavior isn't especially weird to me, it's just a little rash and naive, which makes sense, whereas Hakuto is a 28 year old man who runs a freaking gigantic company and has dated countless women, so his behaviors are much less forgivable because he should know better than to act the way he does.
I'm not sure if the characters were modeled in a way intentionally for comedic/dramatic purposes, but they really just kind of grated on me and I felt disappointed in how contrived so much of this was. I think the author could have done something worthwhile, but allowed old traditionalist views to get their filthy claws into every aspect of the story.
Ultimately, I leave the manga feeling tired and irritated. I'm really quite over it.
October 12, 2013
I've been really into confident, strong, take charge female lead characters recently, so perhaps my review reflects that preference. I was looking forward to reading this series because reviews praised it for being realistic. I didn't find it as realistic as I had hoped, though I'll admit that I've never been married.
I absolutely LOVE the idea of a manga focusing on the relationship of marriage. I like the art but am bothered by how the husband treats his wife and how often the wife allows her husband to tell her what to do.
I cheered for her at some points because she finally spoke her mind.
Perhaps I'm so bothered by this series because it is somewhat realistic in its portrayal of stereotypical gender roles within a marriage? Also, I just don't find a man using physical force to persuade his wife and the use of threatening body language very romantic. His wife didn't seem to mind most of the time, though. (Which made me cringe inside.)
What would redeem this manga for me would be if we saw some character development where husband and wife eventually figure out how to have a healthy marriage and to communicate with one another.
Perhaps they do!
I absolutely LOVE the idea of a manga focusing on the relationship of marriage. I like the art but am bothered by how the husband treats his wife and how often the wife allows her husband to tell her what to do.
I cheered for her at some points because she finally spoke her mind.
Perhaps I'm so bothered by this series because it is somewhat realistic in its portrayal of stereotypical gender roles within a marriage? Also, I just don't find a man using physical force to persuade his wife and the use of threatening body language very romantic. His wife didn't seem to mind most of the time, though. (Which made me cringe inside.)
What would redeem this manga for me would be if we saw some character development where husband and wife eventually figure out how to have a healthy marriage and to communicate with one another.
Perhaps they do!
October 5, 2021
Review for complete series
Chiwa's father has been nothing but trouble and a financial mess for her to clean up. Even working extra nightshifts don't seem to round up the money but an unusual offer might get her out of this mess: her company's CEO Hokuto can only keep his position in the family business if he were to marry. Hokuto is in need of a wife, Chiwa needs the money. A quickly signed marriage certificate turns them into unlikely flatmates - it's not as though they are romantically involved.
For the longest time, I only read shoujo manga and disregarded any series that were targeted at older readers. I'd often seen Happy Marriage?! during the time when I was working at a comic store and mentally shelved it as not interested - office romance, married couple - none of it caught my interest. It was only during a moment of extreme boredom that I picked the first volume off the shelf and flipped through it. I came to the conclusion that it was one of the most hilarious manga romances I had read and immediately ordered the entire series and promoted Maki Enjouji to an auto-buy author.
About a decade later, I still love this series. Chiwa and Hokuto's relationship is absolutely hilarious, they have me laughing so many times. But in addition to the comedy, I love the chemistry between them and the bond that grows between them as the series progresses. I think this is most strongly seen in Hokuto who transforms from a calculating businessman into a caring husband. I also consider both Chiwa and Hokuto to be very realistic characters as they both definitely have their faults. Funnily, this seems to be one of the most common points of criticism this series seems to receive from other many other readers.
It seems others consider Chiwa a weak female lead and Hokuto as abusive and arrogant. Arrogance aside, I can't agree on either of the other points. Both of them have an argumentive nature - they argue, in fact, they argue a lot. I don't believe either of them is worse than the other in this point and, as both of them rightly say, it's part of their relationship dynamics - they grow stronger after each argument. The difference is the way they express themselves; Chiwa is less confident and cries easily, but she rarely backs down and stands her ground - crying in itself is not a weakness of character, the fact that she can still pull through shows that. Hokuto is very reserved when it comes to showing warm feelings but he is very outspoken when he's upset which in my mind is very realistic. Not everyone is able to express how they really feel and I think it's why these two are often irritated yet also bring out the good in each other.
While domestic abuse certainly is an issue that needs to be addressed more often, I do feel that many people overshoot their target by narrowing down on books or movies that show even the slightest hint of a male character not playing the perfect gentleman. Hokuto is by no means perfect but there isn't a single action of his in this entire series that I would consider as abusive. There is a scene where he slaps Chiwa - a slap is a far cry from hitting or abuse. There is a reason why it's called a wake-up slap - there are times when something like that might really be the only way to get through to someone who is, as in this particular case with Chiwa, in a complete panic and not listening to reason. Had it been the other way around with Chiwa slapping Hokuto, no one would have said a thing. People aren't always rational and the way many fictional characters are criticized in this regard sets unrealistic standards of real people.
With that off my chest, other than the comedy and romance, there's also a bit of a mystery and family issues on both sides to deal with. I don't usually like longer romance series (although Happy Marriage?! isn't all that long with 10 volumes) as they tend to drag but here there are plenty of other elements that keep the story going. Despite the introduction of other love interests along the way, I like how neither Chiwa nor Hokuto ever showed the slightest interest in others.
Finally, I really enjoyed the art in this one. I generally like Maki Enjouji's art but I am particularly fond of it in this series. Her art is also a strong drive for the comedy but the romantic scenes are also beautifully drawn. While I may still prefer shoujo manga (I don't seem to outgrow it...), thanks to Happy Marriage?!, I know that there certainly are manga for older readers that can appeal to me as it's been one of my favourites since I first read it.
February 27, 2016
This made my inner feminist weep salty tears. I had such high expectations but the H was an insufferable douche knuckle who made me want to bitchslap him six ways to Sunday and the h was a spineless twit the whole time, ugh.
November 15, 2022
110% not for me.
I give it a bit of grace for having been written in 2009, the values reflect that. There's a lot of misogyny, the bar for men was on the floor and there's some fatphobia as well for a bit of flavor. The characterization of the main character felt more appropriate for a 15 year old girl, rather than a woman. It also falls in line with my least favorite romance tropes: total asshole ML but he shows consideration for the FL 1% of the time, so you'll believe there's still good in him, you know? I won't bother reading on for the inevitable part where they explain some childhood heartbreak that led to the ML being the way he is.
As it stands, I don't like the FL, I don't like the ML so there's nothing here for me personally.
I give it a bit of grace for having been written in 2009, the values reflect that. There's a lot of misogyny, the bar for men was on the floor and there's some fatphobia as well for a bit of flavor. The characterization of the main character felt more appropriate for a 15 year old girl, rather than a woman. It also falls in line with my least favorite romance tropes: total asshole ML but he shows consideration for the FL 1% of the time, so you'll believe there's still good in him, you know? I won't bother reading on for the inevitable part where they explain some childhood heartbreak that led to the ML being the way he is.
As it stands, I don't like the FL, I don't like the ML so there's nothing here for me personally.
May 16, 2024
I remember really liking this when I first read it but didn't enjoy it so much 7 years later. I do recall really liking the live action drama which has Dean Fujioka as the lead but maybe that will have changed too.
August 16, 2015
When your best friend hands you a stack of manga, say no. Please. Don't end up reading it at 2 in the morning while the minion movie plays in the background. Love yourselves.
August 25, 2017
Whew, it took two days but I read all 10 volumes! I was in the mood for some josei manga and this hit the spot! Rather enjoyed this despite the usual misunderstandings and various plot devices. Fun, energetic dramedy! Great HEA.
February 24, 2023
why did i read all 40 chapters,it was exhausting I want to forget about this manga fr
December 29, 2019
What would you do if you've never been intimate (but you might have dated before), and a guy suddenly approaches you and suggest that you should both get married? Yeah... I've never been in a marriage of convenience (and likely never going to either, thank you very much! I would think my husband would have an issue with that part of things... :P), but the initial approach taken was perfect. There was a lot of (expected) miscommunication between the newlyweds as they tried to navigate living together, being truthful with each other, and fully explaining their expectations for one another.
As tropey as the first few volumes were, they were probably my favourite portions of the series. I loved watching Chiwa and Hokuto trying to figure out how to live together, manage their attraction to one another, and even them trying to figure out how to communicate much more effectively.
The second half (of trying to discover who was behind the plot to hurt the people in the manga) brought down the tension somewhat, in my opinion. Gone was the relationship negotiations between Chiwa and Hokuto, and instead there was the intrigue of who was behind the plotting. Also, I found it a little sad that this couple could only work their differences out and come to an understanding only when they're arguing. And sadly, that brought down what was a five-star read, to a four-star read for me.
As tropey as the first few volumes were, they were probably my favourite portions of the series. I loved watching Chiwa and Hokuto trying to figure out how to live together, manage their attraction to one another, and even them trying to figure out how to communicate much more effectively.
The second half (of trying to discover who was behind the plot to hurt the people in the manga) brought down the tension somewhat, in my opinion. Gone was the relationship negotiations between Chiwa and Hokuto, and instead there was the intrigue of who was behind the plotting. Also, I found it a little sad that this couple could only work their differences out and come to an understanding only when they're arguing. And sadly, that brought down what was a five-star read, to a four-star read for me.
March 21, 2024
By page three I loved it already. The story is so easy to follow, and I love the characters. It’s a classic hate to love, arranged marriage plot and I lapped up every second of it! It’s definitely on the more adult side, but I loved the chemistry between our main couple. There were a couple things I questioned, which is why it didn’t get the full 5 star from me. But I’m definitely engrossed in the story and can’t wait to continue!
March 9, 2021
Finished reading Volumes 1 to 5 and damn WHY AM I OBSESSED WITH THESE BIMBO COUPLE!!! 😤😤😤
October 22, 2021
Die Geschichte gefällt mir! 👍🏼 Ich bin sehr gespannt, wie es weitergeht. 😊
September 19, 2023
love a little manga read!
this series as a whole was 3/5, slightly problematic but i couldn’t stop reading lol
this itched a nostalgic scratch x
this series as a whole was 3/5, slightly problematic but i couldn’t stop reading lol
this itched a nostalgic scratch x
March 26, 2019
Did I enjoy the series?...... kinda........
Would I recommend it?.....nope.........
I binged all ten volumes within about 2 days so I’m just going to use this as a spoiler free review for all.
As a whole I would give the series a 2⭐️.
The relationship was problematic with emotional abuse and some physical abuse later on that was never addressed.
The main character cry’s every other panel and generally both main characters are unlikeable.
However this is gripping as fuck I I wanted them to end up together and was rooting for them throughout,
The series takes place over 3-4yrs but not a lot of growth happens however you just learn that’s how they show love for each other.
I’ve never heard about so many baths 🛀 😂😂 I think it’s a Japanese thing as in the uk a shower 🚿 is more popular
Would I recommend it?.....nope.........
I binged all ten volumes within about 2 days so I’m just going to use this as a spoiler free review for all.
As a whole I would give the series a 2⭐️.
The relationship was problematic with emotional abuse and some physical abuse later on that was never addressed.
The main character cry’s every other panel and generally both main characters are unlikeable.
However this is gripping as fuck I I wanted them to end up together and was rooting for them throughout,
The series takes place over 3-4yrs but not a lot of growth happens however you just learn that’s how they show love for each other.
I’ve never heard about so many baths 🛀 😂😂 I think it’s a Japanese thing as in the uk a shower 🚿 is more popular
October 5, 2016
Well, this was different, it felt like something between Harlequin novels and comedy Manga, so far good, but the dialogue seems either so short or cut, jumping from scene to scene without a feeling of direction.
In order to help her father from his huge debt Chiwa agreese to an arranged marriage with the CEO of the company she works for, Hokuto at the request of his grandfather. Both of them enter the marriage without a wedding or emotion, but Hokuto wants their marriage to be binding and real unlike Chiwa. But by the end of this volume, both of them start feeling something towards each other.
In order to help her father from his huge debt Chiwa agreese to an arranged marriage with the CEO of the company she works for, Hokuto at the request of his grandfather. Both of them enter the marriage without a wedding or emotion, but Hokuto wants their marriage to be binding and real unlike Chiwa. But by the end of this volume, both of them start feeling something towards each other.
December 6, 2017
Super sweet (and steamy) manga. Gave me warm fuzzy feelings for the characters. The only thing I did not like has a slight trigger warning: and it would have ruined the series for me if it had happened earlier. (As it stands, this would be a five star manga if it had been left out entirely)
February 6, 2016
Private Prince mangasını sevince mangakanın diğer mangalarına bakayım dedim ve içlerinde Hapi Mari'yi görünce başlayım bu mangaya da dedim.Öylelikle başladım. :D
Mangakanın okuduğum ikinci mangası ama erkek karekterlerin lafı dolndırmadan seni seviyorum demesini sevdim.Ya da bu josei türüne ait bir özellik mi bilmiyorum ama benim hoşuma gitti.
Hokuto ve Chiwa'ya bazen kızdığım şeyler olsa da genel olarak severek okuduğum bir manga oldu.
Mangakanın okuduğum ikinci mangası ama erkek karekterlerin lafı dolndırmadan seni seviyorum demesini sevdim.Ya da bu josei türüne ait bir özellik mi bilmiyorum ama benim hoşuma gitti.
Hokuto ve Chiwa'ya bazen kızdığım şeyler olsa da genel olarak severek okuduğum bir manga oldu.
March 4, 2017
Rather a disappointment. I found an English translation online to read after having been enamored by the Japanese live-action drama based on the Manga (I hope that sentence made sense). I was hoping that the Manga, not constrained by the measly episode count of the drama, would offer me an opportunity to see these characters and plotlines fleshed out. But instead, all I got was..... Misogyny. Dassit. Straight up, unabashed, blatant misogyny. Shame.
May 22, 2012
The drama and emotions and writing and all drew me in, but the guy is a major jerk. MAJOR JERK!!! the main character meets a couple other people who seem so much nicer, and i just wish she would PUNCH her so called husband in the face!!!!! punch!punch!punch!punch! not reading any more of this thing!! sukitte ii na yo and hiyokoi and romance novels and WAY BETTER!
February 19, 2014
El dibujo está bien pero la historia es re tonta y al extremo ridícula, lo mismo todas las situaciones en las que se encuentran los personajes. Creo que llegué a una edad en mi vida en la que el personaje masculino todopoderoso que se hace el rudo pero en realidad está enamorado de la protagonista (sin razón aparente porque es una boluda) ya no me parece atractiva u.u
August 7, 2015
While the story is familiar, the art is good, the characters you can tell where they'll go later on in the story. But I still want to give the series a chance. And it does have its moments.
February 17, 2020
/might review/
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