Miyo is kidnapped, and she is once again facing the physical and emotional cruelty from her stepmother and half-sister. Miyo knows that if she agrees to dump Kiyoka, they will let her go.
But Miyo also knows that for the first time, she doesn’t want to give in to their demands.
This third volume of the manga adaptation of My Happy Marriage covers the end of the first light novel, and it wastes no time into diving into volume 2’s story. For me, that is the one weakness of this book.
Now, the fact there’s little downtime means My Happy Marriage volume 3 isn’t short or packed with side stories or bonuses to inflate its pagecount. And readers who might be satisfied with Miyo and Kiyoka reaffirming their relationship get to see the story naturally continue without feeling like the next arc is just being tacked on. However, I would have liked the proverbial curtain to draw to a close and then slowly reopen. Seeing Miyo finally express her desire in front of her abusers, and seeing Kiyoka so emotional upon their reunion and his rage at her so-called family…it’s just all so touching. The art, the story, all of it is just so beautiful to see.
But while the two get officially engaged (and the villains get their just desserts), Miyo’s newfound happiness is almost immediately threatened. Previous volumes have shown her plagued by nightmares, so that being explored more is to be expected. And there are certainly a lot of questions surrounding her mother’s heritage and why she was forced to marry Miyo’s father. (Or rather, “father” since he doesn’t deserve that title, as Kiyoka learns from the man himself.)
But between Miyo’s new training as a noblewoman, her uncomfortableness with the feeling of “family”, Kiyoka hearing about graverobbers, and meeting new characters like the prince…it’s all a little much. Readers want to see Miyo (and Kiyoka, but to a lesser extent) happy, and it feels like she doesn’t get much well-deserved peace. True, with Miyo’s self-esteem issues, it isn’t surprising that an abuse victim would continue to be on-edge, but that fear would come across stronger if Miyo had once again established her new life with Kiyoka. But more importantly, I think the beauty of seeing them together, and even Miyo’s emotional growth that allowed her to finally defy her abusers, gets lost a bit with a whole half-volume’s worth of new developments.
Otherwise, if you insert a pause halfway through volume 3 before charging on, My Happy Marriage proves to be a wonderful read due to the story and the art. Miyo still has a lot of unresolved issues, the supernatural aspects are being delved into deeper, and Kohsaka’s art continues to shine. Just wish we had a little more of it before continuing the plot.