English Dub Review: My Happy Marriage “Feelings Beyond Dreams/Once Spring Has Come…”

Overview (Spoilers Below):

Feelings Beyond Dreams

In the final battle, Usui overwhelms Kiyoka, trapping him in a terrible nightmare.  Desperate to prevent more bloodshed, Miyo dives into the dream.

Once Spring Has Come…

After the battle, Miyo confides in Arata about her regrets.  Kiyoka makes a big life decision.  Later, Hazuki surprises Miyo with a heartfelt wedding gift.

Our Take:

Netflix picked the worst timing to leave us hanging after what occurred in the show’s eleventh episode last month.  Even worse, its postponement due to production delays lasted longer than it should have.  This resulted in us waiting almost a month to witness the final confrontation between Miyo and Usui despite the episodes already aired on pirating sites and other countries.  Considering the consistency of the show’s weekly release, it’s shocking that only the final episodes are affected by this, especially compared to the other anime released on Netflix.  I’m not an expert on how the process of anime production works.  However, I know that Netflix should wait until the production team gets everything done before it releases its products or, in this case, communicates with its customers.

The streaming service should be lucky that the situation hasn’t gotten worse, especially since the final two episodes of My Happy Marriage were worth the long delay.  Part of that is due to the emotional baggage of Miyo’s attempt to make Usui see the error of his ways in “Feelings Beyond Dreams”.  With Miyo’s Dream Sight ability, she tries to prevent her vision of Usui and Arata’s deaths from coming to fruition but fails.  It showcased that Usui is way beyond the point of no return, resulting in his tragic death by Arata’s hand, revealing the latter’s actual reason for joining the Gifted Communion.  However, Arata’s plan did leave him hospitalized due to a stab wound by Usui.

The final episode presented the aftermath of the battle, but its greatest strength was how it sentimentally concluded several plot points that began in the first season.  After serving in the Anti-Grotesquerie Unit, Kiyoka officially retires from the force to live with Miyo peacefully.  This resulted in Godou taking over as commander due to the latter’s efforts in rescuing the Emperor.  Miyo also chose to live a happy life with Kiyoka by refusing Takaihito’s invitation to use her Dream Sight ability to serve the ministry, which is understandable given the torment Miyo had endured.  Finally, it all concluded with the moment we’ve been waiting for since the beginning of the series: Kiyoka and Miyo celebrating their upcoming happy marriage.

This would likely serve as the plot for the new anime project that’s just been announced after the final episode’s airing.  If that’s the case, then consider me interested in attending.  The final two episodes of the show’s second season successfully wrapped everything up with their balance of sentimentality, supernatural action, and genuine heart.  More importantly, they retain the show’s strengths that elevated the first season, including its beautiful animation, themes, and decent voice cast, including Miranda Parkin (Miyo) and Kaiji Tang (Usui).  While being a small step down from what season one had to offer, the second season further emphasizes My Happy Marriage as one of my true sources of happiness regarding the romance genre.