Summary
Warning: The following contains spoilers forMy Happy MarriageEpisode 7, “Modern Lady of Summer Flowers”, now streaming onNetflix.
After the fiery explosions in episode 6, we shift through the rubbles in episode 7, literally and figuratively. Here we see that Miyu and the rest of the Saimorifinally get the ending that they deserve. The house and the people that have been the source of Miyu’s pain and suffering for so long are finally gone.
She has to go through literal torture to get past her traumatic experience, but now that everything is finally resolved,Miyu and her future husband, Kiyoka Kudou, can finally begin their new journey with a smile on their face. However, now that we get the chance to examine the last seven episodes as a whole, the origin story of Miyu Saimori seems oddly similar to the story of Cinderella.
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A Cinderella Story
Not many people talk about this, but a large part of the story told in the last seven episodes contains the DNA of a fairytale that is known by everybody around the world. The story of the tragic princess with high heels made of glass, Cinderella.
An innocent girl who lost her mother and has to bear the pain of living with anevil step-mother and step-sisterwhile her father is either oblivious of her suffering or actually contributes to her suffering. She lives like a servant while the rest of her family lives like relatively-wealthy nobles. But then, she meets a kind man who holds a high position in the region who appreciates her gentle and beautiful heart. She finally finds true love. There are lots of obstacles along the way, but the girl finally gets to live happily together with her prince charming. So as you can see, Miyu Saimori is the feudal Japan’s Cinderella.
By the way, this is not a criticism ofMy Happy Marriage. On the contrary, this is a praise on its ability to adapt a familiar story and blend it together with the settings, the customs, andthe values of feudal Japanwhile still presenting elements of fantasy in the story in order to create something new and interesting. That’s right, this series manages to make Cinderella feel unique and refreshing.
More Than Just A Cinderella Story
Cinderella was conceived as a fairy tale for children, at least that is the case for its most popular version, Disney’s Cinderella. As such, it abides by the storytelling rules that are commonly used in stories for younger audiences, such asfast-paced story, easy to understand concept, funny and lighthearted moments, and lots of other things that fit this style of storytelling.
In this regard,My Happy Marriageis the complete opposite of Disney’s Cinderella. This series has a much slower pacing than Cinderella, but it still manages to somehow capture the viewer’s attention from start to finish. Not only that, despite its fantastical elements, the story still manages to be grounded heavily on reality.
Because alongside the telekinesis and thepyrokinetics,My Happy Marriagealso displays mundane things such as Miyu preparing to cook rice, how she sew her clothes quietly in her room, or how Miyu wants to express her gratitude towards Kiyoka but doesn’t have enough money to buy a gift, so she decided to craft a custom-made one instead. All of these things contribute greatly to this series' sense of reality and believability.
And then there’s Miyu’s introspective thoughts that allow us to see the world through her eyes. How she keeps blaming herself forher continuous misfortunes, how she always expects the worst possible outcome for herself, or how she has a hard time adapting to a new environment.
Those are the kinds of things that make the story ofMy Happy Marriagefeel so much more mature than Cinderella. So while it’s true that Miyu and Cinderella share a similar origin story, the way they live their lives and how the story is told are the reasons whyMy Happy Marriageis much more than just a simple retelling of Cinderella.
The End of Cinderella Story
As mentioned earlier, episode 7 marks the end of Miyu andMy Happy Marriage’sCinderella story. As Miyu shuffled through the rubbles ofthe place where she grew upand said goodbyes to the terrible experiences that she had in that place, she finally earned the long awaited closure.
As Miyu moved on from this chapter of her life, so doesthe story ofMy Happy Marriagemove on from the Cinderella story and enter a new story arc. And from what we’ve seen at the end of episode 7, it seems like what’s coming next will be a lot more intense than the first part of the series. It goes without saying that we’ll keep followingMy Happy Marriagetill the end, so hopefully the next phase of this series will be as good as Miyu’s Cinderella story.
