Season aired: Winter 2025
Variety of episodes: 13
Watched on: Netflix
Translated by: Aya Kudo
Genres: Romance, Drama, Supernatural
Ideas: My Completely satisfied Marriage returns with a second season on Netflix, and whereas the sequence sadly suffers snags within the manufacturing that resulted within the final two episodes being delayed, it manages to drag off the story in a succinct method. I used to be excited to return to the romance between Miyo and Kudo, which stays among the best elements of the anime.
Miyo Saimori is an abused woman from a noble household. On this world, all noble households are blessed with supernatural skills, however Miyo appears to indicate none. After being bought off in marriage to the chilly but distinctive Kiyoka Kudo, Miyo uncovers secrets and techniques about her household, herself, and Japan’s political panorama, whereas an surprising romance blooms between her and the person that everybody believed would by no means love one other.
Whereas the primary season is targeted on establishing Miyo and her relationship with Kudo, this season takes an entire dive into the supernatural, centering the primary battle on the components of Miyo’s Dreamsight energy and her capacity to grasp it. Having grown to embrace and really feel assured in her place by Kudo’s facet, Miyo begins the season decidedly extra assured, and it instantly makes her a extra lively participant within the story in comparison with the primary season. This shift within the story was important. Within the first season, the viewers sympathized along with her laborious previous and is ready to simply settle for her passive function in lieu of a extra lively, good-looking knight like Kudo saving her due to that. Now that she’s been saved, nonetheless, it could’ve been detrimental to the general story and character arc for her to not proceed to develop within the second season.
Nonetheless, how the sequence manages to drag off her lively function is debatable. For a lot of the season, I believe it’s profitable. Miyo finds methods to assist Kudo reconnect together with his cussed and judgmental mom, and voices her need to assist individuals along with her powers. She even turns into a hero to her first buddy by stepping out and defending Kaoruko, who continuously faces sexism from her male friends because of being the one woman within the navy. Miyo’s primary weak point, nonetheless, is her lack of expertise and management over her powers, one thing all of the antagonists want to steal from her and use to their very own benefit. This makes her utterly ineffective in bodily battles, and whereas that isn’t essentially an issue from a logical viewpoint, figuring out she primarily has weapons in her again pockets that she doesn’t appear to ever seize will be irritating to look at. This season is much more action-oriented, with sufficient fights that seeing Miyo helpless within the background once more has develop into annoying to look at at occasions.
The actual criticism, nonetheless, is that when Miyo grasps the complete extent of her powers, we solely see her use them to their fullest in a single episode. She takes cost of the plans, steps ahead to make use of her powers, and even efficiently subdues enemies. Nonetheless, the second she is reunited with Kudo, she once more takes a again seat to let her fiancé showcase. Whereas the finale does give her a quick second to shine, most of her finally ends up as her making an attempt to persuade the dangerous man to face down via phrases, which isn’t even the instrumental piece in his downfall. This doesn’t essentially erase all of the proactive steps she took earlier within the sequence, however to have her climactic second be extra speak and fewer stroll leaves a nasty style in my mouth.
The excellent news is that whereas I needed Kudo would typically stand again to let Miyo shine in battle, his struggle sequences are dynamic and well-animated. Kudo may appear overpowered together with his capacity to dish out numerous elemental assaults, however the antagonists he faces are sometimes these he must seize alive for the federal government, which forces him to carry again his full energy. The result’s that his fights are entertainingly choreographed, permitting him to indicate off not simply his supernatural skills but additionally his sword abilities. He dances throughout the display screen, trying to find a chance to knock an opponent out slightly than outright summon a blast of lightning to kill them.
There’s additionally a heavy dose of politics within the second season, one thing solely briefly alluded to within the first. Contemplating the vital function of the Taisho period, which finally made option to the rather more well-known Meiji period, the period of the World Wars, I used to be pleasantly stunned to see precise historic references. One of many characters has the supernatural capacity to briefly look into the long run and mentions that the nation must both avert the catastrophe or be ready for it — little doubt a reference to the eventual World Wars that will come to devastate Japan.
The place the anime in the end shines is the connection between Kudo and Miyo. The primary season did such a wonderful job of creating their chemistry and rising love, that many viewers members, myself included, have been dying for some further romantic moments in a second season full of plot and conflicts. This makes their closing decision within the finale all of the sweeter and extra deserved when the 2 are lastly in a position to reunite and revel in some downtime going out into city, buying, and having fun with the sundown.
The sequence is aware of that its biggest weapon remains to be the romance, and it makes use of the soundtrack to focus on this. Evan Name, famend for his implausible work in Frieren: Past Journey’s Finish, has the distinctive knack of mixing in his sound to suit any sequence. Nonetheless, in My Completely satisfied Marriage, I may hear the similarities between his compositions for this present and his work on Frieren. On the most romantic moments, the violin and melodic riffs emerge, instantly invoking a comfortable, comforting vibe. Not like in circumstances the place I’ve thought soundtrack composers creating related music to be detrimental, I truly discovered it to be a optimistic use on this explicit case. Amongst all of the disturbing, life-threatening conditions surrounding them, Miyo and Kudo can solely actually discover peace round one another. Nothing else invokes that feeling higher than a specific set of notes and devices that Evan Name has mastered.
I’m so completely happy that My Completely satisfied Marriage is continuous. All through seasons one and two, Kudo and Miyo have been by no means technically married. On the conclusion of the second season, the place each Miyo and Kudo discovered what they needed and plan to spend the remainder of their lives devoting themselves to one another, the title of the sequence would possibly lastly come true. Sure, I had my points with how Miyo’s powers have been in the end used on the finish, however I’m not so unforgiving {that a} single mistake would spoil the best way the remainder of the sequence made me really feel. This second season is chock-full of politics, dynamic supernatural fights, and fascinating relationships each romantically and platonically, and for that, I believe it’ll doubtless be remembered as the higher season.
Ranking
Plot: 8 (Multiplier 3)
Characters: 7.5 (Multiplier 3)
Artwork/Animation: 7.5 (Multiplier 2)
Voice appearing: 8
Soundtrack: 8.5
FINAL SCORE: 78
