Amazon’s “Happy Marriage?!” review

In which I applaud the main leads and some of its supporting cast, but lament the remaining cast and some badly enacted scenes...

I stumbled upon Amazon’s Original Happy Marriage when, like most of us these days, I flicked through Amazon, Netflix and other streaming services, trying to find a new series to watch to kill the lockdown time. It was a mixed bag in the first place, but I’m glad I stick to it and watched till the end. At least I can say that I like Dean Fujioka, though I think he’s a better musician than he is an actor (like Lee Jong-hyun a better musician than an actor, but both ikemen are still lovely to watch). But I also found Shirasu Jin, an actor about 22 years old who I think should be cast alongside Okada Masaki soon enough due to his acting talents. Oh, and Seino Nana is a darling actress as well here!

Anyway, “Happy Marriage?!” is a tale about a sales girl who was rescued from her poor living condition because a rich man offered him marriage. Sounds like a Cinderella story? You got that right.



(Btw, I’m a 2015 Cinderella fan, and I think Cinderella has been unfairly criticised for being a passive girl, whereas she actually a hard-worker and a victim of domestic violence. Shirasu Jin’s Yagami Yu plastered a “Cinderella” label on a typical woman who just wanted to marry a rich man, and it makes me uncomfortable btw, cos Cinderella really isn’t like that. Cinderella is a victim of domestic violence and putting her on the spot as a gold digger is blaming the victim.)

The sales girl Chiwa was played charmingly by Seino Nana, while the rich man Hokuto was played also charmingly by Dean Fujioka (though I feel some scenes could be stronger). But unlike the Prince Charming in Cinderella, “Prince” Hokuto here is a jerk. A total jerk who just used Chiwa to gain re-entrance into his greedy Mamiya family because Hokuto’s grandfather used to be in love with Chiwa’s grandmother. The grandfather wanted to give Chiwa a better life, whereas Hokuto wanted to be the president of Mamiya Fibers which his dad Seiji used to hold until the latter was hospitalised. Hokuto wanted to gain this position not to prosper Mamiya Holdings; he did that because he hated his dad who, in his opinion, was responsible for his mother’s early demise 30 years ago.

Chiwa herself had reasons to get married. She was poor (she once just had 250 yen in her bank account!), but mostly due to her father being a gambler and a jobless loser. I think Chiwa had a high school education, but she certainly didn’t have college education. To support herself and her addicted dad, Chiwa took a night work as a hostess in a nightclub. This is where Hokuto first saw her being groped around by a sleazy customer. On the second night that she was being groped around, Hokuto rescued her, but then unceremoniously shoved a stack of yen unto her, telling her to quit.

To Chiwa’s credit, the poor girl didn’t accept Hokuto’s money. She  even actually splashed a glass of water unto his handsome and arrogant face when he thought he could lecture her by shoving her a stack of yen. She told him not to insult her, that she knew being a hostess is far from being an ideal career, yet she had to support her family, so shut the French up.

That got her fired from her nightclub, so Chiwa’s financial situation was even worse. However, again to her credit, when Hokuto appeared the next day with an unelegant marriage proposal (it was like he bargained for a used car or so!), she rejected his proposal. Only a few days later when she almost got sold into prostitution to cover her dad’s debts (honestly, that was a totally useless dad that Chiwa had!) and Hokuto appeared in – もちろん - a nick of time to bail her out, Chiwa accepted Hokuto’s proposal.

(Btw, what’s with Chiwa’s dad being okay with her being sold to prostitution to pay for his debt?! He should be shot dead!)

Thus, Hokuto and Chiwa were married. On paper that is. But for this dysfunctional duo to be a real couple, they had to go through some ordeals, some real, some rather too dramatic... And to be honest, in my first viewing of HM (seen it twice already now – it does grow on me despite its flaws), I honestly wanted Chiwa to dump Hokuto right away.

Cos he was such a sexist jerk.

See, Hokuto ordered her to quit her job, didn’t finish the breakfast she made when she refused to obey him (he told her not to visit his sick dad), didn’t even thank her for the breakfast, disliked it when she visited his own sick dad, and even criticised Chiwa for taking a peek at a Roppongi networking he attended, etc. As Soma said, though he had a western education, deep inside, Hokuto was a traditional Japanese man. In another word, in this case: He. Is. A. Sexist. Jerk!

He didn’t even pay attention to Chiwa’s sprained ankle!

I’d rather Chiwa be with Jin, I mean Yagami! This beautiful boy, happened to be Chiwa’s new colleague at an electronic shop she worked in in Ep 1, swallowed his pain when he realised Chiwa was married. Yet despite the obvious pain he had, Yagami always supported Chiwa. He cooked her delicious meals (some of the first batch was eaten by Chiwa’s dad, but the next one was just for Chiwa during her birthday). He took her to the hospital when she sprained her ankle. He told her how he’d drop everything he does if his injured girlfriend asked him to pick her up (and I believe it, he’d do that). He abandoned his plan of asking and taking Chiwa to his place n diverted her taxi to Otemachi, to Hokuto’s office instead, when he realised she wanted to see Hokuto. Yagami was heartbroken, but he still did the right thing.

Yagami Yu (Shirasu Jin) and Chiwa (Seino Nana) being so sweet together...

He was super, totally sweet. In real life, a person like Chiwa is better off with a person like Yagami. Even a real estate agent and Hokuto’s ex-girlfriend Misaki saw that.

Hokuto (Dean Fujioka) and his ex Shitara Misaki (Shinoda Mariko).
Had Hokuto not grown into a better man, I'd leave them two as a couple...

Consequently, it is indeed pleasing to see Hokuto got jealous when he learned about Soma’s intelligence on Yagami, that Yagami is a thoughtful smart young man, very good with cooking, and that young women fall for those men. Which is so true! The Hokuto in the earlier episodes is not a match to Yagami, no matter how cute and rich the former is!

Also, honestly, Shirasu Jin was a better actor than Fujioka in this series. It’s not that Dean wasn’t good at playing Hokuto; he was really really good at romantic scenes (Soma was again right: Hokuto was super cute when he’s jealous). Also, there were touching scenes, and his bickering scenes with Chiwa were very convincing. Yet, during some scenes that needed more intense emotions (e.g. the first time Hokuto met his dad Seiji again), Hokuto lacked conviction of his angers. His anger was there alright, but I think they should be more brimming with hatred etc. I kept comparing Hokuto’s dad issue with Okada Masaki’s Yamada Haruhiko when Yamada was brimming with resentment even just when hearing his dad being mentioned, and later he exploded when he was accused of using his dad’s position to reach his current position.

Don’t get me wrong, I find Dean Fujioka a very charming person indeed, and I grow to like Hokuto slooowhly, mainly due to his funny jealously, his at times funny bickerings with Chiwa, and - as time goes by - his growing commitment to Chiwa (the first time he said ‘thank you’ to Chiwa after she told him she’d quit her job and support him as a housewife – this was after they made love for the first time – was a heartfelt one). But, I still find Shirasu Jin a better actor, with eyes glistening in emotions whenever Chiwa was concerned. There was a scene where Yagami threw away a deck of cards as Chiwa flew out of his apartment to meet Hokuto (Yagami told her to go to Hokuto, btw), and Yagami’s eyes glistened in sadness and anger – that was a very powerful scene IMO.

(btw, Shirasu Jin played as Kobayashi Kenya in Netflix' "Erased" live action, and I also love his performance there)

Had it not for the fact that this is a drama where Hokuto is indeed growing into a better man, I would totally promote Chiwa and Yagami. In real life, a man like Hokuto isn’t likely to be better just like that. He has too much baggage he needs to sort himself out before he can facilitate the happiness of a woman. A man like Yagami with his sunny disposition and his commitment to support Chiwa right from the start is a much better and healthier choice IRL.

Thus this drama is like My Only Love Song. A mixed bag to me. A sweet couple (in the end), but lots of room for improvement. For instance: the supporting cast. What’s with the supporting cast of this drama?! Not enough money to hire better actors and actresses?


I’m a fan of a good drama with good supporting cast. In fact, I think a good supporting cast is crucial to a drama. Of course the main leads are paramount, but so is supporting cast, story, director, etc. HOWEVER! Some of the supporting cast of this drama leaves so much to beg for.

Take Cousin Mamiya Takayuki for instance. No weight at all in his evil scenes; he actually made me laugh due to his incompetent acting! (and what was with his way of fixing his glasses?) The rest of the Mamiya women, except for Takayuki’s wife who indeed looked like a sincere woman IMO, were also played terribly. And don’t ask me about Midori, Chiwa’s female boss in her electronic shop. Never saw a more terrible actress. At least she shared Takayuki’s knack for dramatically fixing her glasses, which I find so… distasteful.

Well okay, there are some good supporting cast. Seiji (Hokuto’s dad) and Hokuto’s grandfather were well-played. Secretary Soma Takeo was... funny, although she was often, if not all time, over the top with her “elegance”. I even grew to like her in the end with her motherly chemistry with Hokuto and her unreserved support to Chiwa. The brief appearance of Okudera (Yagami’s senpai, played by Enoku Shigemi who was one of the cast in Hana Kimi 2007 - Okada Masaki was there too!) was also refreshing. Okudera’s surprise to learn that Chiwa was actually a married woman was all natural and I felt like watching a good Japanese drama instead of a collage of mediocre acting (which sadly was the vibe given by most of supporting cast).

Ikuta Kana as the female taxi driver in Ep 7 deserves a special mention. I find her interesting, with concerned and sincere eyes. Then i saw her name in the end credit and googled her. She is apparently part time model and part time (indeed) taxi driver!!! I think it’s very smart for this drama to use her in a taxi scene.

But in general, this drama lacks good foundation for a good drama. It’s fun, the friendship between Chiwa and Yagami was touching, the romance between Chiwa and Hokuto was finally paid off as they look more and more as a couple towards the end. However, there are cringeworthy scenes and actors/actresses that I couldn’t just ignore. Take the final confrontation for instance (which is my second most lamented aspect of this drama aside from the ineptitude of the majority of the supporting cast). When the series finally revealed the real killer of Hokuto's mother, it felt like a letdown, mostly due to how the actor handled the kokuhaku and how the script was written. It was such a waste, that final confrontation.

The best actors to me is still Shirasu Jin and Seino Nana (Chiwa), followed by Yamazaki Ginnojo (Mamiya Seiji) and Dean (Dean got better as the series progresses). Dean did a good job in developing Hokuto’s character. Dean progressed Hokuto as quite a sweet character, actually, when Hokuto improved his manners to Chiwa. When Hokuto thanked Chiwa for the first time in their relationship, I was surprised. That arrogant boy knew how to sincerely thank people!

But yes, Hokuto is a classic brooding guy who had a ton of baggage from his past, thus his brooding. Guess that was his main attraction to Chiwa (not the money, the high school graduate turned down his stacks of yen point blank when he first offered it to her, arrogantly that is). But one girl can only take brooding that much, and if Hokuto didn’t make an effort to be a better person, I honestly am not approving this couple.

When they finally truly understand each other,
Hokuto and Chiwa do make a lovely couple...

But Hokuto did grow to be a better person. Whether he realised it or not, he strived to be a better man for Chiwa. And I have to be honest, as Hokuto grows into a better man throughout the series, he and Chiwa look more like a couple than an odd dysfunctional contract couple. Indeed, in the first episodes, Chiwa looked much better with Yagami-kun, mostly because Yagami was so supportive of Chiwa and they did look so kawaii together. But as Hokuto’s and Chiwa’s bond deepens, they look more like a true married couple. In the last episodes, they truly are a believable couple and their final wedding photo show a loving couple suitable for each other.

It doesn’t hurt that the wedding dress Chiwa wore in the last scene was the dress she coveted in Ep 2, when Hokuto stepped on her foot to prevent her from spilling the beans that they were married.

But this drama could’ve done better by a better delivery of some important scenes (chiefly the last confrontation scene) and also by deploying more skilful supporting actors and actresses to play Takayuki, most Mamiya women and Midori. I mean, seriously, the performances of the actresses who played Mamiya Saori, Reiko (the matriarch) and another of Hokuto’s aunt were terrible! If I compare it with Okada Masaki’s "Holy Monsters" 2012 which also  involved a rich family... well, it cannot be compared. Holy Monsters’ wrecked rich family was played by an ensemble of good cast, really good cast. It’s a shamble to compare that family cast with the majority of the Mamiya cast.

IMDB gives this drama 7.3/10 and I give it 7/10. I love the chemistries between Chiwa and Yagami and Chiwa and Hokuto (particularly when Hokuto became a better person). Some supporting cast were very supportive of the series as well. However, other supporting cast shouldn’t have been there cos they really hurt the series instead of elevating it, and the confrontational scenes should've been better executed.