Hapimari: Happy Marriage!?

Seff-made, estranged grandson returns to privileged, obnoxious family dynasty but must meet certain conditions, including a marriage of convenience with a working class girl. The chemistry between the leads is delightful as it unfolds, and the ancillary characters are good too. The only secondary character I wish there was peripheral development is the delightful executive secretary. The series is only 12 episodes so the story has to be pretty tight. There are cliches as usual like the woman sacrificing to the husband, or husband is stoic and pathetic rather than just having a breakthrough cry. Maybe I have a western bias, but it just seems if one wants to show an emotional transformation, nothing works better than a good, safe cry in the arms of his beloved. Highly recommended.

I was somehow disappointed by Hapimari: Happy Marriage!? . I was expecting a rather more original story than this one. However, the drama has many, many, many chliches that were just unrealistic. And it is a shame, because the story had potential. At least the couple had strong chemistry and I enjoyed them. But the whole family secrets, which were confusing eventually, were just idiotic, especially the constant attacks against the main character's life. So, the romance was good, but the rest of the story was not. Finally, the performances were nice.

I starting watching the show because it is based on the manga with the same name and thought it will be very much alike, but it is awful, there is nothing to do with it. All the construction of the relationship is weird and doesn't remind anything about the original manga. I' ve stopped watching, tried to watch again knowing its not great but I just couldn't.

I've seen this cute show three times! Fun romance with believable characters and acting. Chiwa is especially likeable! I was hooked on this show and binge watched it the first time! Finally, a decent show with the quirks and mistakes that come with first time romance! Be prepared to laugh, cry, sigh, and just enjoy yourself!