"The most classic of classics is the one you want to watch!"—those words fit My Happy Marriage perfectly. Going way back to titles like Candy Candy, a staple of shojo manga has always been a heroine who is treated unfairly yet lives without losing her kindness and brightness. It would be a waste to dismiss that as "oh, that's so old-fashioned." After all, good things stay good no matter how many years pass. My Happy Marriage is a Cinderella story that makes skillful use of that very setup, and the way the protagonists Miyo and Kiyoka, who love each other yet must overcome various obstacles, is hugely popular. The protagonist who makes you want to root for her is easy to like, and the way she grows through various trials while the bond between the two leads deepens little by little but surely is, I'd say, an absolute treat for anyone who loves shojo-manga-style developments. With this being the anime's second season, there were also plenty of new types of soundtrack cues that weren't in season one.
A soundtrack that evokes a certain nostalgia
For people who engage with music frequently, of course, but even for people who don't actively listen to music in daily life, music is playing everywhere, and there's hardly a day that goes by without hearing a song someone composed. Music has the power to stir emotions, so listening gives rise to all kinds of feelings. To put it simply, the human brain is built so that the bright sound of a major chord conveys joy and the somewhat melancholy sound of a minor chord conveys sadness, music can appeal directly to the parts of the brain that govern emotion and memory.
The My Happy Marriage soundtrack has the flavor of the "East-meets-West" blend that swept into fashion in an instant during the Taisho era, the work's historical setting.
Scenery that's neither fully Japanese nor fully Western has become an ordinary sight for people living today, and because it's been that way since we were born, I find it a deeply nostalgic soundtrack.
Not every track uses the so-called yonanuki scale (a five-note scale with the fourth and seventh degrees removed, said to have been especially popular in the Meiji era), but the source of the nostalgia you feel when hearing the tracks built on this distinctly Japanese-sounding yonanuki scale is apparently dopamine flowing in the brain. It's a curious thing to feel nostalgia through that brain mechanism even when you're not recalling something you actually experienced or a place you've seen or heard about.
It makes you want to experience the Taisho era
Most people watching the anime were probably born in the Showa era, so I doubt they've actually experienced the Taisho era. Even someone born in Taisho would likely have few memories of it, since the era itself was so short. You often hear it was a glamorous time, and while I know full well there's no way to actually go there, I still find myself wanting to. My Happy Marriage satisfies that longing. The Japanese and Western elements haven't quite blended yet, even the design feels like it's still being figured out, and that's exactly what makes the Taisho atmosphere so endearing and lovable. Why not enjoy that sense of the era together with this lovely soundtrack?
Quoted from the official site https://x.com/watashino_info
