Hapimari: Happy Marriage!? (JDrama) * * * * *

After I saw this series, I started to read the manga, because I fell in love with the characters so much, I wasn’t ready to let them go. Therefore, I will make some references to the manga as well, though I haven’t read it all yet.

Hapimari is about a lot of things. Fathers, marriage, love, happiness. It starts out with a strange event. A man proposes marriage to a woman he doesn’t even know. Interestingly, in the manga he’s actually her boss, which complicates things further. However, in the drama he’s not. I think they took that part out as it was a bit disturbing, almost bordering on a kind of harassment. It was also a conflict not closely related to the main story, which in the manga takes places over several more years than in the drama.

So getting back to the story, a woman accepting a proposal by a strange, but wealthy man seems equally improbable. However, just as the man has a good reason for the propositions, so does the woman for accepting it. That doesn’t mean they both don’t have their doubts, but once they start playing with open cards, all falls into place. In a way, such a marriage is even cleaner than the usual ones. There is no promise of eternal love, though there is one of fidelity. They both step into it with open eyes and clear intentions. In a way, this drama would be dull, if not for the chemistry between them, and also the sexual appeal that I felt coming from Hokuto.

Hokuto (Dean Fujioka) is the wealthy man. He is not an ordinary guy. He’s very intelligent, though a bit cold, but that actually makes him kind of sexy. He’s very driven, but also lonely. His childhood was plagued by tragedy, and he grew up in a household where he didn’t trust anyone. The reason for this is the murder mystery that is also a plot line in the drama. However, Chiwa, his new wife relieves his loneliness like no one else before her. Probably the main reason is that he feels he can trust her.

Chiwa (Seino Nana) is also an interesting character. She’s the caretaker type of person. She even looks after her dad, whom I would have left to his own devices long ago. She is also very smart, though she hasn’t had many opportunities in life. Choosing to marry a stranger is not easy for her, but she wants to do her best in everything. I’m actually of a similar philosophy, as I think that if you do something, you should give it your all.

This drama is a lovely journey into love and trust. I recommend it a lot. The manga is good as well, though that is actually rather adult, while the drama is toned down for TV. However, why you really need to watch this is at the beginning of episode 9. It wasn’t explosive, nor passionate, but makes every woman clutch a pillow in a hug.