My Happy Marriage – Season 1 Episode 8 Recap & Review

Nightmares and Omnious Shadows

Episode 8 of My Happy Marriage begins with Kiyoka discussing the Grave’s history. He says this is a place where those who had supernatural abilities are buried. It’s also a location where spirits who turned into Grotesqueries because of negative sentiments are sealed off permanently. He says if the rumors about someone opening the Grave are true and the Grotesuqeuries awakened from it, it can lead to the imperial city suffering gravely. General Okaito questions who could’ve broken the seal and what was their purpose.

Okaito and Kiyoka bump into Kazushi, and the trio visit the Highness Takaihito to discuss matters. Kazushi introduces himself to Takaihito as the new head of the Tatsuishi family. He thanks Takaihito for granting him an audience today and apologizes for his father’s actions. Kazushi says the Kudo family will assist him in restoring his family’s honor and trust. Takaihito forgives Kazushi’s family on his father’s behalf and asks Kazushi to live up to his words.

Takaihito shares his revelation with Okaito, Kazushi, and Kiyoka and promises to let them know if he sees anything else. Takihito brings up Miyo and says things will get difficult for him soon. However, he has no doubt they’ll be fine. Meanwhile, Hazuki helps Miyo with her “proper lady” training, from helping her smile to walking in a dress.

At the same time, Kiyoka ponders what Takaihito knows about his and Miyo’s fate. He looks at a pamphlet and recalls the words the gentlemen told him about Miyo’s mother and the Usuba family. He shares what he knows of the Usuba family’s abilities and wonders if Miyo’s nightmares are linked to someone in said family.

Kiyoka leaves the Special Anti-Grotesquerie Unit HQ early. We cut to Hazuki explaining Miyo’s next steps in her training to her. She asks Miyo if she can drop the “Miss” when addressing her because she wants Miyo to feel safe when relying on her and because they’ll become family soon.

Hazuki leaves. Miyo ponders what it means to be “family.” Meanwhile, Kiyoka speaks with the investigator and asks him if he found anything on the Usuba family. The investigator reports he only found rumors in circulation that mention them. He says Sumi Usuba is the only Usuba they know of. Kiyoka asks the investigator to find information about Sumi and report it to him when he does.

After undergoing more sessions with Hazuki’s aid, Hazuki asks Miyo about Kiyoka and why he’s arriving home late recently. Miyo tells Hazuki he’s been busy at work, and she wants to put in a similar effort with her “proper lady” training. An envoy from the Ministry of the Imperial Household arrives at the Special Anti-Grotesquerie Unit HQ. The envoy introduces himself as Arata Tsuruki to Kiyoka.

Arata says the Ministry’s racing to retrieve the Grotesqueries since the Grave’s been opened. He says the Ministry doesn’t know who is behind it, but he states they found many suspicious men collapsed near the crime scene. Kiyoka asks him why the Ministry is sharing this intel with him. Arata claims 20% of the Grotesqueries have been retrieved, and he believes they’re short-staffed to handle this situation. Arata explains his negotiator position with Kiyoka and admits he researched him prior to their meeting. Kiyoka says he’d be happy to aid the Ministry with their needs. Arata says he’ll serve as Kiyoka’s point of contact for further operations.

Kiyoka, Yoshito, and the others visit the Grave. They retrieve some of the men at the site. Kazuki and Okaito discuss matters involving one of the men they retrieved while the man was asleep. Okaito’s convinced he’s one of the men who was involved in the unsealing. Okaito says the other men they retrieved from the site are out cold and don’t know if they’ll wake up. They inspect all the men who got hit with a curse after coming into contact with a Grotesquerie. Kazushi explains he’s only great at lifting curses from living beings and not dead ones. Okaito asks Kazushi to do his best.

Kiyoka hears something in the forest while Kazushi attempts to remove the gentleman’s curse. Kazushi’s taken aback by the curse’s strength and says it’s overwhelming. Kiyoka and his men encounter some Grotesqueries while Miyo has a nightmare about being surrounded by these Grotesqueries. Miyo awakens from the nightmare as Kiyoka battles the Grotesqueries. We cut to Arata and possibly the Ministry Head discussing the awakening happening soon and how Arata is its sworn protector.

After Kiyoka and his men survive their exchange with the Grotesqueries, we cut to Miyo, Yurie, and Hazuki traveling through town in the morning. Hazuki notices Miyo’s pale and suggests they return home. Miyo collapses, but before she falls to the ground, she believes Kiyoka saves her.

The episode closes with Miyo’s savior Arata as he introduces himself to Miyo.

The Episode Review

Based on the amount of detail this episode shared, viewers will know we’re heading for some intense scenarios ahead. From the matters involving the Grave, Arata’s discussion about the awakening, and Takihito’s revelation, there’s a lot to unpack here. At the same time, we receive more snippets of Miyo’s training with Hazuki.

These scenes provided fans with wholesome content and some breathing room from the episode’s dialogue-centric scenarios involving the circumstances mentioned above. At the same time, it’s nice seeing Kazushi be a supportive asset to Kiyoka and the Anti-Special Grotesquerie Unit HQ. It’s a nice change of pace considering what we sat through in past episodes regarding Mr. Tatsuishi’s actions. 

On the other hand, Arata isn’t someone worth trusting. Based on the cliffhanger we received in a prior episode, we can expect him to take over Mr. Tatsuishi’s role as its new antagonist. It’ll be interesting to see if Kiyoka will catch on to his potential malicious intent as we reach the anime’s conclusion.

While this episode was tough to digest and follow at times, it sets us up for more spooky and worrisome endeavors ahead. I’m looking forward to seeing what happens next with our characters and their current predicaments.