Funnily enough I thought of that while watching Kuroko no Basket after someone said it during the intense battle between Kagami and Aomine. Such a good match.
This is the second time I've read the manga, and I can say that there are quite a few things I forgot and remember. Hapi Mari introduces us to Takanashi Chiwa, a 22-year-old University drop out (yup not high school for once!) who quickly becomes Mamiya Chiwa within a few pages into the manga. That is, because she meets Mamiya Hokuto, the President of Mamiya Enterprises who "wishes" to marry her. By that I mean, and this made me think of 50 Shades of Grey which I have not and never will watch (I watched Everything wrong with 50 Shades of Grey by CinemaSins), they enter into a contract as husband and wife because his grandfather wanted him to marry the granddaughter of the love of his life. Yes you heard right; it's an arranged marriage guys, with added drama and twists than you'd find in a standard marriage.
And that's not all, as Chiwa'a father is in major debt meaning she has to work in order to pay bills etc., and by marrying Hokuto, Chiwa is able to get them paid off. All isn't lost then I guess.
So, it's not your standard marriage given that it's a manga and all. Chiwa is the insecure type given her history with men (you find out as you read through the story), and marrying the President of a company doesn't exactly help her one bit. Hokuto's lifestyle is the total opposite of Chiwa's; everyone knows him, he's a chick magnet, he has expensive tastes, and he gets his way with everything. Clearly Chiwa isn't used to this and that's where the drama comes in. It makes good progress given that this was a sudden marriage and both of them need to learn to adapt as newlyweds which can be funny since neither of them know how to deal with the other (lovers' spats galore), but after reading it again at times I wish Chiwa could man up a bit. Not trying to spoil anything but their relationship does become better and Hokuto can be really sweet at times, but once all the (18+) lovey dovey moments are over, something happens and then Chiwa becomes insecure and doubtful and has a major argument with Hokuto before anyone is able to resolve things. Just goes to show that marriages do have their ups and downs, but come on Chiwa you should be developing into a less doubtful woman as things progress.
Also, reading it again made me realise it's shorter than I remember, which isn't a bad thing considering a major twist in the story near the end of the manga. It happens about 4 or 5 chapters before the end, and seeing that will make you think the remaining events are rushed, but they're not. Yes they happen at a slightly faster pace than expected, but it works well with everything that happened earlier. Definitely worth the read again.
It was nice to read Hapi Mari a second time around. Makes for a good story with good characters who work well with the sudden arranged marriage theme but some need a few tweaks in their development. Hokuto turns out to be sweeter than I remembered him, and there were more 18+ scenes than I also remembered. So for the younger and more innocent readers out there, watch out for the mature scenes if you want to read this manga. I recommend reading the manga, but be aware that it's not for young kids!
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