Kadokawa’s official YouTube channel released the second episode of the behind-the-scenes documentary series of My Happy Marriage anime. The second episode of the documentary series covers the process behind the anime’s art and effects. It introduces different sections involved in the creation of the final scenes of the anime’s first episode: color design, background art, and photography.
The video starts off with a description of the anime’s color design. Color designer Anna Okamatsu explains how in order to illustrate a brighter future for Miyo after she arrives at the Kudou residence, she adjusted the overall color intensity and saturation of the scenes at both households. Therefore creating a color contrast between the Saimori and Kudou Residences would express a shift in the emotions of the characters through color.
Background art director Emi Katanosaka talks about some early ideas for the background art style. She was tasked with finding a good balance between the realistic and pictorial features of the settings, so the characters felt like they truly existed in the space.
Meanwhile, background art supervisor Osamu Masuyama describes the responsibilities that come with supervising the overall layout and use of lighting effects in every scene.
When creating the “look” or “lookbook,” which refers to the series’ atmosphere including color tones, grains, lighting, and other factors in the frame, he recalls being asked to include an overall retro feel. He aimed to achieve this by adding a light sepia tone during the rendering stages and choosing a softer color scheme with impressionistic touches that would fit the image of the original light novel.
When it comes to enhancing the overall scene, photography director Tsunetaka Ema shares that adding a fade effect over the black outlines of the characters to match the world and atmosphere of the anime. He focused on adjusting the density of Kiyoka’s reflection within Miyo’s eye, to achieve a more realistic outcome although the transition is animated in 2D.
My Happy Marriage is animated by studio Kinema Citrus with Takehiro Kubota as director. Ami Sato is writing the scripts, Shoko Yasuda is designing the characters and Evan Call is composing the music. The anime is based on the Japanese light novel series written by Akumi Agitogi and illustrated by Tsukiho Tsukioka, published by KADOKAWA in Japan. The English version of the light novel is published by Yen Press and the English manga by Square Enix Manga & Books. The synopsis of the series is as follows:
Despite being born into a noble family, Miyo lost her birth mother at a young age and grew up being abused by her stepmother and stepsister. When she finally receives news that she’s to be married off, she finds out that her husband-to-be is Kiyoka, a soldier with a reputation for being cruel and ruthless. In fact, he’s had numerous previous fiancés who have all fled his household; none lasting even a mere three days. Resigned to the fact that her family has abandoned her, Miyo knocks on the gate of the Kudo household to find herself greeted by a beautiful man with pale skin. Despite the poor treatment she receives from her husband-to-be during their first meeting, Miyo is unable to return to her old home and spends her time cooking and doing chores. However, as the days pass, Miyo and Kiyoka begin to slowly open their hearts to each other…
Source: Press Release, YouTube
©2023 Akumi Agitogi, Tsukiho Tsukioka/KADOKAWA/My Happy Marriage Partners