Oni no Hanayome

A classic Cinderella story with a twist…

Watched opening weekend in cinemas. (Late to writing this review, but I have had time to think about it.)

I really, really enjoyed this movie a lot more than I expected, and it was not quite what I expected either. It is quite a cliché, many-times-told story at its core. However, the setting, costume design, and to some extent, worldbuilding (yes, worldbuilding) were real highlights.

The characters, while predictable, were not all entirely archetypal, albeit the female lead certainly was. The cast did well with their characters and are in themselves a highlight of the film. The most interesting characters in this story however, would be some of the side characters, not only with their contributions to worldbuilding but with their nuance, in which most of the major characters are somewhat lacking.

The setting is perhaps the most conceptually interesting part of the film, in that it is not two separate worlds in the way much Japanese media portrays, but an integrated world with yokai and humans.

If you want rich characters with deep stories of personal development, I might not recommend this film. However, if you wish to watch it for the cast or on its merit as an entry to the romance genre, I absolutely recommend it! What I’d argue keeps my rating so high in spite of the predictability and lack of thought-provoking characters, would be that this tells the exact story it wants to tell, and it does so with stunning visuals and solid performances. The accompanying soundtrack is also well-matched to the film.

As a closing remark, I would say what amazes me the most about this film is that I found it seriously immersive, and I can still recall the way I felt and reacted watching it. I found myself deeply invested in spite of the cliché, and that doesn’t happen often for me.

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Supernatural Cinderella theme of loneliness. Cliche but good

Okay after writing this I see that it became a bit long. ups. Its still good though
As I mentioned in my recommendation as well, The Ogre’s Bride is, on the surface, a fairly familiar supernatural romance: the vibe is similar to multiple shows that I've seen over the years, one such being Hanaoni. Its the basic structure of an ordinary human girl becomes the bride of a powerful oni.
This story however seems more like the story about loneliness, belonging, and the desire to finally be someone’s first choice. So in a way it's actually really refreshing. I enjoyed the film. It was good and made me think a lot about how I also view things like being someone's choice that I hadn't thought about before in the same ways.

So characters and the theme of loneliness:
Yuzu who has spent much of her life being compared to her sister, Karin. And the sister Karin is admired and valued by their family, while Yuzu is treated as though she is somehow less important. I know that it's a thematic approach to make the Yuzu's loneliness stand out more but it actually was quite sad to see how much the family functioned in that regard. That dynamic gives Yuzu's relationship with Reiya much more emotional weight than it might otherwise have, if they hadn't decided on that. When Reiya then chooses Yuzu as his bride, which we can see is very special because when they have one its the one forever basically,it isn't simply a handsome supernatural man falling in love with an ordinary girl. For Yuzu, it is the first time someone looks at her and says, essentially, you are the one I want. The theme of feeling wanted hit close to home for me specifically. Which might make this review feel a bit biased but the film was genuinely cathartic to watch.
When it comes to Reiya he seems very cold and distant but he has just yet to find the right one, everyone looks up to him as being the all powerful man who can do everything. So when Yuzu actually sees him and not just the heir to the clan it really creates a nice emotional symmetruy between the two characters. Yuzu thinks she isn't special because nobody around her has treated her as though she is. Reiya is someone whom everyone considers special because of his status and power, yet he is emotionally isolated in a different way. Their relationship allows both characters to be understood even though the film only lasts for the 2 hours that it does. Its quite nice.

So Plot:
The story is very very Cinderella coded in a lot of the aspects of the story is deliberately wish-fulfilling. Which can work well in some stories, it's cliche but it works. Yuzu goes from being the overlooked daughter to becoming the bride of Reiya, heir to one of the most powerful oni clans. She basically goes from broke overlooked and worthless (in some of the eyes) to rich and in one of the most powerful families, in what feels like overnight. This, plot is cliche but it works due to the supernatural twist that is lets make it Oni coded and that they coexist with humans. I quite like that after the fact that I've watched a bunch over the years where its two separate worlds that don't know each other, its refreshing to see new themes where they coexist like this.

Ultimately, the appeal of the film for meisn't really the fact that Yuzu marries an ogre or that it's a supernatural romance. It's the emotional fantasy underneath, a girl who has spent her life believing that she isn't good enough discovers that, to someone else, she is exactly the person they have been looking for. That makes the story extremely heartfelt beneath all of its supernatural romance and melodrama. It may not always be subtle, and the adaptation sometimes rushes the emotional development, but when The Ogre’s Bride focuses on Yuzu's loneliness and her growing realization that she is genuinely valued, that's when the story is at its best.

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I went into this completely blind. When I first came across the anime I was excided to watch it but life got in the way , so when I got the chance to watch the live action I didn't hesitate. It was a good watch overall , wish there was a bit more though. For example, the jumping part. They kind of glossed over it. And some other parts that felt incomplete. Some character depth on Sakurako would have been nice. I mean you don't just accept that you've been replaced that easily. And i don't know why but I didn't like the hair of anyone. But the costume and cinematics were nice. Overall a good watch but its something we already saw.

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Two Hours for a Story This Simple?

The story takes place in a world where humans coexist with spiritual beings with supernatural powers. I don't really understand that part, because if these guys are so fucking powerful, I don't know why they even need to get along with humans.
To maintain peace, these demons choose human women as their brides. So... some kind of sacrifice? They make the women believe it's a great honor, but I'd have my doubts about that.
Then, in one family, some guy with supernatural powers chooses the younger sister as his bride, and from that moment on they treat the older daughter like Cinderella. Until one day the top dog of all demons shows up and chooses her as his bride.
The younger sister gets pissed off and decides to screw her over. Her boyfriend is also pretty powerful, but because his woman tells him to go after the older sister, he does it. What an idiot.
And basically, that's the movie. After two hours of jealousy, schemes, kidnappings, endless staring, and the most powerful demon around solving everyone's problems, the protagonists live happily ever after.

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