Lewski

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.