is a Japanese

adult An adult is an animal that has reached full growth. The biological definition of the word means an animal reaching sexual maturity and thus capable of reproduction. In the human context, the term ''adult'' has meanings associated with social an ...

visual novel A visual novel (VN) is a form of digital interactive fiction. Visual novels are often associated with the medium of video games, but are not always labeled as such themselves. They combine a textual narrative with static or animated illustratio ...

developed by

Windmill A windmill is a machine operated by the force of wind acting on vanes or sails to mill grain (gristmills), pump water, generate electricity, or drive other machinery. Windmills were used throughout the high medieval and early modern period ...

released on October 21, 2005 for

Windows Windows is a Product lining, product line of Proprietary software, proprietary graphical user interface, graphical operating systems developed and marketed by Microsoft. It is grouped into families and subfamilies that cater to particular sec ...

PCs. The game was later

ported In software engineering, porting is the process of adapting software for the purpose of achieving some form of execution in a computing environment that is different from the one that a given program (meant for such execution) was originally desig ...

to the

PlayStation 2 The PlayStation 2 (PS2) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Sony Interactive Entertainment, Sony Computer Entertainment. It was first released in Japan on 4 March 2000, in North America on 26 October, in Europe on 24 Novembe ...

. An adult

fan disc A fan disc (sometimes called fandisk or simply abbreviated as FD) is a package of additional content, usually released by a game company after the successful launch of one of its titles. The contents of fan discs varies, but often includes new im ...

titled ''Happiness! Re:Lucks'' was developed by Windmill's sister brand Windmill Oasis and released on July 28, 2006 for Windows. A

manga are comics or graphic novels originating from Japan. Most manga conform to a style developed in Japan in the late 19th century, and the form has a long history in earlier Japanese art. The term is used in Japan to refer to both comics ...

illustrated by

Rino Fujii is a Japanese manga illustrator from Aichi Prefecture. He has mainly participated in manga anthologies based from bishōjo games. As of June 2007, he has been illustrating the third ''Clannad Clannad () were an Irish band formed in 1970 in ...

was serialized in

Media Factory , formerly known as , was a Japanese publisher and brand company of Kadokawa Future Publishing. History The company was founded on December 1, 1986, and was a subsidiary of Recruit (Japanese company), Recruit Co., Ltd., based in Shibuya, Tokyo. ...

's ''

Monthly Comic Alive is a Japanese seinen manga magazine published by Media Factory. The first issue was released on June 27, 2006. Serialized titles *'' Absolute Duo'' *'' Alice or Alice'' (until 2015, part of the supplement magazine '' Comic Cune'') *'' Ano Ko ni ...

'' between 2006 and 2007. A series of novels were published by Harvest between 2006 and 2008. A 12-episode

anime is a Traditional animation, hand-drawn and computer animation, computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, , in Japan and in Ja ...

produced by Artland aired in Japan between October and December 2006, and an

original video animation , abbreviated as OVA and sometimes as OAV (original animation video), are Japanese animated films and special episodes of a series made specially for release in home video formats without prior showings on television or in theaters, though the ...

episode followed in January 2007.

Plot

''Happiness!'' centers around Yūma Kohinata, a high school student attending Mizuhosaka Academy's regular section of the school, and his close friends Jun Watarase and Hachisuke Takamizo. The other section of the school, aptly named the magic section, was founded in order to train mages in the art of using

magic Magic or magick most commonly refers to: * Magic (supernatural), beliefs and actions employed to influence supernatural beings and forces ** ''Magick'' (with ''-ck'') can specifically refer to ceremonial magic * Magic (illusion), also known as sta ...

. The day after

Valentine's Day Valentine's Day, also called Saint Valentine's Day or the Feast of Saint Valentine, is celebrated annually on February 14. It originated as a Christian feast day honoring a Christian martyrs, martyr named Saint Valentine, Valentine, and ...

, a gas explosion at the magic section causes all the mages in training to transfer to the normal section for the time being. Two girls from the magic section, Haruhi Kamisaka and Anri Hiiragi, are placed in Yūma's class. Now Haruhi and her friends must adjust to the transfer into the normal section of Mizuhosaka Academy.

Characters

; : (anime) :Yūma is the main protagonist in the story. He has a nice, helping personality and is not afraid to help girls in need. His two close friends are Hachisuke Takamizo, and Jun Watarase, who seems to have a

crush Crush may refer to: * Infatuation or limerence, the romantic attraction to another person * Puppy love, feelings of love, romance, or infatuation felt by young people Crush may also refer to: Film * Crush (1972 film), ''Crush'' (1972 film), a H ...

on him. When he was younger he was able to do some magic in order to help Haruhi who was being bullied, but now he professes that he cannot use magic (though in reality he still can). Additionally, he seems to be put off by the notion of using magic whatsoever, even if it is able to help people. Eventually, he realizes that magic can bring happiness if used in the right way and transfers to the magic section. In the end, he learned that his real mother is Suzuri Minagi (a teacher in the magic section). He is actually one of a kind and one of the most powerful and quickest of learners when it comes to magic, although he doesn't use it because of a few accidents when he was younger and because his mother erased his memory when he was young. He eventually started to harbour feelings for Haruhi Kamisaka. ; : :Haruhi is the main heroine in the story. She is a

mage Mage most commonly refers to: * Mage (paranormal) or magician, a practitioner of magic derived from supernatural or occult sources * Mage (fantasy) or magician, a type of character in mythology, folklore, and fiction * Mage, a character class in ...

in training and is seen as very skilled amongst her peers, who have been known to think of her as a genius when it comes to using magic. When she was younger, Yūma was able to use some magic in order to help her from some bullies which made her want to become a mage herself. Her magic wand is named , which owes its form from a

trumpet The trumpet is a brass instrument commonly used in classical and jazz musical ensemble, ensembles. The trumpet group ranges from the piccolo trumpet—with the highest Register (music), register in the brass family—to the bass trumpet, pitche ...

that Haruhi used to play before she started to study magic. She harbours feelings for Yuma Kohinata. She was mistaken by Ibuki Shikimori to be the daughter of "that" woman (the woman who stole the Shikimori treasure) and even tried to control her to break the barrier that seals the treasure in the Shikimori Forest. In the end, she got together with Yuma when he was transferred to the Magic Section. ; : :Anri is Haruhi's close friend and also a fellow mage in training. She tends to have a very strong-willed type of personality which she uses to try to get the things she wants. It can also make her reckless when it comes to her using magic, due to her being overconfident and underskilled compared to Haruhi. She is left handed according to the seventh anime episode. Her magic wand is named and was formed from her favorite feathered pen. She applied for a part-time job as a waitress in the Oasis cafeteria to save some money for her to be able to go abroad and study at a Magic Institution. Eventually, she begins working for Otoha Kohinata in the school's cafeteria. ; : :Koyuki is a friend of Haruhi and Anri who is one year above them and is also in the magic section. Her magic wand is named though it is also known to be nicknamed . It takes the form of a staff with a small green sphere on the end that floats on the staff. Unlike the other magic wands featured that can speak spiritually, sphere Tom has a face from which to voice its opinions. Koyuki inherited the craft of making "Tama-chan"s and puts a lot of effort not only into their creation but going as far as to remember the order in which she made each one despite them appearing all to be relatively similar in appearance. As this dedication to magic has shown, she seems to be very skilled in her use of magic, especially divination magic or fortune telling. ; : (PC),

Oma Ichimura is a Japanese freelance voice actress who worked for Office CHK. Filmography *Yukiko Hirohara in '' 11eyes'' * Poyomon in ''Digimon Adventure 02'' *Satomi Arimoto in ''Fruits Basket'' *Uribo in ''Himawari!'' *Sakuya in '' Izumo: Takeki Tsurugi n ...

(PS2/anime) :Ibuki is a young girl and powerful mage who transfers into Sumomo's class. Most of the time, she is very standoffish and will push people away from her either figuratively or literally, so as to be left alone. Her family is known for being well-advanced in terms of magic, and even at such a young age Ibuki has shown herself to be well skilled as she uses her magic wand named , which takes the form of an umbrella. The Kamijō family has been serving the Shikimori family for generations. This explains why Saya and Shinya Kamijō are always with Ibuki and act as her protectors and followers. She wanted to retrieve the Shikimori treasure for a reason that she wanted to see her sister, Natsumi, who died from sealing the angel demons that came out of the treasure. She mistakenly thought that Haruhi, because of her great skills in using magic, is the daughter of the woman who stole and hid the treasure. ; : (PC),

Shizuka Itō is a Japanese voice actress and singer from Tokyo, Japan. She is represented by Ken Production. She won a "Best Actress in Supporting Roles" award at the 10th Seiyu Awards for her roles in '' Prison School'' and '' Sailor Moon Crystal''. She ...

(PS2/anime) :Saya is a young girl who transfers into Yūma's class along with her twin brother Shinya, who is also a mage. She was initially mistaken for a ghost by Hachisuke after he met up with her one night by chance at school. Her magic wand is named and takes the form of a

violin bow The violin, sometimes referred to as a fiddle, is a wooden chordophone, and is the smallest, and thus highest-pitched instrument (soprano) in regular use in the violin family. Smaller violin-type instruments exist, including the violino pi ...

. They have been serving the Shikimori family for generations. They never knew their mother because she is already dead. The reason is unknown. Their, she and her brother Shinya, wanting to see and meet their mother, urged their father to steal the Shikimori treasure for it was believed to have powers that can bring back the spirit of the dead but it turned into chaos. The treasure was provoked and unleashed the angel demons contained in it. Thus, it must be sealed again. Suzura Minagi, Natsumi Shikimori and Takamine's mother tried to stop it. This however, ends up with Natsumi sacrificing her life to seal it and stop the demons, much to Ibuki's sorrow. ; : (PC), Mai Goto (PS2/anime) :Sumomo is Yūma's younger sister who seems to have an energetic personality. She has known Haruhi since childhood and they used to play together. Due to family circumstances, Sumomo didn't become Yūma's sister until after she had entered elementary school. She has amazing skills in cooking. ; : (PC), Takuo Kawamura (PS2/anime) :Hachisuke, otherwise known simply as Hachi, is one of Yūma's close friends and hangs out with him and Jun Watarase constantly. He seems to be desperate for any affection from girls, as the closest chance he has at getting a girl is with his friend Jun, who, despite his feminine appearance, is in fact male. He is often very perverted as well. ; : (PC), Michiru Yuimoto (PS2/anime) :Jun is another of Yūma's close friends. Despite being born male, Jun has a

feminine Femininity (also called womanliness) is a set of attributes, behaviors, and Gender roles, roles generally associated with women and girls. Femininity can be understood as Social construction of gender, socially constructed, and there is also s ...

appearance and wears women's clothes. Due to this, girls at Jun's school treat Jun as a girl, and they even allow Jun to change clothes with them. Jun enjoys the attention received from male students. Jun is attracted to men, and has a desire to date Yūma, but Yūma spurns Jun's multiple advances. Jun adores hanging around girls as friends. Jun's signature attack, the

Patriot Missile The MIM-104 Patriot is a mobile interceptor missile surface-to-air missile (SAM) system, the primary such system used by the United States Army and several allied states. It is manufactured by the U.S. defense contractor Raytheon and derives it ...

Kick, is a flying side kick, normally used as a means to keep Hachi under control. ; : (PC),

Chizuko Hoshino is a Japanese voice actress from Tokyo, Japan. Filmography Anime *''Classmates 2 Special: Graduation'' as Yousuke's Girlfriend *'' Happiness!'' as Otoha Kohinata *''Fortune Arterial'' as Shizuko Amaike *'' Kakyuusei'' as Mayumi Tachibana *'' Saiy ...

(PS2/anime) :Otoha is the unorthodox mother of Yūma and Sumomo. She runs the school cafeteria called Oasis. Otoha often does not act her age, but rather she acts closer to her daughter's age. She is close friends with Suzura Minagi. This is why Suzuri entrusts her to take care of Yuma. ; : (PC),

Kentarō Itō is a Japanese voice actor and stage actor who was born in Hachiōji. He is currently affiliated with Mausu Promotion and is representative of Theater Company K-Show. He has taken over some of the roles held by the late Kazuyuki Sogabe and Tak ...

(PS2/anime) :He is the twin brother of Saya Kamijyo. His family has served Shikimori for every generations. He has a wooden, katana-like magic wand though the name is unknown. One of his defining traits is that he has a horrible sense of direction where he even gets lost walking to school with his sister as they manage to get separated constantly. However, if Saya is in any danger, he instantly knows where she is and runs to her in seconds. ; : :She is the biological mother of Yūma Kohinata. She is a teacher in the magical section. She was forced to entrust her son, Yuma, to her close friend, Otoha, because of many tragic things that had happened. She erased Yuma's memory of her before going separate ways. She revealed the whole story to Haruhi and Anri of what had happened in the past.

Development and release

''Happiness!'' is the sixth title developed by the visual novel developer

. The project's planning was headed by Kocha and Chatora, who also served as the director. The scenario was written by four people: Chatora, Celery, Kei Watanabe and Ayaka. The art director and character design was provided by Kocha, and the

super deformed ''Chibi'', also known as ''super deformation'' (''SD''), is an art style originating in Japan, and common in anime and manga where characters are drawn in an exaggerated way, typically small and chubby with stubby limbs, oversized heads, and ...

illustrations were done by Yui Haga. The music in the game was composed by members of

Elements Garden Elements Garden is a Japanese group of music composers, or a "music production brand" as they call themselves. They generally produce music for video games, anime and recording artists. They are attached to Aria Entertainment. The group was form ...

and

OdiakeS OdiakeS (born March 22) is a Japanese composer from Tokyo, Japan who has worked for a variety of visual novel companies. His first work was on the game '' One: Kagayaku Kisetsu e'' under Tactics. When the staff of ''One'' left Tactics to create the ...

under the name Ecnemuse. ''Happiness!'' was released in Japan on October 21, 2005 as a limited edition version, playable only on

PCs as a DVD; the regular edition was released on November 18, 2005. The limited edition came bundled with an illustration booklet and the game's original soundtrack. A

titled ''Happiness! Re:Lucks'' was released on July 28, 2006 as a limited edition version playable on a Windows PC as a DVD; the regular edition was released on September 15, 2006. Developed by Windmill's sister brand Windmill Oasis, the staff for ''Re:Lucks'' was largely the same as the original game, except for the scenario staff, which was divided between Chatora, Celery, Eiji Takashima, Hare Kitagawa and Kei Hozumi. ''Happiness!'' was ported to the

Marvelous Interactive (MMV) was a multinational corporation that produced animation, music, video games and television series. MMV is known for its involvement in the ''Story of Seasons'' series. They merged with AQ Interactive in 2011 and became Marvelous AQL; ...

under the title ''Happiness! De:Luxe'' on January 25, 2007.

Adaptations

Novels

Harvest published seven novels based on ''Happiness!'' from April 2006 to July 2008. The first two were written by Nikaidō Kageyama, the next four were written by Satoshi Mikado, and the last was written by Mutsuki Mizusaki.

Manga

adaptation, illustrated by

, was serialized in

's ''

'' magazine between the August 2006 and June 2007 issues. Two ''

tankōbon A is a standard publishing format for books in Japan, alongside other formats such as ''shinsho'' (17x11 cm paperback books) and ''bunkobon''. Used as a loanword in English, the term specifically refers to a printed collection of a manga that w ...

'' volumes were released: the first on December 22, 2006 and the second on May 23, 2007.

Anime

A 12-episode

adaptation written by

Satoru Nishizono is a Japanese anime and tokusatsu screenwriter. Works Anime television series *'' Obocchama-kun'' (1989–1992) - Screenplay *'' Wrestler Gundan Seisenshi Robin Jr.'' (1989–1990) - Screenplay *'' Matchless Raijin-Oh'' (1991–1992) - Screenpl ...

, directed by Hiroshi Hara, and produced by Artland, aired on Japan television between October 5 and December 21, 2006. On January 25, 2007, an

(OVA) episode was released with the first print limited edition of ''Happiness! De:Luxe''. Two pieces of

theme music Theme music is a musical composition which is often written specifically for radio programming, television shows, video games, or films and is usually played during the title sequence, opening credits, closing credits, and in some instances at ...

are used for the anime: one opening theme and one ending theme. The opening theme is "Happiness!" by

Ayumi Murata (born January 12, 1982) is a female Japanese singer and actress from Tokyo, Japan. She has also played the role of Minako Aino in the Sailor Moon musicals from 2001 to 2002. Anime voice roles * Happiness! (Opening theme) *Kappa no Kaikata *Ke ...

, and the ending theme is "Magical Generation" by

Yui Sakakibara is a Japanese voice actress, choreographer, dancer and singer from Hyōgo Prefecture.Doi, Hitoshi"Sakakibara Yui" ''Seiyuu Database''. January 3, 2011. Retrieved January 12, 2011. She appeared on Kōhaku Uta Gassen as background dancer behind A ...

. The anime's original soundtrack was released on November 22, 2006 in Japan, published by

. It was released on DVD in Japan from December 5, 2006 to May 25, 2007.

Maiden Japan ''Maiden Japan'', released as ''Heavy Metal Army'' in Japan, is a live EP by the British heavy metal band Iron Maiden. The title is a pun of Deep Purple's live album '' Made in Japan''. Release There are at least two different versions of ...

licensed the series and released the complete series on DVD on April 1, 2014.

Music

The opening theme of the ''Happiness!'' visual novel is "Zero" by

Hiromi Satō is a Japanese former singer and songwriter from Iwate Prefecture. She has performed for songs for games and anime, such as ''Mizuiro'', ''Please Twins!'', '' Green Green'', and the ''Galaxy Angel'' games. She has also written songs for other art ...

, and the ending theme is "Mezame no Asa" by the

voice actresses Voice acting is the art of Acting, performing a character or providing information to an audience with one's voice. Performers are often called voice actors/actresses in addition to other names. Examples of voice work include animation, animated, ...

of the four main heroines (

Mia Naruse , also known as , is a Japanese voice actress from Tokyo, Japan. On April 30, 2010, she announced that she will not be voice acting anymore. However, on April 16, 2013, she announced that she resumed her voice acting career on her blog. Anime cas ...

, Yura Hinata and Oto Agumi), performing under the name Happiness! Heroines. The opening theme of ''Happiness! Re:Lucks'' is "Happi-day♪" by Yui Sakakibara, and the ending theme is "With You..." by Hiromi Satō. The opening theme of ''Happiness! De:Luxe'' is "Happiness Hōteishiki" by Yui Sakakibara, and the ending theme is "Ohayō" by

Reception

In a 2007 survey of ''

Dengeki G's Magazine was a Japanese magazine published by ASCII Media Works (formerly MediaWorks) and sold monthly on the thirtieth that primarily contains information on bishōjo games, but also includes an entire section on anime based on bishōjo games, and seri ...

'' readers, ''Happiness!'' ranked 38th in a list of "the most interesting

bishōjo game A or is "a type of Japanese video game centered on interactions with attractive girls". ''Bishōjo'' games are similar to ''Choose Your Own Adventure'' books in the way of narrative, in which the game tells a story but the player may make c ...

s"; a five-way tie with ''

Tokimeki Memorial 2 is a dating sim developed and published by Konami and the second game in the ''Tokimeki Memorial'' series. ''Tokimeki Memorial 2'' was released for the PlayStation in 1999. It came on 5 CDs, featuring unmatched graphics and voice acting and a g ...

'', ''

Tsukihime is a Japanese adult visual novel game created by Type-Moon, who first released it at the Winter Comiket in December 2000. In 2003, it was adapted into both an anime television series, ''Lunar Legend Tsukihime'', animated by J.C.Staff ...

'', '' Welcome to Pia Carrot G.O.'' and '' YU-NO: A girl who chants love at the bound of this world''.

References

External links

Windmill's official website for ''Happiness!''

Anime official website
* * {{Artland 2005 video games 2006 anime television series debuts 2006 Japanese novels 2006 Japanese television series endings 2006 video games 2007 anime OVAs Anime and manga set in schools Anime television series based on video games Artland (company) Bishōjo games Comedy anime and manga Cross-dressing in anime and manga Cross-dressing in television Cross-dressing in video games Eroge Fantasy anime and manga Japan-exclusive video games Light novels Maiden Japan Manga based on video games Media Factory manga PlayStation 2 games Seinen manga Video games developed in Japan Visual novels Windows games