Horimiya is going to be one of the shows that I personally, will have a weird rating for. I'll explain why, but first, the show itself.

Something to appreciate:

I think something that I appreciate about Horimiya is the fact that it gives a sense of realism. I absolutely love the characters (even though I wish we got proper progression for a lot of the side characters) and the interactions they have and the friendships they have honestly make me smile. The high school life in Horimiya reminds me of the old High School days of mine and it's honestly special to me.
Obviously, our main duo, Hori and Miyamura, I thought the way their relationship progressed was very natural and easily a highlight of the show for me. Seeing each other for the way they first met and how there was basically a different side to themselves, something that they don't normally show at school, and seeing them interact in the early episodes, it felt natural to me and I appreciate that. Gotta say the same for Hori's family, especially the way they treat Miyamura.

Where it falls flat:

The side characters too, in my opinion, are great as well but this is where the show falls flat, especially in the second half. I think the side characters portrayal in the first half were great and seeing all them interact and be funny throughout the show was great to see too. I loved seeing the dynamic between everyone and the friendships were fun to watch. I wish, however, that we were given more screen time on almost all of them. In the second half, I didn't know how to feel regarding as more of the screen time was given to more of the side characters than our main duo. I honestly wished this was paced much better because it honestly did feel like they were throwing in certain chapters into an episode and hoped we would just "get it" or understand. It's not that I didn't feel for any of the side characters like Remi or Kono, it's just that I wish we were shown better progression for the side characters in order for me to fully understand their struggles and what they were going through. The pacing of the second half, with the more focus on the side characters and Hori and Miyamura feeling almost like side characters is where the show falls flat, I just wished we were shown more of the dynamic between every character in order for the viewers to fully appreciate what they were watching. If anything, it felt like the show had a lack of direction in the second half, if I had to add. There really should have been more screen time for more characters (meaning I wish we got more than 13 episodes). I hope that made sense.

Horimiya was a wonderful watch. With a great OST and visuals, I always looked forward to watching the show every Saturday for some fluff. I loved Hori and Miyamura's relationship and obviously the romance progression was great to watch, but I also especially loved Miyamura's character progression. The Miyamura in Episode 1 is a completely different one in Episode 13 and it shows. I absolutely loved his progression there. The show falls flat in the second half with pacing issues and a lack of direction but it ends on a great and positive note with some closure. It's definitely a recommend but I'm going to read the manga for the full experience. I do also think those who want a better coherent story is most likely not going to enjoy Horimiya as much as I did because I feel like there's a lot of content missing, especially with certain characters. I still honestly do recommend it. I'm going to miss this show and how realistic and natural it was. It's going to get a weird rating mostly because I feel like there was untapped potential and a sense of lack of direction in the second half. The first half definitely was the best part of the show. It does get a high rating because I just love how realistic it feels, especially in the High School environment. It's something I personally appreciate a lot.