Horimiya
a review by ElegantBiscuit
a review by ElegantBiscuit
Summary: Horimiya presents the absolute best romance that I have ever seen in any show. It is emotionally mature, exciting to watch progress, and satisfying to see come to fruition. At the same time, this show is a fan service to the manga and all it’s characters, so as soon as the two main characters’ relationship reaches a stable point a little more than half way through the season, it sets that main relationship on the back burner and spends most of the remaining runtime on an ever increasing number of side characters that, while they are very well written storylines, successively hold less and less importance and relevance to the viewer as the episodes go on. However, that does not diminish how incredibly well crafted and well executed the main relationship is, which I can not overstate how much and for how long I have been waiting for an anime to do as well as Horimiya did. That is why, despite the structural issues that the show many have, I still feel strongly enough to rate it at 95.
What I love about the main relationship between Hori and Miyamura is how effective it is in presenting a stable relationship that is both relaxing and exciting to watch grow and flourish. They come to terms with their feelings for each other very early on in the season, and the subsequent milestones come naturally and show the full progression of an emotionally mature relationship, even all the way to proposal.
It throws out the typical tropes that usually make for frustrating and long, drawn out narratives, and instead focuses on a couple who both love each other and use every chance they get to grow closer to one another. The show manages to create the perfect comfy feeling that slice of life is supposed to; where drama and emotional turbulence inserted to create conflict, take a back seat to wholesome and gratifying character development and relationship growth, that extends not just to each other, but also their friends and family.
It is enjoyable at every moment and again, I can not repeat enough how much I love and how long I have been waiting for a show to present a relationship as well as Horimiya has.
Here is where I am conflicted. The progress, maturity, and charm of Hori and Miya and their relationship can at times feel rushed. I would happily watch a 24 episode season just because of how rapidly their relationship progresses within the first few episodes, and how it feels like important moments were skipped. And the consequence of that is that is that by episode 7, the excellent character and relationship-building of Hori and Miya which has been the main driver of the plot thus far, reaches it's crescendo and the show then runs out of room to keep it going. There is not much exciting they can do plot wise with a stable and well developed relationship, so the manga and thus the show turns to the cast of supporting characters to drive the plot from that point. However, subsequent plots and arcs feel underwhelming given how fantastic Hori and Miya’s romantic and comedic chemistry have been and the bar they have set.
That being said, the various side characters and their personalities, and their interactions with everyone else, are very well written. Everyone feels grounded and relatable to some degree, each with their own flaws and insecurities, presenting very interesting and compelling stories with great comedic timing and writing throughout. But in its focus of trying to give all the characters of the manga screen time, it ended up feeling scattered and unfocused both with speed running Hori and MIya’s relationship, and skipping over the important context of what makes the supporting characters important.
Structurally, I would have much preferred either a 24 episode season to give both parts room to breathe, or a focus on the main relationship over 13 episodes with side character arcs as a second season or an OVA. But as I mentioned before, this show represents as many characters and arcs as possible as a send off to the manga, and it’s what the author and the director decided to go with.
Exploring adolescence: I would be remiss not to mention that throughout the show we see the growth of Miyamura and how his relationship with Hori has pulled him out from a dark place and a dark past. The show does a great job of tackling some of the emotional challenges that adolescents go through, explores the insecurities of growing up, while also keeping the cast to a level of emotional intelligence that honestly would probably fit better as a college anime. It’s a great story of a guy who finds love, and that love changes his life and opens him up as a person and it is incredibly heartwarming.
In conclusion: The art, the character designs and animations, and the music throughout the show present an appealing and enjoyable experience. The comedy and character dynamics are very entertaining and well written. The pacing leaves a bit to be desired, but every show has aspects that I wish I could change. And for all its faults in the structure and content of the second half, I can say with certainty that the first half of the season focused around Hori and Miyakura’s relationship is some of the best content that I have ever watched. It is the perfect combination of SoL and romcom, that creates everything I have ever wanted from those genres, the kind of show that makes me squeeze the life out of a pillow while I’m watching, and that makes me crave the next episode. The end of the show also wraps up the main story very nicely and is a fitting send off to an amazing pair of characters.
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