Twumi

[Overall Score: 8.5] Horimiya is one of the most anticipated adaption ever. After years, when everyone gave up on an adaption, there was an announcement. It might not be an exaggeration to say that Horimiya is Winter 2021 most anticipated anime right after SnK final season. After reading the manga for so many years, I was also happy to hear the news. Did it live up to my expectations? Yes. Horimiya feels like it’s about to cross that line between a light-hearted rom-com and an over the top romance drama, but it never does, which is a good thing (A reference from the Oscar winning film, Parasite).On one hand, we have stuff like overwhelming drama like White Album, on the other hand, we have Horimiya, which balances between drama and simplicity so elegantly. The simplicity of Horimiya is what makes it stand out from other rom-coms, and is part of the reason why the manga was crazy popular, long before the adaption. Horimiya (Full title: Hori-san to Miyamura-kun) at first glance, might seem like the typical “Popular girl dates unpopular guy” story, but it isn’t. Kyoko Hori is a popular girl at her school, almost like an idol for students. Everyone looks up to her, this pushes a burden onto her, she always has to maintain her perfect-girl attitude in front of everyone else. After all, its the people around us who decide our social standing, not us. She has a side she doesn’t want to show to others. In one scene, a bunch of girls saw Hori near the supermarket, one of them exclaimed how she resembles Hori, but then they say that she was too ‘simple’ to be Hori. You can see the burden that is pushed onto her. It’s not easy being popular and act perfect when you are not. Hori only shows her simple and imperfect side to those she cares about a lot—like her family, her close friends like Yuki. Miyamura on the other hand, is a gloomy student who barely converses with others. He can definitely pass off as a side character because he’s that unremarkable among students. In his flashbacks, we see Miyamura get bullied and ignored by his classmates, we also get to see him do his piercings by himself with a safety pin, side-by-side to those events. In this way, the act of piercing his ears comes as a response to the bullying. He also has tattoos on his body. So to hide all these features of him, he has grown shoulder length hair and wears a jacket, even in the hottest of days. He stands out among the other students in his school, but not in a good way. One day, both Hori and Miyamura just happen to meet, but not under normal circumstances. Both of them show their hidden sides to each other. Miyamura happily accepts the real Hori, just like she accepts Miyamura. Thanks to Sota, their wingman, they spend a lot of time together and slowly starts developing feelings for each other. The story is hardly remarkable at this point, so what is it that’s so good about Horimiya? The characters. I have to admit, the characters in this anime feel so much more genuine than I’ve seen in hundreds other rom-com. Horimiya is by far the most genuine feeling rom-com I’ve ever seen. The character interactions elevates this anime to another level. First off, the interaction between the quartet—Hori, Miyamura, Yoshikawa, Ishikawa, they feel so calming. There is a certain warm feeling in this anime, and it’s all thanks to the characters. It’s almost surprising how they can develop the side characters so well in an anime that focuses on two characters. Yoshikawa is a character that hides her true feelings. She won’t tell people what she truly desires. As said by Hori, “The less she wants you to know she’s upset, the bigger she smiles”. True feelings can not always been shown, there are many circumstances to people. Ishikawa is a long time friend of Hori and Yuki, he is also becomes good friends with Miyamura. Though he’s one of the more simple characters, he cares about others a lot. When Yoshikawa tried to make cupcakes but it didn’t turn out well, Toru was poking fun at her, he happened to glance at her fingers and notice some bandages, which is proof how hard she tried to make those cupcakes. He immediately starts eating those, even though it looks inedible, he eats all of it, with a big smile on his face. There’s the student council president, Sengoku and Remi who have their own unique dynamic. He is with her because he thinks she’s weak and he likes the feeling like he can protect her. But actually, she isn’t weak at all. Remi lets him feel that way on purpose because she likes him so much. Kouno is also very insecure because she’s always with Remi, who’s like an idol at her school, similar to Hori. They are together so much, that some students call them “Beauty and the Beast” beauty referring to Remi, beast referring to Kouno. Similar to how Miyamura felt that he brought down Hori’s image by being with her so much, Kouno also feels the same. Of course, not all the characters are good. There is Sawada, who’s the damsel in distress and cockblocks Miyamura for a few episodes. She’s annoying and doesn’t know the idea of personal space. She desperately forces herself into the cast and takes away screen time. There’s Yanagi, everyone pretends that he’s so hot and beautiful that in front of him, their own ugliness wants to make them puke. This whole bit with Yanagi is just not working at all and taking away the screen time. The characters are definitely what makes Horimiya so great, but is that the only aspect of what makes this anime great? Definitely no. CloverWorks is gaining a reputation because of their well directed anime. The Horimiya anime (much like Kimetsu no Yaiba) is a lesson in how to properly adapt a manga series. The anime’s direction, pacing and the excellent voice cast elevates every scene to the next levels. Ishisama is a great director who knows what he’s doing. The opening of Horimiya is possibly the most well-directed opening of Winter 2021. CloverWorks is quickly becoming one of my favourite studios. The camera work in this anime has been pleasant. Especially the moments of vulnerabilities, I was wondering how will they handle that, but it was handled amazingly. When the background goes white and vibrant watercolors shift their silhouettes, you know that they’ve given extra care to the more dramatic scenes of Horimiya. Horimiya is a treat, beautifully animated by CloverWorks. The beautifully animated scenes, combined with the OSTs, especially during the dramatic scenes, the sound is yet another aspect Horimiya thrives at. Starting from the mesmerizing opening sequence, which perfectly fits Horimiya’s theme, to the unique ending sequence. One other thing that I must separately mention is the dialogue delivery. This is one of the most important factors to me when I watch an anime. The dialogue delivery feels WAY TOO genuine. The casts are so talented because it is music to my ears. There is no girl who talks in a high pitched voice which is borderline annoying, even Remi talks in a normal way, I expected her to sound annoying. Dialogue delivery is definitely one of the thing I expect the anime to do well, since it doesn’t exist in manga. And Horimiya absolutely nailed it, starting from the conversations to how they were executed, all of it. In summary, Horimiya is a satisfying adaption. Many people will find plenty of reasons to hate it, since even I admit that this isn't a perfect anime or something. For example, people might not like Hori's masochistic side or how he often hits Miyamura. Honestly, it doesn't matter to me. I am well aware of the fact that Hori is a bit violent in nature, but it is explained why, and it's not like she's the Tsundere from Zero no Tsukaima (An actual bitch), she admits her mistakes and admits how she knows she was wrong but she blames it on Miyamura anyways, she can't help it. Miyamura chose to accept that side of her, so who am I to judge what's good for him? Besides, S&M is getting more popular day by day among people, I'm here to watch anime, not to kinkshame anime characters. After waiting for so long, I am nothing but happy to receive such a quality adaption. This definitely lives up to the manga. The manga ended weeks ago, and I was looking forward to the anime every week. This Winter season has been a pleasant ride, with a mix of almost everything, Horimiya takes the spot of the best rom-com. It adapts the starting few chapters, which is the glorious chapters of Horimiya, even in the manga, so naturally I enjoyed it to the fullest. This is as best as it gets, so if you didn’t like this, don’t go into another season or into the manga. As for me, Horimiya is all I could ask from an adaption. Through ups and downs, the anime has proven itself with the stellar direction, well written and likeable characters, and an acceptable story. It definitely became one of my all time favourites. Since I have no Horimiya chapters to look forward to every month now, I’m gladly waiting for a second season :)

KANLen09

"You are worth more than you know, capable of more than you think, and loved more than you can imagine." Undoubtedly the rom-com of the season, Horimiya has the potential to be great in every aspect of the genre, but the elephant in the room is obviously CloverWorks and the production team behind this show: the classic case of quantity over quality. I'd like to think that we're playing a baseball match with CloverWorks for Winter 2021: Strike 1 for the horrible adaptation of The Promised Neverland (Season 2), Strike 2 for the abominable business practices of hampering Wonder Egg Priority's Behind-the-Scenes tragedy of director ShinWakabayashi and his production team, and finally Strike 3 for what is a total-misfire repeat of Strike 1 of going for a loose and inconsistent adaptation of the original source material (since it's basically marketing for the already completed manga). And you're out! "You say "There's more to this than meets the eye" when you think a situation is not as simple as it seems to be." The main star of the show is the central couple: Hori Kyouko and Izumi Miyamura, two very distinct people, and so different-yet-alike each other. The former is a perfect social butterfly but the truth that she’s a brash homebody; the latter hiding a gentle heart, along with piercings and tattoos while under a gloomy façade. Both have things that don't want people to know that are best kept in secret, and a chance meeting proves to break the mirrors of their perceptions and in the perchance, solidify their relationship altogether within that short span of time. As time grows, both Hori and Miyamura learn of each other's quirks and what makes them tick that helps make their relationship grow stronger by the day. Kinda cute in spots, and to the people whom are having a relationship with their significant other will definitely feel those puppy-love moments that are relatable...well, except for some cringe S&M moments (unless the girls are like bad-ass Hori that secretly adores boys like bad-ass Miyamura, and vice versa) and the eccentric familial conditions. "If I look at the one thorn that is in my side of all my life, it is my weight. I fret about it, I'm anxious about it, being an actor on TV - it drives me insane. It just seems to be something that plays a central part in waking up in the morning and thinking: "How am I with myself today?" - Deborah Mailman You would think that for such a self-titled show that all you're gonna see is how these two central characters would blossom, right? But instead of the rose that we got with Hori and Miyamura's relationship, there are more thorns on the stem of the side characters, as significant or insignificant as they may be (that's to your POV that I won't judge). By themselves, the side characters can be taken as a side story altogether, but since they're connected to the main bubbly girl, I'd guess that this works primarily to advance their circumstances, rather than being tied onto the main couple, and for a rom-com that deems to be a romantic "drama" altogether, I'm not sure if mixing in too much of slice-of-life moments is a good choice. Pretty much like Tomozaki-kun, the best way to infer is through the clique method: - Toru Ishikawa, Yuki Yoshikawa, Akane Yanagi and Hori herself.Toru being avid about his prospects of getting together with Hori only diminishes when he sees that the central couple are getting closer, quicker than it looks on the outside. Instead, he tries his best to steer clear of that direction, leading him to Yuki...but not quite the "closeness" as of yet. It's with the fickle-minded Yanagi that consciously brings Toru and Yuki close together, despite both playing the friendship treatment of going so far as to notice the affinities they have for each other. A potential couple, but played off as one of friend-zoning. - Kakeru Sengoku, Remi Ayasaki and Sakura Kono (with a wild Toru on the side): the Student Council trio. For the most part, both Sengoku and Remi has had quite the relationship with each other: a weak but capable guy and a bubbly, playful girl whose differences match one another, and they're as close to being realistic and vulnerable towards each other in their moments of time alone. Sakura is quite the character that most people will feel quite frustrated about, but for those who've gone though the love ennui moments of noticing your crush from afar, you'll definitely find yourself in Sakura's shoes. She's an introvert through and through, but someone who's an extrovert when trying to reciprocate between the give-and-take of feelings, as such when she develops a crush on Toru, only to find that his kindness is returned, but not in the way she expected it to be. And it hurts real bad. - Miyamura, Koichi Shindo and Makio Tanihara (with a wild Hori on the side): the middle-school "Happy Three Friends" of a convoluted past. The reason why Miyamura is surfaced as a lonesome otaku geek at the beginning is because of Tanihara and his clique of friends who used to bully Miyamura for his ostracized looks, to the breaking point where what Miyamura once confided in was taken away from him, leading to the gloomy aspect. It's only through Shindo that Tanihara would come to start accepting Miyamura for who he is, with the heart talks between both cementing the reconciliation years later. Other than that, Shindo is the casual butt of a joker, and with Hori adding into the equation only makes the S&M aesthetic look more prominent. - The others who have significantly less screentime: Shu Iura is the objectively loud airhead of a character whom is exactly like Shindo, Honoka Sawada whom is seen as the detractor of the Horimiya relationship, and the Hori family of a beautiful, yet somehow kinda "broken" family (in particular to Best Dad Kyosuke). Ideally I would want to paint this picture as someone whom has been in a relationship, but for the general audience, whether you're in one or not, Horimiya is as bare-bones as it can be, trading the romance aspect for its comedy of the Pareto Principle: 80% comedic slice-of-life, 20% romance. “We’re all a little weird. And life is a little weird. And when we find someone whose weirdness is compatible with ours, we join up with them and fall into mutually satisfying weirdness — and call it love — true love.” – Robert Fulghum I find it quite the fascination of not just the OST that Horimiya has, but more of less its visuals and the intended picture of how people are supposed to perceive both the small and big moments, and this is something that I have to give the animators credit for. Starting off with the OP, it's interesting that there's 2 variations of Miyamura's theme: the 1st half where Miyamura is just like his old self, from reaching for the cube alone to most characters feeling dejected and frustrated, to the 2nd half where Hori's hand reached out for Miyamura with the cube, to the director's credit roll of him slicing the monochrome feel to showcase the colours of life with happiness overflowing. Capping off with the ED, it's using the twixt of a mix of animation in a dress-up model style between the central couple. Even with scenes that are depicted in the style of the OP of the potential couple-like feels, it's these Easter Eggs that not everyone will notice, but I thought it's worth mentioning. As for both OP and ED, it sounds great, no faults there. If I can sum Horimiya up in a quote, it'd be this one by the famous Jamaican singer-songwriter Bob Marley: “You open your heart knowing that there’s a chance it may be broken one day and in opening your heart, you experience a love and joy that you never dreamed possible. You find that being vulnerable is the only way to allow your heart to feel true pleasure that’s so real it scares you. You find strength in knowing you have a true friend and possibly a soul mate who will remain loyal to the end. Life seems completely different, exciting and worthwhile. Your only hope and security is in knowing that they are a part of your life.” As mentioned in the beginning, it's a loose adaptation of HERO and Hagiwara Daisuke's manga of the same name, but if I'd reckon something that the anime lacked over the manga, it's good progression. The anime felt mostly like the typical slice-of-life situations of characters gone awry, and though the allegory of what got lost as the series progressed, so to did the anime that had to relinquish some good character development moments for simpler ones, and that to me, is a shame of how much Horimiya could've been on par with the manga, but it wasn't meant to be... ...or so could be best said: "The source material is so much better."