Review of Horimiya

Overall: 10 So Horimiya is amazing, the manga is exceedingly popular and it is 100% justified. The anime takes the manga and does an amazing job at animating it, I don't think it could have done better production-wise and despite being short and arguably rushed, they still did well with the number of episodes they had to work with. The art is beautiful and well done like always from Cloverwork, the sound direction was chillingly perfect, the story is amazing and it never fails to supply a good laugh. It deserves a 10 but for reasons related to the story, I almost want to give ita 9.

SPOILERS FROM NOW ON (like a lot)

Story: 9
I enjoyed it so much in the beginning and almost immediately put it on my top 10 list. But I feel like after the beginning few episodes is where Horimiya falls short, the anime starts out strong with one of the best first episodes I've ever seen. The introduction of the characters is well done and I love how it directly gets to the good stuff (romance). The proceeding 4 episodes have the same magic as the first (you know, goosebumps because what is happening is just so amazing), after reading them I had to stop to appreciate it and properly soak up every ounce of enjoyment. The moments are so perfectly executed and I found myself watching them over and over feeling the same thing every time. The hand holding scene was just the perfect amount of affection and the way it directly goes to Sota arriving home and the handwashing perfectly ended the episode and left me dying for more (also feeling unbelievably lonely and sad). The ending of episode 4 where he sneaks a confession into there was great. The jealousy and misunderstanding in episode 5 was just the right amount of drama and not overbearing like some anime (I'm glad it only lasted about half an episode and not 2). Episode 6 had nothing that I distinctly remember but I assume that it was good. Episode 7 is where the good stuff happens and I loved the ending after the ED showing them afterward and she has bit his neck to mark ownership. Now, this is my biggest problem with the show and why I have given the story a 9 and not a 10 is what comes after episodes 7. The anime builds up a well-done romance between the main 2 characters and then completely drops it I feel like. After episode 7 there are a few moments that the focus is put on the main couple, but they never are romantic moments and instead are typical rom-com slice of life moments that aren’t what I was watching for. After episode seven the only romance-related happenings that occurred were the candy stealing part and of course the ending (but that was still lacking romance and felt rushed like they could have at least put a romantic kiss scene in the last episode or two). Besides the non-romantic moments between the main characters, there is a lot of side character development which I thought was great and all, but even the most likely romance between the purple-haired dude and short blonde (I’m really bad with names and especially Japanese ones) never went anywhere and ending loosely without really a definitive verdict on whether they are dating or not. All in all the story was one of the best I’ve seen from a non-biased standpoint, but as a viewer whose expectations were built up to get 13 episodes of romantic high school romance but instead got 7 episodes of romance and 5 episodes of rom-com I feel slightly disappointed and that it could have gone in a better direction.

Art: 10
As per usual, Cloverwork does an amazing job and the artwork of the characters and everything else about the anime was perfect. I could write out a paragraph or two for the art, but I don’t deem it necessary, there is nothing wrong with it, and it hits all the marks.

Sound: 10
One of the best-directed anime I’ve ever seen in regards to sound. The OP is one of the best openings I’ve heard for a while and fits the aesthetic of the opening art and the anime in general. The ED is amazing and follows up the episode nicely. I never skipped both the OP and the ED and enjoyed them thoroughly each and every time. In regards to the sound direction during the actual anime, it intertwines perfectly with the dramatic moments and perfectly sets the mood for the story. The most powerful moment in the entire anime in my opinion is in episode 4 where they hold hands during the movie, and the most impactful part of that in my opinion is the silence during the scene and the OST that they absolutely blast afterward during the hand wash part.

Enjoyment: 10
Despite the disappointment in regards to the lack of romance in the latter half of the anime, the second half still has very memorable moments that were still impactful. All and all the entire series was perfect and the only complaint I had (besides the lack of romance) is that it felt very rushed, no… that’s not the right word; I think the right word for the pacing would be quick, and compact. Even without reading the mange, you can tell just how much they skipped, every episode felt like they were trying to jam-pack it full of moments from the manga and I think they did well for 13 episodes, but multiple times they should have put some more focus on some of the scenes and added another few episodes. A 16 episode season would have been perfect and wouldn’t have felt quite as rushed.

All and all, I would recommend this anime to anyone and everyone. However, after watching the anime and if you enjoyed it, watch the manga to get everything that was lost in the anime. 10/10 and beware, after finishing it you will feel a void in your heart and almost immediate sadness knowing that it is over and will never get a second season (90% sure on that, the story is over but they could possibly make a second season or maybe a movie, a movie would be great). I do think they will make an OVA where they go to the beach because they set that up in the last episode.

I’m gonna go be lonely and try to find a romance anime that compares to this at least somewhat :(