Review of Horimiya

People label Horimiya as shounen, but honestly that’s misleading. In spirit it feels much more like a shoujo. If you go in expecting anything with shounen energy, you’ll be disappointed. The story itself is weak and poorly executed. The first episode hints at something interesting—the idea that the main characters live double lives—but the show never develops that premise. Instead, it quickly devolves into a highlight reel of cute moments without any real narrative depth. Character development is practically nonexistent. After the “big reveal” of the leads in the early episodes, nothing really changes. They remain static, repeating the same jealous or affectionate beats without any growth.Side characters come and go with little purpose, and their stories add nothing meaningful.

Horimiya has no rhythm, no cohesion, and no emotional payoff.