Review of Horimiya

Horimiya is a masterpiece bound by the constraints of a budget and anime standards today. The anime adaptation can be described through Christ's own words: "To those who have, more will be given. From those who have little, even that will be taken". Lemme explain. Horimiya shaped up to be the most anticipated anime of 2021 because it was so hyped up by manga readers, myself included. When it finally came out, it was considered lackluster by many (and you can see this in the reviews) because of its "rushed" plotline and the director's choices of scenes to be animated. However, I believe that Horimiyawas actually extremely enjoyable despite having read the manga which ended around the same time.

Story:
The story was the same story that compelled the large following behind Horimiya to start the manga and I praise the director for animating the first few chapters in such detail because of the impact those chapters provided for the manga readers.

Art:
I found the art to be quite nice but nowadays many anime series' can replicate that level of art so it wasn't a major selling point.

Sound:
The sound within the anime was limited to soundtracks which seemed almost repetitive within so many animes of its genre although the introduction of Iro Kousei and Yakusoku friends for its OP and ED were quite tasteful and catchy.

Character:
The character introductions for Miyamura and Hori were a copy and paste from the manga however the lack of emphasis on the supporting characters was a slight flaw.

Let's get back to perspectives. I have many anime-only friends and when I asked them about Horimiya, the general consensus was that it was engaging and extremely entertaining. The anime was so good to them that they wanted to go read the manga. And therein lies the problem. As a manga reader, I was happy that Horimiya even got animated and I loved seeing the manga come to life in front of me. The anime watchers also loved it for its story and scenes. However, there is such a low opinion of the anime amongst many reviews for Horimiya because they read the manga or were spoiled by those who did read the manga. The anime is bound by its 13 episode limit just as other anime series in this day and age and I believe that the director did an amazing job despite those limitations. He chose great and impactful scenes to animate with good quality. Horimiya doesn't deserve the 1-6 point ratings that so many reviewers have given it. Come on. Enjoy it for what it is, not what it could be.

Also, this is my first review so MB if I did anything wrong...