Review of Horimiya

Overall: 5/10 Horimiya came in as a rom-com I've never heard of, but being so highly praised by many I decided to give it a watch. And I can safely say after 13 episodes, that this rom-com is just like many others, despite all the claims of being genre-subverting and unique. Horimiya had great potential, I'll give it that. But that could be explored with the story and characters were basically thrown out the window after 2-3 episodes, making it another run-of-the-mill rom-com. Story: 3/10 I didn't read the Horimiya manga until around EP 8, because that was when I started thinking to myself: are we ever going toexplore the themes the synopsis laid out? The idea of not judging others by their appearance, the potential for further exploration of themes of depression, bullying, societal norms/pressure, etc. were never brought up to the degree I expected. A lot of these problems were resolved way too quickly to be anywhere close to realistic or appreciable.

On the topic of speed, the pacing for Horimiya is so fast that you don't get the chance to truly connect with many of the characters. Likewise, a lot of themes and messages felt under-developed because of this.

Art: 8/10
I must say the art and animation were very nicely done: all the characters are eye-candy but it's not enough to mitigate the poor pacing and storytelling elements.

Sound: 8/10
The OP and ED are both quite good, and the OST, while small, is also used effectively. VA is pretty good too, nothing to complain about there.

Character: 4/10
If there's one thing the manga did somewhat decently, it was the development of side characters (although this also fell off a cliff after 40 chapters or so), specifically for Shu. Shu is basically non-existent as an actual character until like EP 9 or 10. I can't even remember and that's sad. 90% of the subplots for the side characters are rushed so quickly or just outright ignored, so they only end up taking time away from developing the main couple (which was also sorely needed). I will say a few moments were decent, namely the Yuki and Sakura episode.

Now as for our main 2 characters, Hori and Miyamura, I gotta say their synergy is great. It's fun seeing them do their couple things together. That being said, they are also quite underdeveloped. Miyamura, for one, overcomes his depression and experience of bullying way too quickly, especially when you consider how severe it was. I'm all for forgiveness when it's earned, but this guy forgive that turquoise-haired kid way too quickly man, especially when you consider how he was willing to fight Sengoku and Toru over conversations related to Hori; I guess this reveals his primary character flaw of being overly selfless. And why is this a flaw? Because it's never really explained or justified, and overly relied upon as a crutch for plot/storytelling instead of as an actual character trait he's trying to overcome. The same can be said for the flaws held by every other character they "try to overcome." It just feels more like a plot convenience instead of an actual theme or message the show claims to set out to tackle.

Enjoyment: 5/10
At the end of the day, I had a mediocre time watching Horimiya. It was alright. And that's about it. Nothing about it in retrospect stood out to me as fascinating, but likewise, there was also nothing there that made me despite it or want to drop it ASAP. Just another small rom-com in a big pond.