Review of Horimiya

In the first few episodes, it just felt like they were taking select things from the manga, without paying any mind to the progression which seemed… kind of questionable imo. But it ended nice. Gave me a lot of nostalgia of the time I was reading the manga a few years ago (haven’t kept up with the ending). I don’t think I’ve watched pure romance in a while, so this was quite refreshing + the art style is pretty good too. You can’t get any more straightforward than this. I remember the time I would binge read romances like Kimi Ni Todoke and Wolf Girl(yes I know, that wasn’t a ‘romance’ and quite toxic if I look back now) where they’d make it so that graduating high school makes life oh-so-different and suddenly if you’re not getting married you’re not gonna be together anymore - but yeah, those were simpler times and... fun. It’s nice to go back to that idealised world - though also very cringe - once in a while. In short, this makes me feel good about the world again, even if it’s just for a little bit.
I also understand why some people who a) aren't too invested in this particular manga or the genre or b) haven't heard of this before the anime adaptation (though I hope otherwise) or BOTH might dislike this. For me, it was a journey into a very welcome past.

✯ ✯ ✯

TLDR; Watch for the cutesy romance. Or read the manga, either work.