Review of Horimiya

Real quick: I haven’t read the manga (and, honestly, I’m not sure that I will but more on this later) so I’m going into this with the perspective of an anime-only. All I have to say about the romance is that it’s fluffy. Sure, it could get a little cliché but there’s nothing wrong with that. I ended up really loving the themes because they were, at some point in my life, something I struggled with or am still struggling with. To a degree, it is realistic. The characters are one of the best aspects of the anime. Have we seen these character archetypes before? Yeah, butI don’t really mind because they’re kind of their own character too. I don’t think they’re all copies of each other or they’re the same kind of character. They also go through their own arcs within the episodes, though most notably, we see Miyamura’s arc throughout the entire anime which is the best so far in any romance anime I’ve watched. Simply put, the characters feel so genuine and their struggles are ones I empathise with.

The reason I think I won’t read the manga is because I think the anime has told me everything I need to know, which I don’t think is bad. That’s praise for the studio and how well they fit the story into thirteen episodes without it feeling incomplete. It felt like everything was concluded nicely. The directors did so well. I know something’s good when it’s got me mumbling or full-on talking to myself like a fool. Even more, when I dramatically place a hand on my chest and have these visceral and/or comical reactions. I’m a clown, yes.

Horimiya is remarkable in every aspect from the direction, the animation, the voice acting, the plot, and the characters. I might rewatch this some time in the future because of all the feels it made me feel.