HoriMiya Review – How the anime about close-knit couples completely unravels by the end.

Horimiya is the story of Hori-san to Miyamura-kun. Which is an animation adapted from a self-published four-edition manga that ended in 2011. Ratings-wise, this show did not disappoint. 

Kyoko x Miyamura

Kyoko Hori is a high school girl who perfectly combines beauty and wisdom. All her classmates at Katagiri High School can’t stop paying attention to her. 

But Hori has another side to her that she keeps hidden from those at school. In her home life, she becomes the girl next door who lovingly takes care of her brother. 

She also has to deal with her own insecurities. Which only compounds when she meets a guy named Izumi Miyamura.

At school, Miyamura appears to be a gloomy and anti-social student. But like Hori, he has a hidden side he only lets out after class. Once the bell rings, he shows off his tattoos and facial piercings as he embraces his freedom.

Although they belong to the same school and class group they only meet when Miyamura can help Hori’s brother Sota. Sota likes Miyamura because he once helped him outside of school when he received an injury. Since then, Miyamura spends most of his time frequently visiting Hori’s home. After many meetings, they both started falling in love with each other.

At the same time, their friends also establish their relationships. Hori and Miyamura were still at the center of the story. The portrayal of school life gave the series an alluring beauty. It feels like a wonderful journey, and it triggers emotions that may not be felt every day, or emotions that are simply suppressed by public judgment. 

Kouno x Ishikawa

Sakura Kouno was a secondary character in the HoriMiya. Her insecurity was even higher than Hori’s level. I consider Kouno a capable woman who can do almost anything and always helps friends when they need her. 

She has great respect for others because of being a senior member of the group. Kouno is bad at hiding feelings. She had obvious feelings for Ishikawa.

Kunou even gave Ishikawa a special cookie and he loved it so she started bringing more for him. But Ishikawa keeps ignoring her because she does not think she is suitable for him.

However, the anime does not seem to be particularly interested in moving their story forward. Some people might even wonder how she fell in love with him if everything about Ishikawa was exposed.

The reason many people have largely ignored Kunou’s story is that it is too close to reality. We find ourselves pining over someone but hold ourselves back until it’s too late. Sounds like a good storyline, but it gets ruined by Ishikawa when he reluctantly gets with another girl.

Ishikawa was also in love with Hori and wanted her attention, while Hori fell for Miyamura. If the plot had not included her as a supporting role, then Kunou’s future love life may have been even more exciting in this show. 

A note about Iura Motoko

Another compelling plot is the story of high school student Iura Motoko who wants to enter the famous Oriental school. To do this, she tried too fast and too hard, but all her noble efforts failed in the end and one of his teachers also made fun of her grades and she got even more disappointed. 

Her brother Shu asked Hori and Miyamura for help, he also prayed for his sister and encouraged her to try, even if she did not enter the school of her dreams. Hori wanted to know why the 14-year-old Iura worked so hard. It is like meeting the expectations of society, and the fate of the country falls on her shoulders, but what can we say? People love to achieve their dreams.

What could have been…

Now if we talk about the anime, we discovered that HoriMiya was not an isolated couple as it seemed to be. They were always surrounded by a circle. They received love and care from their friends. 

Not to mention, when these friends used to hang out in restaurants after school, they looked cool. We can say that the brilliant Horimiya still faces fierce competition in the romance genre if we compare it with other romance anime. 

Some critics also indicate that Hori was later found to be sadistic for Miyamura. This would really have added some depth into their relationship, but it isn’t prevalent in the anime to make the claim. 

If we compare this story to reality, then we should remember that they only met for a year and before that they were strangers, even though they were classmates for most of their high school life. 

Still a great bubblegum romance anime

Hori and Miyamura were lucky that they saved each other from the evil they both were dealing with on their own, but a recipe like this would normally only end in disaster. There are so many more challenges they could have faced to show that they had a true bond together, but unfortunately, the anime doesn’t deliver. 

If you are looking for a truly engaging and believable romance anime, this one will leave you disappointed. That being said, the colorful characters and multiple couples popping up throughout the entire season can be an enjoyable filler until you find a better one.