Horimiya (2021)

As the title implies, the anime is about Hori and Miya. Kyouko Hori is very popular at school: she is pretty, smart and kind. But this is all just a facade of her true self. Because her parents work a lot, she is virtually the “woman” in the house who takes care of … literally everything. From laundry to cooking to babysitting her brother, Souta. Izumi Miyamura is almost in the same situation: at school he appears as the typical unpopular nerd with glasses, but his true self is different ... more pierced and tattooed.

The characters, like the anime itself, are exceptionally ordinary – simple, but endearing. Kyouko, the female lead character, is just so lovable and sympathetic from the beginning. But she is given a funny side by her aggressiveness and surprising masochism, providing the show with a real “Rom Com” vibe. Izumi, the male main character, makes a gentle friendly impression at the beginning, which he keeps throughout the show – he’s just a “real” husbando. The way he is introduced, namely that he “rescues” Hori's brother, is just sugary sweet.

But the best part of “Horimiya” is yet to come: the side characters. In the Anime, they all hava a kind of important role and are somehow given “their” own personal story. For example, Yuuki and Tooru, who are Hori’s best friends, are given their own flair by adding a complicated love triangle like situation. Shuu, another one of Hori’s friends and the funny comic-relief character, gets a deeper side story with his sister, too. And the love story between Remi and Kakeru is just too cute to ever exist in real life … at least one “unnormal”/ “unrealistic” thing!

The opening, “Iro Kousui” (色香水) by You Kamiyama, fits the vibe of the anime perfectly. It sounds gentle, almost bittersweet, foreshadowing the “hard parts” of being a relationship like arguing. If we take a look at the lyrics of the ending, “Yakusoku” (約束) by Friends, we see that it gives off a similar vibe: “I feel that the things we take for granted are the most important” [L].

So … the anime isn’t showcasing the “perfect relationship” as we thought it would? Definitely not. As always in life, the characters in “Horimiya” have their ups and downs. However, I do not want to go into more detail … for spoiler reasons.

As we can see, „Horimiya“ features pretty deep topics, too, one of them being prejudices. Prejudices that are made mainly because of one’s appearance. “Oh, he’s got glasses. He must be smart.” – “She’s pretty, I’m sure she goes out with friends a lot and enjoys life.” And things like that … However, Hori and Miya show that such prejudices are not always true … in a pretty funny and “extreme” way – by changing their whole appearance / personality.

The simplicity of “Horimiya” is what makes it an imperfect masterpiece for me. The anime is the perfect example of “less is more” – less drama, more enjoyment while watching. I’ll gladly recommend it to … literally anyone and everyone. Have fun and enjoy it as much as I did.

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[By the way: I tried to keep the review as simple as possible in order to fit the vibe of the anime ;D]