When the original season of Horimiya aired, I wasn’t convinced. I enjoyed the show a lot, but it is rated incredibly high and hailed as an absolutely amazing manga in the romance genre. To me it felt much more like a solid romance anime that had a good beginning, middle and end. So why is it rated so highly? That’s what I was trying to figure out when Horimiya Piece started airing. Horimiya Piece is to Horimiya what Treasure Chest of courage is to Ranking of Kings. It fills in all of the blanks in the story and explains why the original season felt fast. So let’s talk about it now that it’s all over.
High school in a nutshell.
Horimiya is a romance story about two young teenagers, Hori-san and Miyamura-kun. They both seem like very different people and each of them have a secret. Miyamura secretly has tattoos and piercings which is not allowed at all in their high school. On the other hand, Hori’s secret is that she… does chores around the house? I never understood why this was being mentioned as a secret or something to hide, but let’s just run with it.
okay Sengoku you’re not wrong, but I feel like you have some ulterior motives here buddy.
The story follows these two as they slowly become friends and then start dating. We also learn about all the people around them, their friends and family and their relationships. Both Hori and Miyamura are very likable characters. They don’t get stuck in silly misunderstandings for episodes at a time, things get resolved. I do kind of dislike that Miyamura changes out his more unique hairstyle for a generic one as the story goes on. It was kind of part of his charm that he looked a little bit different. #notliketheotherboys I suppose.
Me when someone tells me it’s Monday
In Horimiya Piece we go back in time and cover stories that didn’t get told during the first season. 13 episodes covered 17 volumes of manga, after all. Looking at it this way, I’m sure there’s more content left even after two seasons. But for the season there was more than enough content. We see the kids spend time outside of school, we learn more about the student council and we get a lot more windows into everyone’s interpersonal relationships. It’s got a very relaxed and comfy feel to it throughout the entire season and I found myself enjoying the episodes more and more as the season went on to the point that I finally decided to get the manga. Well, my mom gave me the first volume for my birthday this weekend (thanks mom) so now I have to buy the rest as well, right?
Cloverworks did a great job with this one!
There’s not a lot more to say about Horimiya. Even without the added season it’s already a good romance show and with these extra episodes to fill in the gaps it becomes much better. I would have liked a longer season (maybe like 39 episodes) that covers the entire thing at a slower pace to make it run better and I will report back here once I’ve read the manga to see if the thoughts I have about the pacing are true. For now, if you haven’t seen Horimiya yet, treat yourself right and give it a watch. If you like romance and slice of life you will not be disappointed. Thanks for reading!
Today it’s time for round two of my quick reviews, in which I will give a quick opinion about a few shows that aired in the Winter 2021 season.
Quick Review: Sk8
I talked about a few shows early on during the season, giving a first impression. Sk8 was one of these shows, and I think this show was the one that surprised me the least as the season went on. I liked inline skating as a young teenager, but I had many friends who enjoyed skateboarding, some of which were very good at it as well. Spoiler alert, I was never that good, but they were nice people and it was great fun hanging out in the skatepark. Sk8 the anime does kind of nail that feeling in a sense. It really feels like a fun community that all has the same hobby and is trying to have fun doing it. Obviously there was the villain, who was as over the top as he was good at skateboarding. This show is just fun. Shadow is a great comedic heel because he’s such a nice guy in his normal persona, Joe and Cherry bickering is fantastic and although I’m a straight man, Cherry definitely has a hot design. I’m just saying.
If you like skateboarding and just feel good shows with a bit of drama then I highly recommend giving Sk8 a watch.
Quick Review: Dungeon Boonies
Suppose a dense motherf**ker wanted to join the military but minor inconveniences keep getting in his way. I don’t think that’s the literal translation, but it’s accurate nonetheless. This show wasn’t amazing, didn’t do anything particularly new or reinvented the genre by any means. This show was just fun. The characters are fun, with all the girls having their own fun personality, the plot is fun with silly problems that are way below the main character’s paygrade. Lloyd is the textbook definition of overpowered, which is why he’s mostly kept on the sideline. The actual story later on doesn’t really do it for me, but I thoroughly enjoyed the character interactions and humor. Not the best show to air this season, but definitely worth watching it if you’re bored and need a quick laugh.
Quick Review: Horimiya
I mentioned this earlier in the season, but I didn’t know too much about Horimiya before this anime season started. Apparently the manga was super popular, but that’s all I knew about it. I was really, really pleasantly surprised by this show. Horimiya tells the stories of a few high schoolers from becoming friends, developing relationships, experiencing rejections and then in the end graduating. From what I heard the story skips quite a bit of material so it can fit the ending in one season, which means I might have to check out the manga at some point. I really like the characters in this show, they’re all super likable in their own way, and the titular Miyamura and Hori steal the show. If I have one complaint about this show it’s the fact that, spoiler alert, Miyamura ends up cutting his hair. I liked that he looked very different from your average protagonist in a way. Nonetheless, this show was a joy from start to finish and the colorful cast will remain memorable for a long time I think.
Today I’ll be looking at some of the anime that have stood out so far during the winter season. It’s been a very stacked season and a lot of the shows I’ve been watching are sequels. This leaves the amount of new shows I’ve had time for quite low, but there are enough good shows to make a list, so that’s what we’ll be looking at today.
5) Kemono Jihen
Shiki (left) Kabane (center) and Akira (right)
The first anime on this list is interesting. It follows a young boy who is a hanjo. He doesn’t know his parents and the aunt taking care of him has mistreated him most of his life because he gives off a weird smell. When something starts going wrong in the little village they live in, the people are quick to blame Kabane, even though he is not responsible for what happens. The hired detective Inugami-san then helps him out by inviting him to live with him. It turns out he has other youkai living with him as well, and they solve youkai-related problems together. The characters are very fun, and Kon, who is introduced a few episodes in, is absolutely adorable. Definitely give this a watch.
4) Sk8 the Infinity
All the pretty boys this season.
Believe it or not, I used to spend my days in the local skatepark trying beginner tricks on my budget inline skates. Needless to say, I wasn’t very good at it, but I had some friends who were very good at it. To this day I’ve met very few people who are as friendly and inclusive as skaters. It seems like they all agree to just share the hobby they love with whoever is interested, no questions asked. Sk8 nails this feeling, as all the people involved immediately seem to be good people on the surface, just trying to have fun and perform cool stunts. Some of them do this in less conventional ways than others, but the point stands. With great art, cool character designs and an ending that absolutely slaps this has quickly wormed its way into my heart. If you like cute boys doing anything, or if you like skateboarding you should check this out. Even if you’re like me and cute boys aren’t at the top of your priority list, that doesn’t mean you can’t appreciate this show.
3) Kumo Desu ga, nanika?
Kumoko Desu o/
I’d heard about this show before it started airing, but I hadn’t really heard much about it. From what I could find it is originally based on a web novel. In a market where Isekai shows are everywhere you can look it’s hard to still be interesting. Even if a new Isekai anime is based on older material, we still judge it harshly because of how much competition it has. The thing that Kumo does differently from other shows is that it takes its time exploring the world mechanics a lot more. Slime, which has its second season airing right now, did this as well, but to a lesser extent. We spend a long time in the underground caves with our spidery main character who is very hyper yet charming at the same time. Personally I think it was a good choice that they introduced the other characters immediately, as I believe that wasn’t the case in the novel from what comments have suggested. With an in depth skill system and some mystery as to what happened to this class, this show seems like it will be a fun ride. Hell, maybe it’s the next step in curing my arachnophobia.
2) Mushoku Tensei: Jobless Reincarnation.
The poster for Mushoku Tensei
I wasn’t a fan of this show early on. The main character came across as an absolute creep and an all around weird guy. This isn’t a bad thing, but to me it wasn’t clear immediately that the author knows this. What I mean to say with this, is that lots of main characters are creeps but it’s somehow considered a charming part of the character. Rudy on the other hand is a creep and the author is very much aware. He spent his life on earth being a NEET and being bullied from the few glimpses we get into his past. Just like Kumo Desu Ka, this show takes its time establishing its cast, and more importantly pointing out how flawed some of the people are. They don’t just gloss over bad behavior, there are consequences to actions. And Rudy isn’t a super strong chick magnet who is amazing at everything. He’s scared of going outside, he finds out that his magic is quite strong, but then almost immediately meets someone even better. His social skills are awful, his personality is definitely foul at times, but he also shows growth. He diffuses a difficult situation at his house and he tries to be a better person. After hating him initially, I’m slowly starting to root for him. Besides that, the show looks gorgeous and it looks like it will go on for a little while, which is also quite nice.
1) Horimiya
Like many people, I wasn’t aware of Horimiya before it started airing. I’d seen some talk about it, so I figured the manga was kind of popular. Only later I found out through a youtube video that it is one the highest rated manga of all time on Myanimelist.com. And from the few glances we’ve gotten so far that seems to be for a good reason. The characters are fun, the story set-up seems interesting for a romance show and most importantly; the plot moves. It doesn’t move at a ridiculous pace, but things happen. The titular characters Hori-san and Miyamura become friends in the first episode and they actually hang out almost immediately and often. There seems to be something below the surface with Miyamura, and I’m curious to find out more about it. I do wonder why he decided to get such big tattoos and so many piercings at a young age. It could definitely be just a fashion statement, but there might be a reason to rebel behind it. As someone who has never read the manga I am very excited to see what’s going to happen next.
It’s too bad I’m not into men, because he absolutely nails the look here.
There are other good shows airing this season that didn’t make the list. Examples are Heaven’s Design Team and Urasekai Picnic. On top of this, the final season of Attack on Titan, as well as sequels to many shows I adore are currently airing. I don’t have time to include all of them here, but I will probably review some series when this season has ended, so look forward to that. And you? Which shows did I miss that should have made this list? Leave a comment down below to let me know!
Opal Kaharis 