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04-19-2021, 03:00 AM
Quote:Synopsis, per MAL Wrote:On the surface, the thought of Kyouko Hori and Izumi Miyamura getting along would be the last thing in people's minds. After all, Hori has a perfect combination of beauty and brains, while Miyamura appears meek and distant to his fellow classmates. However, a fateful meeting between the two lays both of their hidden selves bare. Even though she is popular at school, Hori has little time to socialize with her friends due to housework. On the other hand, Miyamura lives under the noses of his peers, his body bearing secret tattoos and piercings that make him look like a gentle delinquent.
Having opposite personalities yet sharing odd similarities, the two quickly become friends and often spend time together in Hori's home. As they both emerge from their shells, they share with each other a side of themselves concealed from the outside world.
Horimiya is a romance-comedy anime that I feel is one of the few gems among the rest. The show feels like the sort of anime that you watch as a sort of guilty pleasure. I distinctly remember a few moments when watching it where it felt very "cringey," but it also made me recall some of the moments I had when I was in high school with my girlfriend at the time.
Two complete opposites, that being the two main characters Kyouko Hori and Izuma Miyamura, gravitate towards each other. Hard. Through the show you can identify how them being polar opposites creates road bumps in their relationship, and how they overcome them together can often times be satisfying. Sometimes they become played off in some sort of a gag, some comedic relief from some situations which seem childish to the older viewers, but as a whole I think that everyone can get something from this show, which is more than you can some for some shows. Admittedly, a lot of the times the plot can feel like the drama at a given moment was forced. Not to completely contradict my previous statement of how you can identify with the reasoning behind the drama. You can still identify and understand it, but again, to older viewers, some parts may just feel childish at best, and at worst unrealistic. Don't get me wrong, this isn't all there is, there are some moments that feel natural, like the characters are driving the actual plot of the show, not the script. But going from one extreme to the other can begin to give the show a lukewarm feeling the more you get into it. This does beg the question though, why do I think that Horimiya is a gem if I have these seemingly negative things to say about it? The simplest way I can answer that is simply childish joy. When the show has a well done or well executed plot point, it shows. As with every show, it has its highs and lows, but in the context of other recent romance anime, its highs are pretty up there.
The characters, as previously mentioned, feel like at some points they really drive the show. Before the show starts, the two main characters are complete strangers to each other, with seemingly nothing in common. Throughout the show you really see that each of them make an attempt to try to learn more about each other, which doesn't always end well. Sometimes this plays off as a subtle and sweet moment, and others it feels very forced and awkward. The latter could probably be attributed to the fact that the show is also a comedy. Of course, some of these forced moments may play out to be conflict in the show, and in some cases, conflict even with supporting characters. This usually plays into tone heavy moments, somber moments at times, and other times, funny or joyous moments. I felt pretty satisfied when conflicts got resolved for the most part, though not all cases. A lot of the times the show felt like it flopped in terms of comedy, because the comedy would seem to try to patch up one of those "forced" moments, almost like a really badly written joke.
One of the things that often times really helps drive the tone of a plot point during the shows runtime is the music. Now, I will be very transparent in saying I hate the OP with a burning passion. I feel it was just lazy. As such, I haven't even heard the ED. I refuse to. But the music in the show really comes out during the slower moments, during the sadder moments even. The gentle notes that play often feel very fitting, whether that be in moments where its purely character dialog, or a somber moment from one of the previously mentioned "bumpy parts in the road" of the plot. Unfortunately I have to dock some points because of my own distaste for the OP, but the ambiance during the actual show is outstanding to me. I genuinely remember thinking to myself "wow, this is amazing" during some parts of the show when some of the music was playing. And that wasn't even necessarily because the music itself was outstanding, but rather because it matched the mood of the show at the given time so well.
The animation I feel also hit home. It's light and it's colorful, even during some of the sadder moments. I don't inherently think that the sad moments contrasting a bright and cheery look is necessarily bad in this case though. As a whole, the show is a feel good show. You know that everything will be fine at the end of the day, and I feel that the contrast between the melancholic music and the bright visuals often helps deliver that concept. I will say, there was nothing from the animation that I felt was absolutely stunning. It hit home, but it didn't feel like it ever went out of its way. It's just... an anime drawn in 2021.
As a whole, I would recommend this show to someone looking for a good romance show. It has its pros, it has its cons, but at the end of the day, even if only for the enjoyment of the show, you will take something away. Watching the two main characters try to learn more about each other can be entertaining in its own way, especially with some of the funny shenanigans they get themselves into. And it can feel at some points like two real people trying to get to know each other rather than just fictional characters. If I had a gun to my head and I had to score the show, I'd give it like a 7/10. Maybe a 7.5/10 if said gun was loaded with 5.56.
As a final thought, the show shines in the romance aspect, but not as much in the comedy department. So if you're going into it for the comedy, I'd just find another show. I remember quite a few times where all I could do was turn off the show and come back after a while because of how cringey some parts felt.
So last time I ever tried to review something, it was horribly done. I didn't really understand the concept of reviewing without spoiling a show, but I'd like to think in the nearly 5 years since my last one I've grown a bit wiser.
I'm not perfect though, so let me know what you thought about the review and how I could improve for the next one.
