Summary
It’s not usual to see the genre“romance” paired together with the “shonen” demographic, but when they are, it’s usually in reference to a major hit likeHorimiya. That is not the only factor that makes the romcom special, though.The source material for this anime is a webcomic that is in a 4-koma format, which is to say, each “chapter” is made up of only 4 panels. This inevitably makes the story feel more like a comic strip than a cohesively placed narrative, making it almost impossible to watch the anime in the same order the comics were released.
A very detailed guide to how to watch the animeHorimiya, andits sequelHorimiya: The Missing Piecesin chronological orderwas published by Crunchyroll, since both seasons are available to watch on the platform.The process involves pausing episodes at odd times to go and start watching another one at a specific time stamp, and then go back to start or even to a third episode. It’s definitely a tedious task that only devoted fans may be able to accomplish, but why wasHorimiyaadapted like this anyway?
Horimiya: 10 Saddest Things About Miyamura
Though his attitudes change over the course of the anime’s first season, here are 10 things fans found truly saddening about Horimiya’s Miyamura.
Staying Loyal to the Original Format Might’ve Resulted in a Very Different Anime
Horimiya’s original story was dissected and rearranged to make Hori and Miyamura’s love story streamlined and coherent.
The 4-koma format is a little over a century old. Horimiya is not the first anime to be adapted from this kind of comic strips. In the past, other popular series likeLucky Star,Nichijou, and more recently,Pop Team Epic, also had an origin in those types of comics. The key difference is thatall the aforementioned anime are mostly episodic comedies with a very loose plot, if any at all. It’s a natural consequence of the original storytelling. Having only 4 panels to unravel a plot can only achieve so much.
That’s the main reason whyHorimiya’s original story was dissected and rearranged to make Hori and Miyamura’s love story streamlined and coherent. Anime director Masashi Ishihamarevealed in an interviewthat the studio, Clover Works, mainly used the manga as source material for the anime. There is no major difference between the order of the contents in the 4-koma and the manga, the only change is the way it’s told. Many chapters still had to be skipped for the anime to focus on the development of the romance.
Ishihama stated that he feels romantic comedies aren’t especially popular, and so he was excited to direct Horimiya as one:
It is unfortunate to say, but I do not have the impression that it is the “most popular genre” in Japan, which makes me hope to see much more of them. - Masashi Ishihama
Horimiya: The Missing Piecesis much more loyal to the source material,being much more of a slice-of-life anime than a romance, however, it does not work on its own, as it is just an addition to the plot of the first season. There are fanmade projects that have edited the episodes of both seasons into a chronologically accurate mastercut. Either way it is watched,Horimiyais still a captivating romance that retains plenty of its comedic elements.
The last decade has seen not-shojo romance series rise to popularity, likeKaguya-sama: Love is War,Skip and Loafer, and, of course,Horimiya. Even if trying to watch the anime in chronological order becomes an ordeal, the reward is a funny story with a cast that feels much more like a group of friends and classmates than a supporting cast. If anything, its author, Hero, has crafted a story that works amazingly as a traditional romance, and a goofy slice-of-life.
