So just totting up:
Akane likes Yuki, but Yuki likes Tooru, who likes Kyouko (but maybe not anymore), who likes Izumi. Sakura likes Tooru, who likes Kyouko (but maybe now Yuki). Makio likes Izumi (probably), which Kyouko doesn’t like. And just who the heck does Kakeru like? I don’t think the answer to that question is especially clear-cut.
If you’re a fan of the relationship drama side of things, this episode of Horimiya was surely paradise. While I think Horimiya does this sort of musical chairs far better than most high school romances, it is the most conventional part of the series to be sure. If Ishihama-sensei was going to adapt the whole manga in 13 episodes I would just as soon most of this be jettisoned to be honest, but if you’re going to focus on it this was about as essential an episode as there could be. So fair do’s, I suppose.
I must confess the first part of the episode with Hori getting her knickers in a twist because she thought there were guys after Miya (which to be fair may not be entirely wrong) didn’t sit especially well. There was an unpleasant odor to that whole exchange and it wasn’t especially funny – I don’t think anything more need be said than that. Fortunately it was over with quickly and the focus turned to Yuki, where it stayed firmly for the rest of the episode. And a good one it was, if indeed pretty conventional. In a two-cour adaptation of Horimiya I’d be all about eps like this, but that’s not what we have so my feelings are a bit mixed.
One thing I know – if you never suit up and play, everyone is out of your league. Horimiya has a good sense for this sort of elemental truth to romance and it’s on display here. People usually like someone who likes someone else, and there’s nothing they can do about it. People often never take a chance because they assume they’re not good enough and will get shot down. And as Kakeru notes at the end of the episode, it does hurt a lot more because it’s really no one’s fault. If it was, if there was someone to blame without knowing it was wrong to do so, it would hurt a lot less.
Poor Sakura is the one who kind of gets the shaft here, because she’s pretty much done everything right. She was open about who she liked, she put herself out there, she took a chance. And what did she get? Zippy doodle, that’s what. Oh sure, Kakeru’s sympathy – but as consolation prizes go, that’s right there with a 10% off coupon at Yoshinoya (if it’s something more than sympathy, that could be different). Yuki, sweet girl she is, kind of blundered her way to the promised land. As her own onee-san scolds her, she never goes after what she wants until it’s too late. Maybe that’s the best strategy, in the end?
As for Akane, he got screwed too. It was his honest approach to Yuki that started the whole chain of events leading to Tooru and Yuki ending up together. I’m sure it’s no consolation to him that the girl he likes rejected him because he’s supposed to be much of a reach, and for his part Akane has never shown any indication that he believes all that nonsense people say about him. He seems like a nice guy finishing last, just like Sakura, but that’s often how these sorts of things play out in real life. It may not be the most upbeat messaging there is but it is pretty realistic.
I think we’re now pretty much at the “rubber meets the road” portion of events, because even if it intends to wrap the story up in three episodes the adaptation is going to have some hard choices to make. A lot of stuff happens in the rest of the manga, and while obviously not every bit of it is essential, more of it is than some manga readers would have you believe. Seeing what Ishihama and Yoshioka’s priorities are in this regard is going to be a fascinating exercise.
Sam
March 14, 2021 at 1:23 pmI don’t watch this, but there was apparently word “Hori” trending at twitter (US) today and wondered what it was about. Apparently it was about the character here and accusing her as homophobic (by SJW crowd). I see that Enzo referenced the scene in the commentary. I didn’t know this anime was relevant enough that its fictional character got trended (albeit very briefly) and getting canceled in US (digitally, that is).
Guardian Enzo
March 14, 2021 at 2:17 pmAh, “canceled” – the new buzzword to justify bigotry. Inevitably anime would get drawn into this, sooner or later.
For the record it was pretty insensitive, and isn’t the only example of Hori being a little dodgy when it comes to homophobia in the manga. I’m surprised it’s gone as viral as it has, because I don’t think there’s any real meat to it – it’s just a tasteless and weak attempt at humor, which the Japanese seem to be especially prone to. But to point out that it was tasteless certainly isn’t the problem. I just think the response has been pretty disproportionate to the seriousness of the event.
John
March 14, 2021 at 2:46 pmHaha, nice job with the relationship recap at the top.
I said before that I’d take a one-cour Ishihama series over a 2-cour series with worse direction, and I stand by that. I always love looking at this show — the presentation of Yuki seeing Toru’s text was a highlight this week, and the colored silhouettes are almost always extremely effective for me. But whew…what I wouldn’t give for an Ishihama-directed two-cour adaptation. It’s still my favorite of the season and will almost certainly be in contention for my anime of the year (fingers crossed hard they stick the landing), but I truly think a longer run could crack my all-time favorites list.
I’ll definitely be reading the manga as soon as the first volume is restocked, as it’s been sold out for weeks online. Oh, and speaking of sticking the ending, I was getting a little nervous about the production since the other 2 CloverWorks shows this season (TPN and WEP) have both had emergency recap episodes. But I saw Kevin from Sakuga Blog specifically shout-out Horimiya as an example of a “smaller but smarter” production in the replies to their excellent article on the state of SK8/WEP, so that’s promising.
Guardian Enzo
March 14, 2021 at 4:19 pmYeah, I read that piece – very interesting. I was surprised to see Sk∞ in such company – Bones has rarely gone down that road. As for Horimiya I think Ishihara is a superb project manager by reputation, so I’m not shocked it’s avoided those mines.
A two-cour Ishihara adaptation would be great, and I have no disagreement about his visual style. But the merciless cuts have knocked this down probably to #3 of the season for me (Beastars is right there too) – Kai Byoui Ramune and Kemono Jihen are jointly at the head of pack for me by a decent margin.
John
March 15, 2021 at 5:05 amYeah, I understand. Happy to have a season with such strong competition! I’m watching and enjoying your coverage of all of those (except Beastars, thanks to Netflix U.S.).
Kemono Jihen’s great, but I wish I could like Kai Byoui Ramune more — I don’t know why, but the food body horror elements in almost every episode are really unsettling to me. Maybe I need Dr. Ramune’s treatment…that said, I’ve very much enjoyed the few episodes without those elements, and am relieved that these final episodes seem to be devoid of them.
Kim
March 15, 2021 at 5:24 amI don’t like how Hori is written in these scenes either. Nor do I love the humor surrounding her wanting to get yelled at or hit by Miyamoto
Calling out problematic areas of a series is not “cancelling it”. I still love Horimiya but this is an aspect I really dislike and it’s okay to criticize the series in this regard.
Guardian Enzo
March 15, 2021 at 10:14 amI’m a bit torn in the sense that I think it’s refreshing to see a mangaka willing to make the heroine of a series like this genuinely unlikeable at times. She’s an odd sort and can be pretty abrasive at times. But I certainly don’t much like her in moments like at the start of this episode.
As for the whole “cancel” thing it’s not even worth debating. That word is just a dog whistle at this point.
Kim
March 16, 2021 at 2:59 amI don’t mind making Hori not perfect but the series never corrects her on her behavior instead it’s played for laughs. Instead compare it to Yuki in this last chapter. Her not saying what she wants is portrayed as a character flaw.
To me Hori’s attitude seems to be the mangaka’s poor attempt at humor and it just doesn’t work for me. Usually the series does get the balance between romance and comedy right which makes it such a charming series but he missed the mark with Hori here.