A cozy slice-of-life anime bravely attempts to bring up serious relationship issues (albeit with mixed results).
Oh, where to begin? So just recently Horimiya: The Missing Pieces aired the finale of its second season and it was… Honestly, it was something.
So, let’s unpack this. For those who don’t know — Season 1 of Horimiya began as more or less your generic high school romcom anime with its main idea revolving around people scared of admitting and being who they are and, as a result, creating themselves ‘façade’ personalities to hide their true selves behind.
Then the whole thing unexpectedly mutates into a full-fledged slice-of-life story told from a viewpoint of a young but very committed couple, struggling to overcome their differences and (in case of Izumi Miyamura) even to defeat their inner psychological demons. This kind of a genre shift is already something new when it comes to modern anime and helps the series to stand out among its peers — but the second season takes everything to another level by… Introducing major changes in characters’ personality. And not necessarily the good kind of changes.
So, usually, when it comes to character development — and especially in anime — it is naturally implied that the character is supposed to get stronger, wiser. Become a better person overall. But Horimiya introduces a sinister twist on this formula by forcing its main character, Kyouko Hori, to develop a whole bunch of negative traits instead. A girl with a strong maternal and domestic side in Season 1, in Season 2 she becomes increasingly jealous of her boyfriend’s success in overcoming his psychological issues and the subsequent improvement in various aspects of his life.
They still are madly in love with each other but, naturally, this complicates their relationship introducing themes of abuse and jealousy and painting a vivid picture of an imperfect but a very real couple. And then, all of a sudden, what began as a cozy romcom\slice-of-life anime starts to show unexpected glimpses of a much more mature story that deals with real world issues. Calling the second season of Horimiya some kind of a psychological masterpiece may perhaps be an overstatement, but it still is an incredibly well written and unusual story that is not afraid to treat its characters like real people and force them to make very difficult choices.
Unsurprisingly, the season finale was misunderstood by a bunch of fans who expected Izumi to play a bigger role in the ending of the story and were disheartened to see Kyouko deliver the final monologue. However, it doesn’t really take a genius to see that it was, in fact, Kyouko who had to face the worst of her inner demons during the course of Season 2 and thus it was ultimately her victory over herself that we were celebrating in the end.
So, yeah, if you’re out of things to watch — consider giving Horimiya a chance. It might not end up being your favorite thing ever but it will surely leave a lasting impression.
A cozy slice-of-life anime bravely attempts to bring up serious relationship issues (albeit with mixed results).
Oh, where to begin? So just recently Horimiya: The Missing Pieces aired the finale of its second season and it was… Honestly, it was something.
So, let’s unpack this. For those who don’t know — Season 1 of Horimiya began as more or less your generic high school romcom anime with its main idea revolving around people scared of admitting and being who they are and, as a result, creating themselves ‘façade’ personalities to hide their true selves behind.
Then the whole thing unexpectedly mutates into a full-fledged slice-of-life story told from a viewpoint of a young but very committed couple, struggling to overcome their differences and (in case of Izumi Miyamura) even to defeat their inner psychological demons. This kind of a genre shift is already something new when it comes to modern anime and helps the series to stand out among its peers — but the second season takes everything to another level by… Introducing major changes in characters’ personality. And not necessarily the good kind of changes.
So, usually, when it comes to character development — and especially in anime — it is naturally implied that the character is supposed to get stronger, wiser. Become a better person overall. But Horimiya introduces a sinister twist on this formula by forcing its main character, Kyouko Hori, to develop a whole bunch of negative traits instead. A girl with a strong maternal and domestic side in Season 1, in Season 2 she becomes increasingly jealous of her boyfriend’s success in overcoming his psychological issues and the subsequent improvement in various aspects of his life.
They still are madly in love with each other but, naturally, this complicates their relationship introducing themes of abuse and jealousy and painting a vivid picture of an imperfect but a very real couple. And then, all of a sudden, what began as a cozy romcom\slice-of-life anime starts to show unexpected glimpses of a much more mature story that deals with real world issues. Calling the second season of Horimiya some kind of a psychological masterpiece may perhaps be an overstatement, but it still is an incredibly well written and unusual story that is not afraid to treat its characters like real people and force them to make very difficult choices.
Unsurprisingly, the season finale was misunderstood by a bunch of fans who expected Izumi to play a bigger role in the ending of the story and were disheartened to see Kyouko deliver the final monologue. However, it doesn’t really take a genius to see that it was, in fact, Kyouko who had to face the worst of her inner demons during the course of Season 2 and thus it was ultimately her victory over herself that we were celebrating in the end.
So, yeah, if you’re out of things to watch — consider giving Horimiya a chance. It might not end up being your favorite thing ever but it will surely leave a lasting impression.
