Horimiya is considered one of the most influential rom-coms for a reason — mainly because it breaks so many stereotypes and portrays a romantic partnership that is quite unique to anime stories. Hori and Miyamura, the main characters of the series, don't fit conventional roles, and their relationship doesn't follow the rules of regular boyfriend and girlfriend staples.
The reason is that the characters themselves are oddballs who defy gender roles. Hori seems soft-spoken and shy at school, but in reality is brash, aggressive, and enjoys horror movies more than anything. While Miyamura is a goody-two-shoes all over: his family owns a bakery, so he often treats those he knows to pastries, and is ready to protect those who deem him as a brotherly figure. However, he's not the one to protect Hori; she's the one who takes action when she sees Miyamura uncomfortable upon meeting his middle school bullies.
Hori is the one who walks Miyamura home at night, not the other way around, but that doesn't make Miyamura weak. Miyamura, on the other hand, takes care of Hori when she falls ill — not because she's a girl he loves, but because she's a person he's worried about. And that's how it works: neither of the characters puts certain labels on each other. They view each other as humans, not someone who shows certain masculine or feminine traits; they both are a combination of certain choices they make throughout their lives that are not actually gendered, and that combination makes them unique.
There is a moment when Hori starts panicking about not being girly enough, starts questioning her position as Miyamura's girlfriend, and even tries to act according to stereotypes — but they fall in love with their real selves, not the ones that conform to whatever society wants from them.
And that is exactly what makes Horimiya such a nice story. It's a story about two people who love each other, not about a boy and a girl falling in love. It's a story where two people are not trying to stuff each other into the strict stereotypes but enjoy each other's presence as it is. The fact that it feels refreshing is sad, but it's good that a show like this exists.
Shaking things up makes it fun.
Horimiya is considered one of the most influential rom-coms for a reason — mainly because it breaks so many stereotypes and portrays a romantic partnership that is quite unique to anime stories. Hori and Miyamura, the main characters of the series, don't fit conventional roles, and their relationship doesn't follow the rules of regular boyfriend and girlfriend staples.
The reason is that the characters themselves are oddballs who defy gender roles. Hori seems soft-spoken and shy at school, but in reality is brash, aggressive, and enjoys horror movies more than anything. While Miyamura is a goody-two-shoes all over: his family owns a bakery, so he often treats those he knows to pastries, and is ready to protect those who deem him as a brotherly figure. However, he's not the one to protect Hori; she's the one who takes action when she sees Miyamura uncomfortable upon meeting his middle school bullies.
Hori is the one who walks Miyamura home at night, not the other way around, but that doesn't make Miyamura weak. Miyamura, on the other hand, takes care of Hori when she falls ill — not because she's a girl he loves, but because she's a person he's worried about. And that's how it works: neither of the characters puts certain labels on each other. They view each other as humans, not someone who shows certain masculine or feminine traits; they both are a combination of certain choices they make throughout their lives that are not actually gendered, and that combination makes them unique.
There is a moment when Hori starts panicking about not being girly enough, starts questioning her position as Miyamura's girlfriend, and even tries to act according to stereotypes — but they fall in love with their real selves, not the ones that conform to whatever society wants from them.
And that is exactly what makes Horimiya such a nice story. It's a story about two people who love each other, not about a boy and a girl falling in love. It's a story where two people are not trying to stuff each other into the strict stereotypes but enjoy each other's presence as it is. The fact that it feels refreshing is sad, but it's good that a show like this exists.
