Welcome, fellow otaku’s, to How Anime Stuff Works and another recap of Horimiya.
This episode really hit me this time, especially the first part of the episode, it was a tad tough to get through but it really sends a deep message that really resonated with me on such a deep level, it also made me respect Miyamura alot more for being a little different, I’m starting to be drawn to him alot more with each episode and enjoy seeing how he comes out of his shell more whenever he’s around Hori. Anyway I’ll talk more about this towards the end of the recap, lets get this ball rolling!!
A Dark Past – Miyamura.
This episode starts of quite dark and puts a spotlight more on Miyamura, where the last episode put Hori into the spotlight, I will say this episode hit home straight out of the gate. It turns out that Miyamura was introverted and reserved growing up. This led to the other kids calling him weird and him being picked last for group sessions in class, it led him further into isolation and questioning if he was really weird being the way he is. As such he has small rebellions as a outlet and pierces his ears with a safety pin.
The episode then starts showing how Hori has a huge influence on Miyamura, including when they first met. Instead of keeping a distance and finding Miyamura weird, Hori approaches him and gets to know him a little, which surprises Miyamura. Miyamura isn’t “saved” by Hori by any means but this small interaction that Hori and Miyamura had is a good reminder of the influence someone can have on another person. However he’s social anxiety is real and it causes him to question why people hang out with him, even when he is surrounded by new friends. With this scene it isn’t Hori that snaps him out of it but another lovely character that does, Toru is giving the spotlight here and develops his relationship with Miyamura even more. Toru was given the short end of the stick in the beginning, given that he has feelings for Hori that are clearly unrequited. However Toru wants to be friends with Miyamura so it was nice seeing these two getting a chance to bond more and seeing Toru helping Miyamura get through a tough time.
A Joke That’s Gone To Far! – Was That A Confession? – Remi, Hori, Miyamura.
The other part of the episode was a bit of a hit and miss, Remi is still a bit one dimensional, and losses a few points with me when she takes a joke about Miyamura to far with Hori. It creates a small melodrama of high school romance and is the pin point of the episode where Hori comes to terms with her feelings for Miyamura. The same goes for Toru and Miyamura where they come to blows over their feelings for Hori, where some punches are thrown, making it a tad uncomfortable to watch.
Even though Hori gets all defensive about Remi wanting to make Miyamura hers, Hori does come to her own senses that even though she stated the same to Remi, Miyamura doesn’t actually belong to anyone. It still doesn’t stop Hori from trying to confess her feelings to Miyamura during a night of horror films, though she does chicken out and revises her statement to say that she loves his hands instead. However Miyamura does say that he loves her and doesn’t make it about anything else.
My Thoughts.
This episode really hit home and was a tad tough for me to get through the first part of the episode. Exploring the bullying aspect that most of us tend to experience through out school was a good to see even though it was quite tough to see. Bullying can have a detrimental affect on the victims mental health even if the other party doesn’t realize how one sentence or word can affect someone. It also brings in a bit of reality to the anime with many people understanding what Miyamura is going through.
Any kind of anxiety can be tough to deal with so I sort of know what Miyamura has to deal with on a daily basis, it’s why I’m being more and more drawn to him (and him becoming another favorite character of mine) it feels like the authors know what I and others experience and it’s nice to see a character going through the same experience, it feels like Miyamura is a kindred spirit in that respect.
The show also finds a balance between romantic drama and developing the teens feelings in a more realistic way. The initial concept of the girls (Remi and Hori) fighting over who has that guy is a bit tiering but it’s nice to see it dealt with in a more calming way compared to Miyamura and Toru’s fight over Hori. Hori even admonishes herself later, thinking that Miyamura doesn’t belong to anyone.
Anyway this episode was a quite a good watch and I’m looking forward to watching the next episode! Hopefully Hori builds up the courage to finally admit her feelings for Miyamura, the waiting game does get tiresome but is so worth it in the end!
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