Horimiya (2021)

A Sugary Sweet Romance Tale...

Based upon the renowned manga (Hori-san to Miyamura-kun) and having been released fairly simultaneously with an anime series in Japan, the drama version ” Horimiya” undeniably regurgitates the same plot premise of social butterfly Kyoko Hori ( Kubota Sayu) beginning to date seeming otaku Miyamura Izumi ( Suzuka Ouji) who hides a deep secret from his school-life persona. While there are prominent points to praise about “Horimiya”( which will be raised later), there are notable faults which arise from the drama production from casting, trying to transcend notable setups from the manga into a real-life setting, as well as the abridged closure ( or lack of it) in the finale.

Before anything else, it is probably important to address the primary issue which has surrounded the drama with casting choices.

Respectfully, Kubota Sayu wasn’t entirely ‘’ terrible’’ as our female lead Hori. In fact, in an odd way, Sayu did seem to grow into her role fairly well with a sense of genuine emotional investment into her character. However, it is difficult to really point out anything particularly captivating or striking about Sayu’s performance as Hori.

Ironically as a character, Hori is fairly unforgettable by her her eccentricity and outspokenness. Of course, this is not turning a blind eye towards the typical tropes used as a drama sourced from a manga such as the “ popular girl” , the “ academic student” and the “ tougher than she seems” cliches , however, even in the drama, Hori’s greatest trait remained within being able to overcome certain stereotypes about herself as well as her relationship with Miyamura. Hori was given an actual chance in the drama for viewers to fortify her characterisation through her interactions sans with Miyamura, such as her interactions with her father Kyosuke ( Kimura Ryo; one of the few actors who felt fairly well-cast within his role) and her younger brother Sota ( Takagi Haru). Arguably, Hori’s interactions with her mother Yuriko ( Kawai Aoba) and her later friendship with Sengoku Kakeru ( Onodera Akira) and Ayasaki Remi ( Marsh Aya) felt fairly minimal within the drama version, nor truly giving viewers a chance to see Hori’s interactions as a friend as well as her maternal relationship with her own mother in a respectfully fairly masculine household .

The relationship between Hori and Miyamura was the focal point of the series and the plot development. For Hori, Miyamura has a metamorphosis from the archetype “ weird kid” in her class, to a more multifaceted individual. Against all odds of the notable problems which arose in the series and can strike to the surface of romance dramas with emotional gaslighting and “ obstacles in the way of their romance” , the pairing between both characters felt fairly natural as teenagers. Neither character followed the cliche archetypes of having “ had a crush on one another forever” , nor manipulating “ to win someone else’s affections”. Hori simply entered her relationship with Miyamura upon shared grounds early on in the series before the rest of the drama focused upon both characters learning to understand one another and for their feelings for one another to grow mutually. (Perhaps the one element of the relationship that the drama version did better than the manga and anime, was leaving out the more “sexual undertones” of their relationship . This isn’t to condemn these elements in either versions as they do help to portray a more realistic notion of teenagers, however, this always felt slightly mismatched against both characters as individuals even in the original manga and therefore wasn’t really necessary.)

It is fair to say that whilst Sayu is a good actress, she was slightly miscast as Hori by struggling to channel Hori’s personality as a character, consequently making Hori in this drama version, a fairly forgettable character against other romance heroines. ( A shame for an otherwise interesting character.)

Then of course the biggest elephant room (regarding casting) is often raised by the choice of Suzuka Ouji as Miyamura Izumi. Similar to his costar Kubota Sayu, Suzuka was not inherently appalling within his performance
as the male lead. In many ways he did certainly help to animate his character away from the more one-dimensional realm of male protagonists as “ emotionless” . On the other hand, Suzuka did seem to mismatch his character slightly within his physical appearance. This is not suggesting that Suzuka is “physically unattractive” or a slightly younger actor would have been better for the role,however, it does raise certain questions when the drama production sees Suzuka in a terrible long-haired wig without even attempting for the drama production to make this look natural.

Similar to Hori, Miyamura was an intriguing character against all odds of setups. Although initially appearing as “peculiar” and taciturn, Miyamura was fairly kind-hearted as well as hardworking and altruistic by helping out at his mother’s bakery, as well as the ongoing and unusual friendship between Miyamura and his best friend since middle school, Shindo Koichi ( Inoue Yuki). Parallel to Hori, Miyamura enters his relationship with her romantically upon mutual grounds before growing to like her more in a natural process which felt odd against the more cliches stereotypes of the drama. However, there’s a lot to note about the dynamic between Miyamura and the other characters of the series ( sans Hori), both within his fraternal friendship with Hori’s younger brother and father, as well as of course with his best friend and their complicated reasons behind becoming friends in the first place. Arguably, the one element of the series which did feel incredibly rushed and underdeveloped with Miyamura as a character, occurred within his past, especially with his estranged relationship with Makio Takihara. Therefore whilst Miyamura was a fairly intriguing character, it is fair to say that Suzuka was perhaps not entirely suited for the role.

The other side characters of the drama such as Kakeru, Remi , Kono Sakura ( Sakura) and Iura Shu ( Sota Ryosuke) should have been by default interesting characters, however, lacking screen time and setups, easily made them fairly forgettable over the course of the series as individuals (besides their occasional involvement within the plot dynamic between Miyamura and Hori).

Overall whilst certainly not an unwatchable or dire production with some praiseworthy features of having a healthy, fairly realistic relationship between teenagers as lovers and friends as well as some intriguing characters, poor pacing, tropes, miscasting and lacking focus upon certain plot lines for characters, often made this drama feel underdeveloped. The ending of the drama whilst arguably allowing some ground for a second season , did not truly bring a sense of closure or help to tie off characters and the relationship between Miyamura and Hori, as well as friendships also. Therefore it’s important to summarise that whilst Horimiya is not a terrible drama upon any grounds and was sweet within its ultimate concept , there are certainly better dramas to watch out there.

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Cake topped with cream!

Horimiya is an usual high school jdrama adapted from shoujo manga. It depicts coming-of-age theme with first love. The only thing new is that the main lead is a loner who has an alternate personality. Everything else is predictable and precedent. Sometimes, quite silly too.

Romance is cute, intimate and personal.
Acting is good.
Both Suzuka Ouji and Kubota Sayu look cute.
Music is okay.
Like school dramas, it will take you back to your school days.
Production is of good quality.

We never see more of either leads' parents and their backstory. School jdramas normally don't focus on parents, so it was okay.

Horimiya neither disappoints nor exceeds expectations like a convenience store's cream cake. (A comfort treat indeed!)

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Please ignore the lower ratings which I TRULY believe are unfair. I don't think any of us are here on this drama's page looking for some Oscar-worthy, ground-breaking script or performance. Instead, we are talking about a cute, romantic and sweet series about high schoolers and their love story.

Overall, I found this series to be super adorable for what it was intended to be. I fell in love with both leads (never seen them before) and thought they were well suited for the roles (ML especially). The series was a nice change of pace from somewhat cliche stories where the story is about students falling in love and getting together over the course of a drama. Instead this is about two students who fall for each other almost immediately and we see their growth as a couple and how they inspire and help each other to grow over the course of the series. Their relationship is shown in quite a mature way as they help each other grow, despite their young age (I enjoyed the change instead of some series' constant miscommunications and fights that continue until the end of the show).

Also, instead of it being an ugly duckling story... while ML does go through a makeover later on, it's not because he thinks he is ugly but only because he doesn't want to embarrass his girlfriend (who loves the way he looks anyways and is already his girlfriend). In fact, no one ever says he is ugly before his makeover but just calls him "gloomy" since his hair is in his face and he is very quiet and doesn't talk to people. So it's not a cliche story of unpopular boys gets makeover and becomes popular, etc. Even after his makeover, he still sticks with his circle of friends and the show doesn't let his head get turned by the new attention from others (again, as many series write their own plots). The story isn't groundbreaking, but it's nice.

It's meant to be lighthearted and sweet, but it does have a deeper meaning of making oneself happy by becoming true to yourself and not running away from who you are just because your are afraid to show that side to people. Just for that, I give it a 8.5 rating!

Acting was quite decent, production was nice, music was actually really good even though I don't usually pay attention to J-drama OSTs, and the overall effect left me smiling the entire time I binge-watched it in one sitting. In fact ,I had to stop the series at one point to wonder why my cheeks were hurting (and then I realized I had been grinning over how cute and adorable it all was lol)

I would rewatch this for sure. It's very short and worth your time.

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If you listen closely, you can hear me screaming my head off.
I loved this show so freaking much! I want to give it a 10. In my heart and soul this show is a 10! but I took half a star because I'm greedy for more and there is no more. lol I didn't want this show to end. It was so cute.
I admit, because I have watched a lot of dramas, I stayed stressed watching this. I kept waiting for that "shoe to drop" and all hell break loose that would leave all us fans a sobbing heap on the floor.... making us question why we put ourselves through this. But I'm here to calm you down and tell you -- this show is safe! Don't stress!
Horimiya is a show I feel like everyone needs to see at least once. It started out a bit slow but picked up so fast it was like rolling down hill. Once you start, you don't want to stop.
I think my favorite thing about this show was how much character growth their was. It's so beautiful to see so many characters grow and go from hardly knowing each other to ending up being best friends and more.
I loved how in some scenes he was talking to his old self and there is just something about it that made me smile and feel a million emotions at once. There was just something about these scenes alone that really made the show for me.

I'll probably update this more later when I sort my thoughts.

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Feel good and heartwarming drama

A beautiful drama with beautiful characters and awesome story. After a long period of time I watched a drama that calmed my nerves and soothed me.

The story is fast paced and gives an important message of being true to ourselves despite of how people perceive us. We don't need to hide our true selves as we will surely find people who love us for who we are, not just our polished sides.

The drama gives you hope and leaves you with a light and pleasant feelings in your heart. This show is now in my stress buster list.

Highly recommended! It's a hidden gem that you should definitely not miss :)

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Totally Enjoyed It

This was cute and a very relaxing watch. Finished it in one sitting.

No evil characters. No big fights with bullies. No complicated love triangles. No angsty moments.

Yes to supportive friends and family.

Miyamura was an interesting character. He was a loner, but he wasn't timid. He has a good family environment. He is responsible. Once he came out of his shell he was funny and sweet. He had the typical emotions of a high schooler - being in love, being jealous, being possessive. The clean cut good bad boy. He looked cool with tied back hair too.

I like how Hori wasn't pretentious. She is genuinely in love with Miyamura and very protective and supportive of him. Hori's family towards Miyamura is so cute. He has free access to their house!

I look forward to more shows from Suzuka Ouiji. I first watched him in MIU404 he is good and I'm sure he will grow into a great actor.

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Do anyone know what are the ost's from this live manga drama? Please let me know! i

If anyone knows about the ost's title, please let me know. I love all of em! Like the opening, and etc. Please let me know, i'll appreciate it. >_<

Why i liked this drama so much??
--> First of all you should watch the anime version first before this live action. Because there's a lot of part thats missing from the anime it self. I like this drama because i've watched the anime version and i liked how they made the live version of it. I like the atmosphere they've made in the drama, in the end, i love kubotasayu. Thats it lol.

PLEASE LET ME KNOW ABOUT THE OST'S PLEASEE THANKSSS!

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Pure sweetness!

I watched this drama in one afternoon, it was so easy to watch and I'm really glad that I did. Firstly, the acting was really good. The cast had a lot of chemistry and there wasn't any over-acting which was really refreshing. I also really enjoyed the colouring and cinematography, it was a very attractive drama.

I haven't watched the anime this was based off but I felt connected to the characters nonetheless. The episodes are around 24 minutes each but I didn't feel like they were shoving too much plot into that time frame, nor did I feel like it was missing anything. The hand holding was gorgeous and made my heart squeal with delight every time, I'm a sucker for a hand holding scene and this series is SWIMMING with them. The storyline felt like it flowed really well and I connected with the underlying message of acceptance, friendship and becoming someone your younger self would be proud to be.

I also really loved the ending, it was sweet and didn't feel OC at all. Overall, I loved this series. It was cute as heck, and very easy to watch and I'll no doubt watch it again.

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Super cute romance! With a rushed last episode...

I thoroughly enjoyed this drama. I started watching this in the last few weeks of it airing, and while I was waiting for the new episodes to come out, I'd rewatch earlier episodes multiple times because I liked it that much!

Apart from Kubota Sayu (Hori), the acting was really great all-round. Suzuka Ouji (Miyamura) did a really good job at playing his character - he became such a sympathetic character. All the sides did a great job. Kubota wasn't particularly bad, just not particularly good - in comparison to Suzuka, not very natural. But the romance and chemistry between them is awesome, and is definitely the highlight of the drama! I would've loved to see more of their relationship, and the side plots were all really interesting, would've been nice if they were explored more too.

The main fault with this drama is basically the last episode. I felt like a lot of side plots/conflicts were opened up in the sixth episode especially, but then they weren't really tied up by the final episode. Perhaps the writers tried to tie up some of these things in the sixth episode but they just weren't clear enough about it, hence it didn't feel finished. The next fault with the last episode was the classic unrealistic misunderstanding/communication issues that seem to be common in j-dramas - the whole series didn't have this, and it felt so natural and refreshing, but then this was basically the premise, out of nowhere, for the last episode.

BUT, I still DEFINITELY recommend this! I was a bit disappointed by the last episode, but I can definitely see myself rewatching the rest of the series again. It's pretty easy to think of the last episode as just a writing mishap and not really consider it canon.
I can't imagine a second season with the way they ended it but if they did I would be beside myself!

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Gave this show a watch because of its cute plot line, and it was an overall good watch! I haven't read the manga nor watch the anime and I'm happy that viewers could catch up, understand and appreciate the story despite it being an adaptation. It wasn't cringey or cheesy as well which is what I appreciate a lot about this show.

The story did not have drama nor conflict into it but it was a nice and sweet, high school drama with a unique plot. I highly recommend to watch in springtime! I like how the characters were not too showy with their affections too but executed just the right amount. Everything in this show had just the right amount of romance, drama, conflict and resolution, although nothing was too memorable, it was refreshing.

I just wish it was a few episodes bit longer, because it was quite short and fast paced (some scenes were jumped), but it was nice that the flow of the story was maintained until the end. The ending was quite good too, I'm glad our ML had his resolve and grew into a much awesome person.

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