Horimiya | Episode 8 and 9 Review

episode eight thoughts

This is probably just me, but I find that Remi Ayasaki is a little annoying. It’s probably because of her voice, nothing against the voice actor of course, they’re doing what they’re instructed to do. However, Remi’s voice is a little too high and nasally, almost as if it’s something before forced — it doesn’t feel natural.

All that being said, I liked that the anime focused a little bit on both Remi and Kakeru, and life before they started dating. While insignificant to me, overall I think it added to the story because it showed another side of both character that we don’t get to see. Remi and Kakeru, have always felt like snobby people because of how they’re portrayed, so seeing them both in a more vulnerable and sensitive state was good. It showed to me that their feelings for one another were genuine, with Remi pointing out that she loved him despite of Kakeru’s insecurities and weaknesses he didn’t want anyone to see or know about.

Another thing that I enjoyed about the episode was Kyouko’s strange want to have Izumi be a little more aggressive with her. That part I found very funny in particular because it’s something you’d normally wouldn’t expect. But I also think it’s good that we have this sort of thing in the anime. It differentiates Kyouko and Izumi’s relationship from your typical ‘anime high school couple’. It adds a little spice and it also makes it seem like we’re growing with them, learning more about their ‘hidden’ personalities as each episode progresses. I quite like that.

episode nine thoughts

Episode nine was definitely one of the better episodes of the anime for sure. In large part because we didn’t see much of Izumi and Kyouko together. I mean, we still saw a ton of them together, but it was more so surrounding Kyouko’s slight masochist personality. This episode was more about Izumi reconciling with the people who bullied or wronged him while they were in middle school. This says wonders about Izumi’s character because despite the abuse he experienced he was still able to put aside everything and forgive them.

To be able to move past a traumatic experience and to forgive those who have done you wrong takes a lot of courage and strength, something I do not think Izumi would have had if had hadn’t found Kyouko and company who made him feel wanted and valued. Having that support system behind him, certainly helped Izumi.

Other than that little bit with Izumi and those middle school bullies, there wasn’t much that happened during the episode. Which is both good and bad, good because they focused in on one topic and ran with it. That topic being forgiveness. But it was also bad because that whole arc didn’t really resonate with me. I’m a person who likes dramatics. When you paint someone who has had a negative experience like Izumi, I wanted the whole confrontation to be a lot more impactful and a lot more meaningful. I wanted a moment that felt tense, not only in the anime, but also as the viewer watching it. Since we’re quickly approaching the end of the anime, I wanted a moment that felt impactful and significant. A moment that made me go “wow, now this is an episode”. But alas! It wasn’t meant to be.