Horimiya: Piece | Everything I wanted it to be.

For starters, I personally didn’t care for how they presented “Horimiya: Piece“, As you’d expect “Horimiya: Piece” fills in the missing pieces to the original. But for someone reason (from what I’ve read), many people are upset with the fact that if you’d like to experience the story how it was originally intended you’d have to stop at various points of different “Horimiya” episodes.

Which I understand other peoples frustrations but I think they went about it all wrong. I went in with the mindset of viewing this as a ‘one-off’ sort of deal. I viewed “Horimiya: Piece” as its own anime and for that reason I enjoyed every aspect of the anime. If you watch the first episode, we have Kyouko’s monologue. If you pay attention it implies that she’s recalling all the different memories and moments she had with her friends throughout high school.

So you can argue that “Horimiya: Piece” is a compilation of the various memories and experiences Kyouko and all her friends had experienced together as a group. There is no better way to present this than by making the episodes feel episodic — which is what is ultimately accomplished. “Horimiya: Piece” felt like an anime where Kyouko and friends reminisced on all the memories and experiences they had together or as individuals and that’s why I enjoyed this anime more than others.

As someone who has thrilly enjoyed the manga (and is considering buying the series), just to see more of the story be adapted was a pleasant surprise and was something I welcomed. I loved that this anime felt a lot more episodic and more like a slice of life, when compared to the original series that was more about telling a story.

Let us also not forget that out of all the high school, romance, comedy, and slice of life stories. Horimiya is as realistic as it gets (in my opinion). So everything they’ve experienced could’ve been something I’ve also gone through. What do I always preach? Establishing that connection is key to a great anime, make no mistake, Horimiya has always been one of those anime for me.

Anyway, I was able to connect more closely to our characters this time around because a lot of the conversations and events that take place in “Horimiya: Piece” feel more genuine and a lot more wholesome because we already have established characters. We know what they’re all about, we already know their dynamic. “Horimiya: Piece” simply expanded on what we already know about the characters, making them feel more personable.

Since the anime expands on the characters, it also meant that Kyouko and Izumi did not feature as prominently like they did in the original series. Instead, we focused more on the other characters, which was a welcomed approach. For example,

Sengoku, the student president, likely has the most screentime. Which is alright, but I never thought there was much to his character to begin with. Both Yoshikawa and Ayasaki feature more which is nice. But my favourite character of the anime was Yasuda. He’s that playfully sarcastic, yet prevented person that is in almost every slice of life anime. He’s that one character all the students get along well with and is that teacher that everyone would like to have.

After watching, “Horimiya: Piece” one thing I would to see is a spin-off about Kyouko’s mother and father. On the surface, you can make the argument that it would be a Izumi and Kyouko story before Izumi and Kyouko. But I do not think so. I actually think that Kyouko’s mother and father offer a different, unique dynamic. The freeloader in Kyousuke and the calmest of the calm in Yuriko.

That one episode where they showed them in high school was actually pretty neat and it made me want to learn more about them. I wish that was the case.

Overall, I really enjoyed “Horimiya: Piece“. Are there still pieces that could have ben animated? Yeah, but I am satisfied with what we’ve been given. “Horimiya: Piece” was definitely one of those highlight anime for me.