Hello everyone, and welcome back to Wrong Every Time. Today I am eager to dive back into Horimiya, as it seems like we’re rapidly approaching a turning point in Hori and Miyamura’s relationship.
So far, they’ve essentially been enjoying the comfort and familiarity of a long-term domestic partner without any clear romantic strings attached. Both of them seemed relatively happy with that relationship, but as their third year of high school begins, it’s becoming impossible to deny that the status quo cannot last, and that they will either begin a relationship in earnest or eventually drift apart. Ayasaka’s interference forced Hori to realize that while she might not be actively considering Miyamura in a romantic way, she still doesn’t want anyone else to date him – and after that, their mutual praise for each other’s “beautiful hands” made it pretty clear that they’re on the same page here. I expect Horimiya’s structural/pacing quirks to continue, but you know I’m a sucker for earnest romance, and Horimiya seems right on the verge of its confession moment. Let’s get to it!
Episode 4
We open with an extremely on-the-nose meet-cute moment for Toru, as he is showered by documents that a cute girl dropped from a window. I suppose it is about time for him to get over his crush on Hori. One funny thing about Horimiya’s unusually frank approach to adolescent drama is that it means the story “uses up” dramatic resources at a faster rate than its compatriots. In another show, the Hori-Toru-Miyamura love triangle could have provided a full season’s worth of drama; here, it’s entirely resolved within the first two episodes. It’s very refreshing to not feel like the author is milking the drama for all it’s worth, but it also means the author needs to find new conflicts for the characters at a faster rate, too. And unfortunately, that need might end up exacerbating the show’s existing feeling of abrupt, disjointed conflicts
Our title is “Everybody Loves Somebody”
The green-haired girl is another member of the student council. She also ends up making excuses for Remi, offering the pathetic “Remi isn’t so bad, after all, she opens the window sometimes”
“It’s kind of cool how you work this hard, even when no one is looking.” Toru is a good boy
Lovely cut of her hair flowing in the breeze, a moment designed to capture her the way Toru is currently seeing her. Kyoto Animation are basically unparalleled in creating these sorts of moments in TV anime, but Horimiya’s delicate linework works really well in its own way
Sengoku, Toru, and Miyamura end up hanging around outside the school, and beginning comparing their tongues, as boys so often do
We learn that Sakura Kono is the green-haired girl
Sengoku’s getting some nice characterization here. He came off as pretty intimidating in his first appearance, but it’s becoming increasingly clear that his serious affectation is a hollow front, and it’s actually easy to push him around. In general though, all three of these boys are neatly avoiding any sort of familiar, archetypal characterization – Miyamura’s sensitivity is balanced by his violent streak, Toru is far more thoughtful than you’d expect from the “brash rival,” and Sengoku attempts to be the straight-laced class rep, but cannot overcome his inherently accommodating nature
As a result, Hori’s friends quickly gain the use of the student council room, and its sacred A/C
And of course, Remi immediately begins needling people, trying to stoke conflict by saying that Toru is a better match for Hori than Miyamura. I’m beginning to wonder if Remi has any good qualities at all
And thus Sakura learns about Toru’s crush on Hori
The show takes a hard swing at a joke structure that’s tricky to land: the extended misinterpretation gag, where an initial misunderstanding is only intensified through the misleading comments of its participants, frequently in some sexual direction. The format can work, but this execution stumbles into one of its common pitfalls: forcing the cast to say lines that sound totally unnatural, purely to prolong the misinterpretation. The humor of the bit largely rests in the ease with which common phrases can be misinterpreted; instead, this rendition attempts to make up for that deficiency with an outsized reaction by Toru, and “the characters act outrageously” is the cheapest comedic band-aid you can buy
It’s kinda funny how these Toru-Sakura interactions are lent a romantic undertone purely by the length of the cuts. Lingering hands and lingering eyes can convey a lot!
Some nice character-illustrating drama back at Toru’s house, as she realizes Miyamura’s willingness to strip off his clothes, and her own lack of reaction, probably aren’t normal. I appreciate how one of Hori’s principle motivations is her insecure desire to be more like a normal teenager; it’s a fairly unique conflict, and plays nicely with Miyamura’s frankness and disinterest in social convention
The frequently insecure Hori now feels awkward about how she’s never seen Miyamura flustered. It’s easy to see something like that as a sort of power gap in the relationship
Meanwhile, Miyamura seems somewhere between not understanding the problem, and wondering why exactly this is his problem
Miyamura kindly offers a story of a time he was actually flustered, when he ran into a middle school friend named Shindo
Oh my god these two. They can’t admit they want to be in a relationship, but Hori tells Miyamura that she “doesn’t mind if his friends think they’re dating.” They are inventing new micro-steps towards a relationship every friggin’ day
This scene has a whole bunch of neat character acting, or rather, the initial posing has a whole bunch of personality, even without much active movement
Based on his interactions with Shindo, it seems like Miyamura is fairly aware of his hot-headed nature, and thus acts even more passively to make up for it with people he isn’t familiar with. In contrast, with his long-time friends, he’s more willing to embrace his aggressive streak
Later on, Shindo actually flags down Hori on the street
Miyamura flat-out smacking Shindo in the face got a solid laugh out of me. The pacing of this joke is really good – there’s barely a second between Miyamura noticing him and snacking him, and Miyamura’s frantic run cycle offers its own visual comedy. Plus the plain intensity of this reaction relative to Shindo’s “crimes”… just a strong gag on all fronts
Miyamura’s behavior towards Shindo is so different from how he acts around his new friends. Some nice characterization there – any single person doesn’t have a default “way they act with their friends,” they moderate their behavior based on their current company. With the amount of time Miyamura and Shindo have known each other, he’s far more comfortable ragging on him
Shindo is repeating a grade
Oh damn. I love this match cut transition back to Horimiya’s middle school days; as his friends walk into the distance, the energy of the scene fades, creating a tangible sense of him being marooned in his thoughts
As with his relationship with Hori, Miyamura’s relationship with Shindo began because Shindo wasn’t put off by his gloomy aura, and essentially demanded they become acquaintances
Another rough cut here, as we jump from the Shindo introduction to Hori realizing she has a cold at home. At least her earlier coughing provides a bit of narrative congruity to this jump, but Shindo and Hori’s introduction might have made for a more conclusive episode finish
Ah, I see. They’re drawing a parallel across these two skits through their mutual reflection on the lonely childhoods of our two leads
The silence amplifies the vulnerability of this moment, as Hori’s nearly delirious state prompts her to actually announce her true feelings. She’s tired of always being the strong one, always being the pillar to rely on – she wants to know Horimiya will be there beside her, that she can trust in his presence
“There’s drinks in the fridge. Also, I’m in love with you.” OH MY GOD
And Done
GOD DAMN YOU ANXIOUS ADORABLE KIDS! As expected, Hori and Miyamura inched even closer to an actual relationship this week, though I would never have expected the gradations of “closer” they managed to invent. The two of them are dividing the distance between them into smaller and smaller sub-fractions, like they’re both capable of crossing half their current distance, but from there can only cross half of their new distance. Fortunately, this process is even more charming than it is maddening, and the production continues to offer steady gifts of editing and animation. You can do it, guys!
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