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tl;dr - Mary Sue falls in love with her rival Gary Stu in an incredibly idealistic adventure


Story:
The initial premise of the story is a fairly predictable rivals --> lovers premise. Two characters are forced into an arranged marriage but neither actually wants to get married so they try and break it off.

Now you'd think that's what the plot would focus on, but it's like an average teen's attention span; non-existent. Seriously the ML starts off with the premise of not wanting to get married to FL, but from almost the very beginning doesn't actually do anything about it. Hell he even admits at the ... end he fell in love at the first dance (which happens at the beginning). The FL is slightly different but not much better. Her approach to the whole thing is to just be a dick for whatever reason, which okay I guess.

So most of the story is instead the two going on various adventures around the capital, ranging from events like balls to stopping a demon conspiracy to destroy the world. And this leads to the worst crime about this story

It is childish as fuck

Seriously, everything from the banter between the leads to the resolution of conflicts all feels like something ripped out of a generic isekai, only this time you have a strong independent female lead added to it. Cliche villainess character tries to kill the FL but her only friend wants her to live? Yeah lets just exile her or smth (which clearly does fuck all because she comes back towards the end anyways lmao). Girl who's been a fucked up yandere since she was a kid wants ML for herself? Yeah just beat her up a bit and now she's as good as new. Literally, FL deals with a conflict by insulting some generic bad guys breath lmao wut the fuk. Speaking of villains, they either range from generic thugs who only exist for the leads to beat up, or villains committing the most heinous acts with some piss poor contextualization to make you feel something I guess. Doesn't matter because the leads will yeet them away anyways. Even the main villain gets killed off-screen because cool i guess.

One thing I do give props though is I think the romance is quite nice. It's a slow burn romance so don't expect lots of flirting and signs of affection early on, but unlike a lot of slow burn romances there is a genuine level of interest BOTH leads have towards each other, which grows as the story progresses. The romance part of this series really is the best aspect of it

Art:
A lot of people seem to dislike the art, but it really isn't too bad. Maybe early on there was some jankiness with some of the characters' anatomy, but it never really felt like it was violating the Geneva Convention tbh

Characters:
This is the main element of the story that I have a problem with. When I said it's childish as fuck part of what I was referring to was the banter between the leads. Usually with great back and forth couples, part of what makes their banter so great is how they bounce off each other. Think like Positively Yours for instance.

But here the "bantering" between the leads feels like something out of a 14 yr old's wattpad fanfic levels of flirting. Now you could attribute it to them being actually 16 yr old, which I would agree with as how they behave post time skip is definitely much better than pre. However, that falls flat when you consider during the main story how perceptive they are when it comes to deducing things like villains trying to be manipulative or coming up with plots to take down a heinous slave trade from a duke. Like this series plays the typical "age is just a number" thing most series' in the medium do.

ML - The ML isn't too bad of a character. His bantering is about as effective as the ML from Nagatoro-san (aka fuck all) but he's a lot more levelheaded of the 2. Plus he's the only one that somewhat had a backstory to him

FL - The FL on the other hand, has some issues. Now she is one of those strong independent notliketheothergirls women, which isn't a bad thing by any means but she's also a dick for the sake of being a dick. The story tries to push it as her trying to make herself look bad so that he would request a divorce (why he has to be the one to do it who knows), but it's not like he isn't aware of her feelings, she literally tells him early on she doesn't want to marry him. Like there really is fuck all reason to be that big of a dickhead when it's not even like the ML acted like a huge dick in the first place. Other than that apart from a romance perspective FL doesn't really change all that much

The best thing about the 2 is definitely the power balance. Typically in these kinds of #notliketheothergirls kinds of series' it tends to just flip the roles between the ML and FL, so to see both ML and FL genuinely be on equal footing (more or less) was a nice thing to see


Enjoyment:
Overall this did have a lot more potential but just falls flat. If it went the full gag route ala Gekkan Shoujo, then a lot of what transpires would've actually worked out quite nicely. But when the series tries to incorporate serious elements in it, it should be viewed as such

tl;dr - Pretty interesting story with some nicely written characters, but it has some issues with its world building. Some nice romance (after a while) too




Story - Like 99% of reincarnated manhwas this one isn't necessarily all that different premise wise, FL is omega cucked in her original life which causes her to become the dead, and then she reincarnates to the past with a plan to live a better life. In this story, FL lived her original life as a big baddie who only wanted money, but in her new life decided to switch teams and live the good side.

For the most part, ... this is done pretty nicely, the FL goes through her own struggles and there aren't many "haha gotcha" cringefests like in most series, and as the story progresses more about the world/political conflict starts showing up and for the most part it is pretty nicely handled. One of the problems with the premise however, is that FL originally lived a life of being the big bad mainly because she was only interested in money and nothing else, so it is only natural in the new life she'd learn the values of other things with the caveat being she doesn't make as much money anymore.

but that's a fuckin lie because instead of getting her money through dirty means as in her original life, she's basically gifted infinite money because she's so skilled as a warrior. So it really begs the question then what the bloody hell was the whole point of her past life then, if she is able to both live a much life now and still have the ample amount of moola that she desired originally. Fortunately for the story's sake bigger and better things take over the spotlight so it's not really end-of-the-world type things, but it's still a weird plot point to not address adequately given it's the basis of the entire premise. Really the main issue with this comes from the lack of proper explanation of, what are some really important things. Ofc this being a fantasy series there's gonna be magic and whatnot which is totally fine, but in these kinds of series there needs to be a level of boundaries at least touched upon so that you don't go "why tf did you not just do that" every time there's a dramatic moment that happens. In this series, the problem is regarding teleporting. Especially for an action fantasy, you'd think teleporting would be OP as fuck and would be abused to shit, but for whatever unexplained reasons they don't. Like for instance one of the arcs involves transporting nobility by carriage to which they inevitably get attacked, but it is revealed near the end that the mage that was with them managed to teleport the nobility away from danger while that was going on. Okay so why couldn't they just have teleported from the very beginning and save everyone's lives/time?

As for the romance.....well it's both good and bad. This is for sure a slow-burn romance, so don't expect no early couples or anything, but to make a slow-burn romance work there needs to at least be a level of interest, however small from both parties to begin with. From the ML's side? For sure it is there and you can clearly see it. From the FL's side? Fuck all. She legitimately does not view the ML romantically for a good portion of the first part but then suddenly realizes "huh you know what I actually do like the ML" and then proceeds to go into confession 1, to which ML gives the classic "i don't want to ruin your reputation so i will reject you" shenanigans. All of this occurs right at the end of S1. Then you're met with a misunderstandings arc which ends up with ML completely admitting he was a dumbass initially and they get together.....

To give credit where it's due, the scenes themselves are all extremely well done and really give the sense of emotion the characters are feeling, and for what it's worth after that weird period the romance is actually pretty good. It doesn't completely take the spotlight from the main story, but there are lovey-dovey moments between the leads and they have some pretty good chemistry when they're being romantic with each other.

Art - The art is great, very nicely drawn characters and the backgrounds look good as well. Fortunately as well the art style doesn't drasitcally change from season to season.

Characters - The characters in this series are actually pretty well done. There's a pretty big cast of characters both friends and foe and most get pretty interesting backstories to them and overall character developments. Even some of the villains with heinous personalities you really get the context as to what made them the way they were

The FL in particular is actually quite good. Usually in these kinds of reincarnation series' the FL after being reincarnated has a pretty clear determination and is able to use the power of god an anime on her side to solve all the world's problems. While I won't deny the FL here is still the shining knight in white armor like other series, she actually does face her own internal struggles and questioning of her motives, which is nice to see. It is also nice to see the duality with the more feminine and innocent sides of her personality (well at least after the romance shenanigans), because usually in these kinds of series the FL's tend to be quite dull


Enjoyment - I definitely enjoyed the characters more than the story in this. The story for sure got me hooked, but the elements of the world that aren't being addressed really puzzles me why characters don't take the "easy" options. Definitely the romance I was surprised by how good it ends up being after how poorly it starts

tl;dr - A chill yet wholesome romance with a lovey-dovey cute couple and some nice art


Story:

The story isn't anything super spectacular or anything. It simply revolves around the 2 main leads who get together early on and just shows SoL moments of their time together. While pretty tropey, at least it has been nothing but the good shoujo tropes present, rather than the bad ones. Each chapter focuses on a typical "highlight moment" e.g., valentines day, first date etc. and while the execution is more or less the same, it's still very cute nonetheless

Art:

The art is fantastic. The art style is very clean, romantic shots ... are done well and the blushing is 10/10

Character:

Like any SoL, the characters are what make or break this series.

Thus far, the only real characters of interest are the 2 main leads. You do have maybe 1 or 2 side characters here and there, but they aren't really relevant.

Sakura - Pretty much like your typical shoujo ML. Seemingly flawless and the nicest person in the world, while also being a helpless romantic. I do think it's fair to consider him a basic bitch shoujo ML, but that isn't a bad thing at all especially given how he takes all the generic GOOD traits rather than the bad one. Not gonna see him borderline rape the FL anytime soon (i hope)

Sawa - Again, pretty typical FL. She blushes at almost every interaction with ML (which is cute as fuk btw) and always seems to dance around his finger metaphorically. Most of the comedy in this series focuses around her reactions

Together, they may not be anything special but they still have some nice chemistry. None of their interactions really felt forced, their romantic moments really felt cute together and they are definitely a couple worth shipping for

Enjoyment:

I do tend to enjoy these romantic SoL's a lot, because it's not every day you get to see a series where it's basically the couple flirting all the time. That plus the lack of any stupid drama thus far, makes this quite an enjoyable read

tl:dr: Starts off pretty patchy. Ends up turning into something very nice and wholesome. Then gets hit with absurdly stupid levels of drama. Then suddenly reverts back to cute/wholesome

yea this is a confusing one

(review contains spoilers)



Story:

... The story pretty much starts out like a typical josei smut. You have the hot ML who's always there to save the day and play with the FL's body as he pleases, and the FL who pretty much doesn't care so long as her body is wet (or at the very least, her "NO!" is about as strong as an NTR protagonist's one).

But it actually takes a turn for the good. Eventually they get together and if I'm being honest, they are pretty cute together. The story took a more wholesome direction, the chemistry between the leads were definitely showing and the sex was a lot more consensual and overall wholesome. They even started exploring more of the family and their relationships and overall characters. For the most part, this was quite nice....well except for one piece of drama that ends up foreshadowing what was to come. You see there's this one moment where FL's grandma gets hospitalized or some shit and she quite literally decides to INSTA hit the "lets break up" card. Like bruh she didn't even bother getting ML's opinions on anything regarding the situation, just full-on moves at the speed of light, she even gets teased about it later on in the story. Fortunately that drama doesn't last too long to be a hindrance in the overarching plot


instead after some more cute/wholesomeness, we are met with what I can only consider to be some of the stupidest drama I've seen in josei smut

See, like any protagonist, there's inevitably going to be the classic scene where some randos try to pick them up, usually so the author can create jealousy with the other mc and spark some drama or some shit. Well it's no different here, except said rando ends up kissing ML while the FL sees it. Now okay, it should be quite easy to clear up, any normal human being can obviously see that this was a one sided kiss and he wasn't engaging with it in any way. Should be easy to clear up the misunderstanding right?

well no, in fact, the best way to explain what happens is my live reactions in the specific chapter discussions:

"What the fuck?


How did this turn from what was a pretty wholesome smut to this shit?

Seriously what the fuck was this chapter??? Ok sure I can understand that flirty girl going in for a kiss, not realizing he already has a gf, but Kyouko (FL) saw that yuusuke (ML) wasn't exactly recirpocating it and didn't even give him a chance to explain properly?
And then on top of that the other guy comes in, hugs her in an obvious romantic way and now Yuusuke (ML) is the one not letting her explain properly?
And then on top of top of that Kyouko (FL) literally slaps him for calling out the 2nd ML for obviously trying to get with her????
And then on top of top of top of that she doesn't give 2 shits about 2nd ML feeling her up and making her wet


What the fuck?"

followed by:

"Isn't this technically cheating right now? Like Kyouko (FL) clearly doesn't give a shit that Kaoru (2nd ML) was playing with her body, giving her a goodnight kiss (even getting embarassed thinking about it) saving her from some random dudes with the "my girl" line and holding hands like they're a couple


jesus I know ML's in josei smut can be unbearable but I hate how stupid FL's can be too"

yep, for some reason this turns into the beginnings of a shoujo manga with the 2nd ML as the lead this time. Except this lasts like 2 chapters then the main pairing get back together. All of this just has to bring up the question of what in the flying fuck was the point of that drama

Art:

The art is really good. Very clean and consistent art-style, the girl is beautiful and sexy and the guy is hot and doesn't look like a serial rapist. Plus the smut is pretty well done too. Not the most erotic smut out there, but it certainly gets the job done

Character:

Honestly, the ML really carries this relationship, which is not something you would expect to say in the beginning. But once they do form a couple, he's shown to be very caring, supportive and properly does treasure the FL

The FL for the most part you could say the same, except for one major thing that is unbeknownst to the author, she actually has bipolar disorder. Why you may ask? Because any sort of dramatic moment happens her feelings seem to insta switch all the time. It seriously gets annoying how stupid she can be, when she's for the most part fine.


Enjoyment:

I'm really divided on this. I think I've made it clear above what parts I find good and bad, but just to reiterate I do enjoy their relationship on its highs, and I really do think this is a nice series in those moments. But man, the lows are really low.....like really, really low


Without the drama: 8/10
With the drama: 6/10

tl;dr: A serious incest story with an interesting enough execution but is let down by some horrendous lack of communication

*Review will contain spoilers







... Story:

The story follows a rather poetic tale about 2 characters who naturally fall in love only to later realize they were consanguineous siblings who were separated from birth. From there is focuses on the story of these 2 with their new found relationship and the challenges they face along the way.

Now incest is quite a relatively uncommon story in romance manga, much less serious incest (so no little sister harem member) and much much less with true incest (i.e., blood related) so to have one that tries to handle it in a somewhat more serious manner seems interesting at first


if only
people
could
fucking
communicate
half-decently

Seriously, the majority of the drama in this series comes less from the siblings' aspect and more because none of the characters (apart from the dad) can form coherent sentences. As a result, most of the drama happens because one character (mostly the ML) decides to play the silent treatment like some retarded tsundere and the other characters (mainly the FL) are left to misunderstand or try to handle his mental gymnastics

I'm not even kidding when I say most of the major drama in this could have easily been resolved with 1 or 2 sentences

Exhibit A: ML finds out that his GF (FL) is actually his sister? Proceeds to randomly act like a massive dickhead towards her in the hopes that she "forgets" about him
What he could've done: "Hey I just found out we're goddamn siblings idk what should we do with our relationship???"
done.

Exhibit B: Love rival (of course) comes into play and wants to steal ML from FL (doesn't know they're dating). FL can't really stop this because it would reveal they are dating (which is apparently no go because.........something?)
What HE could've done: "Sorry, I am not interested in pursuing a romantic relationship with you." Like bruh is it really that hard to mutter that kind of rejection given that you're fine with boning your sister and letting your gay friend know about it??????
done.

Exhibit C: Mother wants FL to have a kid after she's gone (reality she just wants someone who will stay by FL's side) so FL decides to break up with ML because she wants to hurry up and have a kid before the mother dies
What she could've done: Nothing, because she quite literally clarifies what she meant AFTER all the shit happens with them breaking up? Like how the flying fuck is it that hard to get across you're not wishing for your first year uni daughter to get pregnant right away?
done.


The actual romance aspect of this is not too bad actually. I think the moments they have together fwiw (when they aren't getting cockblocked by the universe itself that is) is pretty cute and passionate at times. If it wasn't for the brain-dead drama this could actually have been a nice series. Plus it's nice to sprinkle some of the parent's romance here and there


Art:

The art is pretty nice, it really does convey the "oh this is definitely a train wreck" type of series

Character:

As legends say, there is duality of man


ML - fucking retarded

FL - absolute chad
.
.
.
.
later becomes fucking retarded


Let's start with the ML. I completely understand his shock over things like he's banging his blood sister and stuff. That's completely fine with how puzzled he is about the situation. What isn't fine is how absolutely impossible it is for him to utter basic Japanese and instead chooses to inner monologue all his feelings in the hopes that the author misplaced the supernatural tag and the FL can secretly read minds or some shit

And like any other love triangle center, finds it really difficult to even contemplate the words "No" or "my own consent." But hey at least he knows how to steamingly make out with his sister when the time comes amirite

FL: Actually the better of the two for the most part. She fully knows about the sibling thing but chooses to stay committed to ML despite all this, even willing to toss aside her family for the sake of love. On top of all of ML's bullshit she still chooses to trust him and still puts her faith in him


That is until misunderstanding mother comes along and suddenly she turns into the type that easily misunderstands and can't talk, and the cycle of life continues


Enjoyment:

I think I kinda alluded to it already, but honestly the romance moments in this series are quite nice but my god, the drama in this is quite ridiculous. Honestly this is better read with popcorn in hand enjoying the shitshow that evolves rather than expecting a strong relationship or something

tl;dr: Imagine if the Akagi x Kaji pairing in Tsurezure Children had their own separate series





Story:

If you read the tldr you pretty much have a gist for what the story is about. It basically follows the relationship between the formal yet secretly perverted ML who likes to tease the delinquent but soft hearted FL.

Each chapter generally follows a sort of "mini arc" style where there's an intro and conflict, usually dealing with one of the character's (mostly the FL's) insecurities, and a resolution by the end of it. Each chapter also generally provides some character development (mostly with ML) with brief backstories accompanying it. ... It's not something that will keep you thinking all night, but it certainly does help to provide more substance to the characters.

The romance is also nicely developed between the leads. Unlike most series' this one doesn't really beat around the bush when it comes to establishing the couple early, so rather than having a premise that has a 'will they wont they' subplot sprinkled on top (which would likely be the case if this was a shounen romcom ngl) instead we get a series that shows the couples development post confession. I think the series does a nice job blending the romance with the comedy so it doesn't feel too forced or half assed

That being said though, what will likely make or break this series is the comedy itself. While this series does have enough character to make it stand out more than just "repeat x formula a billion times and don't change anything" it still does rely on the same formula more or less for its comedy. However, there is enough variation that it ends up being a case of "what is he gonna say this time" as opposed to "oh here it comes again"

Art:

The art is fairly nice, it gets the job done and the facial expressions on the FL can be funny to see

Character:

This is really where the series shines the best. The chemistry between the 2 leads are amazing, they work perfectly well with each other on both the romantic front and especially the comedy front. The banter between the leads doesn't really come off as pretentious LN esq nor does it give the sense of "okay can we move on now."

The main ML, like in many shoujo is the star of the show. Even though on the outside he may seem formal, in reality he is quite perverted and loves to tease the FL. In classic shoujo fashion he has his own backstories which shows his less than fortunate upbringing and how the FL is there to save the day, but to give its credit it never overly stretches out the stories nor makes them overly melodramatic.

Now that isn't to say the FL is a pushover in terms of a character. She herself has her own strengths beyond just being the tsukkomi to the ML. Her reactions are priceless and the little moments where she's unintentionally derpy make her also an enjoyable one to watch

The rest of the side characters have their own features as well. Well 1 of them at least who actually shows up frequently

Enjoyment:

I've always enjoyed this sort of lighthearted teasing/banter with actual romantic development happening throughout. It's sorta like what I wanted to witness with Takagi-san (but never ended up). Personally I enjoy the comedy, I enjoy the characters and I especially enjoy the romance

edit: After doing some more research I found out that this series is actually going to get serialized and is going to continue!!

tl;dr: A very cute/wholesome and also ecchi romcom with some steady development, but unfortunately got hit with the dreaded axe



Story:

The story follows the similar formulaic process like many other shounen romcoms, where each chapter repeats the same premise under different situations. In the case of this one, it's where the FL is super sensitive that even the slightest touch will send her to horny jail. So you can imagine the chaos that ensues when ML just wants to interact more with his very ... first friend.

However, maybe it was because of the axe hammer but whatever the case, there is actually a slow development you'll find, especially relative to other shounen romcoms of the same nature. It's a shame we may never see how far it would've went

Art:

The art is very well drawn. Character designs are very clean, blushing scenes are pinpoint and even the lewd scenes have a respectable amount of detail put into them

Character:

The 2 main characters I find to be very cute with each other, and compliment the other quite well. You have the ML who's the typical aloof dense MC, who just wants to interact more with his first friend the FL, and you have the FL who's pretty much the bulk of the comedy in this series. She plays the classic "thinks the ML is some super secret badass" misunderstanding and so this often gets played for gags. In it's limited run there weren't really many serious scenes so it's hard to gague how "muh deep" this would have gotten, but the cute scenes were fun to see them


Enjoyment:

I really did enjoy this one but it's a shame it got hit with the axe too soon. I think the characters had the right amount of chemistry and was enjoying the steady development that was happening.

tl;dr: it's hentai, nothing more nothing less. We all know you're here for the ntr ya filthy bastard


Story:

The story basically follows the journey of the MC who has the weakest "but I have a girlfriend!" rebuttal in the history of MC's. Like seriously, he gives no shits, you give no shits, the entire story is waiting to see how long the FL (who is the best friend of MC's girlfriend) takes before she manages to reverse NTR the FL, and how long the ML can play the "b-b-but I have a gurlfriend" card (spoiler alert: doesn't take that long)

Art:

The art is pretty nice. Drawings are ... clean and there's enough mental gymnastics in the lewdness to pass as just ecchi and not at the very least smut

Characters:

MC --> Same basic bitch MC you'd find in a normal romcom. Has a girlfriend (somehow) yet find it somewhat difficult to utter the words "No" in a semi-convincing way without pretty much being toyed around by the FL. It's like he wants to cheat or smth

MC's girlfriend --> Literally there to make us feel bad or something? It's not like she does anything in particular to make you love her or hate her (for the most part) she's kinda there to remind you that yes indeed, this is an NTR story

FL: Classic oversized boobs thot character (who secretly might be a bit innocent). Bffs with MC's girlfriend yet for some reason can only get horny with MC GF's boyfriends and no one else. Her entire mission in life is to NTR her best friend. What a dick.


Enjoyment:

idk. Nothing really to expect from this tbh. At least the MC's GF doesn't seem like a super innocent nice girl and the MC's commitment is so half assed even Sniperwolf was more committed to that 10yr old child, so having the NTR element doesn't really make this anything frustrating really, just horny

tl;dr - An episodic series with each chapter containing a pretty important message to them


Story -

Each chapter follows a different woman and goes through a specific event in their life. Most of these stories have some romantic context situated around them, but some stories are more basic SoL

But the more important thing about these stories, is that they each contain a core message that they are trying to convey. Pretty useful ones as well. Things like trusting your partner, taking your chances before it's too late, learning to be more independent, etc.


... Art:

The art is fairly decent, not the greatest character designs but not totally bland either. If you're familiar with older shoujo art styles this one is pretty similar


Character:

Each of the women are fairly unique in their own right, they each have unique personalities that fit well into their respective stories, and there isn't too much overlap between the characters.

Most of the chapters focus specifically on the FL, with other side characters including main love interests being used as more of a means to progress the plot rather than being their own standalone characters.


Enjoyment:

I do have to admit I did enjoy this quite a bit, the characters weren't overly frustrating/annoying with their actions, and the messages are well conveyed and are pretty useful ones to follow in life. However, if you are looking for more long lasting characters/plot, then this series is not recommened

tl;dr: A unique blend that brings out the best shoujo and shounen elements in a romcom, however sacrifices the plot in place of fulfilling the life long dream of becoming a gag manga in the second half.






Story:

Horimiya mainly follows the perspective of the titular characters Hori and.....well Miyamura, and follows their relationship from acquaintances to friends to lovers. Amongst all the slapstick comedy which is very common within shounen romcoms (more on that later) there is a lot of exploration on the troubles of the main characters, and eventually some of the side ones as well.
...
It quickly becomes apparent that rather than being a simple boy meets girl, it focuses more on appearances vs. reality, which is arguably one of the main themes present in the series. One gets to see a lot of the hidden sides of some of the characters; the masks they put on in front of others and the handling of certain topics like bullying, jealousy and insecurities, all of which conveniently, are seen a lot within shoujo romcoms (which unfortunately, no more on that later). So as a result, rather than being just a simple story of shits and giggles one instead gets a story of the emotional bond and healing that arises from two people opening up to each other and helping each other develop...and also shits and giggles

Now don't get me wrong, it's not exactly as if Horimiya does things super unique per se. Like I'm sure you can find tons of examples of series' (and focusing on particular on shounen romances) with........multiple couples..or, or.....a couple that doesn't beat around the bush too much and actually.....develops........or maybe a couple that has....sex. ok maybe from a romance side of things, Horimiya does things very out of the norm relative to other series' in the demographic.

But that's not really what makes it shine the most. What really makes Horimiya stand out from a lot of other romcoms, is that combination of the good shounen and shoujo elements into 1. You see, one of the best things that shounen romcoms has to offer is often the humour. A looooot of romcoms within this demographic tend to have very slapstick and over exaggerated humour, which you may or may not like. Conversely, one of the best things shoujo romcoms have to offer is that emotional connection between characters, usually that of love (and to some extent family as well). What Horimiya manages to do for the most part is combine those 2 so you end up getting those feel good lovey-dovey moments combined with over-the-top humour. So technically all is good right?


but no


I mentioned shounen romcoms before and this is where it comes back to bite in the ass. If you know shounen romcoms you know that they follow a very basic formula for the most part. Repeat the same few repetitive gags for an indefinite amount of time; give little to no plot development OR give some plot development only to revert back to status quo moments later (looking at you Kanojo Okarishimasu); give romantic development that jebaits you harder than Maroon 5 playing Spongebob at the Super Bowl, and so on so forth. Unfortunately, Horimiya ends up falling for the same trap. See a bit past halfway through the chapters, one will find that the story starts to stagnant, the shits and giggles factor gets turned up to 11, whereas the muh deep emotions gets yeeted out into god knows where. Now these "filler" chapters aren't anything new, lots of big romcoms; Kaguya-sama, Tonikaku Kawaii etc. do this all the time but at the very least they throw in some bits of plot here and there in between, y'know to make it seem like they aren't dragging things along. Horimiya on the other hand didn't get the memo and instead almost the entire latter half of the series consists of comedic one shots. Would be lying if I said it didn't disappoint


Art:

Art is dope, nothing more needs to be said


Character:

Since it's pretty pointless to just throw in buzzwords that make me sound like a wannabe intellectual like "realism","relatable" and "omg this character didn't give me a 10 chapter backstory on how they suffered from depression and PTSD all while being abused by their parents smh what a 1D character" y'know the usual, I think it's best to summarize each of the reoccurring characters


Hori - The Hor in Horimiya (not to be confused with the w(hor)e in horimiya). The flat chested sadistic ice-queen yet somehow is super masochistic beyond recognition. She shows a very caring and hardworking attitude towards her friends but isn't hesitant to beat the shit out of them if the time arises. waifuism at its finest

Miyamura - The Miya in Miyamura. The average looking virgin (well not maybe hehehe) who gets saved by main love interest and turns into based chad. Is very innocent in a lot of aspects which sets itself up for some pretty funny gags.

Tooru - Love interest-kun that gets rejected so he gets relegated(promoted?) into Love Triangle-kun. In all seriousness he is best bro whhy wouldn't you fall in love with him

Yoshikawa - The one who looks like an airhead on the outside but secretly is a twisted yandere who would murder all your love interests. But she's cute so she gets a pass

Remi - The one who looks like an airhead on the outside but......well ok she actually is kinda an airhead but she can be pretty perceptive and a bit of a dick at times too

Sakura - Looks like that "secretly lesbain for main heroine" side character

Sengoku - absolute gigachad at confessions

Yannagi - Who needs eyesight when you're hot amirite

Souta - based

Yuriko - the mom of based

Kyousuke - the dad of based. Also looks like a hentai protagonist after retirement

Shuu - oh wait he's a character?

Watabe - Hori love rival


Enjoyment:

Personally I really enjoyed this series, like I mentioned above it's not everyday you get a series that combines 2 (potentially) great elements into one, and imo HOrimiya does this fantastically. My, and what I presume most people's biggest gripes are having to do with the dumbing down of the plot in the second half, but depending on how much you like the comedy of the series it can either really hamper your experience or not phase you too much (me being part of the latter)