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Feb 5, 2025
I'm a huge sucker for romance anime, and this one actually has it all. It's got an interesting hook and characters with actual personalities. The main plot is a romance between an aristocratic heir who was cursed by a witch as a child to kill all he touches (hence the "Duke of Death"), and his maid, Alice.
The pace of the romance between the Duke and Alice feels incredibly natural, and the chemistry between the two is clear with an actual backstory to it, instead of it being 'just because.' The dynamic between the two of them balances out quite nicely. Even though Alice technically
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works for the Duke, and on paper he has authority over her, she has all of the power over him emotionally. Their personalities compliment this dynamic as well: the Duke is timid and easily flustered, while Alice is playful, teasing, and is shown multiple times to be quite perceptive and cunning. But the characters don't feel static- there is plenty of character progression for both of them.
Rather than detract from the primary romance like so many other side characters do in different series, the side characters in this series actually serve to further the romance by introducing conflict from their respective worlds, and thus giving reasons for the Duke and Alice to improve and their romance to grow. There are really two categories of side characters: the witches (notably Zane and Cuff, who serve as a side romance between the two of them), and the Duke's family (Rob the butler, as well as the Duke's sister, brother, and mother). To elaborate, Zane and Cuff serve as an introduction to the world of witches, and by extension, the hunt to figure out a way to break the Duke's curse. The Duke's aristocratic family, on the other hand, naturally sees the Duke's affection for Alice to be taboo, which serves as a catalyst for him to grow independently as a character. In addition, these side characters also have quite enjoyable personalities!
Overall, the romance is incredibly well written and paced. Would probably be between a 9 and 10 if it wasn't 3D animated. However, what is actually drawn in 2D is beautiful, and the mostly classical-adjacent music is lovely. If you love romance anime, don't miss out on this one.
Reviewer’s Rating: 8
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Jan 31, 2025
It's... alright. Gojou is kind of a dorkass for being so oblivious to how obviously Marin likes him. He's pretty one dimensional too, as in he likes one thing and makes that his whole personality. Marin is (kind of) the opposite? She's really only into one hobby but she's got a personality outside of it which is refreshing.
As for the show as a whole, it kind of suffers from Horimiya disease: the romance acts like its going to go somewhere but then it doesn't. The pacing between the two starts off pretty quick, pretty much stops for 60% of the middle, and then picks up
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again in the last two episodes. That 60% of middle is kind of a slog because I don't really care about the side characters to be honest. Why does every single romance show that is almost good decide to just hard pivot to random characters midway? We're not here for that, man, stop wasting my damn time.
That would taint the show enough for me to not like it, but the final two episodes turn things around. What stood out to me was the inclusion of a genuine moment of intimacy between two of them. Not the "she's cosplaying someone risque and that makes him embarrassed" blatant fan service this show loves to pull over and over again. An actual, full stop moment of vulnerability between the two characters. There's something so human about how quickly the veil of her flirtatious attitude and his cardboard personality get dropped when they nearly fall into unbridled passion. I think that's actually refreshing given how many shows flirt with the idea of showing us those moments but just refuse to ever get there.
By the end of the show, we're back on track for some main character romance, which is definitely more than than Horimiya did. Fuck that show. But anyway, if the appeal of having 3-4 quite good romance episodes is good enough to offset some of the more bland stuff in the middle, you'll like it. If not, watch the good parts on YouTube shorts.
Reviewer’s Rating: 7
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Jan 25, 2025
I feel bad for the people who stopped watching after the beginning of Season 1. While at first glance this show is about a slow burn teasing romance between Nagatoro and Naoto, the show actually proves to move beyond this to demonstrate what a healthy relationship looks like. Yes, I'm not joking. To name a few ways in which this is done off the rip: (1) the two of them push each other to be better people and work on their weaknesses, (2) they support each other in their passions, (3) they show that they are capable of teasing each other and being lighthearted without
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pushing each other's boundaries, (4) and when these boundaries are pushed unintentionally, the character who does this (usually Nagatoro) acknowledges this and does better in the future.
One more thing worth mentioning is that this show actually only focuses (romance wise) on the main characters and their slow burn together. There's so many other shows that would be a million times better if they just fucking focused on the main characters and their romance. But those shows instead take away from that by focusing on side characters (and romances between them) that serve no purpose to forwarding the plot. Nagatoro does not do this shit. If anything, the side characters (Nagatoro's friends) serve as a device to help Naoto work on his weaknesses.
And real spill, that's what the show is actually about. Nagatoro and Naoto make each other better people.
Reviewer’s Rating: 8
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Jan 25, 2025
If you stopped watching after the first episode, you're weak. At first glance, a simpleton might believe that the entirety of the show is about Nagatoro messing with Naoto. And this is true, for maybe two episodes. But what it's really about (besides the obvious, a slow burn romance...) is about the two of them pushing each other to becoming better versions of themselves. I'm not kidding. Season 2 does this much better than Season 1, as more of the groundwork of the relationship is laid. The show is lighthearted, and you'll either be into the teasing premise or you won't. If you're into it,
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you'll end up watching a well paced romance play out where a surprisingly healthy relationship develops (more on this in my S2 review). If you weren't into it, as I said initially... you're weak.
Reviewer’s Rating: 8
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Jan 25, 2025
This shit was ass to be honest with you. Pink haired MC chick tries to be all Light Yagami when it comes to kidnapping lil girl MC, but it ends up being about as exciting as watching paint dry. Plus they literally show you the ending of the show in the first fucking scene. Like 30 seconds in, you know how this is ending. Great storytelling. "Durrr you don't get it, that's part of the plot device! Media literacy is dead!" No, it just makes me even more bored during the boring ass scenes in this show because I already know how this dumb shit
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ends. So why sit through it?? If you think this is psychological horror, you're weak. If you think this is a masterpiece, you're definitely the type of person to enjoy a two hour video essay made by some white guy about how grass is green.
Reviewer’s Rating: 4
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Jan 25, 2025
The actual titular Horimiya romance is good. A little fast paced at the beginning but dawg I'm here for that shit. As long as it goes somewhere. Problem is that it doesn't. The longer the show goes, the less about them it gets. By around the halfway mark, most of the series is giving whole episodes to side characters of side characters. Like man I do not give a single fuck about one of the side character's sister (that I met an episode ago) getting into a good school. So yeah, the show is good as long as it's focusing on what it's meant to
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be focusing on. The two main characters. And maybe Yuki and Tooru too, like 'Your Lie in April' styled four friends turns into two couples. But once the show moved past that it lost me.
Reviewer’s Rating: 7
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