The A-part of this episode begins with Ishikawa loaning his jersey to Sakura after he accidentally causes her to spill her drink on herself. Realizing this is the opportunity she needs to get closer to Ishikawa, Sakura bakes cookies for him as thanks. Jealous over Sakura and Ishikawa’s friendship, Yoshikawa asks Miyamura on how to bake a cupcake.
I’ve been keeping talk of Missing Pieces to a minimum in order to keep things fair with the original season. That said, the implication that stuff got cut from adapting the manga for the anime is an undeniable elephant in the room. After this episode’s first half, I really can’t help but wonder if Yoshikawa is one of the poor victims in the adaptation process. She hasn’t been all that prevalent compared to Hori, Miyamura, and Ishikawa. I always figured that she and Ishikawa would be the secondary couple in the show but it’s only until now that it’s even hinted at.
If a lot of Yoshikawa’s screentime really did get cut, it would explain why everything about this segment feels half-assed. We’ve barely seen Yoshikawa interact with Ishikawa so her developing feelings for the guy comes across as a head scratcher. There’s a scene where Hori narrates how Yoshikawa often fakes a smile to hide her feelings. That would be an interesting detail but it falls flat due to the show telling us about it now and neglecting to show it beforehand. Honestly, Sakura feels better positioned as Ishikawa’s love interest. At least she got scenes ahead of time.
Thank goodness Ishikawa was given the spotlight from time to time. At least this subplot can salvaged a little. Ishikawa currently doesn’t have feelings for Yoshikawa but he is vaguely aware that Yoshikawa has been giving him a lot of attention. By far, the best moment in this segment is at the end. Yoshikawa’s cupcakes come up burnt. Ishikawa sees that they’re burnt but he also infers from the band aids on Yoshikawa’s fingers that she put a lot of work into them, prompting Ishikawa to take a bite. It’s a very considerate moment on Ishikawa’s part and it’s a good scene to pitch him and Yoshikawa as a potential couple.
The second half of the episode returns to Hori and Miyamura. Miyamura heads over to Hokkaido for five days due to a funeral in his family. Unfortunately for him, his phone runs out of power and he’s unable to find time to get a spare charger. Hori becomes anxious as she waits for Miyamura to return, so much so that she runs over to Miyamura’s apartment on the day he returns. It’s a case of absence making the heart grow fonder, with Hori realizing just how integral to her life her boyfriend has become. The reunion scene does feel better served as the ending to an episode but timing aside, I really enjoyed it.
Presumably the next day, Hori discusses Miyamura’s distaste for horror movies with the other girls. Everyone else is concerned that Miyamura will eventually drift away from Hori if she keeps making him watch horror movies so they suggest that Hori act scared so that she can get intimate with her boyfriend. This hilariously backfires as Miyamura is too frightened by the movie that he just gets scared when Hori tries any moves. Hori loses a lot of confidence in herself though she regains it when Miyamura tells her that he loves her for who she is.
With their emotions at an all-time high, Hori and Miyamura spend the night having sex. It’s a surprising scene, if only because a lot of romcom anime barely get to that phase. I suppose that’s one thing Horimiya has over its peers. There is a couple things about this scene that feels off though. On one hand, it’s a good halfway point for the story. On the other, we’ve only seen Hori and Miyamura date for an episode and a half. I suppose pacing so quickly makes their first time leap out at you but I’d argue it’d hit harder if we saw them as an official couple for a little longer. Another thing that I find weird is how brief the sex scene is. The show immediately fades to white once as Hori and Miyamura begin to consummate and we only see the aftermath for a few seconds in a post-credits scene. I’ll give Horimiya credit in being tasteful but you’d think a development this important would have more screentime, certainly compared to the horror movie bit.
The ending scene is really interesting. I’ve always wondered what Souta has thought about his big sister and big brother dating each other (I know what I wrote). Considering that Hori and Miyamura have been dating for some time, a scene such as this feels overdue. I do find it strange that Souta is suddenly worried about Miyamura taking Kyoko for himself. With how well he gets along with Miyamura, this comes as a big surprise. That said, I really like that Miyamura assures Souta that they’re still buddies and asking the kid if it’s alright for him to be Kyoko’s boyfriend. It’s just nice seeing this surrogate brotherhood revisited and to see how much Miyamura cares about Souta.
Watch Horimiya on Crunchyroll, Funimation, and Hulu
Xenodude Scribbles 