In a tale of opposites attracting, of seeing beyond the surface level and of falling in love with the knowledge that love is a dynamic force, Horimiya is one of the standout romances of the past decade, bringing both realism and humor to teenagers attempting to navigate their first relationship. The love story of Hori Kyoko and Miyamura Izumi has been capturing hearts for over ten years, culminating in the series finale and an anime adaptation in 2021 that was voted Best Romance in the 2022 Crunchyroll Awards.
However, is this relationship truly as pure as it seems? As awe-inducing as these high school sweethearts may seem at first, their relationship is far from a happily-ever-after, and could even be seen to toe the line of unhealthy and abusive.
At first glance, Hori and Miyamura's relationship is an ideal one, with both encouraging the other to be true to themselves while also offering support while they grow closer and develop romantic feelings. They work so well because they are never static -- they have to grow into liking each other and then continue to grow until that feeling turns into love. The series continues way past the love confession as well, while other couples in other series spend all their time building to that moment and leave the audience with no idea how they will act once their feelings are revealed.
However, while the two act quite normally as they grow to like each other, once in a relationship -- and a little before, in Hori's case -- they both develop disturbing possessive behaviors. Miyamura is insanely jealous of his neighbor, a younger girl who has a crush on Hori, and takes it as far as yelling at her in the hallways while snatching Hori away. Hori also takes to yelling at people who express interest in Miyamura, even before they're a couple, claiming him as hers.
When the two make their dating official and students speak badly about Hori and Miyamura behind their backs, Miyamura is understandably bothered by it and cleans up his appearance, which leads to a lot of sudden interest from the female student body. Hori doesn't yell at anyone who looks at her boyfriend, but chooses to leave a nonconsensual bite mark on the back of his neck so he won't cut his hair again and earn more attention -- an action that leaves him bothered and confused.
Another troubling aspect of their relationship is the physical abuse. Hori is noticed by their friends to beat up on Miyamura fairly often, and yet this gets excused time and time again. Miyamura himself always excuses Hori hitting him with textbooks, to the point where the conversation will flip around to him assuring her that he still likes her even though she gets violent like that.
On the opposite end of the spectrum, Hori actually enjoys mixing some violence into their physical relationship, and Miyamura goes along with the playacting despite being supremely uncomfortable with pretending to hit his girlfriend and boss her around. His inability to stand up for himself, both in pretending to be abusive and being abused himself, is troubling and leads to questions as to how Miyamura would stand up for himself in other situations. Miyamura feels he owes so much of his personal journey to Hori that he's willing to ignore many of her faults, even when honest conversation would be best for both of them.
All that said, the ever-changing nature of Hori and Miyamura's relationship remains its saving grace. The two are never in a static position in their relationship and understand that themselves. Miyamura is able to admit that he still doesn't know much about Hori despite loving her, and he wants to keep learning. The two even later agree to get married after graduation with the full acceptance that they're still learning about each other and how to be in a relationship despite their flaws. This mature outlook on love portrays the teens as young and inexperienced but also fully aware that they are so, and that willingness to grow and learn is what makes Hori and Miyamura a success, both fully willing to grow and change to maintain their relationship.
That growth is captured within the story as well, with Miyamura able to drop his grudge match and be more confident in his relationship, while Hori recognizes her tendencies to be bossy and self-centered, meaning she's realized it's a problem area to be worked on. The fact that the two also give each other the courage to speak up as themselves further points to a future relationship where negative aspects of their relationship can be talked out with rationality.
Although not every aspect of Hori and Miyamura's relationship is ideal, that doesn't prevent these young lovers from being a well-written example of teenage romance. Both are in their first serious romantic relationship, yet they have a nuanced understanding of the changing nature of love and loving someone past outward appearances. Their jealous natures and the physical abuse are areas of concern, but when compared to the positive aspects of the relationship, especially how the two learn to work past conflicts, there's nothing to indicate that Hori and Miyamura won't continue to be in a happy and loving relationship for the rest of their lives. The two are an example of young love done mostly right and manage to be realistic in the process, setting a high standard for the next hit romantic comedy to come along.
