Shonen is often defined by action-oriented series like Naruto and One Piece, in which young heroes grow in strength and overcome challenges that will eventually transform them for the better. However, mangaka Hero's Horimiya takes a different approach to the genre, focusing on shonen's rarely-seen vulnerable and heartwarming side.
Horimiya focuses on the budding romantic relationship between two high school students, Kyoko Hori and Izumi Miyamura. At first glance, the two seem like opposites: Hori is the smart, popular girl in school while Miyamura is a gloomy, nerdy guy. However, they soon learn each other’s true personalities when Miyamura escorts Hori’s younger brother Souta home. Hori is a homebody who takes care of her brother while Miyamura is an alternative punk guy who wears piercings and has tattoos. The two agree to keep their identities a secret from their classmates, but soon after, they develop a friendship that eventually turns romantic.
This popular slice-of-life romance series was first self-published on Hero’s website, Dokkai Ahen, as the four-panel comic Hori-san to Miyamura-kun. It was then later republished as chapters on Square Enix’s shonen imprint Gangan Comics. Working alongside Hero, artist Daisuke Hagiwara adapted the manga, for serialization in the shonen magazine Monthly G Fantasy, which primarily focuses on fantasy manga. Considering where Horimiya is published, the series is regarded as a shonen, despite its romance and slice-of-life elements seemingly being better suited to shojo.
At first glance, Horimiya doesn't seem like a shonen series at all. But, at its core, Horimiya follows the same story path as its contemporaries, albeit unconventionally. With the help of Hori, Miyamura’s character gradually transforms from an introvert to an outgoing and friendly guy. Miyamura’s punk edge began as a way to cope with the bullying he experienced in middle school, which deeply affected how he interacts with others in high school.
But once Miyamura befriends Hori, he slowly opens up to others. Miyamura’s friendships are proof of his growth as a young man, which is different from other shonen protagonists who show growth by gaining new powers or beating powerful enemies. But for Izumi Miyamura, courage and maturity aren’t proven by defeating villains and saving the world, but by overcoming his demons. Instead of gaining the power to blast away bad guys, Miyamura becomes stronger by embracing his vulnerability.
Even Horimiya's romance falls out of line with shonen convention, though clearly still fits a particular mold. Many shonen romances follow the harem path, as in Naoshi Komi’s Nisekoi, or the romance is otherwise just a subplot to a more serious ordeal, like with Naruto and Hinata or Ichigo Kurosaki and Orihime Inoue’s relationships. Unlike those shonen romances, Horimiya takes on a more idealistic, but adorable approach, similar to shojo series like Karuho Shiina’s Kimi ni Todoke and Kanae Hazuki’s Say, I Love You. The result is something meaningful, but with clear, shonen-like progression.
In Horimiya, Miyamura and Hori have a “meet-cute” and several other adorable scenes including Miyamura meeting Hori’s father, Kyosuke and Miyamura and Hori’s subtle candy kiss. These romantic incidents are similar to the scenes we see in shojo manga, making Horimiya attract a wider audience, particularly shojo fans. By embracing the genre's softer side, Horimiya shows that shonen isn’t just action-adventure storylines for boys, shonen can do well-crafted romances, too.
