Tamal Kundu
Based on a Japanese shounen manga series written by Hiroki Adachi (under the penname Hero) and illustrated by Daisuke Hagiwara, ‘Horimiya’ is a romance slice-of-life anime series that has taken the anime world by storm particularly because of the unconventional dynamics between its two lead characters: sweet, popular, and capable Kyoko Hori and quiet, reclusive, and a bit of an airhead Izumi Miyamura.
Both Kyoko and Izumi learn that they are hiding their real selves from their classmates. Kyoko is a homebody who can be quite aggressive depending on the circumstances, while Izumi is a mild-mannered punk with multiple tattoos and piercings. Despite all their differences, the two find common ground in the secrets they keep for each other. Inevitably, they fall in love.
Since its premiere, the anime has been a favorite among the critics and the fans for its crisp animation, developments of both the major and minor characters, and fast-paced and immersive plot. With ‘Horimiya’ season 1 drawing to a close, many of you must want to know where there will be a season 2. Here is what we have been able to find out.
Horimiya Season 2 Release Date
‘Horimiya’ season 1 premiered on January 10, 2021, and ran for 13 episodes before concluding on April 4, 2021. CloverWorks Studios developed the anime, with Masashi Ishihama serving as the director and Takao Yoshioka as the writer. Masaru Yokoyama provided the score, while Haruko Iizuka handled the character designs. You Kamiyama performed the opening theme “Color Perfume (Iro Kousui),” and Friends sang the ending theme track “Promise (Yakusoku).”
As for ‘Horimiya’ season 2, the producers haven’t made any official statement on the subject yet. Unlike many other romance anime, ‘Horimiya’ doesn’t spend much time with the overused “will they, won’t they” trope. Izumi confesses his feelings to Kyoko in episode 4, and they start dating in the following episode. The anime is only faithfully emulating the manga’s speed, and such rapid development is one of many aspects that make ‘Horimiya’ such a wholesome watch. Along with that, it also enables the show to go through its source material faster than a traditional anime adaptation.
The ‘Horimiya’ TV anime has caught up with the manga series, which concluded with the publication of chapter 122 in March 2021. The final episode is mostly an adaptation of the 122nd chapter, depicting the graduation day for the students of Katagiri Senior High School. The anime skipped several chapters of the original manga series. Some of them were covered in a brief slideshow montage shown during the end credits. Considering all this, we can safely assume that there will not likely be a ‘Horimiya’ season 2.
Fortunately, there is other ‘Horimiya’ content that the show’s massive fanbase can look forward to even if there is no future season of the TV anime. On November 23, 2020, talent agency Horipro revealed that they were developing a live-action TV rendition of the manga. The first three episodes of the project were released together in selected theatres on February 5, 2021, for a week-long run. The full-length TV show premiered on February 17, 2021, on MBS’s Dramaism programming block, TBS, and Apple TV+ exclusively in Japan.
HERO originally developed the story as a web manga under the title ‘Hori-san to Miyamura-kun,’ which has been adapted in a 6-episode OVA (original video animation) series. The first OVA premiered on October 5, 2012, and three others have been released to date. The 5th and 6th OVAs, titled ‘Hori and Miyamura: Midsummer Day’ and ‘Hori and Miyamura: A Kind Person’ respectively, are set for a May 2021 release.
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