Horimiya, Vol. 1 (Inglés) Tapa blanda – 10 nov 2015

This isn't normally the type of story I would pick up, but it's one of the best decisions I've made all year.

Let me tell you a story. I was complaining to a friend about the slow-burn relationship in Noragami and she told about a great manga where there's a slow-burn relationship (but not to slow) that ends up being the cutest relationship ever. She said it was just an adorable manga that centered around a great relationship. Actually, she said less than that, just that it was a fulfilling relationship (eventually she explained a bit more). Right away, though, I ordered the first volume off of amazon.

And it is absolutely the cutest thing in the world. Not into manga? This might change your mind. Within the first chapter I was completely charmed.

To back up: Horimiya is a high school drama story, sort of. Basically, Hori, the female lead, is really popular at school. She never gets to spend time with friends outside of school, though, because her parents are never home and she has to take care of both the house and her brother in a very unglamorous way. One day, a pierced and tattooed (and good looking) stranger shows up at her door, guiding her little brother home after he fell and hurt himself. Turns out the stranger isn't really a stranger, but Miyamura, the male lead. At school he's a shy and strange boy who hides behind bulky clothing and long hair. On his own time, he's not so afraid to be himself. Both discover that these secrets bring them closer together and they begin to feel a budding attraction to each other.

And it's super cute! Have I mentioned that before?

It's a very basic plot, and very little actually happens except that they spend time together. Every second of the book, though, drips with sexual tension and you just can't wait for them to finally get together, or at least admit, our loud, that they're attracted to each other.

SPOILER ALERT: it doesn't happen in this volume. My friend has promised that it does happen soon, so finger's crossed it's in the next volume. Which I have to wait until January for. END SPOILER ALERT.

I really recommend picking this one up, especially if you're in the mood for a cutesy romance.

The popular Kyouko Hori doesn’t let anyone see her true plain-Jane, homebody nature. But that changes when she meets a striking boy with several tattoos and piercings that turns out to be her gloomy, assumed otaku and shut-in classmate Izumi Miyamura. How will they react to each other’s secret sides?

Horimiya is a wonderful little romance with a fantastic premise. Two high school students with home lives that are extremely different than the image they project at school stumble upon the sides of each other they never show anyone else. There are understandable, valid reasons why they’re reluctant to be themselves and these and other “real life” concerns and insecurities give them depth and make them extremely easy to relate to and root for. The deft touch with which everything’s kept realistic without getting bogged down or boring is impressive.

Overall the best word to describe Horimiya is sweet, and I look forward to learning more about Kyouko and Izumi and watching their relationship grow.

*Horimiya* is a fun and sweet little manga. It's about two Japanese high-schoolers who seemingly have nothing in common - Hori and Miyamura. Hori is seen as a stunning and popular student and Miyamura is seen as a genius and closeted otaku. In fact, Hori is a homebody who enjoys taking care of her little brother, and Miyamura is a pierced and tattooed grunge type of guy. Moreover, while Hori really *is* smart, Miyamura is not that good a student and is much tougher than he looks physically.

Both want to keep their "real selves" secret. This is something normal for teenagers to an extent in general, depending on the time, person, area, so on. In Japan, where being different or not living up to expectations is seen as a truly negative thing, it's even worse.

Of course, this isn't (so far as of these two volumes) seriously discussed. It's basically there as the backdrop for the sweet story of these two friends, and maybe something more?

Added into this mix are two other friends who round out the group - Yuki and Toru. Indeed, Miyamura, who was lonely for much of his life is getting new friends beyond just Hori, which adds to the sweetness. Though this sweetness is tempered by the shock of realizing what type of path Miyamura was on before he met Hori and the others. He was doing some stuff that was dangerous and might be called self-injury. The hint I got was that he was suicidal, and that Hori, Toru and Yuki have pulled him back from the brink via their infusion of friendship and love into his love that ended his social ostracism.

In any society, being cut off because you are seen as "different" can be quite painful, but it is more so in a society that emphasizes and values conformity and community such as Japan does. Hori had a hidden side but the public side was still one that folks liked. Not so with Miyamura. So he was in real pain. Then friendship occurred.

That's something I liked about the books. This is a story about love and romance among two young folks, yes. It's also a story of friendship, and that, indeed, is just as important, arguably, as the romance of the main leads. The friends of Miyamura, especially Toru, are key players, and Toru's relationship with Miyamura gets almost as much emphasis in these first two volumes so far as that of Hori's friendship/budding romance.

The art was about average. It got the point across, but was nothing to write home about. Though the proportions were pretty well-done. Those are hard to capture and the mangaka here, pen-named HERO, did so quite well. The art also did a good job of capturing the "tone" of the series, whether it be comedic, serious, so on. The characters were nice, though I found Hori a little annoying in her lack of sympathy for others at one or two points, but her overall kindness to Miyamura and as a big sister made up for it somewhat. I like Miyamura, Toru and some others best.

All in all, a good read.

Rating:

Vol. 1 - 4/5 Stars
Vol. 2 - 5/5 Stars
Overall Rating - 4/5 Stars.