Horimiya with IriMoya – episode 11

Posted on by Irina

Well, this is going to be a drastic change from my usual thoughts on Horimiya… I thought this episode was super sweet! I’m starting to feel very redundant and that’s a bit of a problem for me when I’m enjoying a series. I just keep repeating praise over and over again. 

And I have come to realize that I actively look forward to the new episodes on Saturdays. Horimiya’s making me actively rethink my binging tendencies. 

But before we get into all that, let’s catch up with our favourite Moya. How are you Moya? How has a full week of daylight savings time been treating you?

Pretty good, actually! Now the mornings aren’t so bright and I get to sleep in a little longer… Hope you’re doing great too!

So at first I thought the episode had a somewhat odd cold open. Cute but a bit out of nowhere. Because they followed the reveal that Shu had a little sister with a scene about Yanagi joining the friend group and then the return of Sawada. 

It was like a tribute to the supporting cast we haven’t gotten to know yet and I thought it was actually a very nice idea, even if it is kind of filler. It’s the type of filler I really like.

Thank you for adding links to the names – I’m sure it’ll help a lot of people. Yeah, when they casually brought up “Shu,” I was thinking…Shu who?? I thought Iura’s sibling reveal would have been Sakura given the hair colour, but it was a new character altogether.

So let’s start with Yanagi. He’s adorable and even if they didn’t develop him much beyond that, I actually like that he brings out all the goofiest sides of Miya. You can see a lot better why Miya and Hori work as a couple after you see Miya interact with Yanagi for a while. He makes for a great character foil.

Adorable, that he is. But Yanagi, where are your glasses?? Did he move on to contacts now?

I did not dislike Sawada’s introduction but one thing I have always thought the season had failed on is giving her character such a detailed background and strong first episode then seemingly forgetting about her. I kept wondering if we would ever see Sawada again. And although I can’t say that this episode really gave the character its dues, it was at least an acknowledgement that she still existed in the series. 

Much like Yanagi, I thought her scenes did a lot more to develop another character, in this case, Iura. There was a lot of exposition-free character development going on. I feel like some other series could learn from that.

Sawada is cute. Her issue with guys reminds me of me when I’m around dogs – I like how nice and sweet they are until they get loud!

I enjoyed the interaction between Sawada and Sakura, where Sakura seemingly understands everything Sawada thinks just by reading her looks. Maybe Sawada actually talked but those parts were deliberately “cut out,” but it was still endearing, and I can totally see Sakura being a great empath.

The yuri thing seems to have been dropped completely though. What happened to Sawada’s interest in Hori? She was crazily obsessed with Hori when first introduced, but in this episode, they didn’t even interact. 

I know people have been criticizing Horimiya for treating sexuality as a throwaway gag. Part of me understands that high school students really are cringy sometimes, but part of me wishes the show was a little more thoughtful. Not so much a complaint for this episode in particular, but it’s something that’s been on my mind given some discourse I’ve been reading.

Ok so the real core of the episode (at least for me) was getting to know Iura. More specifically, Big brother Iura.

I’ve mentioned once or twice that I’m an only child and maybe out of jealousy or something, I have a huge soft spot for caring sibling relationships in anime. Gets me everytime. If I remember correctly, you have a brother don’t you Moya? You might not romanticize sibling relationships like I do.

I do have a brother, but not an older one! I still want an older sibling… I want someone to pass their clothes and textbooks to me, and introduce me to their cool friends…

In any case, it was a pretty simple story. Despite studying hard Iura’s little sister doesn’t have great grades and she might not get into the high school she wants. And as a good big brother, Shu tries to help her by asking Hori to tutor and just generally supporting her. That’s all really. And it was great.

Ity was wonderful discovering so much about a character we’ve seen all along but never got a chance to hang out with. And this one episode added so much depth and humanity to his character that I’m probably going to remember him way after the season is over even though he was hardly in it. 

I especially like how he gets her a test-specific good luck charm! That was very cute. As you say, this feels like filler, but it’s a welcome one.

I also quite liked Hori playing the sisters. I got the feeling that it’s something she wanted to do for a while but it isn’t quite the same with Souta. 

I kind of wish we had seen the girl’s reaction to the banana muffins. Maybe that’s just because I really like banana muffins. They are my second favourite after lemon poppy seed. 

Those banana muffins were beautiful! I’m not usually a fan of bananas, but I do like them in baking or as chips. My favourite and second-favourite muffin flavours are blueberry and double chocolate.

All said it was a quietish episode where not that much happened. It also felt a bit disjointed. Like we were taking random extra chapters from here and there and putting them together. But once again, I think the sheer likeability of the characters coupled with the gentle and sweet narrative just won me over. I was smiling the entire time and can’t wait for next Saturday.  

Next Saturday would be the finale, wouldn’t it? I wonder if we can expect anything dramatic – perhaps some further development between Toru and Yuki? Would be nice.

Also, this episode had a Remi thumbnail, and the Remi bye-bye scene was really cute indeed. But can we have some more Remi, please?

I think we still have 2 episodes… So maybe extra Remi?

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5 thoughts on “Horimiya with IriMoya – episode 11”

  1. Oh shit, the contrast between Shu’s serious home persona & his class clown act rang true to me. Sometimes in life you just wanna try on another costume, see how it fits. Props to the writing team & the voice actor, they really brought the character to life, in such a short time.

    On another note, I’d have ended the episode differently, felt the closing line was weak. Y’know, the whole “I hope my sibling doesn’t hate me” shebang. Putting a couple neurons to work would quickly lay that notion to rest — I mean, really, lil sis? Your brother spent half the episode recognizing your efforts when no one would, picking you up when you were down & encouraging you to do your best. Plus the guy covered all angles, softening the perception of failure while increasing your chances of success, at a critical junction in your life. And you wonder if he hates you?

    I don’t mind bittersweet, but there was no need here to indulge in some dramatic irony. Besides, I think it would’ve been far more powerful for the siblings, despite the surface tension in their daily interactions, to admit a heartfelt appreciation for their deep bond — if only begrudgingly, without voicing it in front of each other, but with it still being understood by both.

    But really, I’m quibbling over one second of content. Strong showing from the series overall, this could end up being my favorite anime of the season.

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    1. I just thought they were both sort of slow. I mean they are sweethearts but the episode does go out of it’s way to show that they may not be the most gifted at thinking…

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  2. The horimiya manga ended a few days ago, and I’ve been watching the anime over again with somewhat of a new view. Those banana muffins did look really good, and trust me, you don’t want an older sibling, in it’s in our job descriptions to make the lives of the younger ones more annoying.

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  3. Pingback: Horimiya with IriMoya – episode 11 – The Moyatorium

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