REVIEW: ‘Horimiya,’ Episode 10 – “Until the Snow Melts”

It is absolutely wonderful when it is good, which unfortunately makes the few blemishes in Horimiya Episode 10 absolutely cringeworthy. The beloved romantic comedy follows title characters Hori and Miyamura as they get to know each other and navigate their growing romantic attraction. Additionally, the show expands to a large supporting cast that addresses the many ups and downs of adolescence. Horimiya is from CloverWorks (The Promised Neverland) and is based on the manga of the same name by Hero, with artwork by Daisuke Hagiwara. It is published in English by Yen Press.

Let’s get the elephant in the room out of the way right now with Horimiya Episode 10: Hori’s biphobia. As I’ve mentioned before, Hori’s portrayal is hit and miss in the anime. No one should expect her to be perfect, but sometimes the show tries to make her physically abusive towards Miyamura in a misguided attempt at slapstick comedy. It never works, but normally viewers are given other positives that show Hori as a multifaceted young woman with a lot going on who truly cares and supports Miyamura.

Now that has been said: There is no good comedic excuse the show can come up with for why Hori has no jealousy/issue with Miyamura hanging out with other girls but is seriously bothered by the idea of Miyamura leaving her for a guy. All of the attempted jokes as Hori learns how close Miyamura is with his guy friends are cringeworthy and completely counterintuitive to all the other times the show has combated toxic masculinity tropes. Luckily, it’s only present in the small scene before the opening, so the viewers aren’t hit with biphobic jokes for the whole twenty minutes.

That extremely negative (probably the worst thing so far) part aside, Horimiya Episode 10 provides a wonderful wrap-up to Toru, Yuki, and Sakura’s relationship triangle. It likely won’t be “satisfying” to viewers in the traditional sense. However, similar to Miyamura’s love confession, the show foregoes more trope-y portrayals instead of showing a melancholic resolution that is once again just as messy as growing up in real life.

Yuki has been lying, saying she and Toru are dating, and Toru has gone along with it thinking that it is helping her ward off unwanted advances. In reality, Yuki thinks this is the closest she will ever get to actually being with Toru, who she has long harbored secret feelings for. What pushes this to shift is because Yuki also tells Sakura this, knowing Sakura has feelings for Toru.

Yuki is in the wrong, and Horimiya Episode 10 does a great job of humanizing her without excusing her behavior. She knows what she did was wrong. Yuki beats herself up about it to the extent that it is almost painful to watch. Watching the three of them struggle with loving themselves is healing, as much as it will hurt. Sakura isn’t just pushed to the side by Horimiya Episode 10, either. Remi and Sengoku’s actions show just why the three are role-model friends this week, and Sakura’s character arc leading to self-confidence ends on a fantastic note. (Disclaimer: fantastic doesn’t mean happy.)

Horimiya Episode 10 has a nuanced take on self-loathing, self-acceptance, and owning up to one’s emotions. The “love triangle” subplot between Toru, Yuki, and Sakura is tied up wonderfully. The only real negative this week is the glaring biphobia from Hori this week that the writing tries to play off as comedy.

Horimiya is streaming now on Funimation.