REVIEW: ‘Horimiya: The Missing Pieces’ Episode 6 — “Sleepover”

Sometimes, slice-of-life anime are able to get by based on the sheer charm of its characters. Such is the case in Horimiya: The Missing Pieces Episode 6 which fully understands the amount of nonsense they can get away with due to their colorful ensemble. Due in part to the nature of the series, one that looks to fill in the gaps of the story that were left vacant in its first season, “Sleepover” takes a relaxed approach to storytelling. Providing more in terms of character development than actual narrative progress, the series allows for playful interludes that lack certain depth but excel in transporting viewers.

All of which is a long way to say that part of the episode’s main storyline is inherently silly. There’s been a running gag throughout the series regarding Miyamura in constant need to hide his tattoos from his other classmates, a joke that’s given a greater layer when we realize how much help he needs from those around him, namely Ishikawa, from accidentally divulging his secret. This comes to a head in Horimiya: The Missing Pieces Episode 6 when, at a sleepover, he comes close to exposing himself when he reaches to tug his shirt off mid-sleep due to overheating. Ishikawa is able to stop this motion but he can’t fully prevent Sengoku’s curiosity.

Not to overstate the point, but allowing Sengoku to become a third lead character has been one of the greatest decisions of the series. He and Miyamura, in all their iterations, are comedy gold. “Sleepover” was already demonstrating why he’s such a great character, his internal anxiety at odds with his class president status, as he’s too insecure to wake up his friends at first in order to find a spot in his own room to sleep. A shuffling of bodies happens, Iura and Ishikawa bewildered at why he wouldn’t have simply woken them up, as they maneuver a sleeping Miyamura to the upstairs loft, Sengoku meant to share with him.

Instead, Sengoku sees this as an opportunity to discover what his friends have been hiding and goes to peek underneath Miyamura’s shirt only to be caught by Iura. Miyamura’s secret is kept for another day, as Sengoku must defend his actions to the two other boys as Ishikawa goes above and beyond to continue to protect his friend.

The humor of the moment works due to their shared histories and what we know of these characters — specifically Miyamura — but it also exemplifies one of the greater attributes of the series despite the inherent silliness of the moment. While other shows might’ve spent time with the characters as they hung out before crashing, more invested in how they spent their time together and the activities and hobbies they partake in, Horimiya: The Missing Pieces is much more preoccupied with the smaller moments and off the cuff gestures that define them. Instead of showing them playing video games or watching movies we instead get the incoherent mumbling of Miyamura who sleeps like the dead and Sengoku’s anxiety-riddled brain trying to find a place to rest. Both moments, despite their simplicity, are just as telling as any other big gesture.

It’s similar to why the second part of the episode which focuses on Remi and her relationship with Sengoku and Sakura works so well. The soft intimacies of these relationships, romantic and platonic, are depicted in small moments such as frigid walks home. This one, in particular, is animated beautifully, the details such as Remi’s pink fingertips and her small nuzzle into Sengoku’s chest from the cold a reminder of the excellence of CloverWorks and the studio’s innate attention to intricacies. For all of the chibi-style animation, especially when one character is dumbfounded by another, there’s never a lack of distinctive artistry that makes the series such a lush, engaging anime that captures the golden youth of Miyamura, Hori, and their friends.

Horimiya: The Missing Pieces Episode 6 is an airy yet focused installment that utilizes its strong core characters to add texture to an otherwise light storyline. That said, the moments between Sengoku, Remi, and Sakura are strong reminders of how well-defined the ensemble is, as the series continues to explore their relationships and how they move through the world in their biggest moments and most inconsequential. The specific magic of the series remains in the writing that remembers that even the most inconsequential moment can, in retrospect, mean the world.

Horimiya: The Missing Pieces is available now on Crunchyroll.