2021 is just the latest in a long two years where escapism is needed more than ever. While some turn to fantastical worlds full of magic and gorgeous visuals, others take solace in some good old fashioned romantic comedy. Horimiya, a new anime that just premiered on January 9th, seems to be filling in that void nicely for people interested in the genre, and apparently, there are quite a few.
Horimiya just set the record for most-watched romantic comedy debut on the site My Anime List with nearly 95,000 users indicating they're "watching" the show, and the number is still climbing. In the few days since the series premiered, it has surpassed the previous record holder for a new romantic comedy (Rent-A-Girlfriend) as well as the champion of all romantic comedy premieres (including sequels), Kaguya-sama: Love is War. These numbers become less and less surprising as people continue to prove how popular anime is, especially at the box office.
Horimiya is named after its leading couple, Kyoko Hori and Izumi Miyamura. Hori is the most popular girl at school, giving off an air of privilege and achievement, while Miyamura appears to be a brooding, nerdy introvert. However, looks can be deceiving, as it turns out Hori is really a low-key family girl who spends her time looking after her younger brother and maintaining her household, leaving little time for genuine socialization. Miyamura, on the other hand, struggles with his studies and turns out to be a dashing young man with tattoos and piercings. When the two happen upon a chance encounter where each accidentally reveals their true selves, they become fast friends, and possibly something more in the future.
Compared to the contenders it beat to get to this point, Horimiya is generally a fairly down to earth take on the genre. Rent-A-Girlfriend features a lonely young man who tries out the titular service but is shocked to find out how abrasive his "rented" girlfriend is when she's off the clock. Kaguya-sama: Love is War, on the other hand, is much more grounded, but still a bit less "chill" than Horimiya, revolving around two honor students who only begin dating out of a sense of competition and spite towards one another. So it's not surprising to see people gravitating towards some more comforting anime after 2020.
So perhaps Horimiya's popularity comes from its relatively mundane premise. The concept of opposites attracting hasn't exactly been a fresh idea for most of human history at this point, but that doesn't mean it's come to lack merit. Just like a big bowl of macaroni and cheese or an action-packed summer blockbuster, sometimes the comfort of familiarity is a exactly what people are looking for. In a pair of years like 2020 and 2021, it's easy to see why many might look for that sort of escapism. After all, it's not like Pokemon has lost its steam over the years.
Of course, some may disagree. Rent-A-Girlfriend and Kaguya-sama: Love is War seem, at the very least, marginally more creative in their concepts than Horimiya, so it might be surprising to see them lose their rankings to such a simple series. Well, it's not exactly uncommon for something classic to beat the fresh new champion, like Gintama vs. the ever-popular Demon Slayer. But even so, the show has only just premiered, so perhaps there will be a surprise or two along the way.
Source: Funimation