Still, Horimiya is more than worth watching simply for its visuals and character art, perfectly emphasizing moments of quiet intimacy, loneliness, and self-doubt.Īfter decades of heady philosophical science-fiction and fantasy, Vlad Love represents something of a palette cleanser for the veteran director Mamoru Oshii. It’s a shame that the last few episodes become somewhat lost after rushing through the romantic arc of Hori and Miyamura, and lean too far into quirks that become worrisome rather than cute. As a result, it feels like a more naturalistic, but no less touching approach to romance. But it’s salvaged by its elliptical approach to storytelling, viewing Miyamura and Hori's burgeoning relationship as a collection of different moments rather than a will they/won't they courtship. It's a double-edged sword, as its breakneck pacing (the director has only a single season to work with) can feel disorientating.

Though the manga on which the anime is based has been running for years, Horimiya wastes no time in building the romantic overtures between the two, focusing on the emotional consequences of their relationship rather than merely the step-by-step buildup. This all changes in a chance encounter with his popular classmate Kyoko Hori outside of school, where both discover that their first impressions of each other couldn’t have been more wrong. An isolated and intense young man, Izumi Miyamura doesn’t grab much positive attention from his high school classmates, nor does he try to.

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