English Dub Review: Horimiya “I Can’t Say It Outloud”

Overview (Spoilers Below):

Hori stays at home for another day unable to face Miyamura after his confession. On the way to school, Sota sees Miyamura with another girl and later tells Hori who starts making assumptions. The next day at school she avoids Miyamura until he stops her asking if she was awake when he confessed. Hori confronts him about the girl and Miyamura explains that the girl is Chika, Shindo’s girlfriend. Chika sprained her ankle and fell on Shindo and the two of them ended up using Miyamura as support. Hori is mad that he’s using Chika’s first name and throws her books at him before storming off. Miyamura returns the books to Hori and they both apologize. The two talk about it and his confession.

Hori’s dad, Kyosuke arrives interrupting the two and after dinner, Hori walks Miyamura home halfway. Ishikawa gets a call from Miyamura telling him about his confession. The next day Sakura notice that he looks down and Remi Ayasaki asks what’s she looking at. Sakura tries to get her to drop it, and she doesn’t think that Remi will understand because she’s cute. After Sakura recalls their childhood she goes back to apologize, and Remi doesn’t hold her earlier comment against her. Sakura confesses that she likes a guy and Remi cheers her up. At Hori’s house, Hori tells Miyamura that Sota’s friend, Izumi is coming over. Miyamura responds to it since Izumi is his first name. When the kids enter they can hear Hori and Miyamura arguing as Sota says that’s normal for them.

Our Take:

Hori and Miyamura are finally a couple, but it doesn’t go smoothly thanks to the misunderstanding about Chika, Shindo’s girlfriend. What makes Horimiya great is how realistic it portrays the emotions and conflicts of the cast to the audience. Hori’s anxiety about the misunderstanding and Miyamura’s acknowledgment that he ran away after his confession is understandable.

Now Hori’s dad, Kyosuke is an interesting character given his relationship with Hori and how he teases Miyamura. Despite the rough treatment he gets from his family Kyosuke is fed by Hori and her mom. He is a funny addition and I look forward to seeing how Kyosuke will liven things up at the Hori house. That moment when he asked about their relationship and Hori admitting that Miyamura is her boyfriend was lovely.

Then there’s also the walk after dinner with Hori and Miyamura holding hands and it’s adorable. Their conversation about wanting to get to know each other was great. The romantic music that plays in that scene was the icing on the cake for that scene. Then there’s Miyamura’s call with Ishikawa and how the news made him feel down. Their run-in at the school gates was a good way to settle the awkwardness between the two guys.

Sakura and Remi’s friendship is adorable and I enjoyed how despite Sakura’s lash out Remi doesn’t hold it against her. The comparison of the two girls to the beauty and the beast is something that people could relate to, and the execution in it was realistic. The anime navigates through the issue as Sakura realizes that she’s fine the way she is. Remi cheering Sakura up in her own way is cute. I do hope Sakura’s crush on Ishikawa develops at some point.

Overall this episode was cute and funny. I enjoyed how realistic the conversations were between the characters. Also, I’m glad that Hori and Miyamura made it through that misunderstanding to an actual relationship.