Horimiya Vol. #11 Manga Review

I don't understand my girlfriend.

Creative Staff:

Art: Daisuke Hagiwara

Story: Hero

Translation: Taylor Engel

Lettering: Alexis Eckerman

What They Say: 

Not everyone is as quick on the draw as Hori and Miyamura when it comes to love. Ever the trustworthy friend, Ishikawa has seen the couple through thick and thin, but his own heart seems to be taking a more meandering road to romance. Having realized that he and Yoshikawa might be more than "just friends," Ishikawa is now stuck attempting to navigate the murky waters between friendship and love. But one thing he does know is that the time he spends with Yoshikawa, however mystifying, is special in its own right...

The Review:
Content:(Please note that the content portion of the review may contain spoilers)

Following a rather side character-centric installment in volume ten, the latest addition to the Horimiya franchise throws us back into the fray of Hori and Miyamura's lives. While the earlier chapters in this book do a shine a light, albeit a rather dim one, on the development of Tooru and Yuki's 'situation,' the focal point quickly transitions to some more of the minor hardships that our primary characters face. The first of these comes in the form of Miyamura's need to hide his tattoos from Sengoku.

The last several volumes have shown an interesting boom in both comedic and serious homosexual content and, once again, it makes itself known here. You see, instead of outright asking Miyamura about his incessant need to hide his skin, Sengoku takes it upon himself to try and strip him while he sleeps -- a completely normal thing that guys do at sleepovers which is in no way weird whatsoever. Regardless, the plan fails and we move on to our next borderline yaoi development.

As Hori has noticed in previous volumes, Miyamura isn't only popular with girls. In fact, one of the guys in his class (Some glasses-kun dude named Watabe) has a rather intense crush on him. It's actually so intense that he straight-up films Miyamura throughout the day and makes no attempt to hide it. But hey, Miyamura seems cool with that kind of stuff. There shouldn't be any problem at all as long as he doesn't change sexualities to cheat on his girlfriend. Well, at least that's what the rational reader would think. Hori seems to disagree.

In traditional Hori-fashion, she makes it known that she's put off by Miyamura's increased Watabe-time ratio as of late. This prompts Miyamura to go around sniffing everyone and I am not going to explain why because I'm mean and I want you to be confused. Either way, this ultimately ushers in the final arc of the volume, which also happens to be the only one with some actual conflict rather than nonsensical slice-of-life filler.

It's common knowledge at this point that our main couple gets involved in a lot of unneeded and overly dramatic arguments -- normally ones that spark from Hori getting overly jealous or something. Well, that happens again. But this time, Miyamura is determined to not back down and let things resolve in his favor for once. Used to her boyfriend apologizing immediately, Hori spirals into a fit of panic and despair as she contemplates the future of their relationship. Instead of acting on these negative emotions, however, Hori gives in and allows Miyamura to find her once again. The two make up but, in a stroke of actual change for Hori, she apologizes and states directly that everything is always her fault when the two of them get into a fight. And while this seems like the normal thing to do, it's actually a rather big step for her and it's great to see these characters still changing so far into the series.

In Summary:

Despite focusing mainly on Miyamura and Hori, volume eleven is actually rather uneventful. As always, the comedy is well-written and there isn't a single dull moment, but it isn't until the very last chapter or two where any actual weight is brought into the picture. Either way, Horimiya remains as consistent and ever and I honestly feel that, at this point, it would be near impossible to stop enjoying the series. I've been with the franchise for long enough that all of the characters are closer to friends at this point. And who says no to hanging out with their friends? Read Horimiya.

Content Grade: B

Art Grade: A

Packaging Grade: B+

Text/Translation Grade: A-

Age Rating: 13+

Released By: Yen Press

Release Date: June 26, 2018

MSRP: $12.99