After finally deciding to return to Horimiya and catch up to the latest chapter, I'm coming off the experience with a bit of regret, to be honest. I feel as though it would have been better had I just stayed away and retained the sweet memories I had of when I first read it, but, alas, here we are.
Horimiya, unfortunately, suffers from the same problem majority of manga that get somewhat popular in the industry do -- it just... keeps... on... giving. This, in turn, means that the story will, pretty much by default, be bad. Not necessarily the worst thing ever, but due to the fact that the pace is almost always thrown out of the window, we tend to see a lot... yet very little at the same time.
Comparing the pace of the first 30-40 chapters and the last 50-60, this problem is quite evident. The latter chapters have far too much filler, with repeated introductions and returns to some minor characters, with our main duo pretty much taking a backseat for about 70-80% of the second part of the manga. I'm not saying that the side characters shouldn't be developed, but I am saying that the pace goes to shitters.
Story in and of itself, however, isn't just marred by the pace -- it's, quite frankly, by-the-book sort of a tale of highschool girls and boys, and if you've read any other highschool romance before, you can know what to expect. It's not necessarily a bad thing, but when compounded with some other problems, it does get a bit dull to read.
One problem that I think Horimiya has in terms of the story it that it doesn't have punchout moments -- those scenes in the stories that just hit you straight in the gut like a freight train. The manga, both in terms of the story as well as the characters, plays it too safe. While drama is present, don't get me wrong, it's the milder type that's oftentimes sidelined before it actually escalates. This would be completely fine -- even preferrable for me -- if the story had those few moments when it lets go of its inhibitions and limits and really delves into its characters' issues. Instead, however, we at most get a single chapter through which we, in retrospect, realize the character had some sort of an issue, and how they're better off now. This leaves little room for the moments you'll remember, and save for perhaps 2-3, most other chapters will fly over your head shortly after you've finished reading them.
The glaring issue that sticks out with both the story and the characters is actually rather simple -- there are just way too many characters. Way. Way. Way too many. Save for our main duo, there are approximately 10 other side characters that are given a considerable amount of screen time, and almost 20 if we include the ones that cameo frequently enough. The author is rather inclusive, especially in the second half of the manga, which would be great -- as I love me some well-developed side characters -- if not for the fact that I can barely get my head around how many characters there actually are out there in the wild.
Another -- mostly personal this time around, so take it with a grain of salt -- complaint I have when it comes to the characters has to do with Hori, our main girl. She gets progressively more violent throughout the manga, in addition to just outright possessive at times, which was funny the first few times it was used as a joke, but if you repeat it every chapter, it gets dull rather quickly. She's more of a violent tempest at this point rather than a compelling main character, and feels like a human-sized waste of potential if I'm being honest.
In general, a lot of characters are assigned some annoying traits not because they would be explored as flaws in the story, but because, well, humor I guess. Mind you, the flaws the characters display (such as obsessive jealousy) are almost never taken seriously. Someone of Hori's temper and jealousy would be almost impossible to actually date, whether she's jealous of the girls or the guys. The story takes a pissing pass onto these flaws and largely references them in a humorous ways, and while certainly quite funny the first few times, it gets more and more troubling as we go on.
It doesn't help that, with over a 100 chapters that we have, almost all side characters have stayed rooted in who they were when the manga started. Now that I think about it, that's actually the case for everyone in the manga. The greatest bit of development is that one guy stopped liking one girl and started kind of liking another one.
This also ties in to those gut-punching moments, as most flaws are either ignored or simply skimped over in a spitfire-style paneling and 'resolved' by the chapter's end. It's a shame, really, because a lot of the side characters are interesting -- or, rather, most of the manga's characters are interesting -- but they are played far too safe to truly make them spectacular.
It helps a bit, however, that the art is incredibly clean and, well, pretty, to be honest. Whether you're into good-looking studs or the cutesy girls, Horimiya has both in spades. Paneling is (most often) easy on the eyes, inking is extremely clean, and caricature during the comedy (and chibi) moments is both funny and endearing. I won't really stick to the art too much as I consider it of lesser importance, but it is by far the best part of the manga.
Despite all my complaints, all of your Horimiyans (Horimiyaians??) out there, relax -- I actually do enjoy the manga. It's funny, it's heart-warming on the occasion, and despite the lack of the (many) memorable moments, I didn't mind it much.
If you're looking for a decent rom-com, you can't go astray with this one. It's light, easygoing, funny, and, well, it has over a hundred freakin' chapters to read. Sheesh...
--my apologies for the potential grammatical mistakes; I am way too lazy to proofread this--