Although lauded for being likable and intelligent, Kyouko Hori hides the fact that she has to take care of her brother and the housework because her parents are always working. Izumi Miyamura, on the other hand, is seen as a brooding, bespectacled otaku. Outside of school, he sports tattoos and nine piercings. By happenstance, the two outside school personalities of these two classmates meet and they get to know a side of each other they don’t show their peers.
I have waited years for a proper Horimiya anime series. Let me just say that this will be one of those romance anime series staples that you will love and will leave you feeling empty inside when it ends. If you are looking for more anime recommendations like Horimiya to fill that void, then head on down below.
Anime Like Horimiya
For Fans of Being Different Than How You Are Viewed By Others
His and Her Circumstances
Yukino Miyazawa is the perfect student to her peers, but it is all just a front to get the praise and admiration she thrives on. So naturally when Soichiro Arima takes her spot as number one in the class rankings, she goes a little batty. Yet after Arima finds out her true personality, he begins to blackmail her with it.
His and Her Circumstances and Horimiya have virtually the same plot. The characters are different from how they act in school, they then bond over that. However, as an older romance anime His and Her Circumstances has moments of that classic romance anime drama.
Toradora
Ryuuji Takasu is a gentle student with a passion for housework, but his thuggish face causes his fellow students to think him a delinquent. Taiga Aisaka is small and cute, but with an attitude as fierce as a tiger. Both of these misunderstood students also harbor feelings for their crushes, and after a series of misunderstandings of their own, they find themselves in an unlikely alliance to get their crushes to notice them.
In both series, a boy and girl meet, discover they are both different from how the world sees them, and make friends that accept them for who they are. The difference is that Toradora initially focuses on them each trying to help each other with their crushes rather than just getting together right away.
Class President is a Maid
After their high school’s recent transfer from all-boys school to co-ed, it wasn’t easy for Misaki Ayuzawa to become the school’s first female class president. While she inspires terror at school, she also works part-time at a maid café to help her struggling family. However, when one of the most popular boys at school, Takumi Usui, discovers her secret, her world is about to get a whole lot more complicated.
Class President is a Maid is Horimiya’s plot, but one-sided. Only the female character is different from how her classmates see her. Regardless, both series have two people bond over their shared secret, but Class President is a Maid is a little more sadistic at times rather than fluffy romance.
For Fans of Opposites Attract Romances
My Little Monster
Shizuku Mizutani cares little of others and only about scoring top marks. However, when she is tasked with taking something to her desk neighbor Haru Yoshida, her world begins to change. Haru, too, knows little of human nature and hasn’t been to school for awhile due to fighting. Yet, it is the lack of friends that they both have that soon forms a friendship between them.
Both series feature two main characters that seem very different from each other, yet on a chance meeting, they bond. The story continues from there as more complex feelings develop. Furthermore, both are likely to inspire you to dig into the manga.
Kimi ni Todoke
Quiet and relatively timid, Sawako Kuronuma is misunderstood by her classmates. Due to her long black hair and shyness, they have taken to calling her Sadako, the ghost girl from The Ring. Longing to make friends, she is drawn to Kazehaya Shouta, the most popular boy in school and his refreshing personality. However, when Kazehaya starts talking to her, Sawako’s lonely world begins to open up.
Both series tell a love story about two people that seem quite different from each other in personality and/or social status. The anime then explores them as they open up to others around them. However, Kimi ni Todoke’s romance does move at a bit of a snail’s pace.
My Love Story
With his tall stature, bulky muscles, and mean face, Takeo Gouda is not exactly a hit with the ladies. Men and women alike find him terrifying, but he still tries to do the right thing. One day he saves a cute girl from a molester on the train. When she reaches out to him again, he thinks she likes his handsome friend, but he is shocked to discover she actually likes him!
Take the opposites attract trope in Horimaya and make it even more extreme. My Love Story makes the trope so extreme, it is used for comedy. However, it is no less applicable and both series end up being lovely romcoms.
For Fans of Wholesome Low Drama Romance
Wotakoi
After discovering they work at the same company, a gaming otaku and a fujoshi rekindle for the first time since middle school. After some good old fashioned after work drinks, they decide to start dating, but dating an otaku as an otaku is more difficult that one would think.
In both series, the main couples get together quite early and the rest of the series is really just cute couple shenanigans. The difference is that Wotakoi has them hiding their relationship and nerd status, though.
Tsurezure Children
Tsurezure Children depicts the many different scenarios of young love. From the relationship between the student council president and a rebel girl to a boy so crippled by his own lack of self-confidence that he can’t accept that a girl confessed to him. You follow their triumphs and failures throughout the relationships of half a dozen young couples.
If you enjoyed all that sweetness in Horimiya and need yourself another heavy fix, Tsurezure Children can provide. It essentially focuses on a handful of different couples. It cuts out all the boring moments and drama to just show you the really fluffy stuff.
Tsuki ga Kirei
For the first time in their third year, Azumi and Mizuno were put in the same class. Initially, they are nothing more than classmates, but continued exposure sees them grow progressively closer. As the year goes on, the pair and their classmates must come to face themselves as they mature and face challenges.
While Tsuki ga Kirei does lean towards the more poetic and ponderous due to the literary nature of the main character, like Horimiya it doesn’t really focus on much of the usual romance drama. Instead it focuses on more normal people concerns about life and romance.
Do you have more anime recommendations like Horimiya? Let fans know in the comments section below.
I watched Horimiya a year ago, and I will never be the same, I searched for so long for an anime that helped me fill that void it left. It’s almost magical how it can make you feel so alive just by watching Hori and Izumi fall in love, it’s amazing.
If anyone just got done watching it, I don’t think you’ll find anything like it, but “Kaguya-sama Love is War” is another great school romance but with top tier comedy that will help you fill that emptiness. The main characters dynamic is different, theyre competitive equals who refuse to give in to love and accept their feelings, which creates a hilarious atmosphere as you watch these clever people try to force each other to confess and “win”. It’s the anime that helped me move on from Horimiya, it has 3 seasons so, you’ll have lots of fun watching it, just make sure you have other things to watch when it’s over cause you’ll miss it at the end.