We know that romantic comedy has a special place in Japanese anime and manga culture. Many works of this genre are produced, but Horimiya (aka Hori-san to Miyamura-kun) is ahead of the hundreds of works created in this genre. Based on the manga written by the Japanese manga artist Hero, the anime premiered in 2021. CloverWorks studio, which we know from the Bunny Girl Senpai and Wonder Egg Priority series, is the creator of the anime. The anime, licensed by Funimation, was originally broadcast on several local networks such as Tokyo MX, GYT, GTV, BS11, MBS. It originally aired between January 10, 2021 – April 4, 2021, and consists of 13 episodes in the first season. Fans of the anime, which became known worldwide thanks to its Funimation license, are excited about a second season. So has the anime been renewed for a second season?
What is the plotline of Horimiya?
High school Kyouko Hori, known for her kindness and academic success at school, actually hides a secret side. While Hori’s family is often away from home for work, she has to care for her younger brother and do housework that prevents her from socializing at school. In the meanwhile, Izumi Miyamura is known as a spectacled otaku with dark clouds over it. But he actually has a kind personality that is incapable of studying. He also has nine piercings hidden behind his long hair and a tattoo on his back and left shoulder. By all chance, Hori and Miyamura meet outside of school. These two polar opposites, it seems, become friends and share sides that they don’t show anyone.
Will there be a second season of the anime?
As of May 21, 2022, Manga publisher Square Enix or studio Cloverworks has not yet renewed Horimiya for a second season. The series that started with manga is quite an old product, but the anime series is a little fresher. The anime premiered in early 2021 and may be considered early for a new season confirmation for an anime series. Sometimes we can wait years for a new season of anime. Since there is no official news yet, we will speculate about the second season of the anime. Our predictions will be based on manga status, disc sales, and popularity of the series.
The ‘original’ manga series
The series’ original main manga series was written and illustrated by Hero. Square Enix published the manga on Gangan Comics between 2007 and 2011. On the other hand, under Hero’s supervision, Daisuke Hagiwara has prepared a remake of the series since 2011. The remake manga series, also released by Square Enix, made its final after published 15 volumes on March 18, 2021.
The anime is inspired by the latest manga consisting of 15 volumes. The first season of the anime was quite fast in terms of story flow, and the first 10 volumes of the manga were adapted in the first season. It should be noted that many parts are skipped and passed during this adaptation. Unfortunately, the manga series is not ongoing anymore, and the remaining 5 volumes do not seem enough for a new season, to be honest. A second season is very unlikely in terms of manga stock material availability.
Disc sales of the anime
Disc sales are another important criterion for anime since those are for-profit products. The decision committee usually does not approve a new season for anime that has fallen under 4,000 in disc sales because it is considered unprofitable. (4,000 sales volume is the average of all sales volumes.) Horimiya released BluRay and DVDs on February 24, 2021. When we look at the sales figures announced, we see that it sold 3,740 units in the first volume and 2,879 units in the second volume.
In terms of disc sales, it seems to be far behind the SK8 the Infinity, which was also released during the same period. Even if it falls short of the targets, Horimiya’s disc sales are not bad at all. It should be noted that as digital platforms have gained popularity in recent years, disc sales have declined for all anime. But still, disc sales are an important piece of data to measure popularity in Japan.
The popularity of the anime
Horimiya‘s anime Twitter page is followed by 155.1k people at the time of writing. In general, anime that is followed by more than 100k people have good popularity. Worldwide views seem quite well. The popularity score of the anime is 95,6% based on Myanimelist data. On the other hand, Horimiya still has a serious search volume in Google searches. Considering all this, there seems to be enough popularity for a second season but it’s sad that the manga is no longer ongoing. We think we might see an OVA episode when we evaluate what we have.
When is the second season of Horimiya?
The anime has not yet been renewed for a second season. The current popularity and acceptable disc sales are promising for a second season, but the manga situation is a bit confusing. There is not enough source material for the anime to have a second season. We think it is unlikely that the anime will have a second season. But the anime world is full of surprises. If there is any news contrary to our opinion regarding the second season, we will inform you. Till then we recommend you read manga for the rest of the story. It is also available in English thanks to Yen Press. Meanwhile, the romantic comedy genre has a very popular place in Japanese anime culture, and there are many anime created in this genre. Among them, there are even a few anime that we can recommend to you. If you like this type of anime, Oresuki and Rent A Girlfriend are the two anime we have chosen for you.