Horimiya Season 2 Release Date, Cast, Director, Plot And More Details

A sweet high school romance anime featuring two teens with seemingly opposing personalities, "Horimiya" was well received by fans when it debuted in January 2021. The 13-episode anime is based on a web manga series that was initially written and illustrated by Hiroki Adachi under the name Hero and originally released on her website from 2007 until 2011. Daisuke Hagiwara eventually adapted the story and illustrated it as the popular manga series known as "Horimiya," which is published by Monthly GFantasy and serves as the basis for the anime.

The series follows the burgeoning relationship between Kyouko Hori, a prim social butterfly who does well in school but who's also harboring a secret about herself, and Izumi Miyamura, a quiet and gloomy boy with no friends whose rough exterior hides a sweet and gentle heart. After a chance meeting early in the anime, they become friends and begin to share their secrets with one another, unlocking new sides of themselves in the process and laying the groundwork for a deeper romantic relationship.

The first season concluded in April 2021 with the pair's graduation, leaving "Horimiya" fans wondering if there would ever be a second season. The fact that the entire story arc of the original manga was covered in Season 1 made a follow-up seem unlikely, though viewers held out hope that some of the chapters from the manga that were skipped over would be adapted for Season 2 — and that's exactly what happened. Here's everything you need to know about "Horimiya" Season 2.

Fans of the "Horimiya" franchise got an unexpected treat at AnimeJapan 2023, with Aniplex revealing that a second season of the anime was on the way. Staff confirmed that the follow-up would adapt parts of the manga that didn't make it into the story the first time around, and that it would be released as "Horimiya: Pieces" (Crunchyroll would later license it and release it under the title "Horimiya: The Missing Pieces"). Perhaps the best news of all was that fans wouldn't have to wait very long to reunite with the gang – the Aniplex stage revealed that the show was all set for the Summer 2023 season.

The first episode dropped on July 1, airing on the channels Tokyo MX and MBS in Japan. Fans Stateside got to see the premiere at the exact same time thanks to Crunchyroll, which offered a simulcast. The debut episode scored rave reviews from fans. "'Horimiya: The Missing Pieces' Episode 1 is a tremendous return to this world and the layered characters who populate it," But Why Tho? said in a review. "Witty and playful, possessing an eye for delicate character designs with room for artistic expression, the premiere highlights the idea of looking back that sets the tone for the series."

A lot of anime is based on existing source material, and if you've watched the first season of "Horimiya," then you likely already know that the 13 episodes that were produced covered the entire story arc of the original manga, made up of 139 chapters. The season ends with the central couple's graduation and a happy ending that leaves no loose ends in need of tying up. However, with 139 chapters of source material to choose from and only 13 episodes, "Horimiya" obviously didn't cover everything that happened in the manga. Some of these chapters were covered via a short slideshow montage that concluded the anime, but some storylines were left untouched entirely.

These unused and underutilized chapters form the basis of "Horimiya" Season 2, hence the name: "Horimiya: The Missing Pieces." Because the first season prioritized the important character beats and dramatic moments, a lot of the slice-of-life stuff that people love about the series fell by the wayside. There's slice-of-life galore in "The Missing Pieces," with cooking classes, sleepovers, and class trips all involved. The first episode opens with the class visiting Kyoto, where Miyamura worries about his tattoos causing a stir. Because the second season has a lot of time jumps due to its nature, it all seems very incohesive to newcomers, but those who have seen the first season will find it easy to pinpoint the events based on things like hairstyles and relationship statuses.

Fans of the "Horimiya" franchise were no doubt pleased when it was confirmed that the cast of the first season were reprising their roles in the follow-up. Haruka Tomatsu (perhaps best known as the voice of Asuna in "Sword Art Online") returns as Kyoko Hori, and co-star Kouki Uchiyama (of "Soul Eater" fame, among other things) is back as Izumi Miyamura.

Other returning cast members include Seiichirō Yamashita as Toru Ishikawa, Yurie Kozakai as Yuki Yoshikawa, Nobuhiko Okamoto as Kakeru Sengoku, M.A.O as Remi Ayasaki, Reina Kondo as Sakura Kōno, Daiki Yamashita as Shū Iura, Jun Fukuyama as Akane Yanagi, Taku Yashiro as Kōichi Shindō, Momo Asakura as Honoka Sawada, Daisuke Ono as Kyōsuke Hori, Ai Kayano as Yuriko Hori, Yuka Terasaki as Sōta Hori, and Hisako Kanemoto as Motoko Iura. In terms of new voice talent, Daisuke Namikawa (Lindel in "The Ancient Magus' Bride" and Hotaru Haganezuka in "Demon Slayer") joined the cast as Kakeru's dad Takeru Sengoku.

It's also good news for dub fans, because the stars of the English version are back for Season 2 as well. Marisa Duran (who provided the English voice of Kawasegawa Eiko in "Remake Our Life!") once again plays Hori, and Alejandro Saab (Einar in the hit Viking series "Vinland Saga") returns as Miyamura.

The rest of the cast is made up of Zeno Robinson as Ishikawa, Anairis Quiñones as Yoshikawa, Y. Chang as Iura, Belsheber Rusape as Sengoku, Jalitza Delgado as Ayasaki, Celeste Perez as Kono, Johnny Yong Bosch as Yanagi, Bill Butts as Kyosuke, Gabe Kunda as Yasuda, Christopher Llewyn Ramirez as Shindo, Emi Lo as Makoto, Emily Fajardo as Sota, Apphia Yu as Sawada, Mark Allen Jr. as Mizouchi, Irwin Daye as Sasaki, and the dub veteran Monica Rial (the longtime voice of Bulma in the "Dragon Ball" franchise) plays Terashima.

Just like the cast did, the creative team behind "Horimiya" Season 1 got back in the saddle for the sequel (or midquel, as it were). Helmer Masashi Ishihama hasn't done much directing since the first season ended, but he's still been busy: Ishihama is also an artist and has been part of the animation departments on several well-known properties. He recently worked on the opening of the his series "Spy x Family" and he counts the likes of Mamoru Hosoda's "The Girl Who Leapt Through Time" among his credits.

Ishihama has always had a soft spot for romantic comedies, which is why he was so excited when the "Horimiya" opportunity came along. "Since it was my favorite genre, it made me very happy from the bottom of my heart," he said during an interview with Anime Corner. He also revealed that he wasn't aware of "Horimiya" prior to being hired for the anime adaptation, but he quickly got into it. "I borrowed the first four volumes after accepting the request to be the director from the company," he said. "When I read it, I found it so interesting that I ended up buying all the volumes on the same day, from 1st to 13th volume. Every character is charming and I fell for the world."

Other returnees include Takao Yoshioka as script supervisor, Hisayo Usui and Yasunao Moriyasu as art directors, Asuka Yokota as color key artist, Hiroaki Kimura as editor, Yūya Sakuma as director of photography, Katsuaki Miyaji as CG director, Jin Aketagawa as sound director, and Haruko Iizuka as character designer, who also worked as a co-chief animation director alongside Akira Takata, Hiromi Ogata, and Yumi Shimizu. The English dub is helmed by experienced voice actor and director Caitlin Glass, best known for her turn as Winry Rockbell in the dub of "Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood."

The opening song of "Horimiya" Season 2 is performed by the three-piece Japanese band Omoinotake and it's called "Shiawase," meaning "Happiness." They formed back in 2012 but have only become known for their contributions to anime fairly recently: Their song "Moratorium" was used in the 2020 show "Twittering Birds Never Fly," and in 2021 they provided the opening theme for "Blue Period," titled "Everblue." The latter song elevated them to a new stage, something they weren't sure would ever happen when they started out. "The truth is we thought that we didn't have any particular talents in the beginning," the band said in a statement marking the release of "Everblue" (via Anime News Network). "Then we kept trying to find our way for many years. Then finally we found our place."

A music video for "Shiawase" was released to coincide with "Horimiya" Season 2, and it tells a unique story inspired by the show. "I reinterpreted the music and the anime 'Horimiya' to create the story," the video's director Sotaro Ogi said on Twitter. "Encounters with important people will enrich your heart, the world you can see will become vivid, and flowers will bloom. I packed the story with many elements of 'Horimiya,' so please watch it!"

Meanwhile, the ending theme song is called "URL" and it's performed by Japanese singer-songwriter Ami Sakaguchi. The Osaka native released her first single in 2017 and has dropped two studio albums since then. In terms of anime, she's known for her contributions to "Boruto: Naruto Next Generations" (her song "Central" was used as the show's fourteenth ending theme) and the series "Smile Down the Runway," in which a budding model and a struggling clothing designer take on the world of high fashion.

"Horimiya" Season 2 is made by CloverWorks, the same studio that was behind Season 1. CloverWorks used to be part of A-1 Pictures, a subsidiary company of Aniplex. In 2018 it officially split from A-1 and became its own company, though it remained under the Aniplex umbrella. "Each studio would like to make a contribution by creating good production with original production system and characteristics for a developing animation market in the future," CloverWorks said in a statement at the time (via Anime News Network). Since then, the studio has cemented itself as a big name, with some viewers even suggesting that it's the best anime studio going at this moment in time.

"It's hard to argue that they aren't the best studio of last year or at least in the running for best studio," My Anime List user LeoDrago said on a forum post hailing CloverWorks as a contender for best anime studio of 2022 . "Gotta wonder how they're feeling after the year they've had." Shows like "The Promised Neverland," "Wonder Egg Priority," "My Dress-Up Darling," and particularly "Spy x Family" have sent CloverWorks rocketing toward the big leagues, and the studio has plenty of other interesting projects in the pipeline, including the upcoming fourth season of "Black Butler."

Like the first season, "Horimiya" Season 2 is available to stream on Crunchyroll. The first three episodes of Season 1 are free to watch in English, but the dubs are for subscribers, meaning you'll need one of the three premium memberships to continue with a dubbed version beyond this point. Dubs are currently available in French, German, Spanish, Russian, and Hindi, as well as Latin American Spanish and Portuguese.

The cheapest package is $7.99 a month, and that gets rid of the ads and gives you access to shows soon after they've aired in Japan. The Mega Fan tier costs $9.99 a month, and the biggest differences here are the added options of offline viewing and the ability to stream on multiple devices. You also get priority access to Crunchyroll Expo events, as well as $15 off a $100 purchase in the Crunchyroll Store once every three months, the website states. The priciest package is called Ultimate Fan and that comes with the aforementioned perks along with a yearly swag bag and a bigger store discount.

Funimation is also an option for streaming "Horimiya" Season 2, though the subscription prices are no cheaper and the free trial length is the same at 14 days — which isn't surprising, considering that both are owned by Sony. "When we brought Funimation and Crunchyroll together last year, our top priority was to put fans first," Crunchyroll CEO Colin Decker said in 2022 (via Variety). "Unifying all of our brands and services under the Crunchyroll brand globally enables us to offer more value than ever before as we combine subs, dubs, simulcasts, library, music, movies, manga — all into one subscription."