Alli Predicts- Part One: Horimiya

It's no secret that Anime Award season is my favorite. And though we are ever approaching award season, I just couldn't seem to wait any longer... So, I decided we're starting early!

You heard right, award season is going to be a little longer this year for us here on Nerdom, because we are starting early! Normally, I wait until the nominees are announced and then give my thoughts and predictions on who will win. These past two years though, I have actually been pretty spot on, so I want to take it a step further. I want to try and predict who will get nominated this year! Sooooo, welcome to Nerdom's first ever mini series- Alli Predicts!

How does one go about such a task? I'm glad you asked Peanut Gallery. First, I found a list of all the anime that was/would be released in time for the awards. I went down that list and picked animes that either stood out to me or received enough buzz around their premiers. I purposefully did not research any of the animes on this list and strictly based it off of my current knowledge and first impressions of the series on the list. Then for the next month and a half, James and I binged any free moment we had. The binging continues even now, but we are ahead enough for me to start cluing you all in on my thoughts. Which brings us to our first potential nominee- Horimiya.

Some of you may recall Chase discussing and recommending this show months ago on Rantt, and I have to say she was right. In fact, I'm starting this mini series off with Horimiya because this show is what made me feel like I could predict a nomination. After watching only an episode of it I felt in my bones "If this doesn't get nominated, I don't know what will." So, spoiler alert, my predictions is that it will indeed be nominated, and for multiple categories at that. Let's break it down.

Kyoko Hori and Izumi Miyamura are classmates, but they have never spoken. Hori is one of the most popular girls at school, while Miyamura doesn't have a single friend. To all the onlookers, they think they have these two figured out, but what if no one really knew either of them at all? While the posh Hori seems so dreamy and out of reach in school, outside of school she plays the role of housekeeper- she is responsible for raiser her younger brother, keeping the house in order, putting food on the table and running all essential errands to keep their struggling household functioning. Meanwhile, Miyamura couldn't stand out less in school. He is silent and always has his long hair down and covering majority of his face. But when school is over so is the hiding. Hair tied back, jacket off, and you can see all of the tattoos, piercings, and handsome features his shyness usually hides. Two people, leading two very different lives, both inside and outside of school, only to be brought together by a chance encounter. Miyamura isn't sure he wants to call it fate, but he does know he wants to cherish Hori for as long as she'll keep him by her side. Luckily for him, she doesn't want him going anywhere.

This show is labelled as a romantic comedy, but it's teetering on the edge of shojo, with a splash of refreshingness from the slice of life genre. The art is absolutely stunning, the soundtrack is beautiful, the progression and pacing is excellent [which is so important for a one shot], and the only complaint I have is that I want more. Luckily this series is just one of multiple adaptations of the original manga series. With that being said- the manga has received a very welcoming and well loved reception. It's no wonder the anime seems to be following in it's footsteps.

Now, we don't know what categories are going to be at this years awards but here are some safe predictions I have based on last years categories for this show: Best Couple, Best Opening Sequence, Best Boy, Best Comedy, and [if I may be so bold on my first prediction] Anime of the Year. I might be particularly bias to this one since I loved it so much, but honestly it was the best of it's genre that I have seen in a very long time. I hope to see it go far and get the recognition it deserves.

If you have not checked out Horimiya make sure to do so, it is available on Hulu in both subbed and dubbed. And make sure to tune in next week for Alli Predicts- Part Two!

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Thank you for tuning in to our very first mini series here on Nerdom! It is another exciting milestone for My Mess and I am beyond thrilled to be doing it! I have missed writing these last couple months and am very happy to be back. I hope you all are well and are having a great week. Let's finish strong and I will see you this Sunday for Rantt and The Mess! In the meantime, stay safe, stay nerdy and stay messy otaku!