Fans of Slice-Of-Life anime tend to watch the genre for many reasons, albeit one or three of them. This is no different for fans of Horimiya, and the series proves this for several reasons. The lighthearted focus on characters living their lives is a popular way of relaxing from the high stakes that Shōnen and Isekai anime provide, the characters have very different priorities as well as very different personalities that aren't entirely Shōnen in nature, and it ultimately has a lot of strengths that fans love to see since it focuses on character-driven narratives as opposed to battles or huge plots.

Miyamura and Hori's story may have ended in their first season, and the future is left uncertain for them at the last episode, but with the second season, The Missing Pieces, the series manages to bring back what fans liked about the first season. However, despite its return to events as more of a collection of events rather than a sequel, why does Horimiya: The Missing Pieces still fit as a story?

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Why This Works

Usually, when it comes to making second seasons of slice-of-life anime, it's usually with the prediction that the next content will be a direct sequel to the story of the anime. This gets many fans usually excited to be able to witness and binge more of their favorite characters and anime in that sense. It's not only gratifying, but also immensely satisfying to many people being able to follow the story of their characters. Whether it be for more jokes from gag-comedy, or if the romantic subplot needed to be fulfilled and explored even more, and eventually with just learning more about the characters in this romantic subplot. Overall, Horimiya: The Missing Pieces as a story got many fans of the anime excited to learn more about our favorite lead characters, along with the side characters own perspective on things. However, with the news that The Missing Pieces isn't a direct sequel, why are so many fans still excited to learn about our characters through connected but overall missing pieces to the anime as it calls itself?

The sense that Horimiya: The Missing Pieces needs to be a direct sequel is shared by many fans, although some may argue this misses the point of what makes this second season of the anime work. With the first season, Horimiya already connected and finished up all loose ends of the story, every side characters plot, and eventually even ended the story of Hori and Miyamura as characters in high school. It was a complete story with no need for a direct sequel, partially because the author of Horimiya, Hiroki Adachi, as the story writer hasn't made more material on Horimiya beyond what we have from season 1 and so far what we are being given in season 2. Even so, there doesn't seem to be much of an issue regarding this, because the story's second season doesn't have to limit itself to following a second continuation but rather work on adapting what wasn't already included.

The reason Horimiya: The Missing Pieces works entirely as a second season is because the entire story is dramatically aware of it being a continuation of certain events that couldn't make it into the 13 episode run of the first season, and instead are fed to us in bits and details in the second season. It works because it doesn't try to continue a story without any material that could otherwise spoil a great slice-of-life anime on its own. Horimiya: The Missing Pieces as a title is also working to its advantage, as it directly shows and informs the audience that while it isn't a direct sequel, it is an expansion of the daily lives of Hori and Miyamura that were missed and not fit into the first season at the time. And with everybody's enjoyment of this expanded content, it is no doubt why it is a success.

What This Means For The Future

Of course, is it a good decision, some fans might be willing to debate. After all, continuing an anime while not focusing on a direct sequel seems like a counterproductive move to many individuals. After all, if you aren't progressing the story forward, than you run the risk of retracing character beats and plots that were already completed in the first season. Horimiya: The Missing Pieces is an example of why these doubts may not necessarily be unfounded but also have nothing to be too worried about. For the most part, Horimiya: The Missing Pieces still manages to focus on certain character beats and scenes that were never focused on before in the first season. There doesn't seem to be much of an issue for the story or the fans, which allows for many fans to enjoy the anime as it is.

Overall, thanks to a fundamental understanding of working with extended material, Horimiya: The Missing Pieces perfectly manages to keep the audience entertained and invested in the missing pieces of the story.

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Horimiya: The Missing Pieces is available to stream on Crunchyroll