A common experience for high school girls is seeing their crush walk in one day having suddenly cut their long, luscious locks. This is no exception for the popular Kyouko Hori of Horimiya when she starts dating the seemingly gloomy and anti-social Izumi Miyamura. In Episode 6, the once otaku-looking Miyamura walks into class sporting ear-length hair and revealing his piercings, much to Hori's shock.
The rest of their classmates immediately take notice and crowd around him in utter fascination. Here's why Miyamura cut his long locks in Horimiya -- and what his new look symbolizes for him personally and their relationship.
Before the incident occurred, rumors had been spreading about Hori and Miyamura's new relationship after they were spotted holding hands walking out of Hori's house. Most of the rumors involved general badmouthing and disapproval of their new bond. Then suddenly, without any prior warning, Miyamura shows up to class with short hair, revealing the piercings on his ears and leaving his glasses at home.
All the girls who were badmouthing him the day before now crowded around him to compliment his new look, making Hori noticeably jealous. Of course, Miyamura isn't owned by Hori, but he could have at least warned her about this abrupt decision. He mentions to his new audience that he cut his hair in order to prepare for summer, but his classmates were quick to point out that he was still wearing his winter uniform, contradicting his reasoning.
The real reason is actually quite symbolic in two ways. First, he does it ultimately for Hori. In shedding his otaku/bad boy image for something more "digestible," Miyamura is attempting to stop the badmouthing and gossip around their relationship. He felt his appearance was tarnishing her reputation, so he had to do something about it. Lastly, it symbolizes Izumi's character growth and his desire to stop hiding his true self.
Hori eventually gets used to his new image, but many Horimiya fans were outraged when he committed the act. The top complaint was that Miyamura became a "generic manga protagonist" with his short hair vs. the lengthy, tied-back locks he sported in the first half of the series. Nonetheless, his reasons for such a drastic change were of his own accord and ultimately showed his adoration for Hori.
Although it was a smash hit in the Winter 2021 season, there is no official announcement for a Season 2 of Horimiya. Technically the anime is fully caught up with the manga, but a standalone one-shot was published by Square Enix in February 2022. Meanwhile, fans and newcomers alike can still enjoy watching Season 1's events unfold on streaming sites such as Hulu and Funimation.