Episode 1: A Tiny Happenstance

The debut chapter of the series centers on Kyouko Hori, a student admired by her peers whose classroom image tells only part of her story. Away from school she shoulders the household, spending much of her free time looking after her younger brother, Souta, which leaves little room for the social life her reputation would suggest.

Over the course of the episode she comes to understand that living behind a public face is not something she does alone. A reserved boy named Izumi Miyamura, easy to overlook in the halls, carries his own hidden self that rarely surfaces in front of classmates. Their unplanned crossing of paths becomes the small spark that draws the two of them together.

Hori's split existence is established, contrasting her popularity at school with the caretaking role she fills at home for Souta. A chance meeting introduces her to Miyamura and reveals that he, too, holds back a version of himself the rest of the class never sees. That first connection sets the tone for the relationship the series follows.

This installment opens the Horimiya television adaptation and draws on the opening chapters of the manga, covering Chapter 1, part of Chapter 2, and Chapter 3. It first aired in Japan on January 10, 2021, with an English broadcast following on February 6, 2021. Takao Yoshioka handled the screenplay, while Masashi Ishihama took charge of both storyboard and episode direction.