Navigating the Complex World of ‘Higehiro’

Table of Contents

Introduction

Higehiro ‘s plot is really something. Story about a high school girl who ran away from home is picked up by salaried man and they start to live together. Sounds sketchy but our mc has genuinely cares for her without any other ulterior motives. At first it all seemed too far-fetched but as episodes went on it was clear that he was helping her with lots of stuff and was being a good parent figure for her.

What I liked?

Specifically, the first half. The interactions between the main duo, the runaway girl and the salaried man were done pretty good. The everyday slice of life moments between them added depth to their relationship. It was nice to see them form an unconventional family.

Character development and missed opportunities

Unfortunately, the latter half disappointed me. Nearly every other character except the main duo like – Gotou, had their screen time diminish which was quite sad as I liked them.

Sayu’s past spoiler

Now about Sayu’s past, I just couldn’t really care about her backstory and the situation should’ve been handled better at least by her big bro. She had her best friend suicide due to bullying and her mother blamed her for it. As a result, she wants to run away from house to distance herself from the mother. Now what should a grown-up elder brother do here? Maybe sit down and have a talk with her? Or maybe ask help from some relatives to take care of her for a while? No. He just gives her some money, tells her to go live at hotels and contact him when the money runs out. Brilliant! how thoughtful of him.

The Final Act. Did It Deliver?

Ending spoilers

And in the end I thought after all the episodes I would see some maturity in Sayu, but she once again asks for intimacy when they were together for the final night at her home. That felt very unrealistic. And yeah, I get that at that time she really had feelings for him but considering she just returned home that day and with her mom being in the house that really wasn’t a great idea. Her growth felt seriously lacking throughout the series.

Overall Rating and Conclusion

In the end, I wouldn’t say I outright hated Higehiro but I certainly did not like many bits. If you’re looking for an unconventional take on relationships and family dynamics, then give it a shot.

For ratings I will give it a 6~6.5/10.

Check out Higehiro manga and light novels on amazon!