SYNOPSIS: Houtarou, a guy who wants to live a life not exerting much effort, gets entangled with a girl who gets curious about the small mysteries in life.
GENRE : Mystery, Slice of LifeNUMBER OF EPISODES : 22
RATING : 7/10
"If I don't have to do it, I won't. If I have to do it, make it quick."
(Houtarou Oreki)
I usually enjoy a slice-of-life anime, yet this one had such a slow-pace. I didn't hate it, but honestly, nothing happened at all. Most of the episodes after the first major mystery felt like fillers. Twenty-two episodes were too much. The story was okay, but most of the mysteries they encountered felt anti-climatic. They were mostly mundane things, but I guess the point is the rush of solving them.
In terms of art and sounds, I enjoyed the visuals. KyoAni's animation is always stunning, and Hyouka was no exception. I love that the simple scenes were brought to life by the art style. The visualizations of the character's inner-thinking and the brightness in the eyes of the characters when they have intense feelings were some examples. The sound effects brought to life the narration, especially on the mysteries. I also liked the minor details that were added, like Houtarou's bedhead and Satoshi's drool. The only issue that I had was the lack of originality in some of the character's design. Many of them reminded me of characters from Beyond the Boundary or some other KyoAni creation.
In terms of characters, I feel conflicted about them. There were some aspects that I liked about them. Their issues and doubts on how to live their life was relatable. Houtarou was such a mood. However, most of the time, they seemed bland and unenticing. All four of them felt they were just there. Just stagnant in their current state. The lack of significant character development pissed me off. I guess that's because of the short timeline and setting, though. Still, I wanted them to have made at least some minor firm decisions in life.
SPOILERY THOUGHTS AND REACTIONS
CHARACTER THOUGHTS In the beginning, Houtarou had promise. It felt like he's was going to undergo some change in his lifestyle or get a more firm resolve in his motto, yet as time passed, he seemed to go in a state of indecision. He can't seem to decide whether he wants a gray or rose-colored life. After solving the mystery of Hyouka, we got to see him think about what to do, yet he never got to a conclusion. I get that he is still young, and this is a slice-of-life anime, but damn man, get your act together. In the beginning, Chitanda was adorable. Her curiosity was intriguing, but as time passed, she got slightly annoying. She had nothing to her character except being the person who says that she's curious. Also, she was supposed to be the top student in their area, yet she seemed like an airhead. Satoshi was funny, and we got to see a deeper look in his personality and actions, yet we didn't delve deeper. It was just some bits and pieces of his whole character, so it felt kinda weird. I got annoyed at Mayaka a lot. We didn't get to see her history with Houtarou, but I hate every time she attacks him. Sucks that she was bullied in her other club, though. Still, I loved her during the cooking competition part. HYOUKA'S BACKGROUND It's heartbreaking to find out the mystery behind Hyouka. It's unfair what happened to Sekitani Jun. He wasn't even able to voice out his inner feelings and fight for his right. 'I scream' is such a satisfying answer to the mystery. Thinking about being alive, but being dead inside, is a horrible feeling. I get why Chitanda cried when she was young. I wanted to find out what happened to Chitanda's uncle. Is he still alive, or did he really commit suicide because of how much he didn't deal with the issues from his past? I like that this is the part that Hyoutarou first thought of how he was living his life. His dilemma on what to feel was relatable. MOVIE MURDER We didn't get to find out why Irisu was talking to Houtarou's sister when she was planning to do something about the film. How did they know each other? The conversation that they had felt really confusing and felt like an attack on Houtarou. I felt bad for Houtarou after Irisu used his ending. Everyone told him that it's not what the original scriptwriter wanted, and he felt used by Irisu. I didn't honestly care about this arc. I didn't feel enticed by the film that the students created. It felt weak and unoriginal. The ending that the original scriptwriter wasn't good to me, although I did like the reasoning behind why she wanted that ending. Irisu reminded me of Izumi from Beyond the Boundary. KANYA FESTIVAL I love that we get to see their school festival. I love it up until the point of the cooking contest. Afterward, I got bored. There was too much going on in finding out about Juumonji, and honestly, I lost interest. Tanabe went through such lengths to communicate with the student council president, yet we didn't see what happened in that aspect. I understand his anger at the president for wasting his talent. Koreyuki Tani was such a useless side character. I don't get why he antagonized Satoshi so much. I wish he was never introduced because he was annoying. I never noticed that Tanabe was voiced by Jun Fukuyama! He was so unrememberable to me that I kept confusing his character's role with the Student Council President. Shouko, the head of the manga club, reminded me of Ayane from Beyond the Boundary. It was so cute to see Chitanda get distracted by the activities that the other clubs were offering. She kept getting dragged off and distracted on her task to sell the Hyouka Anthology. Her photoshoot session reminded me of the one in Beyond the Boundary. It was adorable to see Chitanda try Irisu's way of making someone do something. She was too pure for it. It's funny that Chitanda enjoyed cooking too much that she didn't notice that she used all of the ingredients. It was a good thing that Houtarou was able to trade that flour. The look on Chitanda's eyes when Houtarou told her that he wanted to discuss an adult topic with Satoshi was hilarious. She looked so dead inside. Just emphasizes the fact that she was a pure character. I wanted Houtarou to go the backstage pass for the Fashion Club. It seemed like such a waste. He only traded the pin. I wanted to see him get a makeover even if he doesn't really care for it. VALENTINE'S DAY I'm angry at Satoshi for breaking the chocolate that Mayaka prepared. I understand Satoshi's fear of his feelings for her, and he shouldn't be afraid if he isn't ready, but he should've told her properly how he felt. Being indirect would just hurt her more than knowing the truth. Still, I'm guessing that Mayaka isn't the type of person who would accept that easily. I'm proud of Houtarou for deciding that he would have punched Satoshi if he broke Mayaka's chocolate just for fun. He got mad at him for Chitanda and Mayaka's sake. I felt heartbroken for Chitanda when she thought that she lost Mayaka's chocolate. I'm glad that Mayaka informed her of the truth before they went home. NEW YEAR'S AND DOLL FESTIVAL Houtarou's reaction to Chitanda showing off her kimono was adorable. It was one of the rare times that he reacted to Chitanda like that. I'm proud of Satoshi for understanding Houtarou's call for help because they watch the same show. The setting of the parade was beautiful. However, the actual parade made me feel dizzy. The art was too overwhelming, and there was too much shaking. The ending was such a letdown. I was honestly proud of Houtarou for telling Chitanda that he would help her with her business, but it was just an imagination! That's an evil scene. He can't even decide if he truly feels something for Chitanda. It was maddening. OTHER THINGS It's funny that Houtarou thought that Chitanda was his soulmate because she said that she didn't get angry about things because it was too tiring. I love it when everyone overacts when Houtarou does something out of his energy-saving norm. I wonder why they don't overreact when he puts effort into helping Chitanda. Did they get used to it? I still don't know why he helps her. Was it because he was forced? Was it because there was finally someone to drag him away from his energy-saving life? We didn't get to find out. Their relationship was a bit weird and complicated. I don't know why Houtarou's sister was always not fully shown. She seems mysterious, and she keeps popping at random places when the last you know of her is that she's in another part of the world. I don't understand her role in everything that's been happening, except that she's the one who told Houtarou to join the Classics Club. Was there something more to it? Is she trying to push her brother into trying new things? It feels weird to connect this anime to Sherlock and other famous mystery novels. I didn't feel their connection, except for the fact that Houtarou is observant about the different situations that he is in. I saw something about Houtarou's relationship with his sister being how Mycroft is to Sherlock, and I didn't feel that. I felt annoyed every time she was in some mystery aspect of Houtarou's life. In this aspect, it seemed like the anime was trying too hard to be something more than what it is.
SUMMARY OF EVENTS Oreki was living a 'conserving energy' type of life until his sister told him to join the Classics Club. She wanted him to join because it was about to be terminated. He meets Chitanda inside the clubroom. She wanted to join the club because of personal reasons. She is quite curious about mysteries. She wanted him to solve how she was locked inside the clubroom. She was locked-in by the janitor. Oreki, Satoshi, and Chitanda became the members of the club. Oreki created a mystery about a secret club called, Silk Spider Society, to distract Chitanda. He doesn't want to go to the Piano Club to check out another mystery because it was too far. Oreki and Chitanda planned to create an anthology for the cultural festival. They went to the library to find past anthologies. While waiting for the librarian, they solved a mystery about a book that's been borrowed every Friday for a short amount of time. The students borrowed it for their art class. There weren't any past anthologies in the library. Chitanda asked Oreki to help her remember something her uncle told her when she was young, which made her cry. She wanted to remember before he becomes officially dead. He's been missing for seven years. Oreki's sister told them where to find the old anthologies. They blackmailed the member of the Wall Newspaper Club to give them the anthologies. The guy smokes in the clubroom. The old anthologies are connected to Chitanda's uncle. She remembered that she asked him what it was when she was young. Something happened to his uncle 45 years ago. The Classics Club looked for information as to what happened to Chitanda's uncle 45 years ago. Oreki concludes that Chitanda's uncle became a sacrifice for the student protest during that era. Chitanda wondered if that was the case, why did she cry when she was young? Oreki's sister asked him if the Kanya Festival term was still banned in the Classics Club, which made him wonder if his conclusion was right. They found out from an old member of the club, their current librarian, that Chitanda's uncle was forced to take the blame for the student protest. They had to punish someone after the Martial Arts Center burned down. Even though Chitanda's uncle wasn't the leader, he was the one who took the blame. The students just watched him get expelled. The Kanya Festival term was made in honor of Sekitani Jun. The title of the anthology, Hyouka, was a pun for what he truly felt. Chitanda remembered that she asked her uncle what Hyouka meant when she was young. They decided to use that story for the anthology. Chitanda's Math teacher lectured them for not knowing what he was discussing. He skipped a chapter in the textbook, and so Chitanda asked Oreki why the teacher made that mistake. He mixed up the sections because he used lowercase letters for A and D. They took a trip to a hot spring owned by Ibara's relatives. Oreki collapsed in the bath. There is a rumor that one of the rooms in the hot spring was haunted. Chitanda and Ibara saw something swaying in the room during the night. Turns out, it was just a kimono drying. The Classics Club went to a movie showing of Class 2-F. They wanted to hear the opinion of others regarding their movie. Irisu wanted Oreki to think about how the movie would end. The scriptwriter got sick before she could finish it, so the class doesn't know what to do about the ending. Irisu tricked Oreki into helping them by saying that he's special. Oreki's conclusion is that the cameraman is the one who killed the person in the movie. Satoshi, Ibara, and Chitandu thought it wasn't the ending that the scriptwriter wanted. She wanted a happy ending, which the class didn't. The cultural festival started. They had to sell 200 copies of the anthology because Ibara ordered the wrong amount. Chitanda, Satoshi, and Ibara joined a cooking contest. A thief started taking different items from the clubs. Everyone got busy trying to find the thief. They made Oreki take the case by using it as a way to promote their anthology. Oreki figured out that Tanabe was behind it. He wanted to send a message to the Student Council President about the manga that he never made. Oreki managed to sell the anthologies by blackmailing Tanabe. They also agreed to make the Classics Club the final target of the thief. Oreki became curious as to why he remembers one of his teachers being happy upon seeing a helicopter. They found out that it was because the helicopter was part of a rescue team of stranded hikers. However, they were too late. Oreki and Chitanda tried to reach a wild conclusion as to why a student would be called into the staff room. Oreki said something about the student paying with fake money, and it turns out that they were right. Chitanda invited Oreki to a New Year's Festival to show off her kimono. They got stuck inside the shrine warehouse. Oreki sent Satoshi a message to help them, and Satoshi rescued them. Ibara tried making the best homemade chocolate ever for Satoshi on Valentine's Day. She left it inside the clubroom, and it went missing. Chitanda was angry at herself for leaving it alone. Oreki told her to leave it to him and go home. He figured out that Satoshi took the chocolate, but didn't want them to know that he did. He didn't want to accept the chocolate because he doesn't want to change his way of life by accepting Ibara's feelings. He didn't want to become obsessed with her. Chitanda asked Oreki to become the umbrella carrier for the Live Doll Festival. They had to change their route because road construction started earlier than they expected. They figured out that it was because the alternate route had beautiful scenery. During the walk home, Oreki almost offered to take care of the business side of Chitanda's family business.
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