Review of Hyouka

SPOILERS AHEAD! YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED So Hyouka is one of those mystery shows... interesting. Story 7/10: So the story has a repeated throughout the entire show and it goes like this: 1) Something happens 2) Chitanda goes "I'm curious" 3) Houtarou resists4) Houtarou helps
5) Investigation time
6) Houtarou figures it out

Now sometimes this 6 step plot spans over 2 or 3 episodes, but most of the time it is one episode. The main problem I have with the story is that in some episodes, it feels awfully forced. In episode 11 or 12 I forget, the mystery was "why was Chitanda mad??" If that isn't forced then I don't know what is. Another problem with this plot is that it leaves no room for character development except for "investigation time". I believe and I could be wrong, there was only 1 episode without a mystery in the entire show. Those are my problems and here are my praises: First, this plot can leave to some imagination of the viewer. This is needed in mystery as without the viewer's participation, entertainment is not had. Second, This plot gives way to rewatchability. One can pickup an episode at the beginning of a mystery, and watch it all the way through, without having to watch all 22 mysteries. Another thing, these mysteries are very detailed for the amount of time they have to sink in. Definitely the best mystery was the first "Sengoku Jun" (I believe that's his name) mystery in my opinion. Because of these reasons story gets a 7/10. Edit: Also the ending was really weak and forgettable. A disappointing end to a great show.

Art 9/10:

Now this is of course shorter because holy shit is the art good in this show. All characters look beautiful, all backgrounds stunning, and it's all great. There is nothing to complain about except a few things here and there. 9/10

Sound 7/10:

Ok... now the first op and the second ed were good, and the first ed and the second op were eh. That's all I have to say about the ops and eds. Now in terms of ost, the background tracks are very good at what they do. They have a mystery track, where when it plays you know it is mystery time, and other tracks are very good. Now in terms of VAs, all are good except for Chitanda. She was alright at first, but got real annoying real fast. For these reasons, sound gets a 9/10

Characters 6/10:

So here is probably my most controversial of them all. Let's go through the main four and my problems, then I'll go through my praises of the characters as a whole.
Chitanda: Why is she curious all the time? At first, it made sense because Jun is part of her family, but later on, "Why was I mad?" "I'm curious!!" It made no sense as to why she cares about every little thing. Another thing that I will be addressing as a whole later on, how she treats houtarou in the middle of the season.
Satoshi: This character seems like a comic relief character at first, and I still can't really put my finger on why he is there in the first place. This character is trying to be a bunch of things at once (in the show and metaphorically), such as: love interest, childhood friend, jealous rival, comic relief, source of useless info to help the mystery, the list goes on.
Mayaka: This character I probably have the least problems with, (except houtarou of course) and she is the most relatable character. She doesn't live a perfect life, she gets into friendship struggles, she has love issues. She gets mad easily, but for some odd reason, it works for her.
Houtarou: Ah the smart boy. This guy is so much fun to watch as he evolves from a shut in to helping others. No problems here.

Problems as a whole: They expect Houtarou to figure out a mystery, he "doesn't do it right" and they get all pissed at him. I am of course referencing the movie arc, and those episodes annoyed the fuck out of me. Houtarou is forced. Not asked. Forced, to help the gang with a movie that has an incomplete end. He figures out a good ending that is satisfying and good, while no one else helps, but then they all come to him saying "It doesn't seem right" "I didn't like it". This is a gripe that seriously deducted points from the score, and I can't get over those reactions.

Praises as a whole: These characters work together and bounce off of each other very nicely, and are all very enjoyable to watch. The side characters are unique and most appear in one, maybe two mystery plots, while others are a mainstay. Like the sister. The sister is never revealed, her face anyway, but yet somehow she gets to be one of the more enjoyable characters to watch on screen. I don't really have anything else to say on the characters.. so 6/10

Enjoyment: I really enjoyed this show, as it brought me to the joy of mystery. I very much enjoy trying to create a theory along side the characters, as well as seeing them grow. While at some points the characters are annoying, or at others the mysteries get bland, it is still a fine choice for a show to sit down and binge. If one were to watch the show at different times, please watch the longer, 2-3 episode long mysteries. These are overall better and do not feel as forced. A good ending is not episode 22, but 20 or 21 is fine. Enjoyment is relative, and I enjoyed this show, very much.

Overall: 7/10