Review of Hyouka

The everyday. The mundane. A mystery, slice of life coming from the amazing Kyoto Animations, Hyouka is an amazing work. Hyouka is easily one of the best in conveying this idea of exploring the everyday life and what it holds. Taking place in a high school, the grandest questions are probably ones of who's dating or who's been fighting and in Hyouka, the questions asked are of little situations that if you'd come across, you'd likely ignore. The story follows Oreki, Houtarou, who receives a letter from his older sister telling him to join the classics club to keep it alive as there are nomore members. The story will follow him and this club as they solve mysteries around their school and their everyday lives. This is one of the subjective parts as I wouldn't blame you if you thought the mysteries seemed too insignificant to care for or just seemed stupid. The first mystery being, a door becoming locked when the only way possible was with a key that no one near had at the time of locking. Now, not every mystery is as small as this but it's about the general level most are. It's so little as most would ignore it and go for "Eh, probably malfunctioned," but the characters decided to look into it. This is Hyouka. Having the curiosity to look into these everyday situations and finding something within. Most of the curiosity comes from one character, but I'll talk about her later. The mysteries aren't intellectual garbage that make the characters seem smart by pulling details that were never shown because it would've made the solution and cheap writing very obvious. While I didn't solve anything because I was just here for the ride, you could definitely solve a good amount of them along with the characters. Your attention is demanded though, as details are always being revealed and discussed. Since there are multiple, obviously not every mystery is going to be that good and can be pretty lacking at times but I’ll give props because they're all still pretty creative.

Next, characters. The characters are perfectly set to convey the themes. They're probably one of the strongest points of Hyouka. The mc Oreki Houtarou was made perfectly for the show. He talks about a "rose-colored life" describing it as sports, romance, going out and having fun with friends, saying how it is not for him. He longs for a "grey" life. A life on the sidelines where he saves as much energy as he can. He's a funny guy. He says he'll save as much energy as possible but will still do his homework and maintain good grades. It's clear his ideology is simply for excuses but it's a good one that's put to the test. The amount of development in his overall character arc is barely anything compared to what you'd usually find but it's done perfectly with a level of subtlety that's unmatched from my experience.

Now for the curious one I was talking about, Chitanda. She's the more cute, moe character but she does have some more depth going for her. She's known to be the elegant type, usually quiet and gentle, but when it comes to those mysteries man, her curiosity is far too much to handle and she does a full 180 from the usual. Coming to yell "Watashi kininarimasu!" or "I'm curious!" to Oreki, with wide eyes that just entrance him along with the audience. She's the one who's there to push everything forward and is for sure one of my favorites but understandably, she might come across as annoying to some.

The other two of the main cast are the mc's best friend Satoshi and the best friend's, friend Mayaka. Satoshi is the opposite personality type of friend. Always cracking jokes and being a smartass creating a nice duality for the two. He's the "database" around to give background to the mysteries allowing the others to draw conclusions. He's mostly around for comedy and to fill holes but even he gets a nice little arc that makes him feel much more human than a character.

Mayaka, the friend of Satoshi at first look is kind of tsundere, but it's actually not towards the mc, Oreki. It's to Satoshi, his friend. She kind of hates Oreki. With his laziness and ideology, a hard worker such as herself would definitely feel indifferent at the very least. She's usually found studying or working and is a sweet girl on the inside. She appears a little tropey but just like everyone else she's much more than that and also gets the subtlety everything else has. Well, subtlety in everything besides one thing. The visuals.

Hyouka's art is something else. So smooth, so clean, and so detailed, this is probably the anime that elevated KyoAni to its legendary status as it was the first to be THIS astonishing. Haruhi and K-On put them in the spotlight but this cemented them. Not much I can say as I'm not an animator or artist but you for sure don't need any background to acknowledge how stunning this looks.
The visual direction style is also very interesting. The shots add to Oreki's idea of being a loner and being "grey." Often putting him in the "opposite" of whatever's happening and somehow secluding him even within a crowd. Its angles are very imaginative, but remain grounded and aren't just to be cool, with a clear purpose behind each shot presented.
The color palate choice also adds to the mundane, boring-ness with its blacks, dark-yellowy greens, and browns. I love the look but it might be a bit overkill sometimes.

Next, I'll talk about sound. Hyouka’s s ost is pretty good in adding to the slice of life aspect. There is this one track on YouTube titled "Hyouka ost 42." I don't know the actual name but it's so good at showing this feeling of everyday life. It's energetic but still laid back, being by favorite ost song next to legends like the ones in tatami galaxy or Monogatari. There are also some classics like cello suite no.1 prelude and orchestral suite no. 3 to add to the mystery, "thinking" feel. The openings are nice, ed's too. Especially the second ed like damn imma commit some crimes to have chitanda and mayaka come chase after me.
The voice acting is really good, I've watched all of it in sub and dub and of course the Japanese sounds good but surprisingly the dub is almost equal. The only real problem with it is that Chitanda's "I'm Curious!" just doesn't hit like "Watashi Kininarimasu!"

For one part I'd like to talk a little about this subtlety that I keep mentioning because it's the big reason I rated a full 10/10. What's done in Hyouka is a character-focused show more than anything else. Mystery is the genre but it'll hit the back burner a lot and the show will just be slice of life. Oftentimes, slice of life isn't too good on its own and while I do agree with that, Hyouka's SOL was still amazing because of its character focus. I always hear complaints of characters having "no development and depth" showing clear ignorance. If you wanted clear, big development I would understand your dislike, but "no development" is just wrong. I bring this up because this solidifies exactly what I'm about to be talking about here. The first thing you'll see is Oreki's monologue of a rose-colored life and how he instead wants a gray life along with his energy-saving lifestyle. Every event he and the club encounter shapes his philosophy ever so slightly, being shown through as little as one action or dialogue like getting up from his chair. It does seem stupid written out here but when experienced, it's amazing. In the final episodes, especially the last, you'll see the culmination of the mysteries and their effect on everyone. The ever-present atmosphere created between the characters seeming to take form. It may not be dramatic or shocking enough compared to other stories but it displays the level of focus and consistency put toward the overall vision. A little moment in the grand scale but to the characters, HUGE. With an ending showing how things will move on instead of being told explicitly, reflecting on the precision Hyouka strove towards. This execution is fantastic and is almost unparalleled throughout anime.

So, overall, a 10/10for me. A show that really resonates within the walls inside of me. With every aspect, mainly themes and characters, Hyouka created a compelling experience that I loved. Give it a try if it sounds interesting. If you get used to the steady, slower pace, you'll find something great here.