Review of Hyouka

The animation is really, really good. Hyouka is very smooth in it’s animation, and the detail on everything is great. The detail on the backdrops and clothing reminds me of something that Studio Ghibli would produce, except this is an amine not a movie. It is beautiful to look at while watching, and never goes away. They animate human mannerisms really well, even down to little ticks, flinches, and blushing. The characters movements make them feel more alive than they are. The music behind the show is also really good, and probably peaks around episodes 10-14 when there is a melody of piano and flutes.The story is also pretty good, but quiet and uneventful in the way that I am used to compared to Shounen anime. The best parts of the shows are when we see the character growth of Oreki as his best friend Satoshi, and the 2 girls, all start to eat away at the shell that Oreki lives in and convinces him to be a little more extroverted. This resonates with me as I heavily felt what Oreki felt throughout the 22 episodes. The voice acting for Oreki and Satoshi are really good, but the 2 girls are alright. Chitanda especially has a voice that I found annoying after the first few episodes, which is sad because I really enjoyed her interactions with Oreki.
Chitanda’s voice actress always sounded like she was trying to whisper-talk the entire script, which might be on point with how the Japanese actress made the original voice, but it didn’t translate well into English. Another minor problem is that Hyouka is uneventful, granted the show isn’t action or adventure, and the only real payoff at the end of the show is seeing Oreki grow. Nothing else really happens, and none of the mysteries they try to solve really add anything to the characters and seem to be just a way to pad time for character development. This is another anime where I go deeper down the rabbit hole of life/romance/comedy anime and I was impressed. Maybe I just like anime? Either way if FUNimation can keep cranking decent dubs out I will continue to go down this rabbit hole either way.
This is also great as background noise if you want something new to watch without giving it 100% of your attention.