Review of Hyouka

Hot damn, this took me a long time to finish. Not because it wasn't good, but still. I don't know how to describe why this anime was really awesome. I guess the format is sort of like Natsume's Book of Friends or Mushishi where every episode (or every few episodes) tells its own story, but it doesn't feel episodic at all. It's a really nice balance of telling a different story with a different mystery every episode while still feeling like a Slice of Life anime that has episodes that blend really nicely together. The mystery element of this anime was done amazingly, as well.It did lend itself to a darker tone, but it wasn't a dark anime by any means. One of the things I surprisingly liked about this series is that there wasn't too much by way of dark subject matters, but the tone made every mystery feel weighted and important even though most of them were inconsequential. The way the stories are explained, the way the suspense is written in, and the way the twists are revealed are all done nicely as well.

The character developments in this series were surprisingly consistent. I didn't really expect there to be much development as I figured this would just be about some kids solving mysteries, but the changes that happen in these characters because of the mysteries they solve stay with them for the rest of the series.

All in all, I don't have much to say except that you should watch this because it's a really fun and intriguing anime to watch. Plus, I walked away loving the characters. I think I may pick up the novel series after this because I could read about this group forever.