Review of Hyouka

HYOUKA! One of the new animes to come out that was really watchable and enjoyable. I gave the overall score a 7, but I actually wanted to say 7.5.....see it was good enough to be above 7, but not that great to be an 8. Let's discuss why: First off the story centers around a lethargic high school boy whose motto is "IF I DON'T HAVE TO DO IT, I WON'T; IF I HAVE TO DO IT, I'LL DO IT QUICKLY". Because his elder sister tells him to join the classic literature club, he does it....this is due to the fact that he is "APPARENTLY" afraid of her(implied in the first episode).

NOW apart from him (OREKI HOUTAROU), there are three other main characters: Chitanda Eru; Ibara Mayaka and Fukube Satoshi. Each of these three are quite interesting, and there is and they each have their dark side (except ERU who is called a saint....they dedicated an entire 5 minutes attributing to her sainthood). The club has no real drive.....no real objective....it is perfect for lazy people like Oreki; they do however go around solving mysteries that are neither main (crime based and so on) but are basically "SLICE OF LIFE".

Oreki is incredibly interesting for a "BORING CHARACTER". His monologues can be funny at times, his delusions can be both "colorful" and funny, and also his ability to solve, analyze and piece together puzzles IS AMAZING. He is quite emotional on the inside, but compliments his personality with a POKER FACE to almost everyone else. Satoshi is basically "the sun" while Oreki is the "moon", the light to Oreki's dark. Satoshi is charasmatic, cool, smart and at times funny. His dark side is his incredibly obsessive behavior and his belief that he is always in Oreki's shadow, which can make him at times annoying. Ibara isn't unique, she is the classic "CHILDHOOD FRIEND": easily angry, enthusiastic and annoying. She never really brought anything to the table in solving mysteries....I mean Satoshi was the database and Oreki was the analyzer; Ibara was just....annoying. Her obsession with insulting Oreki for no reason was also annoying, the show would have done well to put a reason why she didn't too like Oreki, which they did not....I won't say she hated him...they actually got along alright at times, but sometimes she just made inputs that were totally unnecessary. Then there is Chitanda....easily distracted, cute, and sorta like a puppy (especially her good sense of smell)....basically, your typical innocent "OJOU-SAMA" (princess....best way to translate that...even if it doesn't really do it justice). She had an affinity to knowing when a solution was right or wrong, which was illogical because for the most part she was "in the dark"...guess we could chalk that up to GREAT INTUITION. She was also extremely annoying when she behaved PUSHY, but other than those childish moments, she was okay.

The Story set a dark tone, for the VERY VERY LIGHT mysteries, which MADE those mysteries interesting when originally they would not be. The way the mysteries were solved and the complexities involved were also quite interesting. The show had 3 major story arcs: HYOUKA ARC; THE INDEPENDENT FILM ARC; THE CULTURE FESTIVAL ARC. I think the Hyouka arc was the best in terms of seriousness, but the culture festival arc was much deeper. They did good in referencing Sherlock Holmes and Agatha Christy. The problem was after these arcs, the remaining episodes were okay, but stand-alone. Therefore, when these three arcs were over, it felt as if the show itself was OVER, or atleast there was no longer the drive to watch the episodes that came after because they were less exciting. They could have gone the romance route....which they slightly did, HOWEVER nothing came of the 2 romance stories either. That said, the culture festival (BUNKASAI) arc could have been pushed to the end of the series or they could have simply innovated a new arc.

The story was not fast paced, so the music fit, so did the voice acting. The 2 OP and ED were good, their videos were also good, EXCEPT THE FIRST ED VIDEO....that video was a classic "WTF???" I mean it showed Ibara, and Chitanda in seductive clothes, in a bed (well it looked like a bed), they were holding hands as well....it was basically fan service for a show THAT HAD NO FAN SERVICE.

That being said, the show was quite enjoyable for 22 episodes, it was light, and when it felt the need too they would darken it. Oreki was an excellent main character, mainly because he was a mystery....to the ppl around him and INITIALLY to the viewers, that you wanted to get to know him more. The show DEFINITELY deserves a watch!