Review of Hyouka
I'm curious, can great characters make a series one of your favorites even when that series is well outside of your usual genres? I HAVE TO KNOW! (Yes, the answer is yes.) I didn't think I'd ever write a review for Hyouka, given that I agree with the general high opinion of the show, and unlike a hidden gem such as 'Hidamari No Ki', this one hardly needs me to save it from obscurity. However, I recently completed my third full viewing of Hyouka despite the fact that I rarely give anime set in high school the time of day, so I decided to get tothe bottom of exactly why the adventures of the Classic Lit Club resonate so much with me. And with all that Kyoto Animation has been through recently I figured it's the least I can do to praise my favorite TV series of theirs.
-STORY-
It's actually pretty hard to describe 'Hyouka' in a way that will make it immediately sound interesting. A high school loner solves little mysteries for an overly curious girl from his extra-curricular club. No supernatural elements, no battles for the fate of the world, no life and death games of cat and mouse between master criminals and elite detectives. The stakes of these mysteries are never for much more than satisfying the curiosity of the club members. Even solving the most serious case of the series only leads to emotional closure for the leading lady. It all matters to us because these mysteries matter to the characters, and these characters will find a way of mattering to you pretty quickly.
-CHARACTERS-
I can't quite put my finger on it, but there's something truly excellent characters have that gives them life and takes them beyond all the characters who just a collection of tropes and archetypes parading around on screen. Whatever that something is, the four members of the Classic Lit Club have it in spades. While they can be slotted into basic archetypes at first glance, upon further inspection they go far deeper. Hotaro has more to him than sarcasm and introversion, Satoshi has complexities that your average 'comedic relief best friend' never even approaches, Chitanda isn't simply an airheaded Manic Pixy Dream Girl here to drive the plot, and Mayaka isn't just around to balance out the cast.
The cast also excels in that they each have fully developed relationships with the other members. They act differently depending on who is and isn't around. For example, Hotaro and Eru are clearly the main romantic pairing of the series, but Hotaro and Mayaka have a fully fleshed out friendship built around frequently engaging in snark-to-snark combat that conceals mutual respect. Or on the flip side, Satoshi and Eru are also clearly never in any way a romantic possibility for the show, but they have a well established friendship built around stimulating each other's intellectual curiosity. Any one cast member is capable of having a serious conversation with any of the other three, and it will be a very different conversation depending on who it is. The cast convincingly acts like real people alone and they convincingly act like a real group together. Hyouka has my all-time favorite 4-person-ensemble. Simply watching them interact is a great pleasure. If you don't believe me, there are two episodes set entirely in the Classic Lit Club room with nothing but the cast to carry the show- those are two of the best episodes in the series.
-ART & SOUND-
Kyoto Animation brought their A Game with this one, despite being 7 years old as of writing Hyouka still looks better than a great deal of stuff being released today. It's aesthetically beautiful and chock full of creative scene compositions. Funimation also did a masterful job with the dub, Hotaro's dry monotone contrasting excellently with Eru's high emotional voice, Mayaka's oozing disapproval, while Satoshi can bounce around between friendly, sarcastic, and utterly ridiculous without missing a beat.
-OVERALL-
High school anime aren't my usual cup of tea by a long shot, but Hyouka broke out of its genre to be one of my all time favorites. You should give it a look.