Review of Hyouka

Reviewing another KyoAni series....*sigh* This better be good. What am I talking about?! This is a great KyoAni series. One of their best series to date. This anime is basically "Sherlock Homes: High School Version". [Story]: (9/10) Oreki Hotaro is a high school boy, who always acts passively. One day, he enters a "Classic Literature Club" as recommended by his older sister. There he meets Eru Chitanda, Satoshi Fukube and Mayaka Ibara. They begin to investigate a case that occurred 33 years ago. Hints of the mystery are buried in an old collection of works of the former members of the club. The collection is titled"Hyouka".

That synopsis alone is the main reason why I started watching the series. I thought that some dark f*cked up shit occurred on the club and they have to investigate it. I even thought that was going to be the main focus of the show but it only lasted for about 3-4 episodes. I do love how Oreki managed to solve the mystery and he even showed hints that lead him to his conclusion. I even felt stupid after he solved it.

As you know, Chitanda's curiosity is what drives the series' plot. If she's not curious then Oreki goes back to being a lazy ass. Every time Oreki and his friends solves a mystery, a new one pops out. Chitanda grows curious and Oreki tries to solve it again. That's basically it. What's makes the mystery worth watching? It's the fact that they're very well thought out, uses attention to details and actually uses logic. I sometimes wonder if the author of the series is a professor himself. I'm not saying that every mystery in Hyouka is smart because some of the mysteries are just plain dumb. It's mostly the "one-episode mystery" that are dumb. Enjoyable to watch but dumb if you think about it.

The mystery that I love the most is the arc where the characters were trying to solve the unfinished ending for the movie. It is the best arc I've seen in Hyouka. It's full of mysteries, twists and the conclusion is awesome. It even gave me a reason to use my brain and try to solve it myself. Sadly, my conclusion was different from Oreki's true answer (Was his answer truly right though?).

The series is also filled with slice-of-life moments, some comedy moments and hints of romance. I'm glad they balanced it out because watching mysteries all day can get boring sometimes. There are times though where the series will have one full episode of mystery that isn't really that hard to solve. It's just 2 characters in a conversation and somehow ending up trying to solve a puzzle. In other words, a "hypothetical situation" puzzles. One of my favorite easy puzzles and it's one of the dumb mysteries that I stated above.

One last thing, the series' pacing is slow and it can get boring. Especially the first half of the show. What the show does is it slowly builds up the mystery that its trying to tell. This can last for 2 episodes. Some people may find this a problem because of how slow it is. Fortunately, I can handle the slow pacing but some people can't.

Oh right, I forgot about the ending. Some people found it unsatisfactory. I thought it was pretty decent but like other people out there, I didn't find it great. How do I say it without spoiling the ending?.....It felt incomplete. Like there's more story to be told but it ended just like (*snaps finger*) that.
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[Art/Animation]: (9/10)
KyotoAnimation at their best when it comes to animation. The animation looks great, the visual looks great and the character design also looks great. The animation felt smooth and I didn't see any choppiness.
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[Sound]: (10/10)
The soundtrack for the series is simply outstanding. From phenomenal background theme to music, the show did a great job

The OP theme songs are "Yasashisa no Riyuu " by ChouCho and "Mikansei Stride" by Saori Kodama. The ED theme songs are "Madoromi no Yakusoku" by Satomi Satou & Ai Kayano and "Kimi ni Matsuwaru Mystery" by Satomi Satou & Ai Kayano. The 1st OP theme song is great. It has that awesome instrumental piece and a great voice by ChouCho. I also found the 2nd OP theme song beautiful. It has the beat that makes you want to nod your head every second. I like the 1st ED theme song but not the animation. It looks like a none-explicit hentai. The 2nd ED theme song is miles better than the 1st ED. In short, they're all great.

The VA's did a terrific job with their characters. Even the side characters has a great VA and that really surprised me. The VA that I love the most is Chitanda's VA. I just love her voice and the way she says "I'm curious" is too cute!
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[Characters]: (9/10)
The series focuses on 4 main characters. Hotarou Oreki is a lazy high school teenager who prefers to conserve his energy. His motto is If I don't have to do it, I won't. If I have to do it, I'll make it quick. Eru Chitanda is a calm and cute high school teenage girl who has a great amount of curiosity and this often drags Oreki into her curiosity. Fukube Satoshi is a smart high school teenage boy and he's the "database" for the club. He went to the same middle school as Houtarou and Mayaka. Ibara Mayaka is an active and strict high school teenage girl. She has known Oreki since they were in first grade.

At the start, I thought Oreki was going to be an unlikable generic lazy ass main protagonist that we mostly see these days but as the show moved on, you see Oreki grow and develop from being a lazy ass to a sociable guy. This isn't because the plot demanded him to change just for the sake of character development but it's because of Chitanda. Chitanda's constant curiosity and her views made Oreki realize that life isn't as boring as he think it is and he needs to stop taking it seriously.

Chitanda is by far one of the cutest female character I have ever seen and one of the best female character. Her personality is great and every time she says "I'm curious", I somehow feel Oreki's pain. Not in a bad way though. I also love it when she's drunk. She's just too cute, especially the way she said "daijoubu" or "I'm o-kay" in English. Her cuteness aside, Chitanda is a complex character. As you watch the show, you'll understand Chitanda as a person and she's just not in the show solely as a cutesy moe character. Don't simply think of her as a plot device because she's not. It's hard to explain why but you'll understand if you watch the show.

The remaining 2 main characters aren't left on the dust either. They got the same amount of screentime as Chitanda and Oreki meaning they're as fleshed out as those main 2 characters. There are also times where you get a backstory of them and you learn about them and why they're acting the way they are.

As much as I would have want to see Oreki and Chitanda get together, note that the anime is not focused on Romance. The anime doesn't even have a Romance Tag. There are a hint of romance between the two so I understand why some fans were shipping them.
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[Enjoyment]: (7/10)
Don't get me wrong..I love the anime, I think it's great but it's one of those great animes where you simply can't marathon because of how boring it is. It's not too boring but compared to other shows out there, it's boring. If the show were to have an English Dub (I highly doubt it), I would probably not watch it again or if I do end up watching it again, I'll skip some episodes or scenes
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[OVERALL]: (9/10)
"Hyouka" is one of the best "mystery" animes I have seen. It has a well thought out and sophisticated mysteries, a fleshed out and likable main characters who grows over time. If you have a brain of a 5 year old retard or you have a serious case of short attention span then this anime is not for you. If you like the "Mystery" genre then this is a show for you.

Pros:
+Great Story
+Great Animation and Great Visuals
+Smooth Animation
+Outstanding Soundtrack
+Great Characters
+Well-Thought out Mysteries

Cons:
-Some melodrama moments
-Show can get boring sometimes
-Ending may not appeal to everyone