HYOUKA

DESCRIPTION

CAST

NOVEL MysteryHyouka
OVA MysteryHyouka: Motsubeki Mono wa
MANGA MysteryHyouka
NOVEL MysteryGusha no Endroll
NOVEL MysteryKudryavka no Junban
NOVEL MysteryToomawari suru Hina

REVIEWS

• 

  aabir

  77/100
  Hyouka is a very good series which is let down by its own lack of a proper ending.

  Hyouka is an anime of tastes. Either you love it, or you hate it. There is no midway. Dubbed by /a/ as the most boring anime ever, it is obvious that it doesn't quite have what it takes to be at the top. Still, /a/ has gone to shit so taking its opinion on anything is pointless.

  In which case, it really does come down to one's own preference. Its story line is actually reminiscent of K-On!, which is to say it has something like a a story, but its too loose to be called one, and it relies on its moe to grab attention.

  Still, I would be lying if I said Hyouka didn't have a certain charm to it. What the charm is, is beyond me. Perhaps its the mystery, or perhaps its the SOL, but I can't say what exactly makes Hyouka tick.

  

  As a side note, all pictures in this review are taken from the OP/ED to ensure complete a completely spoiler free review
  Artwork and Animation (18/20)
  The artwork is fairly average at first glance. Still, it improves on your everyday slice of life palette in tiny -almost minuscule- ways until the result is actually quite stunning.

  Firstly, let's start with the character models and faces, which in itself has always been the lifeline of the slice of life genre. I found the character models to almost beautiful. Admittedly, having everyone with purple-coloured eyes breaks the scheme and stands out, but that is what makes -almost defines- the artwork of Hyouka, as is evident in its flagship - Chitanda. Chitanda is the very embodiment of Moe (I was never into moe culture, but I'll concede that Chitanda is cute), and while it takes a bit of getting used to her, she still stands out as one of the best character models in the Slice of life genre. Expect the same quality outstanding quality in other characters.

  

  Moving on, the environment. The environment is surprisingly detailed for an anime based in high school. Even though the story of Hyouka uses a club, the club isn't just packed boxes in a corner with a table and some chairs. Its actually very well detailed, and even when the club members are going around the school you will see a heavily defined environment.

  

  One thing of note in the environment is how well the animation links with it. Snow and rain are quite life like, but the thing that stands out is sakura (Cherry blossom). Now, falling sakura petals is one thing which is downright beautiful, and hyouka is able to correctly portray it to a great degree. However it is sad how this was not done more often. Admittedly, realism dictates that sakura petals only fall once a year, but it is so beautifully portrayed that you just wish it happened more often.

  

  The animation is very good, but its wasted because Hyouka lacks any action or fast moving scenes. Its like using a Nvidia 580 to play Age of Mythology - It is overkill.

  As yet another side note, Hyouka has very dull colouring (when inside classrooms and stuff), if it gets to you, pump up the saturation on your monitor.

  Sound and Music (18/20)
  Even a cursory glance at the characters will show you that Hyouka has a solid voice acting team - and it shows. Yuuichi Nakamura voices Oreki (this is the guy who voiced Tomoya in clannad and is voicing Tatsuya in the now airing Mahouka), Satomi Satou voices Chitanda (this is the person who voiced Wendy in Fairy Tail and Ritsu in K-On!) and Daisuke-Sakaguchi voices Satoshi (this guys voiced Shinpachi in Gintama)
  Not that most people care for a voice acting (because subs), but still, Hyouka has a very strong voice acting crew.

  Then of course is the thing people really care about - Music.
  And Hyouka puts your trouble to ease with a very good OP01, a somewhat nice OP02 and two average EDs.
  OP01 (Yasashisa no riyuu by Choucho) is the best of the lot by a long shot.

  Story (12/20)

  

  pic related, its mfw watching Hyouka

  Hyouka is quite boring to be honest. It relies on a mundane mystery genre to present the story. Why mundane? Because while it IS mystery, Hyouka isn't about murders or thefts. Its about Oreki (who is good at deducing stuff) satisfying Chitanda's curiosity. Whenever there is an miniscule unexplained phenomenon/rumor, Chitanda freaks the hell out like her life depended on it, yes, even if its just pointless gossip. Enter the knight in the shining armor who makes a straight face and calmly solves everything. Hyouka makes it look like Oreki almost knew the answer before Chitanda even opened her mouth, which is quite annoying to be honest. Oreki also makes extremely long-shot deductions based on circumstantial evidence (the biggest example of it would be a certain announcement) which will upset the mystery buff. On the other hand, the average viewer will be in awe of Oreki's detective skills. That is not to say that the storyline is bad, Hyouka gets a lot of stuff on target and the some mysteries were actually quite intriguing.
  Hyouka transforms as it moves from an episode to the next one -not the characters- the story transforms. Hyouka starts off as your typical slice of life anime, slowly turns into an episodic comedy, then changes into an arc based mystery and then turns into an emotional rollercoaster. Its almost as if Hyouka can't decide what it wants to be, which can be off-putting at time and great at others.

  Even though it is tagged as "romance", there is little of it to be found, and other than some very vague hints, no romance is present. Of course, the novel (Koten-bu, from which Hyouka is adapted) follows the romance arc at volume 5, but Hyouka ends at volume 4 itself, leaving much to be desired, while simultaneously dispelling all hopes for a second season (one volume is too small for an adaptaion), and that is just a disappointing way to end things, considering it could all be easily avoided if some filler-esque episodes were replaced with actual story. But then again, that just might be hypocritical of me considering I thought the last episode was just beautiful, and I doubt that a similarly great end could have been achieved if Volume 5 was incorporated into the original series.

  Still, to call the entire storyline a sham is taking things too far. It isn't really as boring as I made it sound, its great for light watching.

  Characters (14/20)

  

  I found the characters to be great...yet, they were unbelievable. While the characters were likable, sweet, caring and generally good, they just weren't like real people. As I mentioned before in the story section, Chitanda's reactions to the most minor stuff is way out of line with reality. Same could be said for almost every other character present, none of them showed reactions a normal person would within boundaries of normal sense, and most people reacted to petty stuff with a reaction more fit for a tragedy.

  The character development is faded at best. with no one other than Oreki getting something approaching a 'normal' development. Chitanda hardly changes and Satoshi changes a bit but reverts almost instantly. Oreki's development on the other hand was very natural and subtle, it happened slowly and carefully, and I have to hand this one to hyouka for great development. Of course, people commenting all the time on how Oreki has "changed" makes it look a bit forced.

  The support crew goes without much in the way of development at all. Still, the characters were very likable and I can't really say anyone amongst them could be really hated.

  Enjoyment (15/20)
  As I said at the very beginning, either you love Hyouka or you don't, If you love it, you will enjoy it quite a lot, if you don't, you are gonna get bored out of your ass. It all really depends on what you want.

  To top it off, I would suggest hyouka to anyone who like the slice of life genre or likes mystery (plenty of Agatha Christie references here), but if you aren't into either, you should still give it a try. If even after three episodes you can't really enjoy it, then Hyouka isn't for you.

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• 

  JellySnake

  90/100
  A simple story with fantastic execution.

  From top to bottom, every aspect of Hyouka just oozes quality, and it all ties together to produce one of the most fully realised TV anime series I've ever seen and Kyoto Animation's current magnum opus.

  ---

  

  Story 8/10
  Hyouka is set in a small, somewhat rural city and more specifically at the highschool of that city. It manages to mitigate the tired 'generic high school' setting a bit by the rural locale which does come into play and has a role in the characterization of many characters. The story itself revolves around the four members of the school's Classics Club and the hijinks they get up to.

  Hyouka is often pointed out as being mundane or boring, considering its classification as a 'mystery' and while I can understand this view, I personally found it to be very entertaining from start to finish. The story does involve plenty of mysteries and plenty of deductions, but its usually about unimportant problems, such as how someone got locked in a classroom, not the murder and theft mysteries that are typical of the genre. Despite this, I found that the mysteries were still generally well written and intriguing. Most of the time all of the puzzle pieces will be introduced at one point or another before the explanation and I suppose if you were paying enough attention and cared enough to figure it out before the show explains it to you, you could. Most of the time, anyway. At some points the mysteries can become a bit of a stretch, though its never to the point that its not enjoyable. Thematically, the mundane nature of the mysteries serve their purpose well, as they remain intriguing and interesting despite how boring they should be. However in the end, the mysteries are mainly just enjoyable plot devices to further the main aspect of the story: the characters.

  At its core, Hyouka is a story about two almost opposite people meeting and how they change each others lives. While that may sound grand and eventful, Hyouka manages this story in a very gradual and realistic way, something not often found in the realm of Chinese Japanimations. Over the course of the series the two leads, Oreki and Chitanda, are fleshed out, developed and then fleshed out some more through the way they interact with each other, with the mystery and with the other characters. In a way, the biggest mystery of Hyouka is the characters, as you learn more about them and why they are the way they are with each story. The first time I watched the series, I never really fully understood Chitanda's character until the very last scene, where the final piece of the puzzle appeared and everything suddenly clicked and made sense.

  

  The four main characters all have distinct and very different personalities which make for some interesting dynamics and, for the most part, enjoyable character interactions. Unfortunately, at times the writing would change in order to push its story or its themes at the price of making some dialogues particularly awkward or unbelievable. This happens mostly near the middle of the series and while it wasn't enough to put me off it was still a bit jarring seeing a believable character getting worked up over some pretty inconsequential choices. In the long run it made sense for the character and their development but the amount of melodrama is a bit too much for me (especially when watching the OVA in its chronological order). That being said, its relatively minor and I consider that the biggest flaw on this series.

  Though some might complain about the specifics of the ending, I personally thought it was very well done, especially considering the ongoing status of the source material. It gives a good deal of closure to the characters and themes presented and comes full circle to show just how much the characters have changed in the year the series takes place within.

  Overall, the story was well told and very enjoyable, simple in nature but wonderfully executed.

  Visuals 11/10
  KyoAni really knocked it out of the park in this department. From the very first scene of the first episode, Hyouka sets the standard for how good its going to look and amazingly meets and exceeds that standard consistently for the rest of the series. Backgrounds all look beautiful, detailed and believable, and the settings in general all have a rustic feel that helps bring the pseudo-rural setting alive.

  

  Character designs are a slightly more detailed twist on the 'KyoAni face' the studio is known for and the level of attention to detail on each character is outstanding. Even minor characters and background extras look to be lovingly drawn and many background characters even reappear multiple times, making it seem as if it were a real place inhabited by these people. Hyouka rarely has a situation where the animation is required to be noticeably good but even so the animation is consistently top notch. Conversations are barely ever just flapping mouths, instead often being fully animated and embellished with the kind of exaggerated body language that only cartoon people can pull off. Its not often that you'll find a scene to be static and the detail in the way each character moves is amazing, with everyone animating in different, believable ways that you would expect from their characters. In addition, small background touches are added in to many scenes that add bits of characterization, like Mayaka childishly kicking her legs while sitting at the table or Chitanda absently adjusting her hair. Hyouka also boasts some of the best crowd scenes I've seen in TV anime.

  Aside from the technical points of Hyouka's beauty is its creativity in its visuals. Many things in the show (problems, solutions, emotions, etc.) are visually depicted through graphs, writing, animations and other extra-worldly happenings. I found them all to be well executed and a really good way to accentuate the scenes they were implemented in. If I had any problem with these bits at all, its that there isn't enough of them. The first few episodes feature quite a few, but around the middle of the series they drop off somewhat. In an early scene, the main cast are giving their theories on a particular case and each theory is accompanied by a visualization that is influenced by the character, top student Chitanda's being a straight-forward list while manga club member Mayaka's was very cartoony. In another, a clock's pendulum turns from a circle into a heart once the discussion starts seeming romantic. They're small things, but I found bits like this to be another nice touch of detail.

  

  On top of all this, the series uses colour very effectively to convey tone and other aspects. For most of the show, it has a very warm, earthy palette that adds to the rustic setting. At some points it will get a bit brighter or a bit darker, and they use a really effective recurring pink hue to highlight specific points. The colour palette, as with every other aspect of the visuals, is clearly very well thought out and utilized.

  It's also nice to note that the characters have more than one outfit design, and every time a scene takes place outside the school they'll be wearing different clothes. It's the kind of extremely superfluous and unnecessary touch of finish that I appreciate greatly. Helps that they all dress pretty well, too.

  Sound 8/10
  Like everything else in Hyouka, the soundtrack can best be described with 'beautiful'. Generally, its very acoustic and orchestral and fits the rustic setting well. The especially outstanding tracks to me were the ones used to build up the mysteries, being very low and bass heavy, and the recurring track used during the explanations, which has a very satisfying stinger that punctuates the mystery's end really well.

  

  Voice acting is pretty much perfect, the main cast all have fitting voices that do a good job and nameless background characters will often have popular VAs like Aoi Yuuki and Sugita providing their voices. In general the acting is a lot more dialed back than most anime, and for the most part characters speak pretty naturally and believably.

  ---

  Overall
  Hyouka is a series where every aspect has been meticulously crafted and fit together to create a compelling story with a cohesive and distinct style. The excruciating amount of detail and effort that you can tell went into the show makes this one that really benefits from multiple rewatches.

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• 

  OVERPOWERED99

  89/100
  Where life's small mysteries drive the characters in fascinating ways. A dull canvas, a rosy paint, an influential art.

  

  Amidst the ever-growing number of high school shows out there, Hyouka is a shimmering key with a gleam bright enough to catch my attention. It opens up a lock to a teenager life full of mundane things and trivial mysteries. So be curious. Be laid-back. And why not bring out the deerstalker cap and magnifying glass with you too? Acting like your own Sherlock Holmes can be fun every now and then.

  We start off with an energy conservationist who joins the Classics Club, though more out of obligation than his own interest. Being lazy and indifferent, his dull life is in for a rosy change upon meeting other members who join the club, thus marks the start of the slow-paced story. If there's one way to describe Hyouka, it really is an enthralling journey through the small mysteries of life. Although these mysteries are usually sparked from trifling curiosity than something like a crime, seeing them unraveled piece by piece brings engagement to the story. The variations and well-constructed build-ups are not only there to provide diverse entertainment, they also provoke thoughts, give a sense of satisfaction, and reference details related to the mystery genre. But the biggest takeaway here is that these puzzles complete the framework needed to drive the characters themselves. As they spend their time together, each member of the club undergoes change on a gradual basis. Their distinct personalities pave way to a whole range of interactions that segue into the next, and in turn, it establishes this complementary back-and-forth dynamic that is enjoyable to watch. How they react and influence each other all add up into a collection of scenes with plenty of fun, youth, and even some delicate romance. It helps to construct these characters as realistic people than mere simplifications. Though exaggerations are present at times and can jar the realism, they didn't linger too long to become overbearing. The characters have mostly remained as the strong pillars of the story, giving this show much of its enjoyment and vitality.

  What can also be said as the other supporting pillars are easily found through our ability to see and hear. Hyouka is an excellent example of how a reliable audiovisual can immerse one with the storytelling. Right off the bat, the atmosphere relaxes itself as the sunset-stained lighting gives off a vintage tone fitting for the Classics Club. Throughout the whole show, this pleasant warmth mesmerizes one's gaze onto the story and the lifelike backgrounds. The animation is another praiseworthy work by Kyoto Animation as they proved themselves to be the masters of realistic characterization. Seeing the myriad of character personalities through the smooth movements strengthens them as people. Combined with the strong expressions and solid voice actings, their interactions feel as natural as the high school dynamic we might find in real life. There's also no doubt that the show's visual and auditory elements come out strongly during the sequences when they're trying to solve a mystery. It usually involves some unique stylistic choices along with different sound effects to emphasize the nature of each puzzle. As these presentations are well-made, they are able to place our imagination into the world of the show itself, thereby simulating the reality needed to make the experience even more immersive. And the soundtracks further contribute to the whole transfixion with their soothing nature. Being gentle to the ears, the classical ambience is a great source of relaxation. Both the opening and ending songs are quite similar too, having pleasant melodies to delightfully initiate and conclude each episode.

  While Hyouka is a school mystery, its intrigue lies deeper than just the puzzles themselves. Take out your magnifying glass, look through it, and you will find a mundane-turned-dynamic world driven by all sorts of character interactions, significant developments, and youthful lives. Coupled with the spectacular audiovisual, this show is undoubtedly a title worth experiencing.

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