Before reading, please take a moment to read about my review structure on my page.
TL;DR
OVERALL: 80/100
Setting: 6/10
Plot: 8.5/10
Art: 9.5/10
Animation: 7/10
OST: 8/10
...
Voicing: 8/10
Character Set: 8/10
Character Development: 6/10
Directing: 9/10
Enjoyment: 10/10
Setting 6/10
Hyouka is set in a modern day Japanese high school, your typical slice of life setting. Nothing too special to comment on.
Plot 8.5/10
The overall story is very slow-moving and not much really changes from beginning to end.
The story begins when the main character, Oreki Houtarou, is requested by his elder sister to join the "Classics Club". Throughout the story, Oreki is constantly dragged into solving mysteries by the club president, Chitanda Eru. Although there is not a thick overall plot, these short trials are engaging enough to make each episode entertaining.
Art 9.5/10
This was a pleasant surprise for me. Diving nose first into an Anime which was classes as "Slice of Life" gave the implications that there was little room for artist exhibitionism. How wrong I was. For such a simple and down to earth Anime, the beautiful palette and breath-taking scenes were almost unbelievable. There's not much else I could ask for.
Animation 7/10
Tying in very closely with Art, the animation was relatively above average. As there was little room for introducing high intensity action scenes, it it hard to judge how well exactly they presented movement. Luckily, there were a handful of scenes which were enough to remind the production quality of Kyoto Animation.
OST 8/10
A beautiful audio track to match the equally beautiful visuals. From it's engaging classical pieces to it's innocent Opening by Choucho. The atmosphere built from the OST is a pleasing fit.
Voicing 8/10
I couldn't think of any mismatched voices off the top of my head. In fact, casting Nakamura Yuuichi (Greed, Gray Fullbuster, Nozaki) as Oreki was a great choice.
The only other voice I noticed was Sakaguchi Daisuke (Sunohara Youhei from Clannad) which felt right because of the similarities between Sunohara Youhei and his role in Hyouka.
Character set 8/10
Overall: Although these characters are not the most interesting, they are easily relatable and likable, and most importantly fit the setting incredibly well. I'll only mention two main characters although there should really be four.
Our main character, Oreki Houtarou, is a lazy 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 make it quick." Although he is seen by his peers as antisocial and stupid, it is soon clear that he has a sharp mind, as he has a talent for solving mysteries.
Another of our main characters, Chintanda Eru, is the single daughter of a wealthy family. She is portrayed as the cheerful and "curious" club president.
Character Development 6/10
Hyouka has a good character set which is a shame that they could not develop the characters personas as well as I would have liked. This doesn't mean there was absolutely no character development, as we can see the characters backgrounds. Furthermore, the way they react to situations differs ever so slightly beginning to end.
Ultimately, this lack of character building was the biggest let down.
Directing 9/10
Takamoto Yasuhiro's (Clannad, K-On!!, Suzumiya Haruhi Series) work is definitely of quality, directing the aforementioned successful series. He once again proves himself in Hyouka, creating a stunning air of mystery while keeping the down to earth nature.
Enjoyment 10/10
I loved this series and it is definitely one of my favourites. A lovable cast, a sense of mystery, a hint of romance and stunning audiovisuals. Regardless of what was theoretically missing, I enjoyed this Anime thoroughly because of it's potent mix of the above.
RECOMMENDATION: Watch it if you enjoy slice of life and mystery.
(Not for the action lover.)
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