Back to isaacel's Profile isaacel's Profile

Just wanted to point out that the score has no meaning in my eyes. MAL forces you to input a certain score, so I just put in a 10. You may disregard the score. Now, to the review itself.

Hyouka is a show that managed to do what most anime simply can't, and the big selling point here is the subtlety. Yes, you might have heard quite a lot of things when it comes to Hyouka's slow pacing , and indeed, the fact that it's so slow paced can be a real bummer for many. The question is, can you appreciate what it has to offer?

I ... don't think everyone will enjoy Hyouka, but then again, it's the case with every anime out there. It puts characters over anything else, even the mysteries, and for a mystery show to do such a thing, that's quite a rarity.

The contrast between Hyouka and most other animes out there, let alone Kyoani's work, is staggering, to the point that I can't find anything else quite like it. It might be the fact that it has such a different approach to character development , and without most of the usual tropes in anime. The soundtrack fits the show really well, with an orchestral score combined with fun J-POP that found its way into my youtube playlist fairly quickly.

When it comes to animation, you just can't deny Hyouka's greatness. Say what you will about the slow story and mysteries, but the animation is of the highest caliber. It's also quite varied, as in many cases you'll find that the style changes when investigations take place. The soundtrack and animation are complimenting each other a lot, and I found myself amazed by how everything comes together in certain parts of the show.

I didn't come to realize how good this anime really is, until the second time I watched it. The first time I was too busy thinking about the mysteries themselves, but when I stopped caring too much about them, I found just how rich it is with subtle facial expressions and interactions that I simply never noticed before. I just fell in love with the characters and their unique personalities.

As you must have figured out by now, it's a masterpiece in my eyes, but it certainly wasn't love at first sight. It takes time to appreciate just what Kyoani managed to do here, but if you look hard enough, you might find what I found. If not, well, I wouldn't blame you. It tries something different, and for people well versed in anime it might be a little too mundane for their tastes.

Be that as it may, I still recommend it to anyone who wants something a bit more genuine in their anime. Over the top is fun, but Hyouka gives off an aura of something much better. It's realistic, and its characters, with their own interesting life stories, are realistically portrayed throughout the whole show, all while doing it with subtlety and grace that are so rare these days. You won't find here murder cases, or twists for the sake of adding fake suspense. All the cases make sense, and prove that you don't need murders and blood to create a convincing mystery anime. It trimphs as a mystery anime, but the truth is that the mysteries themselves are not the things that elevate it to greatness. In Hyouka, it's the little things that make it stand out. You just have to notice them.