Reviews

Released in 2012. Hyouka is a mystery show like many others but unlike many others there are no murders, there are no grand thefts or supernatural happenings to stimulate it into life. No, Hyouka is about sometimes deep, sometimes trivial but always personal mysteries cropping up in the lives of its main characters and the efforts they go to solve them - whether it be a half-forgotten memory that bugs them or an odd Tannoy announcement that piques their curiosity. Hyouka is a show about curiosity and that theme runs richly and deeply throughout its entire runtime. That all said Hyouka is more than just a justification for my opinion. It is a really good show too. At its base aesthetic level, Hyouka is a gorgeously drawn and beautifully animated show - the character designs are simple but varied, sparkling, cute and expressive and the setting has so much personality in its warm and rustic glow that we understand it without being told too much about it. Kyoto Animation makes a lot of very engaging shows in a visual sense (even if only in that sense) but this is probably their most beautiful series. The show defines the relationships between the four main characters through intelligent dialogue which gradually changes as the characters progress. Given that some of the episodes are almost spent entirely in dialogue with at least one episode being set entirely in the characters’ club room; the wit and banter of the characters as well as the effectiveness of the show’s mysteries are all that are there to keep us interested. The characters themselves - namely Hotaro, Satoshi, Mayaka and Chitanda - slip past all the standard stereotypes that you could possibly expect. From the synopsis, I had feared that Hotaro would be one of those boring protagonists without any life or will of their own apart from those attributes that the plot requires of them. Hotaro is not like this. Even though he never puts any effort into anything (or so he claims), he is not someone who is solely acted upon by those around him. His rather dynamic attempts to avoid doing anything on top of his laconic wit make him an enjoyable character to watch. As much as I like Hyouka, there are some problems. While some of the mystery arcs are, to be frank, fantastic and some of the best mystery anime has to offer, a fair number of the one-off episodes are pretty dull and obvious from a mystery perspective. While they still entertain thanks to the shows strong cast and writing the show’s thematic strength and interest is so intrinsically tied to the mysteries it explores that I spent most of my time during those episodes waiting for them to end so I could get into the next multi-episode mystery. Overall Hyouka is a top-class show. It brings something new to the table in terms of mystery and it is well-written and beautifully realised. At least half to two thirds of this show is exceptional but sadly that remaining portion does drag it down to the point that I cannot give it my most enthusiastic endorsement. That said, I do recommend it.