Hyouka is a series within which a lot of things happen while being seemingly uneventful. Each scene is carefully and sensitively crafted to contribute to a bigger picture; at no point is the viewer given less than is needed to solve the mysteries, and the solutions never feel unreasonable or forced. At each interaction, new information and insight is gleaned, giving the viewer a deeper understanding of the people and issues at hand. It really makes you appreciate the importance of little moments and details that help shape the path of a lifetime. At the end of it all, you look back and realise how far everyone's come. Still, life goes on.
Art: 10
KyoAni outdid itself in designing characters that were distinctive, yet natural in their environment and amongst other characters. In spite of the otherwise generic high school setting, a great deal of visual interest was inserted by way of overactive imaginations, metaphorical explanations, and various distortions as to overwhelm the senses when required. The animation quality was consistently excellent throughout the series, with body language playing a huge part in characterisation and giving insight into mental states.
Sound: 10
The mysteries in Hyouka aren't necessarily big or important in the grand scheme of things; it's more about satisfying curiosities, and doing what feels important right now. For that purpose, background tracks are used to great effect in order to amp up tension and anticipation, giving weight to the current situation. Meanwhile, the OPs and EDs set the light-hearted tone of the series and remind us to take a step back.
Character: 10
With Oreki Houtarou as our main POV character, his "grey"-ness is a sort of extreme that both contrasts against, and complements, the rest of the cast in interesting ways. He and Chitanda Eru are compelling opposites in how their cognitive and affective empathy work in conjunction with personality quirks to produce very different approaches to problem-solving, to say nothing of their actual levels of interest in solving them. With best friend Fukube Satoshi, they both struggle to balance and come to terms with subjectivity and objectivity, from opposite ends of the spectrum. Meanwhile, Ibara Mayaka is a standard-bearer of honest emotional expression and engagement, who rarely tends to extreme behaviours such as controlling and masking, making her clash with Oreki's general disinterest and apathy.
Each character is given depth and their own set of circumstances and motivations for doing what they do, making even secondary characters interesting when they reappear in unrelated situations.
Enjoyment: 10
Even after learning the tricks to the mysteries, it's still fun to rewatch and see how the clues were hidden. At the same time, Oreki's growth, shift in priorities, and developing awareness of the people around him is truly gratifying to see.
Overall: 10
I love everything about this series, except for the fact there's not more of it.
