Hyouka is an anime that definitely starts off slow. We are introduced to our male lead called Oreki who seems to be devoid of passion of any sort as he just follows the same old boring routine everyday without having any interest in life. We are exposed to his way of life, as well as his principles of energy conservation. His quote about himself sums it up nicely: "I don't have to do anything i don't have to."
Joining him in the classics club are Satoshi, his witty and knowledgeable sidekick, Mayaka who is a outgoing and friendly girl. Last but not least, the female lead Chitanda, who can be described in one quote, "I'm curious!" (watch the series and you'll understand why). At first glance, Oreki seems like the outliner among the group, considering that he is the only guy who is so unenthusiastic among all of them. The story starts when they try to solve the true mystery of the classics club from long ago...
The mysteries in Hyouka are not your typical mysteries which are action packed, but they do give you a run for your money as the simplest of all matters can actually involve a lot of thinking behind it. The mysteries in Hyouka turn out to be pretty trivial matters at times (in fact, one of the mysteries solved was just through a conversation between the two leads). However, what is impressive is how the characters show great thinking by analysing every nitty gritty before coming to the main conclusion (in which Oreki always wraps things up nicely). Events which seem insignificant at the start could just add up together and end up being the key to the entire mystery. When it all connects, you just have a "wow" feeling and find that the mystery aspect is really well-done.
The most important thing in the slice-of-life genre is the character development in my opinion. Hyouka has just the thing. The characters show changes after episodes and episodes of hanging out together. We start to see love in the air. We understand why Satoshi plays second fiddle to Oreki and is contented with not being the best, we understand why Mayaka is so determined in her feelings towards Satoshi as well as why she feels so strongly towards manga, we understand why Chitanda is so curious in finding out all these little mysteries that happen in their daily lives. Even Oreki gets influenced by the personalities of the 3 that he even takes the initiative to do certain things at later parts of the show, something which we would have never seen in the early episodes.
The anime itself also touches on many aspects and themes. Expectations is one of them. Expectations are something heavy, whether it is placed on yourself or on others. Does having expectations on yourself motivate you to do things even better, or does the notion of having expectations of someone make you feel dejected and admit that you are no match for that person? Expectations is a theme that will be talked about in the show, albeit not the only one.
The other aspect i would like to mention is one's true feelings. When faced with an important choice you have to make, would you follow your heart and accept it with all you've got, or will you take the easy way out, afraid that if you accept something, you might make the mistakes you made in the past and screw things up. "I am obsessed with being obsessed over nothing." After all, sometimes avoiding things is the easiest way out. However, is this truly the right decision to make? Sometimes, trying new things out might not be so bad after all. Following your true feelings instead of letting your head make the decisions might be better at times.
The art is fantastic in my opinion. The animation that left me in awe was the cherry blossoms under the purple sky, along with the flower petals flying around during the last episode (no spoilers =D). Plus, its KyoAni doing it, so details are generally well-done and will not disappoint viewers who use the art of an anime over its plot to determine its watchability (if there is even such a term, but i digress).
Both OPs and EDs are upbeat songs which suit the theme of the anime, which was honestly never meant to be dark despite it being of a mystery genre... They are really nice to listen to and somehow leave you addicted. (happened to me for the second ED.)
I understand that some might be skeptical over how slow-paced Hyouka is compared to other series, but as the story progresses we start to have attachment to the characters since we start to relate to them already, thus enhancing the plot in the progress. So even if slice-of-life/mystery has never been your cup of tea, i still recommend giving Hyouka a go!
Hyouka is an anime that shines in how simple it is, yet so entertaining. The characters are only thrown in typical real life situations that have happened to us as well in one way or another, yet the mystery aspect does not feel any less dull despite that. The series being short and sweet appealed to me. As they say, "Simplicity is beauty."
Wow, it has definitely been quite the long review. To sum things up, Hyouka was a series that kept be hooked from start to finish (me being a sucker for its genre). For fans of slice-of-life and mystery, there's nothing to hesitate about for i'm sure you'll be able to enjoy Hyouka! I hope this review was a good read as well as being informative to you, the reader. To end things off on a random note, my favourite characters are ironically the supporting characters Mayaka and Satoshi xD. Once again, hope you enjoyed this review!
