I can best describe Hyouka as a mystery anime that's usually episodic and involves Oreki (the main character) solving some mystery because Chitanda is curious and when she gets right in Oreki's face and stares at him with her big eyes and uses her catchphrase watashi kininarimasu (I'm curious) how can he say no? The anime revolves around the members of the Classic Literature Club who deal with their daily school lives and get presented with mysteries for Oreki to solve. This anime is sort of a mix between a slice of life, but it becomes more than that when a mystery is added to the episode for Oreki to solve. Although often hesitant to do anything Chitanda eventually convinces him to help. Oreki even though he won't admit it is a very smart person and is able to solve mysteries that an average person would have difficulty solving. The mysteries vary and usually last only one episode, but there are some mini arcs that last a few episodes. Personally I preferred the one episode mysteries. Some of the mysteries that lasted a few episodes would get confusing for me and I couldn't follow what was going on. The one episode mysteries were simpler, but still good. Hyouka sort of reminded me of Detective Conan, but the plots were a little different from those of Detective Conan.
Story
Hyouka is basically a slice of life anime with mystery added to it to make it more interesting. Each episode involves a mystery that Oreki has to solve. That's about it when it comes to the story.
Music
Hyouka had a great soundtrack, but my favorite song would have to be the first OP song Yasashisa no Riyuu by Choucho. It's become one of my favorite anime songs this season.
Characters
Oreki has become probably my favorite anime character this season because he reminds me so much of myself. He has no interest in socializing and is often bored with life and just tries to make each day go by as fast and simple as possible. I swear if it wasn't for the few friends that he has and his school life I can picture him being a hikikomori. The thing that makes him so interesting is his insane talent at solving problems and mysteries. With skills like that he would make the perfect detective. Then you have Chitanda who is always curious about things and luckily for her she has Oreki the genius at solving mysteries. Then you have their two other friends Satoshi and Mayaka. They all get a long great even if Oreki seems annoyed by them sometimes.
Overall: 8/10
Overall this is a great anime if you're a fan of mystery. I admit I was bored with it during some episodes, but the mysteries are so well thought out that it keeps you interested. If you're a fan of mystery animes you'll probably like this anime. If not it's probably not for you then. If you like animes like Detective Conan, or UN-GO you'll probably like Hyouka.
