It is important to note that Hyouka is an anime with borrowed elements from the mystery genre and the slice of life genre and it never totally devotes itself to one side. The anime plays out with both genres seamlessly like the classical music theme of the anime. Nobody dies, there are no murderers and the cops hardly ever gets involved with the cases in Hyouka. It's light-hearted tone is derived from the fact that each mystery solved doesn't really make much of an impact to anyone involved in it. It is just a bunch of high school kids solving little mysteries that happens in school, such as the case of the locked Geography room and the case of the blunder of the Maths teacher. At times, it seems as if the anime is unnecessarily extended with fillers. A case could have been put to a satisfying end in under 3 episodes but in Hyouka you get 6 episodes and some people may be put off by the slow pace. Characters sit around and discuss the cases giving theories and dispelling them. Even as the mysteries are being revealed and solved, there are little intense moments that may fail to grip the hearts of hardcore mystery fans that hails from the Detective Conan series.
Hence, if you are a heavy mystery fan, this may not be the anime for you. This is a mystery anime that does not forget its slice of life genre.
THE STORY is based upon several cases which the 4 main characters: Oreki, Satoshi, Chitanda and Mayaka comes across in their first year of highschool life. Though each cases are really of little importance in general, it is impressive to see how much deduction can be put into these little 'insignificant' cases which makes Hyouka worth watching. For example, an entire episode based upon deciphering what a short 5 seconds announcement by a teacher blew my mind. The level of detail covered in that one episode and the theories that built upon theories baffled me. How did anyone manage to think up of all of that? I'll not post any spoilers but the attention to every small details that comes back to become a huge clue in the end of each cases shows that Hyouka is a well thought out thinking-men's anime. Despite its small mundane mystery, Hyouka manages to make solving each of them fun and enjoyable. -8/10
THE ART is incredible, and completely fitting of Hyouka. It has incredibily detailed backgrounds and each supporting characters are memorable and you can really see the effort spent in making each little detail stand out. The sunset-painted classroom is a pleasure to see and really sets the mood for Hyouka. Furthermore, its abstract art that comes alive when theories are being made are creative and has a distinct taste to it. All I can say is it is the art in Hyouka is thoroughly enjoyable, and helps make the anime an enjoyable experience. -9/10
THE SOUND is paired up wonderfully with the beautiful art. I find the OPs and EDs of the anime soothing and sets the tone well. I hardly skipped any of them. Most notably, the Cello Suite was one of my favorite tune in the entire anime as it is just so elegant and moving, almost as if describing the pacing of Hyouka. I love it. -9/10
THE CHARACTERS in Hyouka were all unique and fun. I especially enjoyed Oreki Houtaro's energy conservation lifestyle and always marvel at how he manages to solve each case even though he is basically a sloth in human skin. Chitanda Eru, at first glance seems to be a typical ditsy ojou-sama, always curious, always looking forward to Oreki's deductions and answers. At first, I found that to be rather annoying, especially her "I'm Curious" phrase which made me peeved. However, there would be no story without her striking Oreki's match of motivation to solve the case. I grew to like her eventually. Satoshi Fukube is almost a generic cheerful character and he makes watching the anime fun. Without him, Hyouka may become really dull. And he dresses up as Saturn and inspires to be a Quiz King. That's all it takes for me to like him. I'm actually most interested in Mayaka Ibara, especially in how her character will develop eventually. She shows the most emotion, the counter-opposite of Oreki and I am really looking forward to how her relationship with Fuku-chan will unfold. -8/10
ENJOYMENT wise, I love Hyouka. I do, I really do. It's a welcoming change of pace for me who was indulging in action anime all this while. Hyouka is funny, smart and intriguing. The ending to each cases never fails to surprise me as the twist and turns takes me for a ride down to enlightenmentown. It's slow pacing is a merit to its story and character development which makes Hyouka an interesting watch. -8/10
OVERALL, I was a little disappointed that Hyouka ended in a rather anti-climatic way. I am really looking forward to a second season. As a whole, Hyouka may not be top anime of the year material, but there certainly is potential in becoming my favorite anime. It's the most pleasant and relaxing anime I've seen in a while, and it comes with its own share of emotional dispute that is seen in a slice of life anime, not forgetting to solve the mystery at the end of the day. I believe that Hyouka can inspire to be a little more, as it tends to stay in the safe area. Not that there is anything wrong with that, but it may make for a more interesting experience is Hyouka deals with slightly more controversial cases instead of always sticking to common everyday curiosity cases.
Also, I'm secretly interested about Oreki's sister. Please show more of her (face!) in the next season! I am curious!
