I can no longer remember if I read the summary for Hyouka before I started watching it. What I do remember is that the first episode left me with the impression that it featured great animation and that it was a regular slice of life anime series.
I fervently hoped that the animation would remain as great for the rest of the series and that it would end up telling a great story.
After watching the next few episodes and finally getting around to reading the summary (probably for the second time already), I would become wonderfully appreciative of the fact that the animation stayed consistent. What I had not been expecting, though, was that Hyouka was actually not a regular slice of life anime series. While the series would feature elements of the genre, Hyouka was actually a mystery at heart. Although I should use the plural form of the word and say mysteries, because there were a lot of them.
Oreki Hotaro was determined to live his uneventful gray life, refusing to follow the usual quest of high schoolers to seek out a rose colored life. Unfortunately for the usually lethargic Hotaro, his sister Oreki Tomoe makes a request that he join the Classics Club to keep it from getting abolished. When he unlocks the club room, he is surprised to find Chitanda Eru already inside, claiming to want to join the club as well. Hotaro, thinking that since the club now has its member, decides that he no longer has to join the club. But the mystery of the locked door, coupled with the interference of Hotaro's classmate and friend Fukube Satoshi, piques the curiosity of the wide-eyed Eru. Hotaro finds himself unable to refuse Eru's request to solve the mystery, which he does with ease using his keen sense of logic. He also finds it difficult to refuse Eru's request that he hand over his club application form and finds himself a member of the club, along with Eru, Satoshi, and his and Satoshi's middle school classmate Ibara Mayaka. Over the course of the next few months, Hotaro finds that he is moving further and further from his gray colored life, as he is drawn in time and again to solve mysteries every time Eru expresses her curiosity.
While none of the usual resources that I read indicate that slice of life is one of the genres used to describe the series, I felt that it's apt for Hyouka. It's true that the central premise of the anime and original novel by writer Yonezawa Honobu is the group trying to solve the various mysteries that they encounter, but the series does tackle events that affect the life of the normal high school student. You can expect to watch episodes where one or more characters deal with situations like trying to find oneself, learning to overcome weaknesses, getting used to being with others, expressing overwhelming emotions, living with duty, and feeling the stirrings of attraction for someone you never would have paid attention to normally. These are the stories that make Hotaro and the other Classics Club members more compelling as the series moved along.
The characters themselves are interesting, with the drab Hotaro the featured view point in many episodes. His journey from being uncaring and lethargic to someone who would go out of his way to help his friends is worth noting. Though I love that he still deludes himself into thinking that he can go back to his old ways. Eru is a refreshingly straightforward character, who only believes the best in people and is really just curious, even hungry for information and answers. Whenever her curiosity is piqued and she gives Hotaro that look, you just know there's no way that he can refuse. While it might seem that the series is focused on the two, you can't discount the great discoveries the audience makes when it comes to Satoshi, who eventually expresses emotions that belie his usual cheerful nature. Satoshi's eventual admission about his behavior in his younger years and his efforts in changing that behavior is the epitome of a young individual aiming to become a better person. Mayaka, who I originally thought was a nag, turned out to be a character who is capable of enduring and is actually brilliant in her own right.
The mysteries range from the mundane to the compelling. Some might seem like the group just stumbled on them, but there are other mysteries that hit close to home for at least one of the characters. These are the mysteries that make Hyouka exciting to watch. These are the times when the stakes are at their highest, when Hotaro keenly feels the pressure of arriving at the correct answer or solution.
Excepting the few incidents where the storytelling seemed to lull, Hyouka was able to properly utilize the 22 episode run that it was given. I hadn't expected it in the beginning, considering the picturesque animation and lethargic lead character, but the series turned out to be exciting for me to watch.
Not everything was given a resolution, such as why Hotaro's sister is seemingly all-knowing, or what happens after that last moment in the series when Hotaro started to imagine his response to Eru's declaration of her future plans.
I don't think, however, that we will know the answers (unless they give it a second season, which I am all on board for), but I find that I really don't mind.
Because I'm sure that Hotaro will eventually figure it out.
Happy viewing!! Labels: Adaptation, Anime, Hyouka, Must-Watch, Mystery, Slice of Life, TV
