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Well said because that is exactly what happened to everyone in this story arc

Oreki sister wrote the story for fun upsetting the Manga Club Senpai and the guy who drew the art for the book upset the classs president and it all rolled down from there


I agree with aquaspirit39 everyones reaction is simply is a defense mechanism. someone accomplishing so much with so little effort will always piss off someone who give their all and come up short

Very good Arc

I am not sure about this episode 18 . Sure it did some good things like Oreki actually being able to say he is curious...which immediately sparked some good reactions: Satoshi being horrified, Chitanda's curiosity in him being curious and the winner from Mayaka with her get to bed early and you will feel better in the morning. The library part with them passing time was nice. Oreki seemed puzzled in Chitanda's choice of books..Why dung beetles?? It showed he is also curious about something else besides the mystery at hand. Just like he did in the classroom. He is noticing Chitanda's reactions which he wouldn't do if it didn't interest him.
Also Chitanda's reaction in the end of Oreki confessing why he was curious showed he scored some points with her again. He may not like it but they both just keep on getting closer. Just like Mayaka and Satoshi did in the last episode.
The possible problem with this episode may be in the mystery itself. The teacher who likes helicopters was treated like the previous arc with lots of visual hints. For example Oreki watching the mountains, the rescue helicopter and so on. Still as the answer is given in the end the fun of looking for them is somewhat weaker. The strength of wanting to watch the next episode for the answer is gone.
A good episode but not as good as hoped.

This was surprising. Chitanda and Oreki to have an episode all to themselves while trying to solve an announcement on the PA system was actually pretty good. Oreki getting a theory up while Chitanda questions him and gives feedback worked perfectly. What seemed the most important in this series however is how they both evolved for the first episodes and how they respond at each other. It seemed clear to them both that something is brewing between them but still they don't seem ready to get into the open about it. Oreki has grown to a person who actually works hard to solve the case. His famous sentence which he stated again doesn't seem to apply anymore. He has fun solving cases and puts effort into it. Chitanda's reason also evolved as she is able to keep up with Oreki. Also she notices that she is something a bit too close to Oreki to make him pretty nervous. When remembering episode 2 she didn't notice he got nervous of her getting so close. Now she does notice and she even gets mad at him (her face resembled Mayaka a lot in that part). This episode really did a good job on showing these two...the next episode seems to develop it even further: Chitanda in a kimono looked great. However i do hope we get the same on Mayaka and Satoshi. Did they get something going or is it just false hope?

That was maybe the best ep of this show. I really loved the atmosphere between Oreki and Chitanda. And this time (unlike all the other times) you could actually relate to what Oreki deducts because you had all pieces yourself.

So this was the new years episode. Chitanda in her kimono was very good as Oreki probably will support. He seemed to forget his own rule of not spending too much energy a lot this time as he looked eager to keep near Chitanda. Chitanda herself seemed pretty withdrawn as if she would have wanted to be at that shrine for a different reason than for family business. The note of wanting to be locked in at an other time again showed that she ain't as innocent as she acts (remember the remark at the hot baths a while ago ). Still it wasn't a very strong episode as they didn't progress with a mystery or moved the relationship part of the people a lot. Satoshi did make a good remark which indicates he supports a relationship of Chitanda and Oreki. Also Mayaka made it clear she still likes Satoshi. Her being embarrased in front of him as a miko was nice. Hopefully even in we don't get a mystery anymore the writers do improve the relationship part to make a good ending. Even better would be a second season with some good mysteries like the school festival..

Episode 21 and what a surprise. After the preview of last week it was to be expected that it would be about Valentine. This episode really did make a good statement about how the relationships within the group are.
Chitanda and Oreki is clear by now although Mayaka seems to have missed it. Probably due to her own problems she didn't notice. Oreki seemed a bit sad that he didn't get chocolate from Chitanda and other way around she wanted to give him something. Still it all came together again. They trust each other which is shown as Oreki can send Chitanda home even if the case is still unsolved. That was the simple relationship of this episode. Still something ain't working for them yet: both of them are unsure. Both of them need to think about the other and decide if they like each other enough to dare get a relationship.
Oreki and Satoshi's relationship was a surprise. Oreki noticed the changes of Satoshi which he missed from the first episode. He may be a good detective but just as his remembrance of names he misses changes in friends. Still he stayed with Satoshi till the end to get the reasons why Satoshi did what he did. They may have changed but still are friends.
Chitanda and Mayaka have developed a nice friendship. Chitanda is doing all she can for Mayaka (even getting angry which she never does. I even thought she would hit Oreki when he was blocking her) and Mayaka appreciates it.
Mayaka and Satoshi have a real troubled relationship. Mayaka does her best and just gets these problems from Satoshi. He likes her but is afraid to get obsessed with her. This explained why he reacted so fiercely in the festival arc as he seemed to lose himself in his obsession. That is one big problem which may destroy every possibility of a real relationship. Still he needs to be honest with Mayaka and give her an explanation.

Do we have to take the reaction about the chocolate from Oreki to the talk between Mayaka and Satoshi? Is Satoshi going to turn her down or is he going to explain how he feels..? If turned down will this have an effect on the group? As this series does drive on emotions this is bound to do something.
Does anybody how much episodes we still have to go? We're on 21 now. Do we get 22 or 24? Also a nice second season would be okay

This post has been edited by nijlandp on Sep 10 2012, 01:16 PM

This show should be 22 eps so next week its the last. Cant say I will miss this show because the characters are so useless and completely not understandable and strange. It feels like watching a show about mentally degenerated people who just make no sense at all ever since the festival. Cant blame Oreki for not understanding the people around him, I dont understand them either.

I think Mayaka gets that Satoshi is stalling, and even though she doesn't knows the reason, she's still willing to wait it out for now. So I think the group dynamic will remain generally the same .

I'm bummed this only 22 eps. I've been busy and haven't been able to keep up with a lot of Anime the past couple of months, but this is the one show I haven't missed an episode of. I'd definitely love another season or two of it.

Hyouka is based on a light novel that began running in 2001. The series aired during the Spring and Summer 2012 anime seasons and boasted incredibly staff credentials. From the staff as well as the light novel author of Full Metal Panic! and the highly acclaimed animation studio, Kyoto Animation, Hyouka was considered a "set in stone to be good" title....or so many thought. Whether the series held up to this standard is something that will be analyzed in this review. The series follows four high school students, particularly Houtarou Oreki, who is forced by his elder sister to join the classic literature club. There he meets the beautiful yet mysterious Eru Chitanda, who is curious in the finest details of things she lacks knowledge in. How will Houtarou, the energy-saving boy, deal with Eru, the Kininarimasu girl?

The story...it involves "simple" yet "not so simple" mysteries. If you're confused by that already, then congrats, you're probably not alone. The mysteries in this show are solved in a rather complex but, to some extent, interesting manner. They take into account a variety of possibilities when drawing conclusions as well as the most extreme cases. This may at first seem completely unnecessarily even for the simplest mysteries in this show but is in fact what makes this show so much more interesting. The mysteries are thoroughly detailed both in setup and explanation and take what seems like a simple "daily life" moment and makes it "kininarimasu." Now, what's the problem with this show? It has a lot of transition issues. The show fails to ever decide whether it wants to be a slice-of-life title, a romance title, neither, or both. There is literally no flow between one mystery arc and the next, with some exception during the events of the school festival. Secondly, the show has a difficult time keeping up a strong or constant momentum to keep the viewer engaged. Some arcs are a couple episodes while others can span quite a few and entertainment value is incredibly volatile. There also lacks any sort of interesting connections between arcs to really spice up the story. Overall, while the mysteries are certainly interesting, many of them are far from memorable. In fact, you could potentially sum up the series in the first 5 episodes when the club attempts to compile its anthology "Hyouka." In terms of conclusion, it's really no more than a one shot so it doesn't really have an immediate hook nor did it feel like a proper conclusion. However, you could say it was a beautiful in its own right I guess.

Art and animation are both fantastic for title. While just shy from being perfect due to a bit of animation inconsistencies, it's one show in the past cour or two that has demonstrated extraordinary detail and fluidity in all departments. From backgrounds to character designs and basic movement to eye-candy visuals, Kyoto Animation and co. have demonstrated their strong presence in the animation industry once again, especially after the flop that Nichijou was a year ago. In one way, you could see it as making up for not being able to animate Little Busters....nah, that's not good enough of an excuse.

The first OP is probably my most favorite theme of the series followed by the first ED. ChouCho continues to demonstrate that she is an incredible singer despite the Oricon ranking not reflecting this (kind of like eufonius in a way). The second pair of OP/ED really never caught my attention. They're "cutesy" in a way and fitting with the series but by no means good songs. Seiyuu wise, Yuuichi Nakamura did a fantastic job as Houtarou and Satomi Satou made wonders with Eru. Sound effects and background music were also all fitting with the series and above average.

Enjoyment? The mysteries are certainly interesting but generally forgettable due to a lack of any references to them from other arcs. Longer arcs definitely had a greater impact and were more interesting to watch. The show definitely stood out above recent titles like GOSICK and Kami-sama no Memochou due to more clear cut and believable explanations as well more difficult to read mysteries. I should also note that the "difficult to read mysteries" are least solvable if thought carefully whereas in say GOSICK, you can sit around for a bit and not quite get the same conclusion deduced in the show. However, unlike the aforementioned titles, there was no significant plot continuity making not only  the rewatchability of this show at a low but also difficult to really get properly engaged in. On the other hand, one would think this means it's easier to watch certain arcs only. Unfortunately, there are some things like the "Hyouka" anthology that do carry over to future arcs despite not playing any significant role in the plot. The reference to the anthology may confuse those who skipped over that arc, hence it's not all fun and games when trying to skip around.

Overall, the show has a little bit of value. It's more down to earth than titles The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya and Mawaru Penguindrum and contains significantly more substance than titles like K-ON!, Kami-sama no Memochou, or GOSICK. However, it fails to really grab proper attention. Had it fixed this and found a foundation for its overarching story it may have been a far more memorable and enjoyable title. Maybe there is an overarching story that we haven't gotten to yet (particularly regarding Houtarou's sister) but at the moment, I'm not convinced that there is one and if there is, the staff did a pretty poor job at trying to bring it out in approximately 2 cours worth of episodes. There's no direct recommendation that I could give over this title as very few titles (if any) can really fit with Hyouka's indecisive set of genres. However, Kokoro Connect comes to mind first (maybe because of character designs and similar animation styles)  and is literally worth your time more than this.

Preliminary Score: 7/10
Final Score: 7/10

So its over. Cant say if Im happy or not about it because this show makes me as indecisive to rate as its indecisive of what it wants to tell us. But mostly Im happy.

The last ep was an ok ending, but nothing more. I totally couldnt see Irisu as the emperor even after Oreki mentioned it, but it was a good thing we got to see her again in the last ep since shes the only good character in this show.

Overall this show had many flaws. The mysterys were mostly uninteresting, the solution to those came completely out of nowhere, nothing was really answered (for example what Orekis sister had to do in all this, why we didnt see her face, why she didnt leave any impact despite it beeing hinted the whole show, why does Chitanda have so much power over Oreki and just what was the problem of all those people)., and mostly the characters. As I already mentioned in the beginning of my post Irisu was the only good one, everyone else ranged from ok (Oreki) to annoying (the rest). It was just as I already said in my last post: "The characters are so useless and completely not understandable and strange. It feels like watching a show about mentally degenerated people who just make no sense at all ever since the festival. Cant blame Oreki for not understanding the people around him, I dont understand them either."

If you really want to compare this show to Gosick (8/10) or Kami-sama no Memochou (9/10) then it loses big time.
5/10 from me.

So it ends with a bit of an anticlimax. Oreki has changed from a person who doesn't want to spend energy to someone who actually says he is curious and wants to work. Still a lot of things are unanswered.

To sum it up: the growth was in the character of Oreki. Satoshi and Mayaka had the part of trying to sort out their problems and Chitanda made some progress herself in being more understanding towards others and herself. That is the thing that is happening throughout the series and the strong point of the series for me.
The mysteries are sad to say the weaker part. Some were too simple compared to the important one which was the school festival. Also the lack of information on Oreki's sister is weak: she did force him in the club and even seemed to be even smarter than Oreki. Also why did Chitanda say she recognized her? A lot of small information is not mentioned again in later episodes.
Still it was a likeable show which drove on character development.

I'll give it a 7 out of 10 and hopefully a next season in which we get the information which we missed this time.