Hyouka - Review

In high school, different types of students exist—the studious, the athletic, the sociable. With the stress of university not yet present and parental restrictions generally becoming more lax during this stage of life, these adolescents are given the opportunity to live these few years to the fullest. But how one views a fruitful high school life is entirely up to them. To some, simply spending their high school days alone in peace appeals to them—a grey-coloured life—while others seek to socialize and immerse themselves in extra-curricular activities—a rose-coloured life. But what would happen if individuals from the two group were to interact with each other on a regular basis? Will one's lifestyle influence the other's? These are the questions Hyouka seeks to answer.

Art (8/10)
If it's Kyoto Animation, the art will definitely be good, right? While I myself agree to this, do keep in mind that art is a subjective matter—and so are reviews. That said, I have grown to love the unique character designs that are associated with KyoAni productions—and Hyouka isn't exception. The designs give off somewhat of a light and fluffy feeling, in contrast to other anime where the character designs are considerably more rough-looking; female characters greatly benefit from this. Another aspect of the art which I liked was the SHAFT-like style of animation accompanying narration. And while I feel SHAFT's execution of it is better, KyoAni didn't do a bad job themselves. Finally, background details were nicely done like always and accompanied the character designs well.

Characters (9/10)
Indeed, in a slice-of-life anime, characters are generally the focal point. Whether the show is a hit or miss greatly depends on the quality of the characters, with character development being a key factor in determining this. At first, Hyouka presents a group of four seemingly average characters who have their own little quirks but nothing more. However, aided by the mysteries along the way, the personalities of the individuals—particularly main protagonist Oreki Hōtarō—in the group slowly changed, more so in the latter half. Seeing Hōtarō's transformation from an unmotivated, energy-reserving individual into a slightly sociable person with an interest in mystery was satisfying. It just goes to show that, no matter how firm one is with their current lifestyle, given the right people, change is inevitable—and in Hōtarō's case, it was all for the better. If good character development is what you're seeking, Hyouka definitely delivers.

Sound (8/10)
From great theme songs to a cast of talented seiyū, Hyouka did not fall short in this category either. The four theme songs were quite catchy and grew on me quickly, with the second OP and ED pair being slightly more upbeat overall; personally, I preferred the first OP and ED. The BGM was decent too, with some tracks here and there that were memorable. Most impressive was probably the voice acting. In terms of popularity, the duo of Nakamura Yūichi and Sakaguchi Daisuke of CLANNAD fame (Okazaki Tomoya and Sunohara Yōhei, respectively) make their return once again, with Satō Satomi (Tainaka Ritsu from K-ON!) and Kayano Ai (Yuzuriha Inori from Guilty Crown) completing the main cast. And while popularity is one thing, the four were also able to deliver great performances with their respective characters, truly bringing out the best in each one.

Story (8/10)
In a sense, it's not so much the mysteries that drive the story, but the characters themselves. While I initially thought Hyouka would be primarily focused on Sherlock Holmes-style mysteries integrated into high school life, I later realized this was not the case. Aside from the one "main" mystery, if you would call it that, the story itself was mostly comprised of mini mysteries whose purpose was to serve as a catalyst for character development. Thus, it could be argued that the story was somewhat lacking. That being said, I will admit that quite a handful of them were interesting to say the least, especially when it came to seeing how they were solved. But given that this is a slice-of-life anime to begin with, I guess character development is essentially the overall focus of the story.

Overall (8/10)
Although it has the mystery tag, don't expect Hyouka to be like a Detective Conan. For the lack of a better comparison, think of it like a more lighthearted version of last year's Kamisama no Memochou. From great characters to interesting mysteries, Hyouka is a solid series overall. It was able to successfully integrate the generally dark genre of mystery into a typical high school romantic comedy. And while it wasn't particularly spectacular, I can wholeheartedly say that I enjoyed watching Hyouka.