Hyouka - Episode 1

Epic artwork, as expected.

Getting the expected praise out of the way, I'm not surprised at how gorgeous the artwork was. The character designs were very pleasing to the eye, especially Eru with her lovely, sparkly eyes and cute appearance. The animation was very fluid overall, just as you would expect from Kyoto Animation, a company that's infamous for its superb animation. In addition to that, the different themes presented were surprisingly interesting. Going into the show, I didn't expect much from the anime in terms of the story but I was fairly impressed by how the little mysteries ended up being fairly entertaining.

First off, I found Hōtarō to be quite the interesting character. While there have been many laidback male leads with the "I don't really care what's going on" attitude in a high school setting (e.g. Kyon from Suzumiya Haruhi no Yūutsu, Hasegawa Kodaka from Boku wa Tomodachi ga Sukunai, Takasu Ryūji from Toradora!), Hōtarō stood out from them by having an amusing reason for his attitude. He appears to have a very sharp mind but, being the unmotivated "energy conserver" that he is, refuses to use it to the best of his ability. Nonetheless, seeing him go through all that trouble just to prevent Eru from causing him trouble made me question just how serious he was about "conserving energy". At the end of the day, spending time with Eru has already started to make him think differently; a sign of the beginning of character development. Hopefully, the seeds that have been planted will begin to sprout as time goes on.

Moving on to Eru, I have to say she's one of the most adorable characters this season, possibly being able to stand on the same level as Tsumiki (Acchi Kocchi) and Nyaruko (Haiyore! Nyaruko-san). Those captivating eyes, that cute face, and her happy-go-lucky personality just scream "moe!". Not to mention she possesses a childlike innocence and exudes an aura of purity. It's a good thing that she's a KyoAni character.

As for the themes, colours seem to have the potential of becoming very important, especially anything "rose-coloured". Seeing how as a rosy-pink flower was the first shot of the episode, this guess is made all the more valid. I'm hoping that the little mysteries are just used to prepare viewers for more complex ones in the future. While the "locked door" one was slightly lame, I did enjoy the tension given by the "Black Widow Society" one, even if it did end up being a fake. The old building that Eru was apparently staring at seems like it'll be a plot device in the future. I've noticed Hōtarō's facial expression changes upon seeing something noteworthy so I'll be sure to continue keeping an eye out for anything he deems suspicious.

Like many first episodes, only the OP was used in this one.
OP: Well, Choucho's songs have never failed to disappoint me yet and this one was no different. I loved both the melody and the vocals. Listening to it the first time through was already enough to turn me into a fan, which is a sign of a good song, in my books.