Hyouka - Episode 17

Hyouka: Now with double the "ki ni narimasu~"

And with that, the long Kanya festival arc, along with the Jūmonji incident, comes to a satisfying and twist-filled end. While there was no doubt in my mind that Hōtarō would eventually uncover Jūmonji's true identity, who would've thought he'd have done so prior to the attack on the Classics Club, as well as be the one who orchestrated it. Not only did that show unparalleled deduction skills, but surprising blackmailing skills as well. Indeed, I think it's safe to say that Hōtarō exceeded the expectations of virtually everyone who knew of his involvement in what was Hyouka's best mystery yet.

Unexpectedly (like my word choice?), the idea of "expectations" played a large part in this dialogue-driven episode. Apart from Hōtarō's serious deductions, there have barely been any other forms of heavy dialogue thus far. So because of that, the great amount of focus on expectations did catch me slightly off guard. The way I interpreted it, there were two cases of expectations, one each from Satoshi and Executive Committee President, Tanabe Jirō, that were discussed. For Satoshi, he viewed expectations as something one should have only after they have given up. In his case, he probably only "expected" results from Hōtarō after he realized he couldn't solve the mystery himself. Furthermore, the solution to the case must have been bittersweet for Satoshi. On one hand, his friend was able to surpass all expectations, while on the other, it made him feel even more incompetent and distant in terms of his detective skills. Similarly for Tanabe, once he realized his drawing skills paled in comparison to Kugayama's—essentially giving up—he desired for the Student Council President to use make use of his artistic gift, "expecting" the artist of a Corpse by Evening to help create another masterpiece that would be Kudryavka's Order. In the end, the difference between these two examples of expectations is that one was met—exceeded, actually—while the other is still part of a work-in-progress. Personally, I have never before viewed "expectation" like Satoshi does. I guess this episode showed me a different outlook of this often overused word.

Rewatching the opening scene a second time, I found it amusing how Hōtarō's plan worked even on me, the viewer. I had not noticed Tanabe's slight movements the first time through, but clearly saw them the second time. It just goes to show how easily distracted I am (Satoshi's phone) and how poor my attention to detail is. At this point, all I can do is expect Hōtarō to continue pulling out deductions left and right in future cases. But before that, a nice party with drinking (oolong tea) at Eru's house! With four more episodes left, there will probably be enough time for one regular-length arc or two mini-arcs, both of which would be fine with me.