Hyouka - Episode 18

"Ki ni narimasu..."?

Blogger's Note: Oh, the joy of final exams! In case you were wondering, that's the reason why I haven't posted anything for the past few days.

Coming off the long Kanya Festival arc which was highlighted by the exciting and suspenseful Jūmonji incident, I didn't really expect this episodee to present a mystery close to that level. And while I was right in a sense, I was also slightly disappointed with it in terms of the entertainment value that the mystery brought. In the end, the solution was quite predictable, to the point where even I managed to figure it out before Hōtarō explained it. However, seeing the almost 180-degree turn that Hōtarō has made since Day 1—both in his lifestyle and his relationships with the others, especially Eru—was more than enough to make the episode partially significant at the least.

It's one thing for the energy-conserving Hōtarō to actually want to do something out of his own free will, but it's a totally different matter if this course of action is a product of his "curiosity". The reactions of the other members were priceless. It's like they thought it was the end of the world or something, although I don't blame them. Next thing you know, Hōtarō will be the one going into "ki ni narimasu" mode in the near future. Interestingly enough, as already seen during the Kanya Festival arc, Eru seems to be losing some of her energy. There's a chance that it might have been because of the craziness of the festival, but if not, we may end up seeing a role reversal, which I think will be interesting.

Also, it turns out my guess that there'll either be one four-episode arc or two two-episode arcs to finish off the series was wrong as this episode seemed to be a standalone. With that said, the last three episodes can form arcs ranging anywhere from one to three episodes in length. I'm personally hoping for a three-episode arc so that the chances of a strong finish are higher. It'd be disappointing to see Hyouka start falling right when the end is in sight.