Hyouka

The mysteries aren't really that interesting but Houtaro's thought processes are at least logical. But yeah, the characters are still the best part of this show. The Chitanda-Houtaro dynamic is fantastic, it's always good for laughs, especially when Chitanda uses the Chitanda Gaze.

edited 30th Apr '12 8:16:20 AM by fillerdude

I love the mysteries. This week's was great. I managed to figure out that girls from the art class would be using the book in class, but I didn't know for what.

Okay as of episode 2, Chitanda has endeared herself to me somewhat by having a dog motif.

I'd say it's largely because that is such a good metaphor for her puppy dog eyes, inquisitiveness as well as her energetic and happy nature.

Chitanda is to Houtaro what Haruhi is to Kyon. Imagine if you replaced Chitanda with Haruhi in the same setting.

I really don't think that would work. This guy is far more determined to do the minimal possible than Kyon, and although he does tend to think more he would probably just let Haruhi solve the mystery herself.

She still seems like a bit of a flat character, but comparing her to a dog strangely enough highlighted some of her merits.

Well, TBH I think it's what made her seem naturally friendly and maybe even eventually loyal in this scenario rather than attached to the plot/MC.

Just him randomly saying "dog" gave him the best quote in the episode.

Okay, I gotta agree, the dog motif really suits Chitanda.

8thSin's usual TL notes are up for episode 2. Looks like gg changed "Book Club" into "Classic Literature Club".

Houtarou irks me quite a bit. I think it's inevitable that his attitude towards life will change over the course of this show, though. Meanwhile, I like Chitanda a lot. Manic Pixie Dream Girl characters are one of my favorite archetypes.

And cliffhanger. I wonder what she's going to confess.

edited 2nd May '12 12:11:22 AM by LiberatedLiberater

MAL || vndb || Blog

Interesting TL notes. I am glad that I'm not the only one who thinks Chitanda is a potential yandere.

As for her confession, she might just want Houtaro to crack some tough case.

edited 2nd May '12 12:18:36 AM by fillerdude

I don't know if any of you have read the synopsis for this show at MyAnimeList, but I think this is about to get interesting.

Appearently, they will start investigating a mistery from 33 years ago involving the Classics Club. I suppose that is what Chitanda will confess to Houtaro in the next episode so the plot should start from there.

I really like Houtaro but that is mainly becuase I identify myself with him, since I basicly live by the same motto that he does.

edited 2nd May '12 2:32:20 AM by shark33

For the confession, it's probably going to be about a mystery that'll serve as the overarching backbone of the plot.

I personally go by the opposite motto of Houtarou. Make things as interesting as possible. Unfortunately, I lack the motivation to do so. Which is why I wish I had a Chitanda/Haruhi figure in my life. If I had the chance though, I'd jump at any opportunity to spice things up.

And Hautarou will be all like: "Oh. You wanted to talk about THAT. ...o-of COURSE! Why wouldn't you want to confess anything."

Houtaro is too straight faced for that I think.

Yeah, he'll be more like, "Figures."

I love the scenes where Houtarou goes all mushy and the Imagine Spot of him being all entangled by Chitanda's hair.

"No, the Singularity will not happen. Computation is hard." -Happy Ent

This show is actually fairly generic sans the minor "mystery" elements.

The story set up is overused. It's all about the random uninterested guy suddenly becoming affiliated with a beautiful girl. Wish fulfillment fluff, if you think about it. In addition, the "mystery" elements presented so far just didn't do it for me. They were either too mundane or too convenient for my tastes.

On the other hand, what the show does well is Houtarou's characterization. He is at least assertive enough an MC to remain interesting, or otherwise manipulating situations to his advantage. All those "mysteries", while trivial, did a superb job of giving us a glimpse of his thought process. The visual metaphors helped too, I guess.

So yeah. This show is actually pretty enjoyable. I'm pretty sure that the other characters will show a bit more depth too with time.

I hear, from those who read the novels, that they'll eventually try to solve an actual mystery instead of trivial details.

Hmm, colour me intrigued. This might be going places.

First, the art is just gorgeous*

. It's been so long since I've seen an anime that actually seemed to try making itself look appealing beyond the bare minimum. It won a lot of points for doing just that.

And second, interesting premise. Finding wonder in the mundane is a noble goal, and solving mundane mysteries is actually pretty fun, though it might wear thin eventually. They better have something interesting planned down the line, but for now, it's fine.

The part that I'm not too sure of are the main characters. I mean, 'best friend guy' and 'library girl' are entertaining enough*

, but the actual main guy and girl hardly register on my radar. The guy is just so bland, and because he revels in his blandness, it's not the kind that would make him either relateable or a blank slate to fill in yourself. The girl has this annoying 'broken squeaky toy' voice that I really hate, her beauty is an Informed Attribute as is usual for anime, and I'm just not sure what to make of her character.

I'll probably keep watching for a while, at least. Let's see if these characters manage to win my affection any time soon.

Dunno if they actually mention that she‘s beautiful. They might have and they might not have. In my opinion, she is really pretty. And just because it has a standard setting, doesn‘t mean it‘s bad. Just look at Haruhi. Not to mention the protagonist actually makes a point of keeping his life as bland as possible. All in all, a very interesting concept.

Of course, YMMV

So far, this feels like it's Clannad meets Encyclopedia Brown. Which is one of the best X Meets Y ideas I could have asked for, so I'm absolutely ecstatic. The gorgeous animation certainly doesn't hurt, either.

The cow eats Fruit Loops at midnight.

Haruhi had a valid excuse: it was based on a novel by a VERY GOOD AUTHOR, and the director of the anime shared his love of mathematical theories and mass guessing. I don't know if this show will be as unique.

It's a bit too early to say that Hyouka is not written by a good author. And it's being directed by the same person who directed Haruhi, Yasuhiro Takemoto. According to a recent interview, Takemoto was the driving force behind Kyoto Animation deciding to work on Hyouka, because he himself loved the novels so much. So I'm willing to bet he's going to show his love here too.

edited 4th May '12 9:11:13 AM by Mirrinus

The cow eats Fruit Loops at midnight.

Indeed, for all we know he could be the male Agatha Christie (ok, probably not, but there is not reason to think he is not as good or better an author than the writer of Haruhi)

Well, its an Anime. Or rather, its an anime which falls in line with what most animes depict right now.

So yea, it doesnt really have a revolutionary concept behind it, or at least not yer. This impression is reinforce by the fact that the art style closely resembles K-ON and that so far the show seems to be part of the so polarizing genre that "slice of life" so happens to be.

But after watching episode 3 I can see this is not a slice of life show and that its clearly falls in the "detective/mystery" genre. And its nice to see an Anime follow that path.

To say how good this Anime really is, we´ll have to wait.

As for now I cant complain about the passing (do people seem to think its boring), I am personally hooked and cant wait for episode 4. There are many elements of mystery writing, the characters are introduced, negligible details are presented and then put aside, nothing much happens, but then at the end of episode 2 we grab a hold of an actual mistery.

From now onward expect every little detail to count. For example, its the "Golden Web" secret club, actually real? Do they have anything to do with the Clasic club? Why did Chitanda´s uncle disappear? Is it a coincidence that Oreki´s sister so happened to travel to India? Why is she traveling? What meaning does the old building hold? What is the nature of Chitanda´s family? Why is she obsessed with memorizing everything? Why does she has such developed senses? Why does Oreki tries to save energy compulsively? Where is the first volume of the anthology? Why aren't they kept on the library?

so yea, it seems like the anime has a lot to work with.

LETS PRAY TO THE ALMIGHTY GOD OF ANIME THAT THE ANIMATION QUALITY DOES NOT GO DOWN!

edited 6th May '12 6:43:09 PM by Baff

I will always cherish the chance of a new beggining.

edited 1st Dec '13 11:26:40 PM by Vellup

They never travel alone.

If there isn't a trope for that one desk, there should be!

.... this anime doesn't have a page here!

edited 6th May '12 8:30:33 PM by Shota