Another fun fact would be that I thought that there were 25 episodes in this season. Spoiler alert: there's only 22. Get REKT! Just kidding, the only one wrecked was me because I thought there would be another episode after, but there was nothing. Feelsbadman. Side note, won't it be funny looking back at this as a phase in my life where I said all of this millenial colloquial slang and in a few years it'll be irrelevant?
{Spoilers}
So I heard about this anime from my friend. It was a bit of a role reversal because usually I'm the one recommending anime to him so for him to recommend this to me was like the student becoming the teacher type situation. I mostly started this because what I assumed to be the main couple was absolutely adorable, or at least I gathered as much from the screenshots he sent me. I didn't really know what I was getting into. I've watched some similar anime with mystery in it like Haruchika, but this is definitely more of a mystery genre.
There's a ton of different arcs in here. They're all so well crafted that to describe them in words would be like someone leading you through an underwater maze blindfolded. You're holding your breath, you're surrounded by facts, and you have no idea where you're going, but Hotarou is leading you through it all. There was just something about the way that Hotarou formulated his hypotheses and explained them, along with the visuals with really funky art, that made everything really easy to understand. He made it easy to focus and be engaged. It really got the wheels turning, in a good way. Because of the sheer number of arcs I think it'd be easy for you to fall in love with each one of them. There's a variety of arcs that have varying levels of proximity to the characters like when they had to figure out the mystery behind the anthology Hyouka, which is incidentally the name of the whole series. I would have to say that the arc behind the name Hyouka and the mystery behind Chitanda's uncle was my favorite in terms of how emotionally provoking it was. It was the story of a hero to be sure, but with a twist; maybe a better way of describing it would be a figure headed hero? But honestly every arc left me breathless. They were all so well-thought out, so well-planned that I had no idea where the next arc would leave.
The absolutely most frustrating and messed up arc was the mini Valentine's arc. Satoshi is a complete jerk for breaking all of Mayaka's hard work into pieces just because he couldn't confront them. Okay, I admit that at first I thought he didn't reciprocate Mayaka's feelings because he was gay for Hotarou. I mean sometimes he would look at Hotarou with this look that was actually envy, but come on, it's just a thought. But anyways back to the mini arc. It was horrifying. It was terrible. But it was also justified in a way. These characters definitely aren't perfect. None of the main characters are. That's what makes them all the more lovable and relatable. Satoshi acknowledged that Mayaka was a wonderful girl and that he was lucky to be her love interest. But he also didn't want to sacrifice the journey he was on to bettering himself. It might sound like an excuse, but he really did want what was best for everyone, even if he did have a roundabout way of explaining it. Everyone was mad and shocked and it was honestly a really heartbreaking moment. Maybe in the future Satoshi will be able to be proud of who he's become and have a healthy mindset, but even so I hope that their relationship stays intact.
On the topic of imperfect characters, I think that's another admirable reason to enjoy this series even more. Besides the beautiful art, the two great OP's and two ED's, beyond the complexity of the mysteries and how well thought out the plot was, beyond the fun times of the Classics Club's shenanigans, was the people the story revolved around. None of them were perfect. I mean, let's start with the main protagonist: Hotarou. He seemed like he was content with his grey, energy efficient life and he was talented at deducing mysteries, insanely talented. And most importantly, he was humble about his talent even though it was the one thing he was definitely light years beyond anyone else in. Even though he tried to keep a low profile, tried to play his talent off as "just getting lucky" when Irisu-senpai called him out on his humility and called him special, you could see his perspective shift. He was shaken by it. And he made his own deduction about how class 2-F's film should end. And then he regretted it when he realized that it didn't go the way that the writer had intended it. He's definitely not the perfect detective and he beats himself up when he realizes it. He's pure and kind-hearted and when he realizes that he's capable of living a rosy high school life like his friends seem to it just makes you warm and fuzzy inside. It seems like a common theme with these characters to come off as perfect, I mean all of their facades are pretty foolproof for anyone that's not paying attention. I mean look at Chitanda. She's smart, comes from a respected family, kind, caring, loved by everyone, and tries her best. There's no flaw to be found. Except that she's chosen to be that way, or maybe she was molded to be that way because of her upbringing. She's not like most of kids that go to her school, she has to constantly be aware of how everyone views her and has to follow rules of decorum that are frankly above the heads of anyone that isn't the elite. And while that comes with its perks, it's also a shackle that ties her to this place. She doesn't have a choice in the matter. Her future's set into stone, no matter what all paths lead back to this town. So she's chosen to be optimistic and to never get mad, but that also means that she's probably had to hold in a lot in order to live the semblance of a life of freedom. And she's not the only one putting up a facade to fool people; Mayaka's doing something similar. She doesn't get as much screen time as the main two or even Satoshi I think, but in the school festival arc, that's definitely her time to shine. She had to bottle things up to keep things civil in her Manga Society, when inside she wants to just express herself. She wanted to cosplay, but she was too embarrassed to let everyone know that she was into manga and her fellow club members didn't really get that. They were hostile towards her and she tried not to rock the boat too much. Even though she seems like such a tough girl, that's definitely a front for a manga-loving, Satoshi-loving girl (heh, sorry had to put that in). Speaking of Satoshi, he's totally fake. Just kidding, he's a lost kiddo like the rest of us just trying to come to terms with himself and really try to better himself. He sees himself as a database, but honestly he's a lot more than that. He's a flamboyant ray of sunshine that underestimates himself, that lets himself be outshone by Hotarou. He definitely sells himself short; it's because he knows a lot of somewhat irrelevant trivia that they're able to solve some of the mysteries in the first place. His inferiority complex gets in the way of him actualizing his full potential and so does his belief that he's just average. All of them are so pure and lovely and so complex that it's hard not to want to give an in depth analysis like this to anyone that'll listen.
Something I found kind of odd was they had classical music as BGM. Like I'd understand if it was ya know a classical music focused anime. But it was kind of out of place. Maybe it was like a reference to Classics Club? Or maybe that's a mystery in and of itself. There's a lot to analyze if you're a fan and you wanna use that noggin to crack some Hyouka mysteries of your own. Like the mystery of Tomoe the enigma that just randomly came back from her world travel. Or why they didn't ask Eba about the ending of the mystery film. And that's just a few.
Overall I'd say you definitely have to watch this anime. This is definitely not just some fluffy shoujo or slice of life or high school anime. This has depth. It has complexity. It has great characters with so many facets to discover and observe. It's gripping and keeps you watching like 18 episodes in one sitting, not like I did that *averts eyes*. There's so much to enjoy and it's one of a kind to be sure.
P.S. I watched this on my computer because somehow school wifi works better on my laptop? So excuse if there's weird things floating around the edges
This is my life motto as well tbh
What is this roast??
Too much LSD
I had initially screenshotted these for the aesthetic and I realized that it was Hotarou unconsciously looking at life through a rose colored lens and then reverting back to his greyscale one. Well done production team well done
OFC he does!!!
Just look at this foreshadowing~
Spoiler she is actually asdfghjkl;
This arc really made me miss my sisters
OML every time she says this it's game over for Hotarou. It's his weakness, the puppy eyes Chitanda version
And this is why Hotarou and Satoshi are best friends
So this was from episode 10 and that was when things got really intense. Because Irisu-senpai is actually really complicated. Also you never get to see Tomoe's full face. It's all very full of mystery. And when Irisu is messaging Hotarou's sister the music just fit really well and it was wild. I lowkey have a theory that the sister was just orchestrating everything, that she's an even better detective than Hotarou.
Mayaka's room is my dream room
This might've been my second favorite arc
I thought Tanabe was a cool guy but then he did the whole thing and I respect him for his ingenuity, but I also kind of feel eh about him meddling at all
Awh Mayaka's face after Satoshi praises her is so pure
Where do I get an XL eggplant plush is my question
Except you're more than just a database you asdfghjkl;
AWHHHH
Omg his face. He's so fond of Chitanda it just shows on his face
the FACE of true love
The true Oujo-sama
Me every day tbh??
It took me a solid 10 minutes to calm down because it was almost a ship, but he had to be like that and I get it, but it's still ugh
T^T one day Mayaka
And we end with Hotarou's rose colored world in which this is basically a marriage proposal, but where's season 2 with them being all cute please come out with a season 2
