May 23, 2012
After reading some of these reviews explaining how amazing Hyouka is, I thought I should set the record strait. Yes Hyouka has good art, likable characters, and does an excellent job explaining and executing idea's. However, at the end of the day the lack of any sort of interesting story really takes a toll on the show.
...THE GOOD...
I'll start with the good because there is a lot of good in this show.
ART: for starters it's one of the better animated shows out there, the art is very well drawn, and they do a good job portraying the characters. Though i feel
...
bad that the artist's are being forced to draw such mundane settings all the time.
CHARACTERS: surprisingly enough the characters are very likable. I enjoyed Oreki, and how he contrasts with Chitanda. In general these characters are well acted, and well played. They defiantly stand out from other anime characters in there own way.
EXECUTION: If anime filler has taught us anything, it's proved that just because you have an Idea doesn't mean that you can execute it correctly. Hyouka proves that it can execute an idea with precision and care, when explaining a mystery.
...THE BAD...
there is really only one thing I can complain about and it's a big one.
PLOT/STORY
to say that this story is boring would be incorrect because to be honest there is no story, it's just an ordinary kids life. Now to be honest I am slightly biased here, I can't really understand peoples fascination with regular high school stories. However, this go's beyond that because unlike in most anime's, were the characters are trying to achieve something of importance. This show is literally dedicated to some of the most mundane mysteries i'v ever seen. Might as well have made a show, about the mystery of how you tie your shoes because thats what the story feels like.
Now look I'm not saying you need to the next fate zero here, with explosions, and sword fights but I do expect something to happen in the show. Here is an example of which I am trying to explain, minor spoilers.
EX: episode 3 o wow that kid was smoking SO INTENSE!!!!! “pot” would have made more sense. episode 2 who cares about a dam library book. episode 1 wow how did that door get locked "it's a mystery".
not since Shining Hearts: Shiawase no Pan (IE: all about bread) have I seen a show so dedicated to the most trivial things, no one cares why people have been taking the same library book out """NO ONE CARES""".
I don't expect this kid to be solving murders, but give me something, give me anything that will let me say wow I actually care about this mystery.
...CONCLUSION...
this is a love hate anime, it will draw people in because of it's interesting character's. However, because It does not seem to be getting interesting any time soon I expect viewers to drop off in the long run. The show can be summed up like this. "do you place more of an emphasis on how the story is executed, or do you place more of an emphasis on what the story is actually about."
story 3/10 poor
art 7/10 good
sound 6/10 fair
character 8/10 very good
enjoyment 6/10 fair
overall 6/10 fair
Reviewer’s Rating: 6
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