Hyouka Episode 1 Posted on: April 24, 2012 | 829 views Impression: The first episode turned out to be better than I’d originally expected and had me anticipating for whatever spectacular events that is to come. The opening scenes displayed an uncanny resemblance to “The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya”. The vivid animation style and illustrations in addition to the Beethoven classics being played in the background brought an entirely new flavor to our plates. The splendid voice acting surely brought back sweet memories from some earlier series. Overall, I see great potential in this compilation to achieve first place as the top anime of 2012. Prior to the series’ announcement, I’d been expecting this to be a regular splice-of-life, drama, romantic comedy. Right to the moment where I saw the trailer did it have me visualize an entirely different picture. The presence of the Beethoven background music was one indication that sparked my curiosity. However, it was not until I saw the actual episode that had me delve deeper into the world of the characters and the setting being developed around them. The character Houtarou proved to have a strong resemblance to Kyon in The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya. The most prominent similarities of the two characters besides their monologue expressing their desire of a peaceful school life was their tendency to be pulled in by the female lead (though in a different way in the case portrayed in this series). Although, no part of the name, Classic Literature Club had anything to do with solving mysteries and the unexplained, it surely is becoming one that will engage in such activities. Thus, these qualities led me to believe that the SOS is being replayed in a different manner. The animation style, illustrations and background music has brought something unique that I haven’t seen for a long time. In fact, the last time I’d seen classical background music being used effectively was back in Neon Genesis Evangelion. The animation and illustrations remind me of Kamisama no Memochou but more detailed with the addition of colorful fantasy elements, which, was most prominent in the scene where Eru tried to convince Houtarou to help her solve the mystery of how she got locked in the clubroom. The cast of both Yuuichi Nakamura and Daisuke Sakaguchi really brought me back to their spectacular performance in Clannad. With the addition of Ai Kayano next episode, things will surely get more interesting. Things are looking great so far and it’d be a shame to see it go downhill later on in the series. At least, I’m hopeful with the next episode with the introduction of our fourth protagonist as well as seeing Houtarou‘s bed hair in the preview. Recap As the high school freshman Houtarou Oreki made his way past the parade of clubs and societies to the school building, he contemplated over his desire to lead a peaceful school life free from unnecessary endeavors. His classmate Satoshi Fukube criticized his boorish ways but just when he was about to assume Houtarou‘s intention not to join any clubs, Houtarou revealed that he’d been threatened by his older sister to join the Classic Literary Club in order to keep it alive. Houtarou made his way with the key in hand to a relatively isolated location of the school building and entered the Classic Literary Clubroom and finds a lone girl with lustrous black hair staring out the window in the afternoon sunset. The girl, Eru Chitanda immediately recognized him as a classmate in the music class. Seeing that he’s no longer necessary as there’s already a member to keep the club alive, he decided to leave but was stopped by Eru who tells him that she didn’t have the key to the clubroom. The two were soon interrupted by Satoshi, who immediately recognized Eru as a prominent figure at school due to her family name. As they discussed how Eru became locked inside the room, Houtarou expressed a lack of interest and tried to leave but was stopped once again by Eru, who convinced him to help her solve the mystery at hand. Since a key was required to lock to room from both inside and outside, Eru was ruled out as the culprit, however, she remembered hearing a rattling sound shortly after entering. As the three stepped out of the clubroom, Houtarou deduced that it was in fact the janitor who was doing maintenance in every room and had the master key. Eru later revealed that the reason for not noticing herself being locked was that she was too focused on an old school building outside the window. After the day’s ordeal, Satoshi decided to join the club and with Eru‘s encouragement, Houtarou reluctantly followed suit. On the next day during after school hours, while Houtarou was redoing the homework that he forgot to bring to school, Satoshi tells him of a disturbing incident in the school of a girl being led to the music room by the sound of Beethoven’s Moonlight Sonata to discover the ghost of a former club member inside. Houtarou ridicules over the validity of the story. Satoshi explains of the various mysteries that existed within the school and that the tale he mention was the second of them. Eru soon arrived in their classroom with the paperwork for the Classic Literary Club which recognized her as the club president. She revealed the first mystery, which, tells of the incidents of a mysterious society named The Silk Spider Association known to commit malicious advertising in the school bulletin boards. Not even the student council was able to find any traces of their existence nor the identity of its leader until the day of graduation when the role was passed onto another mysterious member. Houtarou surprisingly suggested searching for The Silk Spider Association‘s hidden flyer. Houtarou speculated that the flyer’s location would be a place where it’s least likely to be noticed. They soon arrived at a bulletin board filled with various flyers, but neither Satoshi and Eru was able to locate The Silk Spider Association‘s hidden flyer. Houtarou focuses and then uncovered a small piece of paper which belonged to the The Silk Spider Association under another flyer. With the mystery solved, the Classic Literary Club members called it a day. On the way home, Satoshi revealed that he noticed Houtarou making the fake flyer himself to divert Eru from pursuing the piano mystery. Houtarou expressed his motive to hand in his homework and leave as soon as possible, explaining that the music room was too far from the school entrance. Though, he could’ve easily come up with a believable explanation for the piano mystery as well (which he believed to be a girl taking a nap on the floor of the music room) , Satoshi believed that the reason why Houtarou went along with Eru anyway was due to his lingering curiosity of her. Although this time, Houtarou had succeeded in his trickery, Satoshi warned him that he will not be able to fool Eru forever. Preview Filed under: Anime Series, Hyouka by Jack Leave a Reply Name (required) Mail (will not be published) (required) Website
