It’s funny how I seem to like this mystery series better the less mystery there is. I’ll go on the record now and say that might just have been the best culture festival episode I’ve seen in anime. Why? Well, for starters, this was a culture festival that’s actually part […] Read more
Kids, kids – there really wasn’t any need to get all that upset, was there? Hyouka is a funny series. It can do stuff that would normally irritate me to no end, and I still don’t get angry with it. In fact, I sort of shake my head and smile […] Read more
Well, they still didn’t answer the question in this arc’s title… All things considered I’d call this episode a considerable step up from last week’s effort, which left me pretty disinterested in the end. I usually find with Hyouka that it’s hard to say just exactly why some episodes work […] Read more
Wow – that’s a three-part story? I’m definitely OK with the relaxed, time-wasting appeal of Hyouka – generally speaking. But stretching this movie script mystery over three parts makes for some pretty watery gruel, even by this show’s standards. I guess KyoAni deserve credit for going all-in with this approach, […] Read more
There must have been a seiyuu convention in Kyoto the week this episode was filmed. Leave it to Hyouka to have a change of pace episode and still have nothing really happen. This series certainly isn’t getting any easier to write about, but my enjoyment level is pretty consistent – I suppose […] Read more
Why do I get the feeling that every Hyou-ka planning meeting starts with “You know what would look really cool?” So help me, I’ve really come to like this show a lot, but it’s devilishly hard to blog about. It’s hard to even say why I like it, apart from […] Read more
What in the world did I just watch? It’s been a frantic day and I’m tired and all, but boy – that was about as content-free an episode of any anime as I’ve seen for a while. I feel even better about comparing this series to “Seinfeld” a few weeks back, because the […] Read more
It’s the small, almost unnoticed moments that make Hyouka stand apart from the crowd. After five episodes I can’t honestly say there’s any single element of Hyouka that blows me away in terms of plot or character. The characters are all more or less safely within the constraints of their […] Read more
The most relevant thing I can say about Hyou-ka is this: it’s definitely getting better. Apart from its visuals – which are admittedly splendiforous – there’s probably nothing about this series that’s going to blow you away. As such, it has to get a lot of the little details right in […] Read more
Wait a minute – a grouchy, self-involved layabout who solves mysteries with his team, usually based on the principle “everybody lies”? Hmm… While there’s still not all that much “there” there with Hyou-ka, it’s kind of fun being nowhere with it. The formula could hardly be simpler, but it’s undeniably […] Read more