Oreki’s personal crisis is over and the culture festival is finally here, bringing with it a batch of new drama pins and one big problem for the Classics Club. After the weight of the last few episodes, it’s quite pleasant to have an episode that leans more into Hyouka‘s lighthearted strengths. How this peace will last, however, remains to be seen…
Hyouka
Hyouka, Episode 11
The official title of this episode was “Closing Credits of the Fool.”
But I think “The Scourging of Oreki Houtarou” works just as well.
Hyouka, Episode 10
What kind of life does Houtarou Oreki want? Does he truly want the gray life he lives, or does he actually desire the kind of rose-colored life he see around him—the kind of marvelous life that comes from living fully, whatever that might mean for him? Oreki has never been wrong in his assumptions about his basic differences from those who are his inner circle, but than in itself is not a unique experience. Just as Oreki sees himself as different, so do others see themselves as different, too. The loneliness of individuality is vast, but it may not be so hard to find your way out of it as Oreki thinks.
Hyouka, Episode 9
In which the Classics Club enters classroom 2-F as detectives, intending to solve the crime and identify the killer. Instead, they find themselves trapped in their own locked room—and still, the motive and the motion of the crime remain hidden from our view, obstructed by those loud, those selfish, those conniving, and those just trying to do their best. Can the Classics Club solve a locked room case whilst being trapped within one themselves?
Hyouka, Episode 8
Appropriately, considering the subject matter, this episode of Hyouka felt incomplete, filled with half-truths, or…as if we didn’t have all of the clues…which makes it both difficult and easy to talk about.
Hyouka, Episode 7
It’s nice to have an onsen episode sometimes; I don’t think I could keep up the writing pace last week’s episode demanded for the rest of the show. That’s (of course) not to say that Hyouka entirely took the week off, only that the lower stakes of this week’s episode gave a little more breathing room to the cinematography and general character work—turns out Hyouka Lite isn’t so bad.
Hyouka, Episode 6
An episode in which Hyouka shows that it can not only be supremely delicate, sensitive, and elegant, but can also be a whole lot of fun. Unexpected, yes—but probably a wise decision after the subtle tension of the previous two episodes. If episodes 4 and 5 were a solemn navy, episode 6 was most certainly the rose-color Oreki so dislikes. But I’m not Oreki, so I liked this episode quite a lot!
Hyouka, Episode 5
In which all of my irritation with Oreki melts away—even if Oreki is constantly putting on an act for his friends, he can’t fool the camera. Unsurprisingly, the sincerity offered therein has given me a whole lot more appreciation (dare I say affection?) for this character and the particular circumstances of the life he’s living.
Hyouka, Episode 4
For a show about a group of teenage friends living a curiosity filled life together, there sure is a lot of understated tension bubbling underneath the surface of their generally cheery lives (Oreki excepted, of course). They aren’t saying it, of course—but they don’t have to, because the camera is taking care of all of that for them. [1]
Hyouka, Episode 3
I think…it would be pretty easy to despise Houtarou Oreki if you were so inclined. I myself may indeed be inching that way. As our warm-hearted friend Eru Chitanda notes, Oreki is not a nice guy. And that meanness, born out of selfishness, was on full display in this episode.
Mage in a Barrel 