Finally, the most anticipated show for this season, Hyouka has finally aired. Does it meet expectations? Well…
Needless to say, the first episode felt a little dull and the characters seem very familiar. The main lead looks like another Kyon clone that doesn’t seem too energetic into joining the “Classic Literature Club.” He is friends with Sunohara and meets a girl that looks like Mio who is curious in solving mysteries. If you know what I’m talking about, you probably watched some of the other shows. Still, you might perceive this show as another typical slice of life that takes place in a high school at a glance. However, there are some things that impressed me.
Well, although there is a lot of dialogue, the mysteries are somewhat interesting. Although they are very simple at first (the locked door and the secret recruitment poster), Houtarou manages to solve it in a detailed manner while being annoyed on having to use his energy. Eru is rather cute, especially in the scene where she traps our main character with her hair. On the other hand, she is rather generic, but that might change in future episodes. Perhaps her curiosity will drag us in.
The first episode of Hyouka was decent at best although it lacks some excitement. As expected, the animation was the best part of the show and I liked how they decide to add some classical music such as some Beethoven and Bach playing in the background. I’m fascinated on how they used it considering that I have played many classical pieces in the past on the piano. Although this has bothered some people, at least it fits with the overall feeling of the show. Maybe they will add some Chopin or Mozart to add more variety to the soundtrack in the next episode.
I thought this was a good first episode. I’ll agree that the animation was the best part, and that Eru was a bit generic, but I thought it was a decent beginning for high school detectives.
Well, it’s not bad in any way like most people want to put it. It was decent since the first few moments was ehh, but got better as the episode went on. Hopefully when they introduce more characters and get to deeper mysteries, it will become more interesting… but we’ll see.