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Sep 11 2012

Categories: episodic review, hyouka
Tagged: hyouka

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“…”

My favorite sequence this episode. Incredible. This whole episode showed a different side of Chitanda, and I liked it. She’s not perfect, and she’s prone to her own emotional highs and lows, and, well, yandere Chitanda may not be bad either. It’s just not something I expected out of her at this point. With the plot and mysteries not living up to expectations, the characters are carrying the show, and I’m glad to see Chitanda has another dimension to her besides just “adorable puppy mode.” Now we know she has teeth and a strong devotion to her friends… and maybe some feelings for Houtarou that she’s channeling through the Mayaka/Satoshi situation.

(Trying to imagine yandere Chitanda before this episode is like trying to imagine yandere Fuko-chan… “Dozo! Here’s a starfish… OR ELSE!”)

This scene where Chitanda is starting to confess her feelings is cute, and Houtarou unable to comes to terms with it… he’s great at rationalizing things and making connections between things… but I think he already knows how Chitanda feels about him, he’s just suppressing it for his own fears. Though if his sister gets a whiff of this, I’m sure she would inject herself into the proceedings.

Two other notes… one, everyone’s outfits are stylish, and I think Chitanda’s bike is cute. She really needs a helmet though.

Two, why couldn’t Hyouka work as a procedural detective show? With two different Sherlock Holmes procedurals on TV and an on-going movie franchise, good detectives are hot right now. Though it got me thinking that while both Holmes and Houtarou are great at making connections between puzzle pieces, Holmes is much better at acquiring said pieces. Houtaoru is a lot more passive on that front. (But if not a Hyouka procedural show, why not Encyclopedia Brown? That would be a perfect kids show.)

Hyouka 21… or “why Kyoto should have made Mirai Nikki.”

“I… I… did something terrible to Mayaka-san! Mayaka-san’s chocolate was stolen!”

In 1982, both in America and Japan this line would have passed for normal. A female high school student admitting that she did something terrible to her friend because she lost her chocolate.

In 1992, in Japan, this line would have been acceptable. Less so for America… it would have to be a 90210-ish plot where Chitanda (Kelly?) kisses Satoshi.

In 2002, in Japan, this line would still have been acceptable. Not anymore in America. We’re in (late) Dawson’s Creek territory– Chitanda would have to have slept with Satoshi to make this line make any sense.

In 2012, in Japan, this line is still somehow acceptable. In America? God knows. I can only think of, “I had a three way with Satoshi and Khloe Kardashian on Clint Eastwood’s chair while Ron Howard videotaped it and uploaded it to YouPron.” And even that pales to tonight’s episode of One Tree Hill and Vampire Diaries.

… and this was the next shot right after Chitanda says that line. It’s not often that Kyoto screws up, but showing Satoshi’s face there, well, we can already guess that he either stole, ate, or Mythbusted the chocolate. That’s just such a guilty look to show right after Chitanda’s line. Mystery spoiled eight minutes in, and we didn’t even need Houtarou to solve it.

There was also the scene where Mayaka is grilling Chitanda about anyone she likes, and she’s hemming and hawing like Tim Tebow whenever he’s asked if he could be an NFL quarterback and then we get…

… this sexy shot of Houtarou. The only way this scene could have been better is if Houtarou still had some morning drool on him.

Satoshi’s reasons for chickening out of a relationship with Mayaka makes perfect sense for a fifteen year old. And to no one else. She likes you; you like her… go take her to see The Expendables 2 and make out in the back for two hours! What are you doing?! Chatting with Houtarou or browsing Wikipedia is a better use of your time? It’s people like this who grow up… and start anime blogs.

(Wasn’t this same shot and framing used in Disappearance with Yuki Nagato?)

I like Houtarou quite a bit. He’s lazy, which I fully support, and he has as sense of right or wrong… which he only uses selectively. He doesn’t preach like a typical Gundam hero (“HI GUYZ! I’m Kira, and I only pew pew guns because I’m awesome like that!”). But he’s also not useless, so when he does need to smack some sense into someone, he can and does. He has empathy, and he uses it when he has to… and how he handled this situation kept Chitanda from being angry at Satoshi (if Houtarou told her the truth) and kept Satoshi in line.

(Next episode should be the last for Hyouka— I thought it was 21 instead of 22 previously. Didn’t realize the OVA– which needs a HD release now– didn’t count.)

“Kininarimasu!” Things I’m Curious About

1. Will there be another season or move OVAs for Kininarimasu?

2. Will there be another season of Full Metal Panic?

3. Will there be another season of Haruhi?