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Hyouka Was A Mistake


Nosebleed

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blog-0514602001433460858.jpgI can sense the raging fanboys as I type the title of this entry, but it's one I promised to do for a while and since I haven't posted anything on this blog in forever, I thought this would be a great way to come back.

So what is wrong with Hyouka? Well, in my opinion, pretty much everything.

I always manage to get myself caught up in one-sided discussion with people defending this anime, and no matter how many good and some even valid points those people make, I simply can not for the life of me understand how Hyouka can even be considered above average.

Let's discuss the first problem I have with Hyouka: The Mysteries.

"Oh boy he's just going to rant about how the mysteries were unimportant isn't he?"

Well, not quite, I understood from the get go this anime was not trying to put forward some kind of deep detective charade and that the mysteries were meant to be simplistic and, for the most part, fairly minimalistic.

The problem I have with the mystery elements in this show is that none of them really matter for anything.

I don't get any sense of accomplishment from seeing the characters solve the already miniscule mysteries that they manage to come across. The characters are always triggered by silly stuff and then turn everything into a detective style, clue gathering and crime solving type of mystery, only to solve it and be done with it. The mysteries are, for the most part, unrelated to the plot (or lack thereof) and don't provide any fun addition to the show, they just feel like pointless ways to drag out and pad a way for a really uninteresting adventure.

You can say all you want about the goal of the show being "simple mystery solving" or whatever, but that doesn't take away the fact that the mysteries, on top of being minimalistic and boring, don't add any value to the plot and are, quite frankly, really unoriginal and boring, which makes for an overall negative watching experience.

Moving on to the second problem I have with this anime: The characters

I absolutely hated almost every single character in Hyouka.

This is the part where it comes more down to personal preferences, but I'll still speak my mind on it.

Chitanda Eru made me want to commit suicide. Her whole character is based off of this retarded gimmick of wanting to solve mysteries for no reason. It's like she's brain dead and all she can say is "I'm curious!". Her character is annoying, doesn't do much for the most part, and just feels like a really sorry excuse for a main heroine of a show. She wasn't fun to watch, I just wanted her to disappear for most part of the show so I wouldn't have to deal with this utter BS.

But what this gimmick really ruins is essentially the show's main gimmick: simple mysteries

You see, simple mysteries can be cool and all, but not when all your main character does is look for the most fucking pointless mystery she can find, and then drag the entire cast with her in order to solve the absolutely tedious mystery. This, in my opinion, is this show's major downfall.

Chitanda Eru was a mistake.

This is how it felt hearing Chitanda say "I'm curious!"

ov0dk.jpg

She's a hollow shell of a heroine and god forbid the person who thought she was a good character comes up with more stories like this.

Moving on, the other two (almost side) characters: Satoshi and Mayaka

God, these two made me want to shove forks in my eyes so I wouldn't have to continue watching this appalling show.

Satoshi is by far one of the worst main/side characters I have ever seen, his entire premise for acting the way he does is that he feels inferior to the protagonist. And he makes sure you know this EVERY. SINGLE. TIME.

He never acts on his own accord, he makes himself inferior on purpose and overall he needlessly becomes a hindrance and a nuisance for no apparent reason other than being an edgy emo teenager.

And what's worse, he never evolves from this. He stays like this throughout the whole show. I don't even know who thought this was a good idea.

The last main character I didn't like, Mayaka, is the lesser bad of the main ones. While I was profoundly annoyed by her being hung over such a horrible crush like Satoshi, at the very least I could concede that she was slightly more proactive than him.

Still though, just like her crush, Mayaka often spent her time mopping around and acting like an edgy emo teenager because we all know being a teenager really is tough.

The sole saving grace of the plot, the protagonist Oreki, really can't salvage the whole show, but I will grant that he's the only character with meaningful and interesting development as he goes from being one of those uninterested types to a more proactive character that's interested in stuff (probably affected by the Chitanda virus).

Still though, I find Oreki's character slightly bland as, just like every other character in the show, his sole gimmick is being OP at logic. Which, at the very least, is a good thing to be OP at, but other than that he's not really that interesting to watch as he mostly just gets dragged around by people.

But since he's the most intuitive of the group, I'll say that he's the sole character I kind of liked in the show.

Moving on to the third and last problem I have with this show: The pacing and the story

When you have a 22 episode show, you have to make sure you maintain a good pacing and have an engaging story so your viewers really want to stick with you until the end. Sadly, Hyouka fails on this aspect as well.

The uninteresting and unengaging mysteries and the generally slow paced and easygoing story only add up to an ultimately boring viewing experience that never managed to make me want to keep watching, but rather it made me feel like I was forcing myself to press on to see if ultimately there would be something worth praising at the end of the tunnel.

Spoiler alert: there wasn't.

Hyouka is a show with basically no plot, and shows with no plots are something I'm known to like even, but when you have no plot, you need good characterization, you need your characters to be engaging and make things happen, and Hyouka fails on pretty much every aspect of this, making for one of the worst anime experiences I've had.

This anime might have been produced with a big budget (based Unlimited KyoAni Works), but if you have a bad source material, no matter how much you sugarcoat it, no matter how many directing tricks you use, it just doesn't work, and Hyouka will always be living proof of it.

To those of you who defend Hyouka, I'm sorry, you're allowed to like this anime, really, I understand all the trickery that went behind in making it, I just think that it's ultimately really non engaging and boring and overall a sugercoated turd that I can not wrap my head around no matter how many times I watch it.

Just ask yourself this: Do you find an anime based on pointless mysteries that are constantly forced upon you by an annoying teen girl that constantly shouts "I'm curious!" to be fun?

If you do, I guess I have nothing to say to you.

If you don't, then I hope you understand why I don't like Hyouka as well.

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realtalk though, Hyouka was alright but nothing special. I won't actually fight for it, it's not good enough for that. But I didn't hate it, either. I can understand your points.

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At least I will say I don't consider this anime shit tier. But i do not consider it above average in any way either. So i guess, it's meh tier, so it's got that going for it, which is nice.

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How dare you insult my children like this!

 

...But it's really interesting how opinions can differ sometimes. I consider Hyouka one of the best anime ever made and it's mainly because how it uses it's characters who I think are all masterpieces and how it uses mysteries to further their development (or sometimes non-development) in interesting ways while at the same time perfectly portrays the art of wasting time. And how Houtarou's world-view contrasts with Chitanda's romanticism that is a result of her background and resignation at an already pre-determined future... and... and..

 

I could basically continue forever haha, but I guess there's nothing that's universally loved.

 

Also most Kyo-Ani works actually don't have very big budgets (well we don't know the exact budgets for any anime but several knowledgeable people have said this), but their unique production system makes things look really good anyway.

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1) Watching Hyouka for mystery is a mistake

2) The characters were good, If I had time, I could demonstrate why your favorite shows have everything you hated in Hyouka (according to what you say) in 250 words +-10%.

 

Nah, people, read the comments, and you'll know that Hyouka is a great anime.

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All anime are based on cliche and tropes. I can acknowledge plenty of anime I like are, by consensus, average/bad, and i'm totally okay with it. That doesn't mean I have to think an anime that's generally considered good by consensus to be entertaining.

I knew from the get go Hyouka is liked by many, but i didn't like it, i can't force myself to think otherwise.

I sat through all 22 episodes of Hyouka and didn't find an ounce of entertainment, and that's a problem, regardless of reasons. Even if the reasons can likely be brought to other anime I enjoy, I will still stand by them because there were likely other factors that made me enjoy them, even if they were superficial ones. These are the reasons i personally felt when combined, ruined the Hyouka experience for me.

I think Chitanda Eru is the main reason Hyouka failed for me to be honest. The rest of the shows gimmicks weren't terrible, but she pushed them in all the wrong directions, ultimately creating a really average experience for me.

When you have a show about wasting time and doing almost nothing, you absolutely need good characters, and as mentioned above, all characters failed to impress me much.

You don't have to consider this a valid opinion, i like plenty of shitty shows, i drool over K-on for example, but there's things i find in those shows that, to me, make them fun to watch, and in Hyouka's case I just couldn't make that connection. It's as simple as that.

 

I'm not going to start liking Hyouka just because some other people point out things to me that they liked in the show. That's not how it works and I've discussed Hyouka with other people before. You're absolutely free to like it, and I'm absolutely free not to like it. So when I read these comments, I understand people think differently, but I'm not going to change my opinion on Hyouka being meh if I still find it boring to watch.

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My first thought is as follows:

  • You are complaining that this, by all means, Slice-of-Life anime does not have a plot. Does not seem like the best thing to complain about.
  • You personally dislike the characters. Join the fact that this is to be taken as a slice of life with a look at the everyday mysteries we find in the mundane and it doesn't take a genius to figure out you have nothing left if you dislike the characters in a slice of life.
  • Therefore, you have no reason to like Hyouka - although I'm sure you don't hate it either. You hate that you sat through it to the end because of it being regarded as good.

Consequently, the discussion should turn and focus to this: Characters.

Some people really liked the characters, some only liked a couple of them and that was enough, and some idiots like me watched it for the mystery and enjoyed it.

 

Either way, I don't think you can objectively consider this anime bad. But again, I wouldn't know. I liked the mysteries and Chitanda - and Oreki, of course - but I watched it so long ago that I cannot defend or fundament any points without rewatching it, and I certainly won't do that any time soon.

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My first thought is as follows:

  • You are complaining that this, by all means, Slice-of-Life anime does not have a plot. Does not seem like the best thing to complain about.

I... What? I never said this. I said that when you have no plot, you need something else to make up for it, and this show didn't do that, that's the problem, not the lack of plot in itself.

 

 

  • You personally dislike the characters. Join the fact that this is to be taken as a slice of life with a look at the everyday mysteries we find in the mundane and it doesn't take a genius to figure out you have nothing left if you dislike the characters in a slice of life.

Well, yes, is that wrong to complain about? Does that mean I'm not entitled to write a piece on why I dislike the show?

 

 

  • Therefore, you have no reason to like Hyouka - although I'm sure you don't hate it either. You hate that you sat through it to the end because of it being regarded as good.

Not at all, I watched it back in the days where I was fairly ripe with anime, with less than 200 anime under my catalog and back in the times where I didn't pay attention to studios or directors.

I watched shows like Mirai Nikki back then and thought they were good, Hyouka had all the opportunity to make me like it, but unfortunately, it failed.

 

 

Consequently, the discussion should turn and focus to this: Characters.

Some people really liked the characters, some only liked a couple of them and that was enough, and some idiots like me watched it for the mystery and enjoyed it.

 

Either way, I don't think you can objectively consider this anime bad. But again, I wouldn't know. I liked the mysteries and Chitanda - and Oreki, of course - but I watched it so long ago that I cannot defend or fundament any points without rewatching it, and I certainly won't do that any time soon.

I never tried to objectively classify this anime as bad, all pieces written in this blog are my opinion alone and aren't even meant to be in depth reviews, but just my rants on stuff I dislike, that's all.

You're right discussion should be primarly about the characters, and for me the characters just didn't do it and I wrote my opinion on them. That's all.

 


 

The way I see it, Hyouka is primarly targeted at people who really like KyoAni shows and enjoy all the imagery and directing that goes behind it, or for those absolute mystery fanatics that can enjoy even the small mundane mysteries.

Either way, you're allowed to like it, but ultimately I simply found it boring and I have the right to complain about it.

 

I may or may not have used hyperboles throughout this whole entry, Hyouka isn't even on the bottom list of shows I dislike, but that's the whole goal of this blog right?   :Kappa:

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I've replied to your comment below, but it's mostly just you misinterpreting the very careful and mostly made up choice of words I utilize, along with an instance of me correcting myself. Also, it's kind of pointless.

I... What? I never said this. I said that when you have no plot, you need something else to make up for it, and this show didn't do that, that's the problem, not the lack of plot in itself.

I... Well, I take it back, actually. I read this in the morning and I came back and commented without a re-read, turns out that while you complained about the lack of plot, you mean in conjunction with the fact that the characters are terrible.

 

Well, yes, is that wrong to complain about? Does that mean I'm not entitled to write a piece on why I dislike the show?

No, it isn't. Never said it was, and never will say such a stupid thing. I stated a fact. Characters you dislike + Slice of life= Bad

 

Not at all, I watched it back in the days where I was fairly ripe with anime, with less than 200 anime under my catalog and back in the times where I didn't pay attention to studios or directors.

I watched shows like Mirai Nikki back then and thought they were good, Hyouka had all the opportunity to make me like it, but unfortunately, it failed.

The point I attempted to make was that you don't hate this anime. You just don't like it.

I'm a very picky person with this and the English language is a pain because of it.

There are three categories:

  • Like - You like the thing.
  • Not Like - You didn't like the thing, but you won't hate it or call it the spawn of Satan. You can "put up" with it.
  • Dislike - You actively dislike the thing.

​At least, that's how I've always interpreted likes and dislikes and it's really confusing. I especially like how people react when I say I don't like to eat something and then eat it to the end, because just because I don't like it it doesn't mean I dislike it.

 

I never tried to objectively classify this anime as bad, all pieces written in this blog are my opinion alone and aren't even meant to be in depth reviews, but just my rants on stuff I dislike, that's all.

You're right discussion should be primarly about the characters, and for me the characters just didn't do it and I wrote my opinion on them. That's all.

You... I'm now convinced, you totally got the wrong post off my post. I didn't disagree with anything you said nor said your opinion was invalid. I stated a bunch of facts mostly unrelated. For example, I never said you objectively classified this anime as bad, I said you couldn't do it.

 


 

The way I see it, Hyouka is primarly targeted at people who really like KyoAni shows and enjoy all the imagery and directing that goes behind it, or for those absolute mystery fanatics that can enjoy even the small mundane mysteries.

Either way, you're allowed to like it, but ultimately I simply found it boring and I have the right to complain about it.

 

I may or may not have used hyperboles throughout this whole entry, Hyouka isn't even on the bottom list of shows I dislike, but that's the whole goal of this blog right?   :Kappa:

This is the point I attempted and failed to make on my third dot.

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So basically you reiterated my entire entry only to make a nitpicky point about the peculiarities of the English language.

Well, okay  :makina:

 

And no I don't absolutely hate Hyouka, but I can think something is bad and write metaphors comparing it to sugarcoated human dejects, without absolutely hating it. That's the beauty of a personal blog.

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So basically you reiterated my entire entry only to make a nitpicky point about the peculiarities of the English language.

Well, okay  :makina:

Basically, yeah. That sums it up perfectly.

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Guest blahblahblah

Posted

" If I don't have to post, I won't post anything. If I do have to post anything, make it sh*t" -Nosebleed

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I know this is kinda old but I gotta say I'm 4 eps in and I agree, Chitanda Eru can go die in a fire honestly. Her "I'm curious!" and sparkling eyes schtick got annoying real quick.

 

Satoshi is annoying. Mayaka is also annoying and I don't care for the tsundere thing they're going for with her. She just makes bitchy remarks at the two guys and doesn't do anything.

 

In episode 4 they're talking about theories and both Satoshi and Mayaka (I think), right before launching into their explanations, they clap their hands together, close their eyes in typical anime fashion (yawn) and go "Sorry Chitanda, my theory overthrows yours" and it's the cringiest thing ever. Like why can't you just talk like normal people? Oh wow who knew that when people share THEORIES they occasionally turn out to be wrong. But because it's princess Chitanda apparently they have to apologise. It's so weird.

 

Oreki is alright but I think he's slowly getting influenced by Chitanda which I can already tell will be irritating to watch 

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Guest Guest Guest

Posted

After watching few episodes, being prompted by hearing this anime is a masterpiece that I've just ignored for years- I googled for validation for my opinion on the anime and here it is. THANK YOU, I absolutely loathe this anime now due to people calling this shitshow a masterpiece. I haven't watched anything this boring in a long time and I feel insulted that this anime uses the voice actors from Clannad for the two male characters, an anime that is an actual masterpiece in comparison. 

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Guest Anon

Posted

I really wanted to like this anime, but couldn't get passed the giant cringe of Chitanda's eyeballs. Couldn't agree more with the OP. She was the cancer of this show. I never could recommend it. Thanks for the review. 

Hyouka is resurfacing because Crunchyroll is now streaming it.

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I honestly have to agree. I heard so many good things and I can say that I was beyond disappointed. I usually drop shows that I don’t like but I really tried to like it and I pushed myself to finish, looking for it to get better but I really couldn’t stand it anymore. Oreki was the only character I actually liked and he barely did it for me. Chitanda made me want to scream. I know the whole point is for the development of Oreki but honestly? Chitanda was just plain annoying.

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