First Impressions / Hyouka

Episode 08

「試写会に行こう!」 (Shisya Kaini Ikou!)
“Let’s Go To the Screening!”

Sometimes, I think that Kyoto Animation has the ability to read our minds. Somehow, someway, they always seem to changes things at just the right moment to keep their shows fun and interesting. And in regards to this episode, I couldn’t have asked for a better format change up. There’s still the lure of a mystery that needs to be solved, but both the way it handled and introduced itself created a totally different feeling as it built up to its ridiculous cliffhanger. A cliffhanger so enthralling that I was ready to yell at my screen when the ending sequence started rolling.

Besides this studio’s amazing ability to adapt stories, I’ll never cease to be amazed with their attention to detail. To be a bit more specific, I was blown away with how well they recreated the feel of a horribly made amateur movie. From the shaky camera movements to the great acting, it was actually a little scary seeing something so bad made so well. But even scarier than how bad the film was had to be the introduction of the lovely Irisu Fuyumi. Besides having an amazing voice actor (Yukana for those of you who didn’t catch it!), it’s nice to see someone else besides Chitanda who has the ability to play with Houtaro’s gung-ho sense of trying to conserve his energy.

Characters and fine details aside, I think that this week’s on-going mystery is going to be even better than the Sekitani Jun incident. I mean, you once again have to give it to the writers for somehow making me care about discovering the solution behind a third rate mystery film. However, what probably makes this mystery so enthralling is probably the lure of what else we’ll learn as we get closer to solving the mystery. For me, I’m really interested in finding out just why Fuyumi is so hell bent on trying to find the right solution to Hongou’s mystery. Because not only does it seem like a lot of work but doesn’t everything surrounding this case feel a bit fishy? If I were a bit more cynical, it wouldn’t be too hard to think that a certain senpai might be holding the truth about a few things… (I’m really hoping she isn’t though!)

 

Preview

 

Episode 09

「古丘廃村殺人事件」 (Furuoka Haison Satsujin Jiken)
“Furuoka Ghost Town Murder Case”

Continuing on to this week’s episode the only thing I can say is — wow. Something about watching people other than our main group of characters try to solve a mystery is somewhat interesting to say the least. And by interesting, I’m referring to the shock that I felt when I was subjected to some of the lamest ideas, ever. If there was any consolation though, it would have to be watching Chitanda get pretty tipsy from some strong whisky chocolate. When will these girls learn that alcohol in chocolate can still get you f–ed up?

That said, each person’s theory had its own merit. With each theory hitting a certain end of the spectrum, I’m sure normal people would have accepted any one of three. From trying to play the dramatic side, technical side, or outright plowing through reason and creating one of those Friday the 13th type thrillers — each theory when you really think about it could work well as the ending for a mediocre mystery thriller. But honestly, I know that by the time the episode ended all of us were focused on a passed out Chitanda. Because if a really immature Chitanda or watching her smack her head into a desk wasn’t enough to tickle your funny bone, you really need to go get yourself checked.

Getting back on topic, I don’t know if it was just me but this entire episode had such a strange feel about it. While each person was explaining their theories, something just didn’t feel quite right. With every theory except Sawakiguchi’s sounding both a bit cynical, it felt like everyone was bashing on Hongou and her script — which sounds terrible doesn’t it? Especially when you take into account that she was forced into the position through a majority vote! But from the way things are building up, it seems like Hongou may very well have some ace up her sleeve!

While I was really hoping that Houtaro would have busted out one of his trademark endings at the end of this episode, I’m actually quite excited to see a mystery finally span longer than two episodes. Because, not only am I expecting the conclusion to be freaking fantastic but with more time than ever for Houtaro to craft a theory, I’m getting a little giddy thinking about how awesome his delivery will be. Why can’t Sunday be here already?!

Konnichiwa Sawakiguchi-San, Ciao desu~

 

Preview

68 Comments

  1. No kidding, I’m expecting Houtarou’s theory to be delivered in some fabulous manner.

    On a side note, was Houtarou tipsy for a bit himself, he seemed to be a little out of it while listening to peoples theories.

    Syaoran
    Reply

      1. It’s probably best to play the dumb fool at the moment. The way the others presented their theories, it felt like they ( COULD NOT BE WRONG ) in their mind. This would lead into explaining why they are wrong/ they wouldn’t agree with Houtarou= wasted energy.

        FadingMoon
        Reply

  4. I’ve read how “boring” Hyouka may seem to a big chunk of the viewers, or how it just a shitty show made only to sell moeblob related merchandise.

    I reject that idea. Hyouka is showing that the source material is way more than that. I’m amazed how KyoAni is performing the delivery one of the better mystery anime of the last few years. The “cases”, as mundane as they are, may not be about violent incidents nor paranormal shenanigans. But they feel realistic, fitting to the story’s setting and they don’t ask for the viewer to suspend their disbelief.

    Hyouka is simple: The riddle against the characters.

    Without further ado, allow me to present my thoughts on this arc’s riddle.

    TL;DR: The movie’s case isn’t the REAL case.

    Theory about the “meta” case of this arc.

    Wrote this when Episode 8 was aired and posted it on Reddit and Guardian Enzo’s blog.
    Episode 9 new facts are below.

    — Episode 8 Facts/Clues —

    – So at first we have a cellphone exchange between Irisu and someone asking for forgiveness (the script writer?, Hongou Mayu?) but Irisu tries to calm her down and tells her that she will do what she can, etc. They seem to have a rather close relationship.
    – Then a chat between Irisu and her “Sempai”. This person directs her to the Classic’s Club. This “Sempai” tells her that she knows someone who might be useful and that the Club will “dance” for her if she “uses them right”. So we have an unknown Sempai that knows both about the Classic’s Club and Irisu.
    – Time passes (she finishes her drink).
    – Then we see Empress chat’s with the Fool “L” (Eru, unskilled with computers, can’t type JPN and typing in that language isn’t simple). It doesn’t show but it feels like they were setting up a 1-on-1 screening. Irisu then tells her to feel free to bring friends over, “maybe three” (specific much?).
    – Movie screening, etc. Why can’t they ask Hongou how the story finishes? Is she so ill that she can’t even answer a simple question? Odd.
    – Irisu states that she’s “not good with mystery stories”.
    – When Eba Kurako was leading the group to the classroom, she was asked about Hongou. Unlike the previous questions, Eba took a second to think and describes a person very much like the Empress Irisu. And stated that she was her best friend.
    – The episode ends with “Why didn’t she ask EBA?” subtext.

    Theory time: Show Spoiler ▼

    This theory reads good but it doesn’t answer an important question: Show Spoiler ▼

    Blow your mind deduction: Show Spoiler ▼

    Extra clue 1: Show Spoiler ▼

    Extra clue 2: Show Spoiler ▼

    — Episode 09 new facts/clues —

    They didn’t reveal much about the “meta” mystery in this episode.

    – My “Extra clue 1” might be false. It isn’t clear how much of the movie was shot. This is based on the conversation between the 3 “detectives”.
    – Hongou was frail, missed several classes and was not there for the shootings. Low profile person?.
    – Hongou spent a lot of time learning about writing a good mystery from Sherlock’s novels. [The books were brand new, what makes me think thatShow Spoiler ▼

    – I don’t know what to think about the codes inside the books. There must be something significant about them apart from marking ideas for future usage. For example: which of the stories met with what the class voted on how the story should be (murder weapon, number of muderers as seen here.
    – There was one very little tease: Look how Kurako’s eyes shine a bit while they are talking about the script at 18:56. Show Spoiler ▼

    – Irisu meeting Oreki at the end. Show Spoiler ▼

    xRichard
    Reply

    1. Lol. How much time did you put into this comment? Still, bravo and hats off to you.

      Love how you’re focusing on the macro mystery and not the one “nested in.” All of your theories seem correct and logical. KyoAni, afterall, likes to focus on people’s feelings of embarrassment, urge to impress, secret admiration, compressed anger, etc. as explanations to the mystery behind their actions – so I wouldn’t be surprised if the conclusion came to be exactly that – something more of an emotional need than anything else.

      Talking about macro mysteries – this brings us to the biggest one of all – who/where/what is Houtarou’s onee-chan and what’s her connection w/ all of the other characters we’ve been introduced so far: the film club, Chitanda’s family, esp Sekitani Jun, the previous Classics Clubs, and all future characters to come?

      It seems that the build-up is going to continue.

      On another note, what is the HTML for the indentation w/ the little yellow bars? The

      one?

      petitorenji
      Reply

      1. A week ago, when I realized who Eba Kurako was talking about everything made sense pretty quickly in my head, but then I spent about two-three hours overall writing that between EP8 and EP9. Posted originally on Reddit so when Takaii’s post was up I just copypasted it here and spent 30 minutes or so editing it to RC’s format (and writing some impressions/opinions).

        Yes, the biggest mystery has Oreki’s Sister at the center. She’s the most mysterious character of the anime so far. I will post something as soon as we know more about her doings. Her possible connection to Irusu leaves a strong possibility that the Empress will become a recurring character in the series. Wishfully thinking: the 5th member of the Classic’s Club.

        The “Preview Comment” button is a gift from the gods. You can practice formatting the comments with it. I used this to put the yellow thing:

        [blockquote] TEXT [/blockquote]

        Linking is awkward, you need to use this:

        [a href="LINK_ADRESS" title="HOVER_TEXT"] TEXT [/a]

        The hover text is optional. Remember to replace the brackets with the inequality signs.

        xRichard
        Reply

  6. Love Chitanda getting drunk off chocolates. While it is no where near the craziness, it does remind me of Sora no Woto when everyone got drunk off cider. Just something about the character you least expect to do something crazy, actually do something crazy, is awesome 🙂

    taiakun
    Reply

  7. Ever since Haruhi Ep 00 I knew that Kyoani’s destiny was to make bad movies within movies. Producing such high quality awful is a Shakespearean talent.

    I agree with what has been said before me about the mystery in the amateur production being a misdirection. After all, in all good detective stories is not the first hand always a bluff? After seeing the other people behind the movie, it really feels like the mystery is about Hongou and her class more than anything else. As usual, I don’t think Hyouka will ultimately about crime thrillers, but more personal things.

    Passerby
    Reply

  9. I like the little trick they used. The issue with the first episode was how anticlimactic the resolutions were – while Hyouka could have been a good laid-back series, the characters were always too excited, especially Chitanda, making many of the viewers expect too much from the mysteries. For instance, many would have expected a serious reason to make Chitanda cry, since a toddler can indeed cry because of a futile or a serious reason; yet absolutely nothing was done to foreshadow the former, which was what was offered, disappointing myriad viewers.

    However, in this arc, Hyouka manages to have greater dimensions, all the while keeping its down-to-earth atmosphere; using the clever trick of “a film inside a film”. Resolving a bigger case would appear unseemly, but it causes no problem when the case in inside a film. Interesting.

    lpf
    Reply

    1. nothing was done to foreshadow the former

      There wasn’t any need for foreshadowing. A kid wouldn’t understand a serious/complex adult situation. She was a little kid, any kind of scary or sad story involving a close relative would make a toddler cry.

      This is what I theorized about Episode 4. I was satisfied with how the “Hyouka Case” was developed.

      The lamest mystery was the math professor one. Now that was very silly…

      xRichard
      Reply

  17. Drunk Chitanda is even more cute than curious one!
    I can see doujins already of various unscrupled individuals abusing drunken Chitanda, in a variety of depraved ways. Begone visions! I have pure admiration for her only.. (I hope?)
    Other than that I think there IS a method to the madness of the script and the killing, I will put my pet theory to the test… see next week if it works!
    Show Spoiler ▼

    ewok40k
    Reply

  18. Yeah I was more focused on Chitanda getting drunk then the theories as soon as she got herself a second chocolate after finishing her first even though the others all said it was so strong.

    About the detectives it seems like either nobody else read the script or they don’t care. The first guy just said she didn’t think of the grass when it’s explicitly said that it shouldn’t seem like it was the grass. And I get this feeling that they made the murder scene way overblown. Might have been my translation but it looked like the script was only talking about a cut that couldn’t even be seen without lifting the body so I think that props guy decided it wasn’t enough and cut off the arm to use more blood. And Sawakiguchi seems to have the wrong idea about what this mystery is considering that the writer read Sherlock Holmes. I don’t actually have any idea myself but hopefully Oreki will try a bit harder next episode.

    HakumeiJin
    Reply

  19. Chitanda should have a box of those chocolates every week from now on; it improves her personality so much more…

    To freely quote Forrest Gump: “Mystery is like a box of whisky chocolates: you never know how much it takes before you’ll get addicted to it…

    J-Luke
    Reply

  20. It’s actually a little nice that ep 8 was together with the ep 9 post. Makes more sense to me..

    Anyway.. Croos was too lazy to make the episodic Hyouka.gif for ep 8 and 9..
    But he/she/it (“it” would probably be more proper) did leave an Omake.. -_-

    MrRei
    Reply

  21. Takaii, Sawakiguchi said “Ciao”, not “Chow”. I know the anime is catching up with my translations fast, but still, I got that part up just before episode 9 aired in Japan.
    http://www.baka-tsuki.org/project/index.php?title=Hyouka

    Next time do your homework before writing your post. 😀

    Besides Kyo-Ani showing off its ability to do some of the best shoddy film work effects out there in Episode 8, they also blew the rest of the budget by having a whole list of A-list seiyuus cameos (Irino Miyuu, Koshimizu Ami, Chihara Minori and Hirohashi Ryou) all doing deadpan dialogue. lol

    This isn’t the first time Yukana has done an ice cool beauty. C.C. from Code Geass comes to mind. Yukana fits the role of the Empress to a tee.

    And yes, the funniest thing about episode 9 was how Chitanda was busy munching away at the whiskey bonbons while everyone was talking, and ended up getting so hammered. Just how cute could she get? HNNNGG

    PS Kyo-Ani is going all out in drawing A-list cameos for this arc.
    Besides the aforementioned deadpan cameos and Yukana as Irisu, we have:
    Eba – Yuuki Aoi
    Haba – Abe Atsushi
    Sawakiguchi – Ise Mariya (Her cameo stands out the most with her eccentric character’s wild mannerism and unconventional “deductions”. I have a feeling she’s on to greater things. )

    Kinny Riddle
    Reply

    2. Seriously, four downvotes for my post already? Is it really that bad?

      I miss the good old days when I could have a good civilized debate with someone who disagrees with points on my posts which I may have erred, rather than scratch my head wondering whether I’ve said something offensive.

      My grievances with RC’s downvoting system continues…

      Kinny Riddle
      Reply

      1. If I may.

        There was nothing wrong with the rest of your post. The problem was the second line in your post. You sounded like a prick for telling Takaii to do his research before posting.
        That Chow = Ciao thing is easy to get wrong since they sound similar. You would have been better to just have pointed it out since you know what she said from the novels that you are apparently translating. But you had to go and tell Takaii to do research when it’s just an elementary mistake on his part.

        There’s really nothing wrong with the voting system. It’s just that you are too sensitive over things like getting a few downvotes when it won’t affect you in your life whatsoever.
        So you got downvoted. And then what? Nothing. Life goes on.
        It’s just a feature in the internet. Don’t take it too seriously.

        anon
        Reply

      2. Sounded like a prick? Seriously? Did you not read the smiley emoticon at the end of the sentence, which indicated clear that I means the whole thing IN SARCASM AND JEST?

        And it’s not the first time I had such friendly banter with the RC writers, so why all this insensitivity all of a sudden?

        No disrespect to you and to those others who may have taken it wrongly, but sometimes I despair at the ability of some people to distinguish sarcasm and irony.

        I shall be more discreet next time.

        Kinny Riddle
        Reply

      3. It’s less about the sarcasm and the emoticon and more of the fact that you’re bragging that you know what Sawakiguchi said and telling Takaii to do his homework for a simple mistake like mishearing the word.
        And you being friendly to the other writers is clearly not known to the many who just read this blog and post in passing and don’t care about how the intricate web of relationships go inside the RC community. So that will pass off to them as a comment that is insulting to Takaii, thus the downvotes.
        But this is the internet so interpreting comments as sarcasm or irony is very hard.
        Well whatever, life goes on. Continue to stay mad at the downvote system and be more discreet then.

        anon
        Reply

      4. Fair enough anon about not everyone knowing the banter between me and the writers, but the emoticon?

        I have added a bloody emoticon, for friggin sake! To indicate this was not meant as an insult! That was my major peeve.

        Most misunderstandings are resolved by the addition of them, and yet here it had failed to work as functioned.

        It appears I either need bigger and clearer emoticons, or I’m going to have to need a disclaimer next time.

        And in my defense, even my “bragging” was done in jest. As I very rarely go around for self-aggrandizement, and even when I do, I would always call it “shameless advertisement” or something like that.

        Besides, even if I was really bragging, I was sure the smiley emoticon at the end would defuse that, clearly I overestimated myself as well as some people’s ability to see through all that. I will take in mind not to make any assumptions.

        Finally, while I don’t normally mind 1-3 downvotes, as I am naturally a person of the sensitive disposition, so anything more than 4-5 downvotes and I would get quite upset. I need to further “thicken” my face, or so to speak. 🙂 <— (This is a smiley emoticon)

        Kinny Riddle
        Reply

      6. To put an end to this sad sideshow, our good man Takaii has personally emailed me saying due to some work, he did not have time to respond here on RC immediately, though he said he has read my post, and was not at all offended with my chiding tongue-in-cheek remark, as well as encouraging me to keep up the good work with the translation, and not get too upset with all you downvoters second guessing my intention towards him, which was never on the negative side. (And I also trust he would not mind me disclosing this either)

        There you have it. 🙂 <— Another smiley.

        Kinny Riddle
        Reply

    3. Probably some of the Hyouka fans are a bit insulted with your ‘Ciao’ mention…

      Anyway, I’m also surprised when I saw the seiyuu list for the film actors/actress, but suddenly I remembered, KyoAni could also got top-notch seiyuus narrated less-than-a-minute episode preview in Nichijou.

      Kevin Yamagata
      Reply

      1. How is that even an insult?

        As per my response to anon above, first, my “scolding” of Takaii was done in jest (indicated with smiley emoticon, which was still sadly lost on some people).

        Second, as I have done the translation of the original text, it clearly mentioned Sawakiguchi purposely greeting in the Italian word “Ciao”.

        Kinny Riddle
        Reply

    5. Just a quick note: whilst all those seiyuu are well-known and quite popular, they aren’t ‘A-list’ in terms of the what they get paid. The top-paid seiyuu tend to be veterans like Kamiya Akira, with even the legends known by older fans (Hayashibara Megumi and Inoue Kikuko) on a lower pay bracket. I’d expect that some of the 30+ seiyuu who’ve been around for 15-20 years (Konishi, Paku Romi etc) would be in yet another, lower tier. The young, voice-of-the-moment seiyuu, like most of those you’ve named, get paid even less. This is elaborated on in a somewhat dated post by riuva, based on a certain thread on AS. But even if pay rates might have risen slightly – which is debatable, given that the Japanese economy has been stagnant for more than 20 years – I don’t doubt that the industry more or less hasn’t changed over the intervening 6 years…

      karice67
      Reply

  23. I couldn’t help but notice that Houtarou kind of seemed more lethargic than usual this ep… something about his eyes. He didn’t have that sharp look he has in his eyes like he normally does.

    Frog
    Reply

    1. That’s the same thing I thought. His eyes just got to me in this episode. He just seemed off. And at the end of the episode he seemed in deep thought. Or like he was just out of it

      voidhack4
      Reply

  24. Passing out from Whiskey chocolates? Assuming Chitanda took a total of 11 piece, what would be her alcoholic tolerance level and the relative amount of alcoholic content in each piece to successfully make her pass out? I’m curious! (Drunk Chitanda was absolutely glorious, praise be to Kyoani.)

    Asobi
    Reply

    1. They can be strong and I’ve seen people get a buzz off them if you eat a lot of them but Chitanda has no tolerance. The girls got a practice more. lol

      I was actually enjoying Houtaro watching Chitanda get tipsy because I wanted to see how he would react. 😉

      Ani_BEE
      Reply

  25. > Because if a really immature Chitanda or watching her smack her head into a desk wasn’t enough to tickle your funny bone, you really need to go get yourself checked.

    I need to go get myself checked.

    Chipp12
    Reply

  28. In episode 8 the camera work and bad voice acting(intentional) and dialogue of the amature film reminded me of an old point and click game on the PC. Or poorly done cut scenes in other video games.

    Also I’m surprised no one had mentioned the reference to another mystery anime: Majin Tantei Nougami Neuro. Far from the best done mystery series but memorable in its own way. “The culprit is you!”

    Also it’s nice to see the other main characters contributing more to solving the mystery and showing that they could think for themselves well enough.

    Also I think I like Mayaka more and more every episode.

    Roguespirit
    Reply

    1. I don’t think Houtaro will fall for Irisu. She needs him to help Class F-2 complete the project. Once that is done, there is no reason for them to remain together.

      The Empress will go back to running her kingdom and Houtarou will go back to the Classics Club in a rear guard action to conserve energy.

      Besides the OTP has already been decided.

      Although,if there is a remote possibility of a ship between Irisu and Houtarou I would definately support it. They are both sides of the same coin and I think they would make an interesting couple.

      RedMaigo
      Reply

  30. Now,
    now.
    Lets talk about the actual mystery.

    The arm was meant to be cut off an amount of time after he died, if at all.
    He would of died from some other cause before hand.
    So if the arm was cut off, there would be muuch less bloood. (well there would still be a lot but–)
    If he was already dead, blood not flowing anymore and all.
    :I

    Desi
    Reply

  33. If I was to make an ending for the story, I would make it similar to the first arc of Gosick wherein the culprit merely pretended to be dead and once he got everyone to doubt each other, subsequently killed them off one by one. After all, in the footage, they didn’t show that they turned the body over to expose the chopped off limb. Backing this up, the script merely mentioned that he was injured and not that his whole hand was to be cut off. That said, he would need a motive to kill the rest of the people there and that is just not accounted for.

    alabaster
    Reply

  34. Takaii! You’re absolutely right with what you said about Chitanda. If someone didn’t burst out laughing from Chi-chan just dropping to sleep, then he does have a problem ^O^

    Eburin
    Reply

  37. Just watched eps. 9. What I wanted to comment is on one of the scenes where chitanda was being drunk and ready to pass out. the scene was shot from above and it clearly shows that her chair was a bit far behind her(the chair next to her is a lot closer to the table). what I’m curious is that on the following scenes, chitanda fell down seated on her seat again and her chair is on the same alignment with the others. Did she get the chance to pull the chair back? I’m just mentioning this because it looks like she passed out from her standing position. probably just me nitpicking something that’s not worth mentioning.

    ryuuu
    Reply

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