Monday 11 June 2012

Hyouka - Episode 8

Another week means another new small-time mystery for the Classics Club to attend to.  But to where will they be turning their attentions this time?  Why Eru feels the need to correct of all her spelling mistakes in an online chat session, maybe?

Regardless of their task at hand, Houtarou is understandably none too thrilled at being dragged to school in the midst of their summer break at Chitanda's behest, and it's here that the other club members are introduced to that reason for their visit - an opportunity to look over a movie filmed by one of the school's classes.  While this seems like a pleasant enough invitation, there's more than simply a chance to take in an amateur film at stake here as Fuyumi Irisu, one of said class' members, wishes them "good luck" on their viewing.


Having watched this decidedly amateurish production which comes to an abrupt halt, the real problem soon becomes clear - the film has no ending.  What's more, its script writer has been taken ill and so not only has the movie's conclusion not been filmed, it hasn't even been written!  Thus, it's up to the Classics Club to figure out the culprit in the half-finished mystery film they've been presented - something which Houtarou clearly has no real interest in.  Of course, Chitanda's response to this call for help is a very different one, and before he knows it our protagonist is roped into speaking to the school's detective club to evaluate their thoughts on the mystery at hand.

I'm sure you pretty much know the drill by now - Hyouka continues to look gorgeous, even when its being deliberately amateurish as it portrays this homemade mystery movie with some wonderful attention to detail (actors talking too loud, fiddling with their head, out of focus shots and so on).  It's also pretty fun to watch for the most part - slow-paced, certainly, but suffused with some great moments of humour as the main characters interact and play off of one another to bring some energy to a story which is determined not to hurry its delivery.  It's most certainly an acquired taste, and I'm still not entirely convinced by it, but despite my reservations I have to confess that I'm slowly begin to warm towards the series the longer it goes on.

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