Next she grabs his HAND, the harlot. Also, dat ass.

Due to forouhar’s “review” (more like hate-fueled rant) being approximately the length of the American Constitution, my post will be somewhat different in format than usual, and suitably shorter. Ready?

My first reaction to this show was much the same as forouhar’s: disappointment. After years of disappointment from Kyoto Animation, I thought Hyouka was going to be the second coming of The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya. BUT THAT WAS NOT TO BE SO. While Houtarou does share many characteristics with Kyon, their motivations completely differ. Whereas Kyon is merely bored with the ennui of daily life, forsaking the fantastical imaginings of his youth for the harshness of reality, Houtarou’s just kinda…lazy. HOWEVER! Upon my second viewing of this delectable episode, I found that in this episode, there was a lot more than meets the eye. Sort of like Transformers, but with a fewer explosions. While the plot (and the mysteries) are certainly nothing special, I find that the characters and their motivations bear close watching.

The scene with Eru’s hair doing its best Spiderman impression is perhaps the centerpiece of this episode. Why? It is a metaphor for Houtarou falling in love with Eru. This is significant because despite Houtarou being a lazy-ass motherfucker, always projecting his stoner-version-James-Dean-devil-may-care demeanor, he manages to fall in love with a girl at first sight. So taken with her, in fact, that when Eru holds his hand (while entreating him not to forsake her), he stares at his hand for a good 10 seconds after she lets it go.

"I will touch myself at night with this hand."

So now we know that Houtarou’s not used to being around beautiful girls like Eru. In fact, Satoshi makes a remark about Houtarou being inexperienced with being in close proximity to cute girls, or something to that effect. In any case, he is so taken with Eru that he devises a mystery solely for Eru’s amusement. Which completely goes against his dogma of expending the least amount of effort in day-to-day life. Which leads me to my next point:

Houtarou’s lazyness is merely a facade, possibly taken on due to some event or trauma from his past. His instant infatuation with Eru proves that his personal philosophy is not some unshakable belief. Of course, there is the possibility that Eru is actually a goddess in Japanese schoolgirl form, but that possibility is quite slim. Time will tell if past trauma is a reason for his current form, but I will stick by this prediction until proven otherwise.

YOU'LL BE THE PRINCE

AND I'LL BE THE PRINCESS

The motives of the other characters from this episode are also worth keeping in mind. What are Satoshi’s reasons for helping Houtarou with creating a mystery to amuse Eru? After all, the two have known each other since middle school, and the assumption is that they know all of each other’s quirks by now. Perhaps Satoshi is trying to draw Houtarou out of his shell by helping him with Eru? And what about Eru herself? She claims to have joined the Classics Club due to “personal reasons”. But she remembers Houtarou even though the two only shared a single class. Could she have some sort of crush on Houtarou? And what about Houtarou’s sister? What reason could she have to keep the Classics Club alive? Considering the foursome (Mayaka Ibara will be introduced next episode) is supposed to solve some decades-old mystery, perhaps Houtarou’s sister will have some sort of role to play for that.

My final point/observation has to do with the Beethoven piece used in the aborted mystery. Here is the piece in its entirety:

It’s a piece that brings forth a variety of emotions: tranquility, regret, melancholy; all of these are equally represented. Anyway, the reason why I bring this up is because I believe that the inclusion of this specific piece is by no accident. If you read into the history behind the composition of Piano Sonata no. 14, it turns out that Beethoven composed this piece and dedicated to a pupil of his named Giulietta Guicciardi, founder of the Gucci brand. According to completely heresay, the two love each other greatly, but could not consummate their love because “Gucci” (Beethoven’s alleged pet name for her) was of a higher station in life than he was. Now, transpose that relationship to the one between Eru and Houtarou. Eru is of high birth, Houtarou is appropriately smitten with her, and even composes (hurr hurr) a mystery just for her. Now, if this show follows my somewhat tenuous historical connection, I guess this means that by the end of this show, the two will not end up together. WHICH I’M CALLING NOW, HYOUKA WILL NOT HAVE HAPPY END.

In regards to forouhar’s complaints about the pacing and characters (I think those were his main complaints anyway), Considering this show will feature 20+ episodes, a slow start isn’t necessarily a deal-breaker. While Haruhi was more of a slice-of-life/comedy and thus much more action-packed, this show seems to be heading in the direction of slice-of-life/romance. As such, the plot will be much more meandering and the pacing slow. As for the characters, while the first episode only offers a glimpse into their true personalities, it does give us enough to wonder and make predictions about the direction future episodes will take.

I guess this turned out more to be a predictions post rather than a rebuttal to forouhar’s points. In conclusion, I guess what I’m really trying to say is WAIT AND SEE. Given the talent behind the directing and writing team, I find it hard to believe that Hyouka will turn out to be a complete failure. And with the predictions contained in the post in mind, we’ll see you next week for more whining/bitching/baseless speculation.

IT'S A LOVE STORY BABY JUST SAY YES