Hyouka is a story about a guy who goes out of his way to save energy by avoiding any situation that could cause him extra effort to resolve. But luck has it, he runs into a girl who's curiosity is comparable to a new born kitten. It was actually interesting to see how he went out of his way to create puzzles to satisfy her curiosity so she wouldn't go look for other puzzles to cause him more trouble.
At first, it looked not much different than a simple slice-of-life after-school activity anime with some logical puzzles which aren't really that impressive. But as it progresses, the puzzle got more and more complex, at the same time, darker. But the indirect involvement rather than a direct contact with puzzle itself kept it from fallen too dark as
GOSICK or
Kamisama no Memochou or
UN-GO did (which by the way are the three best detective animes of last year).
The only complain I have against it is that the ending is a bit...weak. On top of that, the big climax came a bit too early in the series where the series died off quietly instead of with a bang.
Final Scoreboard:
Drama: 90 (Rather dramatic)
Comedy: 87 (The curious purple eyes)
Action: N/A
Art/Animation: 90 (Cute purple eyes)
Sound/Music: 89 (Good)
Character: 90 (Interesting)
Plot: 88 (Multiple climax)
Ending: 85 (A little weak)
Re-watch value: 70 - Could still be intriguing
Overall: 89 - Lighthearted detective story
Recommendation: or anybody who likes a good detective anime, this would definitely be a good one to pick up. While the ending is a little weak, it still worth the time.
