And thus ends the story of how Houtarou developed feelings. No confession quite yet…he had to stop himself. But he knows how he feels, so it will come eventually. It also seemed to suggest that Mayaka and Satoshi stuff worked out too because she knew what happened in Houtarou’s argument with him. You figure Satoshi would have tried to hide it if he rejected her. See? I don’t have to be such a downer.
I always feel like Satoshi’s character is trying to tell me something. It’s no secret that I’m a pretty competitive guy and it could be said that it reaches the point of obsession. I would say I’m pretty content with how I approach things, but who knows? Maybe I’m destined to become like him. I try to comfort myself by thinking about how I’m already someone who doesn’t obsess much about anything, yet still maintains a desire to win, whereas Satoshi gives up one for the other.
Not really much of a mystery this week…it was pretty obvious that Satoshi stole the chocolate. I caught on when the poster guy said that only three people had passed by…he never mentioned how many times it had happened. By the looks of it, only one episode remains. Based on what happened this week, I actually wonder if romance will be in the air next week. It looked like Satoshi and Mayaka finally hit it off, so maybe Houtarou and Eru need to finish it all up.
So…what show was I watching? Eru wants to show off and was worried about how it would look for her and Houtarou to be alone in a shed? Since when was she like that? Anyway, crazy kids locked in a storage shed. I was almost expecting the “we need to stay close to conserve body heat” thing, but I guess Houtarou’s too embarrassed for that (and taking an obi off, it seems). Not really much else to say about this episode…there wasn’t even a mystery. Just a bit of character development if you could call it that.
Wait a second…did I just…? Was that equivalent to a date for Houtarou and Eru? Seemed like they were having fun…it doesn’t seem like the two of them to go on a standard date (yet…), so maybe this is the beginning. Naturally, Houtarou gets it all right…even when he was trying to make it as outlandish as possible.
But when I really think about the show, it did a good job of showing that. In the beginning, I kept wondering if Houtarou was stretching his deductions too much…that was probably when he was trying to make something crazy. Then he suddenly starts putting pieces together more logically. The fact that I was able to notice…wow, not bad.
I guess light and random is the name of the game for the rest of Hyouka. No way they can fit in an arc. Either way, it looks like it will be fun…I don’t really have any complaints. Next week is New Year’s…going to a temple and whatnot. Doesn’t look like there will be a mystery, but you never know with these things. The fact that Eru brings up the uncle this week is a little suspicious, though, as a final note. Are they preparing to bring him back? It’s a spy!!
Back to the mini-mysteries again…even one about a teacher again. Mystery itself isn’t all that interesting…mostly the focus of the episode was the moment that Houtarou takes the initiative and goes to the library. Oh that reaction from everyone else was absolutely priceless. Not just normal surprise…even Satoshi’s faces would have been fairly expected. They went into full-out shock…it was great to watch. Well, if that isn’t character development, I dunno what is. Even brought Eru along with him.
I guess that’s the theme for the final episodes…I dunno if they can fit an arc in the remaining three episodes. I suppose it’s possible, but it seems much more likely that they’ll just continue on with the one-shots. Hopefully they’re interesting enough. They might try to do something grand in the final episode…might be fun. I’m sure everyone’s hoping to see Houtarou’s sister’s face or catch an appearance of Eru’s uncle or something.
Admittedly, the reveal for this week was probably the lowest level of all of the other reveals we’ve seen…mostly because Houtarou solved most of the stuff last week. At the end of the day, most of it was just a matter of wasted potential…an interesting thing to tell to Houtarou, an arguably talented individual who chooses to suppress it through energy conservation. But at the end, it was cool that Houtarou used the Juumoji incident to his advantage to sell most of the anthologies.
Another fun little scene was Irisu telling Eru not to use her manipulation techniques because they don’t suit her personality. While this is pretty logical, there’s always that possibility that she was protecting the world from something truly dangerous…right? Hehe…
Being Satoshi is still suffering…looked like he got some Mayaka comfort, though. I’m starting to think that his line “databases can’t draw conclusions” is becoming an annoying crutch for his character…but I guess he’s doomed to be a side character. At least he got his revenge in the end by letting loose the glowing eyes of Eru and Mayaka on him.
Next week, a new story…is it going to be the final arc or just another episodic mystery? Only four episodes to go, right? I really hope they end the series on a good mystery rather than ride it out on episodic stuff. Hey…maybe there will be some romance stuff in the end…we can only hope, right?
So after Houtarou leveled up last week and blocked Eru, she leveled up this week and learned the secret skill of guilt…which was immediately followed by Houtarou finding a secret technique of his own. He’s doing a good job of staying ahead of her, that’s for sure. That aside, Houtarou finally comes up with his theory this week…linking the manga with the Juumoji incidents. Usually, Houtarou isn’t right on the first try, though…so what’s wrong with this theory? What is he missing this time? It seemed logically sound to me…
Mystery aside, being Satoshi is so much suffering. It was almost painful to watch his “direct confrontation” idea fail after how dramatic he sounded at the end of the episode last week. Then Houtarou starts to solve the mystery that Satoshi believed he couldn’t solve…no matter how much you dislike his character, you gotta feel for the guy. Also, what’s up with Houtarou’s sister? Showing up with the exact manga that Mayaka lost? So suspicious. She’s probably in on it all!
So is next week going to be the end of the mystery? I didn’t really realize it, but we’re actually not too far from the end of the series. Almost looks like there might be only one major mystery arc left. I wonder if Satoshi told Eru to challenge Juumoji on the talk show…that would be pretty funny. Or is she just going to be her normal self?
And so the mystery begins. It seems like this time around, the culprit actually seems to be acting somewhat maliciously, since everything is in a pattern. By the way, the pattern of club names and missing items based on Japanese alphabets…I never would have guessed that. It’s a little depressing…I never stood a chance. Oh well, it was fun speculating about it.
But the question remains: why? What reason would someone have to be going around and stealing things in this order? I suppose Houtarou’s sister did warn him that something would happen during the festival, but it seems to be too much of a stretch to think she did it.
Personally, I think the most interesting outcome would be if the culprit were challenging either the school or even the Classics Club specifically. You know…something like “I’ve shown you the pattern, so try and stop me.” That’s usually the reason people use a pattern. I sure hope they don’t try to pull some “the items were missing the whole time” stuff…that kinda thing is a bit boring.
Next week, the mystery continues. I wonder what will happen. Will the Classics Club be the next target? Logically, it would make sense that they are…but it’s not like Houtarou will leave the room, so how could they pull it off? And will Houtarou make another incorrect deduction that he has to correct again or is Satoshi right that he must catch the culprit in the act?
Speaking of Houtarou, his festival experience is starting to feel like one of those old questing-type games. You know…where some guy gives you something and you use it to solve someone else’s problems and they give you a random item that they don’t need as a reward that somehow comes in handy later. For some reason, I can’t think of a specific one. Any ideas?
But the fun and games are over. With the ladle from the cooking club missing, the “Juumonji” business will take front stage. I still can’t piece together a tarot card, some stones, juice, and a ladle. The best idea I have is that maybe the juice is used for the straw and maybe the stones are meant to hold it up (by piling around it). Then maybe the card leans against it or rests on top?
Based on the preview, it looks to have something to do with the newspaper club guy…but they wouldn’t make him a culprit again, would they? There’s a strange image in the preview that makes the act look almost malicious, but that doesn’t seem to go with the rest of the series. Hmm…I wonder. What could be going on?
New opening to go with the ending they showed last week. Song-wise, it’s a very nice song that I would definitely like to listen to…I thought the animation going on behind it was more interesting (much like the new ending), with Houtarou stuck behind glass and eventually pulled out by everyone. More festival stuff next week…by the looks of the preview, Mayaka is gonna get embarrassed some more.
Marth's Anime Blog 