This review has been updated. To see "Hyouka, Final Impressions", click here. Posted by DarrenW May 31, 2012
Yosh!
This review is on time I guess, since Hyouka is one of the animes which started later in this season.
Today, I will be reviewing a new anime which I came up at the end of my list, "Hyou-ka"!
So, ever wondered if there was ever a person who was so lazy that he would do anything to save energy?
Well, here he is, introducing our main protagonist, Houtarou Oreki.
Houtarou Oreki
Basically lazy to a serious extent, Houtarou is able to strictly decline any invitation that is presented across him if that it involves him wasting his energy. He does not like to put in effort in things that wastes his energy, and does not join a club or co-curricular activity of any sort. However, due to a request by her sister to save a dying club know as the "Classic Literature Club", Houtarou has no choice but to join it as an only member.
Chitanda Eru
However, when he unlocks and enters the club room, he finds our other main character, Eru Chitanda. An enthusiastic girl, she is always eager to solve a mystery when one is presented in front of her.
Wait a second, how did Eru enter the clubroom when it was locked? Feeling puzzled, she faces Houtarou with an excited face and basically tries to get him to join in to solve the mystery together.
And for the first time ever, he accepts to help investigate.
Satoshi Fukube
Joined by his childhood friend, Satoshi Fukube, they attempt to solve the mystery of the locked door, only to be puzzled. However, Houtarou has a skill that nobody knew. He is able to process mysteries and puzzles at lightning speed.
As he shows the mechanism of his thinking process, we start to see that, though he is lazy, he has an excellent skill in solving mysteries.
Mayaka Ibrara
Joined by Mayaka Ibrara later in the series, the four attempt to solve mysteries one after the other, with Houtarou's help.
Eru also slowly reveals why she joined the Classics Club, as the mystery of her life unfolds, she wants Houtarou to solve it.
Will he solve it? What other mysteries are due to unfold? Will there be a plot development? Those are all mysteries we ourselves have to uncover! Haha.
I'M A SUNFLOWER
NOBODY GIVES A SHIT
Personally, mysteries are sometimes what an anime should have. Though action is exciting and all, mysteries can also be exciting in its own ways, making us think about the problems and situation, and process our thoughts, making us a part of the ongoing situation, and also giving some excitement as well.
Somehow I fell of my chair when I saw this
Second, it was a long time since I've seen a real-life school type anime. It also includes funny scenes which helps lighten the mood.
The anime is able to let you see the mystery and give you some time to mull over it before Houtarou presents his hypothesis. This, in that sense, allows the anime to be very interesting, and makes you want to wait for the next episode, and its exciting mystery.
Each mystery is also closely segregated into each episode, so you don't feel bad about needing to wait for the next episode to see the result. There is also not much plot development in the anime, but there is some evidence of it, and I think Eru's life story & the mystery of the classics club 40 years ago certainly will have some sort of awesome plot line later in the anime.
Overall, it has a good impression and you guys should really catch this anime if you are into school-life. Its certainly an anime to watch if you like slow developments and an all rounded anime that doesn't rush into things that feels stressful to watch.
Hyou-ka will have 21 glorious episodes, and is currently fansubbed by Commie, gg andMazui. It also comes in novel and manga form, the novel dating back since 2001 and the manga since 4 months ago.
Well it was some time ago that I last reported a delay.
Unfortunately for you guys, there was no reviews for the past week. Don't worry. We know. We actually have a review that is not edited yet, but we'll show it to you ASAP.
In the meantime, why there's a delay on my part is because I'm doing my yearly stint. Yes. As a video editor & graphic designer, I'm currently in the midst of directing the 2012 WWHCurrent Promo Video.
Right now, I'm actually adding the final animations of the video using my mac. It will be uploaded soon!
After I finish, the website will be undergoing some renovation and new features will also be added.
May 26, 2012 Posted by Onii-chan School, School, School.
Its been awhile Yuichi
Its been
awhile since I have finished school. The parties, the events, sports, and
friends. School life was fun but watching it unravel is even better. After deciding
which anime, I decided to start with Kanon but I'll be going into other school life anime such as Clannad, My-Hime, Demon King
Diamao, HOTD, and much more.
Kaori and Kitagawa, meet my cousin Yuichi
Its been 7
years since Yuichi and Nayuki have seen each other. Now he's staying over at her
place with her mother, Akiko Minase. Yuichi used to live here when he was
young but doesn’t remember a thing, but starts to remember stuff little by little as he goes to school. That’s when we meet up with Kaori, Kitagawa, and their
classmates.
Look out!!!! CRASH..... Uguu!!! why didnt you move :(
In the
shopping district while waiting for Nayuki, Yuichi gets run over by a girl
carrying taiyaki in her hands. A mysterious girl by the name of Ayu Tsukimiya, with wings on her back. Looking
for something special that she lost. (The phrase that she always says, Uguu!!! is CUTE!)
Also in the
shopping district, we run into Makoto Sawatari, who tries to attack Yuichi
because she hates him for what he did. Anyways she starts freeloading at their place until her memories come back because she had lost them. ("Auu!!!" is the sound she makes when she doesn't know what to pick...cute right?)
Are you okay?
Yuichi!!! You're mine...
There's also a girl named Shiori, whom is mysterious in many
different ways. When Ayu runs with Yuichi towards the tayaki stand, they crash
into her. Yuichi goes to the courtyard to observe what shes doing. Shiori, always waits in the courtyard for someone. She had kept her illness a secret and only told Yuichi.
Who me...Im just hunting demons!!!
At school
we also meet more people. At night we run into Mai, a mysterious girl wielding a katana that Yuichi crossed paths with when retrieving something he left. During the day, he meets her classmate Sayuri. Mai goes to school at night to fight
against demons, to protect the school along with Yuichi.
Talk to her Yuichi....
Now back to
Makoto. Yuichi started to get curious, and asks around, only to get negative results.
Yuichi then had a flashback of him
talking to a fox about a girl named Makoto when he was younger.
Auu.......
How dare you attack my friend... Ahhh!!!
What will happen to Makoto?
Mai please stop...
Mai, causes trouble with the student council for breaking a mirror and destroying the
dance party. However, Yuichi, Sayori, and Kitagawa stand beside her. Mai and Yuichi
find out that he was being targeted and they wonder why.
SAYOURI!!!!!!!
On
the night of Mai's birthday, she was at school attacking demons, when something terrible happened. Sayori gets attacked by the demon and gets sent to
the hospital.
Mai and Yuichi take out the demons until one was left, but to
tell you the truth the last demon was actually someone.
Let's hangout okay!!!!
Shiori, who
always comes to the courtyard, meets Yuichi and he
finds out about Kaori's little sister, the only problem that she was not
acceptive of Shiori because the sickness that Shiori posseses might cause Shiori to die on her birthday. During Shiori's birthday, Yuichi tries and succeeds to
invite Kaori. Yuichi and Kitagawa lighten the mood with dance (Lol
best scene ever to cheer you up). At the end of the party, Kaori finally
acknowledges her sister which gives everyone a shock because they didn’t
know they were sisters.
Was I able to smile Yuichi?
Please look at me sis :(
Yuichi takes Shiori around to have a fun time until
midnight reaches.
Will Shori survive?
Living with
Yuichi and Nayuki and still looking for the thing they lost, Ayu and Yuichi try to search for it. During that time, Yuichi and Ayu experience a lot of stuff
while they go out everyday.
But, when they went out one day to her school up on the hill with
Yuichi, she starts to panic because there was no longer a school there, but a stump. Soon, Ayu starts to worry about her special treasure and she
suddenly disappears. Will she ever come
back? During all
this Nayuki felt alone as Yuichi was busy helping other people. When they went out, Nayuki asks him to buy a red marble. On the way to school, Nayuki sees a crushed snow bunny, and Yuichi remembers what he did to her when he was small.
Yuichi... Im sorry but I have to go :(
In the
meantime, Nayuki asks her mother to buy strawberry cake for her, but her mother gets into a traffic accident. Nayuki starts to lock herself
in the room. Will Akiko, Nayukis mother survive? And will Nayuki come out
again?
What lies in the future now!!!!
To find out
what might happen to these girls, watch the anime. It's pretty good if you're into
mystery, or drama. I would compare this anime
to Clannad because Kanon and Clannad have similar feelings and in my
perceptive, theres a lot of emotions running in the two.
Please just leave me alone....
The theme, I
would believe, is trying to find yourself and remember your past, because without
your past, what's your future? So go out into the world, take place events and try to remember what you did in the past, and possibly what you have
forgotten, if you can no longer remember, start a new one and fulfill them with your own
ways of life and living.
Personally
this anime was very nice because it stands out a lot. It
reminded me a lot about Clannad actually. School, the festivals, drama,
and other crazy stuff. This was one of my top 10 favorites and I will recommend it to you if you are into the school life genre. Furthermore, I
think that Yuichi actually helped me out a lot in my own life because helping
others and putting others first other than yourself, is something we both share. But for me, Tomoya in Clannad is definitely my character.
This anime contains 24 episodes and I would recommend you to watch the
ending because it's an awesome ending, but you need to know the plot and characters well if you want to find out what might happen to them.
Hint: Green
(Japanese Meaning) Onii-chan Edited by FayeA
So for my first review is going to start with this anime
called Maburaho after a long and hard decision. I have other anime but I have
decided to start with this one. Its all about a guy named Kazuki Shikimori and
his magic.
A flashback of the past is shown at the beginning of this
anime, when Kazuki Shikimori fufilled a promise to make snow using his magic in the middle of summer.
Our story begins in Aoi Academy, a prestigious magic school
where magic has a certain limit before it is used up and you turn into
ash. Kazuki Shikimori is a second year student that goes to this school, but only can
use his magic 8 times. He doesn’t know that the power of his magic is great, until 3 beautiful girls start going after him.
Rin Kamishiro
Rin Kamishrio, a freshman
and a sword wielder, receive a telepathic call from her family members to seek
out Kazuki and marry him for the sake of her family as her mission.
Kuriko Kazetsubaki
Kuriko Kazetsubaki, a senior and a talisman holder, also receive
a call, but though the phone so it won’t be intercepted, also goes after
Kazuki and marries him too.
Yuna Miyama
Yuna Miyama, a second year transfer student to Aoi Academy
and a water wielder is a friend from the past and Kazuki's wife in a symbolic
kind of way, whom also goes after Kazuki because of what he did with her in the past.
Not only have these 3
beautiful girls gone after him but all of the other girls too, because of Kazuki's powerful genes. Dr. Akai explained Kazuki s family lineage and it consisted of 50 of the most powerful magicians in the world. So whoever
gets married to Kazuki will have offspring with similar powers as him.
During all that time at school, Kazuki ends up using his magic and now is close to turning into ash.
Yunas memorable snowfall
His first magic use was to show snow again for the lost memory
that he had forgotten of Yuna in the past and the promise that she made to him to
have friends and to become his bride.
Yuna!!!! I'm going to save you
His second magic use was to rescue Yuna from a ghost named
Elizabeth because they destroyed a splendid suit of armor, but Kuriko was the
one who sent Elizabeth out of the abandoned manor and caused the manor to be destroyed.
So Yuna was pulled into a vortex that Elizabeth created, and Kazuki used his
magic to pull Yuna out, and in the meantime while he was trying to pull Yuna
out the two dorms of the students become one.
AHHHHHH!!!!!!
His third magic use was
protecting Kuriko against two behemoths, a S-Rank summon which no magic could stop other than his. It all begins with his prophetic dreams that he has, about
getting attacked in the near future. Dr. Akai was holding one of
the beasts that he captured and the other was created by Kazuki's classmates. He
stopped the beasts by screaming his heart out.
Ill save it for you Rin
His fourth magic use was to save a boxed lunch that Rin made
for a senior that she liked who was leaving. It was a waste of his magic because
Rin didn’t give it to him but in the end giving it to Kazuki as a thank you.
Mister Greatest Magician In The World
During his fifth magic use another character comes into this
story. Chihaya Yamase, a childhood friend of Kazuki who ask him to ask his
classmates to help out in the Aoi Festival at their play. He uses his magic during
the play to stop the monster (which his own classmates made) and turn it into
ice then snow and turned a bad play into a spectacular finish.
His sixth magic use was to kill another Yuna that Yuna had
made herself. The bottle that Yuna opened up held pathogens of a magic retro
virus which caused the person that opened it to lose their magic counts and
turn into ash. This made the other Yuna to appear and have the oppose emotions
that she had. So the person that Kazuki used his magic on was the Yuna that
hated him.
Sorry I couldn't keep my promise
The seventh and eighth magic use was to save Yuna from the
virus that she got from opening that bottle. The first time Kazuki tried to
save her, it worked, or so we though. Darkness had spread and her spell
counts were almost up, so the final decision that he made was to use his last
magic use and save Yuna. It worked but now Kazuki was gone, or so we thought…
I thought I was dreaming,
but I am a ghost
Kazuki save me!!!!
I love you
Kazuki Shikimori turned
into a ghost after using up his precious spell counts, and the only thing that
can turn him back was this mysterious girl was Dr. Akai's little sister, Shino Akai. But she tries to capture Kazuki and turn him into a full pledge
ghost. Yuna and Chihaya jumps in this vortex and something happens. His ashes
start to return dut to them and now he is able to hold stuff.
Please smile for me Rin
Kuriko's turn was up, to
return his ashes. But the problem is that she would not abandon her pride, and
if Kuriko and Kazuki's hearts won’t align, Kazukis ashes won’t be restored. But at
the stroke of midnight, Kurikos and Kazukis heart aligned in unity because Kuriko
was honest with herself and loved him. So his ashes started to come back.
HUH??? Thats Yuna and Chihaya
Rins turn to restore ash
was a tough one for her because Shino told her once restored, Kazuki will forget
everything. So Rin was avoiding Kazuki. They went for a date suggested by
Kuriko to restore his ashes but it didn’t go smoothly. During the date, Kazuki
made a promise to Rin to keep on swinging her katana until he returns and
another promise was made too. Rin runs away but returns because she gives in to Kazuki's
determination, the second promise was her to smile because she was unhappy. Once she smiled, Kazukis ashes started to return but she was scared
that he might forget everything, but in the end of course, he didn’t. :D
Every last bit of ash of
Kazuki Shikimori was finally returned, or so we though. There was still one person’s ash
that was still left, so Dr. Akai decides to find out who it was. All
four girls go into Kazuki's heart to find out who it is and where they were, and
finally they found it.
Are these Kazukis memories?
The stream of ashes splits into two, one for Yuna and one
for Chihaya about Kazuki's past, making snow as a promise and to become his bride
as little kids.
KAZUKI!!!!!!!
Will Yuna and Chihaya
restore his ashes or will Shino turn Kazuki into a ghost?
I find this anime very nice because there’s a lot of passion
going around and plus, its funny. I love how he uses his magic for each person. The
art of this anime was nice, the effects of the magic use and how they show
their emotions to Kazuki.
The theme was a general school-life one about using his
magic sacrificially. It’s about sharing and
understanding others, and how people feel for one another.
I loved this anime, it consisted of 24 episodes. Find out for yourself and see whether you'd like it as well!
Hint: School: A forgotten past, girl with wings, a fox, and a demon slayer. Onii-chan Edited by FayeA
The anime is able to let you see the mystery and give you some time to mull over it before Houtarou presents his hypothesis. This, in that sense, allows the anime to be very interesting, and makes you want to wait for the next episode, and its exciting mystery.
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