Hyouka – 10
Just as keikaku
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Yay! Hyouka is a out a bit earlier than normal! This is still my favourite arc thus far, and Houtarou was absolutely brilliant this episode. |
So it was Eru who pulled Houtarou out of his shell, but it looks like Irisu was the one to actually motivate him to do things. I guess he was never really self aware of his talents if all it took was a story and Irisu telling him that he’s special to get him to use them. I don’ think Houtarou is the type to completely change what he does just because it makes others feel less of themselves, but I think most of his motivation stemmed from the fact that Irisu straight out told him that this was something she thought only he was capable enough.
Satoshi actually said some pretty deep stuff this episode about his character. He’s a jack of all trades and best at playing the supporting role, which is probably why he hasn’t gotten as much screen time and development as say, Houtarou and Eru. His character just wouldn’t be as interesting to watch as those two. I suppose that Satoshi would know himself best about his ability level, but I agree with Houtarou saying that Satoshi could probably be a great Sherlockian (or whatever else he wanted to be) if he applied himself. What’s holding him back is probably his own self doubt since his comment on being jealous of Houtarou is an indication that he actually does want more of a role.
Finally, the shaky camera makes sense. …Maybe. If that part of Houtarou’s solution was true, that is. I’m sure it was just another part of the crappy production, but at least during the festival, the class could write the shaky camera off as being on purpose to make the viewer more aware of the cameraman. You KNOW the production is bad when even the anime characters comment on it. Houtarou’s solution regarding the flashlight and the camera angling was brilliant though. Mayaka should have gotten some credit there since I’m not sure if Houtarou would have noticed and solved the mystery as quickly if she hadn’t pointed it out.
I can’t decide if this is more Penguindrum or Persona-ish
So the club’s participation (or at least Houtarou’s) WAS planned. …I was expecting Irisu to actually know the solution to the mystery, but I don’t think this arc is quite over since the rope thing is unsolved. If there was a theme to this episode, it would be about… ability? Satoshi had his whole rant there, but Houtarou was finally motivated to use his logic to actively do something. …Judging from his reaction to Mayaka mentioning that he never figured out the use for the rope though, his confidence is going to go down just as his motivation goes up. Houtarou seems pretty used to being right in his deductions and I think this is the first time we’ve ever seen him be straight out wrong about something. …Or a least it looks like he’s pretty wrong. I just wonder how much this is going to affect him. Could this be another test by Irisu? She paused a bit before saying that his solution must be correct. It could have just been the subs, but there was something odd about her wording that made it seem like she wasn’t outright saying “That’s the solution.”
End Thoughts:
This episode had me intrigued the entire way through. Not just because of Houtarou’s solution and how he came up with it, but it offered a fair bit of insight into Houtarou’s character. I never would have pegged him as someone who would actually try at things with that small amount of coaxing. I thought Eru would have been the one to make that huge change in him. Though then again, Irisu seems to be more aware of how people work. Everyone immediately expected that it was her who convinced Houtarou to solve the mystery, so I guess it wasn’t that big of a surprise in their world. Chitanda was missing for pretty much the entire episode as well, so I don’t know if her eyes lighting up last episode was a sign of her realizing something, a side effect of her getting drunk, or what. She did seem to want to tell Houtarou something after the movie was done, but it could have just been about the whole rope thing.
So Houtarou might have been wrong, but just how wrong was he? All of his deductions seemed pretty spot on (and it doesn’t seem like there could be many possibilities for the solution since the clues are pretty specific), so maybe he just missed a minor detail like with the Hyouka arc? …I have to admit, the next episode has me curious.
About Karakuri
University student and the one at Metanorn who's known for wearing glasses. Likes blood, insanity and plot twists, but also plays otome games and adores cute romance anime. It balances out... somehow.
POWUH: 900-999 with 915 comments
He was weak… .-. I didn’t like to see Houtarou being coaxed by Irisu-senpai. And man, Irisu is more powerful than Chitanda o.o’ She didn’t even need to tell “kininarimasu”!
Anyways, I thought that Irisu hadn’t told him that he is right. I’m still thinking that she knows the whole script… But, wait .-. Why would she do it? hmmm…
Ah, and the TV on the part when Houtarou was thinking, Persona came in my mind, of course. Past week was the Tarot Arcanas, now the TVs… And I didn’t even watched Penguindrum.
POWUH: Meta Team and Megane-chan with 3214 comments
I think Eru kind of annoys Houtarou into things with her “kininarimasu!” Irisu flattered him into the position, so it was more effective. Though that’s probably why a lot of people didn’t how Houtarou went along with it since he was playing into Irisu’s hands.
…I don’t know why she would do that. Hopefull the next episode involves them just giving up and talking to the scriptwriter girl. This arc could have been cut down so much shorter if they did that in the first place.
Ah, Penguindrum did something similar, but yeah. The Persona-ish links are pretty obvious. …In blue instead of yellow though.
POWUH: Meta Team and Spammy Tamer with 7115 comments
I am chalking the rope thing up to misdirection. Those who are more into mysteries should correct me if I’m wrong, but isn’t there frequently that kind of ‘gotcha’ after a mystery is solved? A “But what about the X?” that seemed to be prominently mentioned, where the rope turns out to have been just a rope, not Chekhov’s Rope.
As for the perspective of the camera person, I was thinking that perhaps Houtarou is the one who could figure that out because that’s the role he usually has in a group: the person who tags along, the person who watches everyone else, the person who doesn’t really engage unless drawn in. I don’t see him turning into an attention grabbing murderer, tho…
As for his seeming attitude change, I think it’s just good character development. He’s a high school kid, and even if he thinks he knows what he’s like, he’s still developing who he really is. And now he’s in a group that, whether they’re overtly trying or not, is supporting and coaxing him in that development.
POWUH: Meta Team and Megane-chan with 3214 comments
Houtarou’s reaction to the rope was pretty big and there’s a whole new episode dedicated to the story still it seems like, so I think something is left unsolved. … Though I’m not that into mystery novels either, so I can’t comment much on the plot twist after the mystery.
Yeah, I don’t see Houtarou becoming a murderer either. It would completely deviate from his former grey AND his newfound rose coloured(ish) life. Hmm, he is rather similar to his assumption on the person who tags along. I’m reminded of that comment sky lion made last episode where everyone has a bias depending on who they are and what they do. Houtarou’s POV is his bias.
Good point there. His club and what Irisu said are are pretty positive forces for nurturing his talents with logic. It would be weird if he didn’t become more motivated.
POWUH: Meta Team and Spammy Tamer with 7115 comments
In the last post for 8-9, you mentioned that you thought they had said the hand being cut off was an improvisation (I can check the show later), or maybe it was meant that the hand was a prop they made up. I wonder more if the murder weapon was supposed to be a rope (which might also explain the miniscule amount of blood requested), and they decided not to go with that since it wasn’t very exciting. And honestly, I thought that lopping someone’s arm off mid-forearm was a pretty dumb way to murder someone. First, they would scream, literally, bloody murder. Second, it would be hard to do (cutting through bone is not trivial), and it’s not an instant kill, so you’d expect more struggle. I could see strangling with rope to be a lot less struggle, a lot more stealthy, and more believable.
POWUH: Meta Team and Megane-chan with 3214 comments
Oh yeah, that’s completely plausible. Cutting off someone’s hand is dramatic, but at the same time, pretty noticeable. Also, cutting off a hand would most likely involve the murderer getting blood on themselves too. Your idea with the rope being the murder object sounds the most plausible at the moment.
POWUH: and Vampire Lover with 11746 comments
I’ve never seen Houtarou bend backwards for anyone like that before but I can see why he did this time. Irisu’s composure and speech was icy and at the same time, venomous. She really got under his skin. I think her type of character is the best to manipulate people.
There’s no doubt Houtarou’s mindset is changing. Not only was he coaxed into doing something but there was a particular piece of misleading information that wasn’t taken into account. If there was never a word about a rope, how will this affect his entire theory for the movie? Once hole in the plot cripples everything.
About the theory of the cameraman being the criminal. Since there’s apparently a plot hole, it leaves room for other possibilities. Knox’s rule may also be in play here. The illusion of presenting the cameraman as the criminal might tie into a sabotage/framing scenario.
POWUH: Meta Team and Spammy Tamer with 7115 comments
There are two factors in play, I think. One is divining the intent of Hongou in writing the story and the script. The other is making the movie work with what they had so they could move forward. Houtarou’s solution takes everything in the movie as filmed into account, and continues to follow the 20 rules, etc. That it doesn’t incorporate the rope that Haba said he was asked to bring is irrelevant to the solution presented in the movie. Essentially, the scriptwriter changed when Irisu got Houtarou to write the ending.
I agree that the cameraman might violate Knox’s rule 7: the detective must not himself commit the crime. Is the camera the detective? Or is that written off as an assumption by the viewer?
Personally, I loved Irisu’s character. I really didn’t pick up any overtly negative qualities to her, just directness and self-assuredness. I suppose she might tip into ‘manipulative’, but it wasn’t through any sort of extortion that I can remember. Then again, here I am constructing a harem around Houtarou (Mayaka since Jr High, Eru since solving her uncle mystery, now Irisu).
POWUH: iLurker with 2 comments
Houtarou’s theory violates both what is shown in the film (that one guy had a view of the lobby and would have seen the cameraman) and the Knox’ rules (no secret characters).
But I agree on Irisu. Waifu material.
POWUH: Meta Team and Spammy Tamer with 7115 comments
But I don’t think it actually violates either of those. The reason the guy overlooking the lobby would be problematic for anyone else is because they weren’t supposed to be there, but cameraguy was, so it wouldn’t arouse suspicion. And I think the Knox rule can be argued by saying that it’s not a ‘secret’ character, it’s just an assumption that the viewer makes that the film is shot in 3rd person, rather than 1st person, even though there are clues (that Houtarou points out) that it’s first person – shaky camera, flashlight, tighter shots as if the camera is included in the group.
POWUH: iLurker with 2 comments
But that’s exactlly it; he’s supposed to be there; not go in and out of the office, not leave then be gone a while to commit the murder.
I won’t argue the rule, that somewhat subjective, but there are other rules it violates, like no info for the detctive the reader doesn’t have, or not hiding anything from the reader by litterary tricks.
POWUH: Meta Team and Ringleader Extraordinaire~ with 6433 comments
Oh, HHHNNNGGG BB, I’m digging your new avatar. xD
POWUH: and Vampire Lover with 11746 comments
Hahahaha!! I should have known this new avatar would attract die-hard Hellsing fans!! Thanks for the compliment, Kyokai.