Most bloggers were lukewarm to Hyouka, with (the sadly retired) IKnight tweeting: "Finished Hyouka. Eh. I guess I'm glad I watched it.". So, I'm not quite sure what brought this on. I suppose I wanted something soft and a little out there, but not too much.

In that sense Hyouka seems like a success.

And yes, it's as pretty as everyone promised. Its animation is fully modern, computer based, but it's not overtly 3D or shaftist. It does not break any new ground in 2D like Yuyushiki did, but it fills the envelope entirely. It's like Spirited Away in that it's hard to see how it can be improved without a paradigm shift. It was also made for HD from the start.