Hyouka

Plot

At the request of his older sister, student Hotaro Oreki joins Kamiyama High School's Classic Literature Club to prevent it from being abolished, joined by fellow members Eru Chitanda, Satoshi Fukube and Mayaka Ibara. The story is set in Kamiyama City, a fictional city in Gifu Prefecture that the author based on his real hometown of Takayama, also in Gifu. The fictional Kamiyama High School is based upon the real life Hida High School. They begin to solve various mysteries, both to help with their club and at Eru's requests.

Characters

Main characters

Hotaro Oreki (折木 奉太郎, Oreki Hōtarō)

Voiced by: Yūichi Nakamura (Japanese); Adam Gibbs (English)

Played by: Kento Yamazaki

The main protagonist of Hyouka, he is a pragmatic boy who lives by "If I don't have to do something, I won't, but if I have to, I'll do it quickly." He only joins the Classic Literature Club at the request of his older sister, Tomoe Oreki, to prevent it from being dissolved. He says he doesn't like to waste energy, but if given a mystery to consider, he will see it through until it is solved with his brilliant logical deductions. However, he does not like to be told about his talent for deductions and continues to claim he was "just lucky". To him, Eru is "someone he can't ignore," hinting he may have feelings for her. At her urging, he soon finds himself more involved with high school life.

Eru Chitanda (千反田 える, Chitanda Eru)

Voiced by: Satomi Satō (Japanese); Madeleine Morris (English)

Played by: Alice Hirose

An inquisitive girl who joins the Classic Literature Club. Eru's catchphrase is "I'm curious!" ("I have to know!" in the English dub). Although her memory is excellent and she earns top grades in school, she is easily distracted and relies on Oreki's reasoning abilities. An energetic girl, she is well-versed in the town traditions and etiquette, having come from a lineage of wealthy farmers. Whenever a mystery is brought to her attention, she is unable to stop thinking about it. She holds great admiration for Oreki, for whom it is hinted she has developed feelings. She often praises Oreki for his deductive talent and ability to solve almost any problem.

Satoshi Fukube (福部 里志, Fukube Satoshi)

Voiced by: Daisuke Sakaguchi (Japanese); Dallas Reid (English)

Played by: Amane Okayama

Class 2-F students

Fuyumi Irisu (入須 冬実, Irisu Fuyumi)

Voiced by: Yukana (Japanese); Alexis Tipton (English)

A friend of Eru. A beautiful and queenly girl known by her nickname Jotei (女帝, "empress"). She is an expert at manipulating others, but envies Chitanda for her naivete. She leads her class members in making an independent film for Kan'ya Festival.

Kurako Eba (江波 倉子, Eba Kurako)

Voiced by: Aoi Yūki (Japanese); Jad Saxton (English)

A close friend of Hongō's. She seems shy and reserved, and also describes Hongō as "diligent, careful, has a strong sense of responsibility, ridiculously kind, and easily moved."

Junya Nakajo (中城 順哉, Nakajō Jun'ya)

Voiced by: Takayuki Kondō (Japanese); Alejandro Saab (English)

Assistant Director in Class 2-F's independent film. He was one of the three detectives involved in solving the mystery of Hongō's unfinished script.

Tomohiro Haba (羽場 智博, Haba Tomohiro)

Voiced by: Atsushi Abe (Japanese); Daman Mills (English)

The Props Master in Class 2-F's independent film. He also was one of the three detectives involved in solving the mystery of Hongō's unfinished script.

Misaki Sawakiguchi (沢木口 美崎, Sawakiguchi Misaki)

Voiced by: Mariya Ise (Japanese); Sarah Wiedenheft (English)

Other characters

Tomoe Oreki (折木 供恵, Oreki Tomoe)

Voiced by: Satsuki Yukino (Japanese); Caitlin Glass (English)

Hotaro's bold older sister who returns from traveling around the world. A former Classic Literature Club member that suggested Hotaro join the club. She always teases him for being so introverted. She has great deductive powers that may be equal or even greater than her brother Hotaro, as shown when she correctly deduces Fuyumi Irisu's intentions behind the independent film incident.

Yoko Itoigawa (糸魚川 養子, Itoigawa Yōko)

Voiced by: Mami Koyama (Japanese); Linda Young (English)

The school's 49 (61 in the anime) year old teacher-librarian and was the Classic Literature Club's first president the year after the incident regarding Jun Sekitani.

Jun Sekitani (関谷 純, Sekitani Jun)

Played by: Kanata Hongō

An unsung tragic hero of Kamiyama School's past. He is Eru Chitanda's uncle, who went missing while traveling, and is presumed dead. Forced to be the scapegoat for a school protest, he took on the full burden and was expelled. He was the president of the Classic Literature Club and the writer for the anthology "Hyouka". The title means "frozen treat" in Japanese, but actually refers to the English words "ice cream": it is a pun on "I scream", thus revealing Jun's silent anguish. He is thought to be lost in India and is later declared legally dead by the authorities for being missing for so many years.

Masashi Togaito (遠垣内 将司, Tōgaito Masashi)

Voiced by: Ryōtarō Okiayu (Japanese); Ian Sinclair (English)

A third-year student at Kamiyama High School and the president of the Newspaper Club. He is a scion of the Tōgaito family, which is regarded for their contributions to the field of education.

Media

Novels

Hyouka is the first novel in the Classic Literature Club (古典部, Koten-bu) series, written by Honobu Yonezawa and published by Kadokawa Shoten on October 31, 2001. As of November 30, 2016, six volumes (novels and short story collections) have been published in the series. A seventh novel has been confirmed by the author on Twitter. Short stories are published in Kadokawa Shoten's Yasei Jidai magazine. Each of the novels has an English subtitle, most of which reference other detective novels. A book titled Honobu Yonezawa and the Classic Literature Club (米澤穂信と古典部, Yonezawa Honobu to Kotenbu), featuring interviews with Yonezawa and others involved in the series, a new short story, and other reference material was released on October 13, 2017.

Manga

A manga adaptation, titled Hyouka and illustrated by Taskohna, started serialization in the March 2012 issue of Kadokawa Shoten's Shōnen Ace. Kadokawa Shoten published 17 tankōbon volumes from April 26, 2012 to March 26, 2026. The manga's first twelve volumes adapted the first four novels, same as the anime series. A sequel series started in the August 2019 issue of Shōnen Ace.

Anime

In 2012, a television anime series based on the Classic Literature Club series novels aired in Japan. It was produced by Kyoto Animation, covering four volumes of the novel.

Reception

In October 2017, it was reported that the novels have 2.05 million copies in print.