Hyouka

[Buffalobiian]

For the first time during the show I actully felt sorry for Chitanda. Hotaro was of course being himself coming up with a perfectly plausible explanation by combining various facts and building a theory that seemingly covered everything they brought onto the table - and, most importantly, didn't take more than one toilet break to formulate. However, like the end showed, it still failed to answer the ultimate question which prompted Chitanda to start the whole process. From the audience's point of view that's the same thing as feeling "that's it?" after so much buildup. I wonder if Hotaro himself is so energy saving he didn't bother to suspect this might not necessarily cut it for long.

The preview seems to suggest that, the way Houtaro stops midtrack with a displeased look as he fully realises his disservice to Chitanda's efforts. I'm sure he suspected that this wasn't all there was to do with the incident, but based on his late start and limited information, this was the best conclusion he could come up with. Brainpower can only do so much when you use it too late.

edit: I've found the animation gimmicks to backfire on me a little. They're nice and interesting, and I'd gather they'd be rather well received by native speakers since watching someone's face yap an explanation to you can be rather boring (unless it's Chitanda). When I'm a subtitle-reader though, my concentration is torn between watching the whole screen and focussing on the subtitles - often leaving me stranded somewhere in the middle. I often get a rushed feeling that I didn't fully appreciate either one. SHAFT can do that to me at times too.

edit2: Ponytail banzai!