Hyōka

Hyōka (氷菓) is a 2001 Japanese mystery novel by Honobu Yonezawa. It is the first volume of the Classic Literature Club (古典部) series. Five additional volumes have been published between 2002 and 2016. A manga adaptation drawn by Taskohna began serialization in the March 2012 issue of Kadokawa Shoten’s Shōnen Ace. A 22-episode anime adaptation produced by Kyoto Animation and directed by Yasuhiro Takemoto aired from April 22 to September 16, 2012. A live-action film directed by Mari Asato and starring Kento Yamazaki and Alice Hirose was released on November 3, 2017.

Plot

At the request of his older sister, student Hōtarō Oreki joins Kamiyama High School’s Classic Literature Club to stop 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.

Video

Anime

A 22-episode anime adaptation of the first four novels, directed by Yasuhiro Takemoto and produced by Kyoto Animation, aired in Japan between April 22 and September 16, 2012. A bonus original video animation episode was streamed online on UStream on July 8, 2012 and was later released on Blu-ray Disc with the third manga volume on January 12, 2013. The first episode premiered on April 14 at a special event at Kadowaka Cinema, Shinjuku. The series has four pieces of theme music: two opening themes and two ending themes. The first opening theme, used for the first 11 episodes, is “Yasashisa no Riyū” (優しさの理由) by ChouCho, and the second opening theme from episode 12 onwards is “Mikansei Stride” (未完成ストライド) by Saori Kodama. The first ending theme, used for the first 11 episodes, is “Madoromi no Yakusoku” (まどろみの約束), and the second ending theme from episodes 12 onwards is “Kimi ni Matsuwaru Mystery” (君にまつわるミステリー); both ending themes are sung by Satomi Sato and Ai Kayano. Funimation licensed the anime and will release it on home media in North America starting on July 4, 2017 with an English dub. Anime Limited released it in the United Kingdom in 2017 and 2018.