Hyouka is one of the beloved anime in the mystery and slice-of-life genre. The anime series that met anime lovers for the first time in 2012 is adapted into anime from the novel of Honobu Yonezawa and published by Kadokawa. Hyouka, which was created by Kyoto Animation, who still animates popular animes such as Violet Evergarden, managed to make a sound at the time of its publication. However, after the OVA episode aired after the first season on January 12, 2013, no new season or OVA episodes were aired. We can see the new season renewals of animes after years. So, can this also happen for Hyouka? Is it still possible to see a second season of the anime after about ten years? Let’s remember the anime and look at what is known about the new season.
What is the Plotline of Hyouka?
The story begins with Houtarou Oreki attending Kamiyama High School. Hotaru is a lethargic student who does not participate in activities and, in his own words, adheres to the “don’t do things I don’t have to do” rule. Even while walking, he thinks about how much of his energy he will spend and how to prevent energy loss according to the path he will take. He sometimes even gets lazy to lie two inches away from where he lies.
The school’s Classical Literature Club is on the verge of closing down due to a lack of members. At the request of his older sister, who also attended Kamiyama High School, Houtarou joined the Classical Literature Club. Other members of the club are his middle school friends Fukube Satoshi, Ibara Mayaka, and his new acquaintance Eru Chitanda. Though Houtarou initially wanted to leave the club, he was impressed by Chitanda and decided to stay. Although he says it’s just luck, Hotaru’s greatest talent is that, when he has enough data, he can solve the strange events that develop around him, like Sherlock Holmes. When he first entered the Classical Literature Club, he caught Chitanda’s attention by solving the mystery of the locked door.
During the anime, we witness that Hotaru, with the help of his friends, reveals other little mysteries at school. With a common interest in mysterious events, this quartet starts investigating an event that happened at the club 33 years ago, and they will find clues about it in work called “Hyouka” made by the former members in the same old year.
Will there be a second season of the anime?
The anime’s first season was aired from April 22, 2012, to September 16, 2012. As of July 17, 2022, neither Kodakawa nor Kyoto Animation studio has renewed the anime for a new season yet. But the silent era for anime doesn’t go back that far. The live-action movie of the series “Hyouka: Forbidden Secrets” broke the silence when it was released in 2017 and brought the question of a new season to the fans’ minds. The studio of Hyouka, Kyoto Animation is still an animation company that actively produces anime, and in recent years they have produced popular productions such as Violet Evergarden and Miss Kobayashi’s Dragon Maid.
Anime’s new season renewals depend on some key factors such as popularity and source material availability. Hyouka is a novel series originally written by Honobu Yonezawa. The novel series, which has been published in new volumes at long intervals since 2001, is very popular in Japan. Six volumes of the original novel have been published as of today. The latest volume in the series was released six years ago, on November 30, 2016. After a long hiatus, the series’ followers were hoping to see a new novel volume.
The author of the series also confirms that the 7th volume is in the writing process. In addition, the author of the series states that the decision for the new season is not in his own hands. Almost four years have passed since this statement. The fact that six volumes took 15 years to complete shows that the series was written with care. However, this situation is sad for anime viewers because the first four volumes were already adapted during the first season. Hyouka is a series that attracts a lot of attention in Japan with both its anime and novels. Considering the source material used in the first season, there is not enough source material to create a new season at the moment. The first season consisted of 22 episodes; if a possible second season consists of 12 episodes, we can consider sufficient source material. However, it is impossible to predict the decisions of the creators.
Thank you for reading my book.
Unfortunately, the decision for making animation series "Hyouka" second season is not in my hands.— 米澤穂信 (@honobu_yonezawa) September 22, 2018
Even though many years have passed since the first season of the anime aired, we see that the anime is still popular in Google searches. According to Myanimelist, on the other hand, it is ranked as the 87th most popular anime of all time. Hyouka was one of the anime that sold the most disc volumes at the time of its release. The average sales figure of the anime, which sold 11 volumes of discs, was 10,046 and took place on the bestseller lists in that period. We do not think that popularity will hinder the decision for a second season. Although it will not go beyond speculation yet, we think that the new season of the anime can be released in 2024 earliest, considering the source material completion and production time. Till then we recommend you to watch Kono Oto Tomare!: Sounds of Life and Megalo Box in the slice of life genre.
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What can happen in Hyouka Season 2?
At the end of Hyouka’s first season, major changes took place in the characters’ lives. The lazy main character, Houtarou, has undergone a major character change and is now living in the moment instead of making small calculations. Mayaka and Satoshi finally talked about their feelings for each other. For the future, Houtarou decided to study literature; Chitanda, on the other hand, will improve herself in the field of science. If there is a second season, we will have the chance to watch the characters’ new personality traits, new lives, and stories. It is also possible for the story to begin by telling a few years later. As we watch the anime, we can gradually discover what our heroes went through during these years. Now that they come to the end of high school life, we can watch how the main characters live outside of school life and how they develop themselves. At this point, a concept change is required, but we may have story-based potential.