High school freshman Hotaro chooses to join the Classic Literature Club, as his old sister had done. Alongside fellow member Eru, she happens across an old text that suggests the school and its festival harbors mysterious secrets.

The beginning of high school life where everyone dreams of rosy color. Only Hotaro is in the half grey color. Hotaro wants to make a peaceful life with his life motto of “Don’t do what you don’t have to do, and do simple what you have to do”, but his elder sister, who had attended the school in the past, forced him to enter the classic literature club, which was about to go to ruin. Eru, a noble family daughter who joined the high school for personal reasons, asks Hotaro to solve the mystery of her uncle who went missing 10 years ago. Including Satoshi, her knowledgeable middle school classmate, and the spiteful tongue Mayaka, they begin to search together. Based on the popular light novel,¡¸ Hyouka series¡¹(Classic Literature series) by onezawa Honobu, it is a school mystery of ordinary and private events in the classic literature club rather than a full scale mystery. Although Hotaro, who has no desire for anything, is transformed by drawing out the latent reasoning power, it is still interesting that he is the type of armchair detective. It does not force excessive growth while maintaining consistency of characters. It is also impressive that the settlement of a case leaves a bitter taste that youth isn’t always sweet. (KIM Hyun-min)