I Scream: Oreki Houtarou in Sekitani Jun’s Footsteps
Hyouka had one of the most interesting mysteries I’ve seen in a while, and the visual direction of the revelations and analysis were beautiful. I really liked how the final result made sense. It’s a compelling story of a Sekitani Jun who took on the burden to lead the student body against the school authorities and was the only one to ‘scream’ out. Because he was the only one to do so, he was the only one that was sacrificed unwillingly and forced to leave the school.
The story is even more compelling when you think about how there’s the protests of OWS and the Arab Spring going on, though the stakes at hand and the sacrifices are far larger. Sekitani is a very mild version of the street vendor who set himself on fire, the sacrifice that sparked the people of the middle east to oppose their regimes.
Although it takes place in a school and the sacrifice is only expulsion, Sekitani’s story gives the same message: under oppression someone has to act, but because of the costs of doing so the vast majority will prefer to live in safety. Having a school setting for this story probably makes it more relatable to the viewers, and more likely to make them actually think about it in terms of their own life.
Now that the mystery is solved, the real story begins. I think that Sekitani Jun’s story is the foreshadowing of Oreki Houtarou’s life. Oreki has been set up to follow in Sekitani’s footsteps by his sister.
Oreki talks a lot about not wanting to do anything, and keep on living a gray-colored life. But Sekitani also had a gray-colored life before he was coerced into rising up as the leader, and sacrificed as a hero.
What will be the oppression that Oreki has to scream against? Would it be the school government again, or possibly a larger authority or issue?
But most importantly, I wonder what the circumstances of Oreki’s heroics will be. Will he be sacrificed against his will, forced by the inaction of the masses, or will he willingly do so and live a rose-colored life?
Posted on May 26, 2012, in Anime and tagged Hyouka, Oreki Houtarou, Sekitani Jun. Bookmark the permalink. 2 Comments.
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If Oreki = Sekitani, then it seems to me that Oreki’s sister is the modern-day version of the behind-the-scenes leader of the student protest. I also think it’s no coincidence that Oreki’s sister’s first letter was posted from Benares, India, the country of Sekitani’s disappearance.
Perhaps Oreki’s rebellion will be against his sister.
Ah I forgot about the letter coming from India. Now it seems like she might have met Sekitani there, or found some clue relating to his disappearance. I don’t think Oreki’s rebellion will be against her though, although she knows a lot of ways to cause pain she seems to be benevolent.