i swear oreki’s brain grows bigger and bigger with each book

oh man, what a joyful read to start off this year!! Kotenbu might be my new favorite book series <3

this instalment/arc was…. a curious one. oreki tries to solve the “why-did-our-new-and-only-kouhai-decide-to-leave-our-club and also why does she dislike chitanda” mystery all during a school marathon. it was super interesting to run (actually walk lol) alongside him while he pretty much made a psychological analysis of all of his 4 friends in order to solve the mystery. it was basically a back and forth of flashbacks (

the surprise birthday part shall now live inside my head rent free

) and him complaining + asking his friends random questions that would all make sense in the end. quem nunca ne 

this narrative format (?), introspective nature and the trademark mix of fluffy slice of life X mystery X heavier topics that make Kotenbu/Hyouka so unique all truly shine here! 

now that I’ve read 5/6 of this series…. maybe the 6th book will have to wait for a while…. because i’m too emotionally attached to these characters…. ooops