I have to agree with what a lot of people are saying on this thread: That was an excellent ending for a strong opening arc.
The characters are solid, this latest mystery was very good, and the visuals are superb. So when you add that all up it makes for a very high quality anime show.
The Hyouka = Ice Cream = "I Scream" pun message was pretty clever. The English pun
alone is a bit lame, as Houtarou pointed out, but when you factor in how it was conveyed through a Japanese term and to other Japanese people, it makes for a nice little mystery and a neat way for Eru's Uncle to send a troubling message through time.
I will give KyoAni credit with Hyouka - It's now clear to me that this title is very well-suited to their strengths. Hyouka's characters/mysteries and KyoAni's overall visual style share an important strength - The ability to take something normal or just a little unusual and make it seem very dramatic and "larger than life". In this way, amongst a couple others, Hyouka is a good fit for KyoAni.
I echo what a few people said about Houtarou - It's good to see him already shifting a bit out of his "Gray" approach and hinting at a desire for a more "Rose-Colored" approach. I think a mistake that anime often makes with male leads that are designed to develop into more well-rounded and/or likable characters over time is that they're too slow in going about it, causing many viewers to lose patience with the male lead (and in some cases, no longer care once he does develop into a more well-rounded and/or likable character). So it's great to see Hyouka avoid this common pitfall.
I have one more point, and it borrows off of what Reckoner wrote in his review, so I'm quoting it here.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Reckoner
I'm not really much for either of the girls in this show because one is just a grump while the other is just a spaz.
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I'm assuming that you're calling Mayaka "a grump" since that description couldn't possibly fit Eru.
If so, I don't think she's a grump in general... but she
is one to Houtarou. She
constantly gives the guy a hard time, so I can see why somebody would think that she's just a grump. But her interactions with Eru seem friendly enough, and she doesn't seem to have any major issues with Satoshi. But yeah, she's really rough on Houtarou.
So much so that I think there has to be something more to it than her just not liking his "Gray" attitude. I'm inclined to think that she's holding a grudge against him for something specific. My current idea is that she once had a crush on him, but due to his "Gray" attitude he never picked up on her hints and he inadvertently spurned her advances ("Go play baseball with you on the weekend? Are you crazy? That doesn't conserve energy!"
), leaving her feeling very resentful towards him.
That's just pure speculation, of course - I haven't read the novels.