Quote:
Originally Posted by Anh_Minh
They're a lot more easily replaced than Houtarou, though. Except, maybe, as a motivator for Houtarou to move.
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Arguably, from a mystery-solving standpoint, the least-replaceable of them is Chitanda. Houtarou's known Satoshi and Mayaka for years. Before Chitanda turns up, Satoshi and Mayaka both regard Houtarou as a bit of a sorry git. If there were no Chitanda, Satoshi and Mayaka, being mystery story buffs, would try to solve mysteries on their own and leave that useless git Houtarou to his own devices.
Certainly, Satoshi would make an excellent police detective. He tirelessly pounds ground, sets up stakeouts, and works shady characters for information. Mayaka seems able to fit pieces together, but she's a determined perfectionist, and for all her prickly snark, she's really quite shy. If Satoshi weren't so fabulously gay, I have no doubt they'd be able to achieve through brute-force detective work and hard-boiled gumption what Houtarou can through pulling thoughtfully on his bangs.
Now throw in Chitanda (and omit Houtarou.) Chitanda's chief mystery-solving skills are her incredible senses and her HYPNOTOAD skill. She can pick up on things that mere mortals can't. If we omit Houtarou from the mystery involving the school history book, Satoshi and Mayaka probably would've cracked the mystery once they identified what it was Chitanda was smelling. Likewise, if Chitanda didn't have a cold on the day they were trying to figure out where the Classics Club anthologies were archived, she'd have picked up on the newspaperman's smoking habit. Failing that, there is her way of motivating people by getting deep into their personal space and using her eyes on them.
So the addition of Chitanda would make Satoshi and Mayaka much more effective. Arguably, Chitanda is the only one who can really whip Houtarou out of his armchair. She's compelling in her curiosity, absolutely oblivious to snark, and non-threatening enough that she won't bruise Houtarou's fragile ego and send him screaming for his shell. You couldn't really replace Chitanda with, say, Irisu. Irisu would be able to use Houtarou for her ends once. The results would be spectacularly good, but Houtarou would make a hasty exit from the mystery business after that.
It is only because of Chitanda that Houtarou cares enough to shine. It is also probably because of Chitanda that Houtarou remains fastened to Satoshi and Mayaka. Satoshi and Houtarou are friends, but there's a touch of vitriol in it, and Satoshi doesn't necessarily view Houtarou in the best light. Mayaka harbors considerable animosity and skepticism toward Houtarou. Yet, because of Chitanda, they're all willingly part of the same club and part of the same social circle.