Houtarou Oreki is the lead male protagonist of the 2012 Kyoto Animation TV series Hyouka, adapted from Honobu Yonezawa's Koten-bu mystery novel series.
Thanks to KyoAni giving Oreki a handsome appearance, he became a powerful force in anime character popularity contests in the early to mid-2010's. The student made his name in the International Saimoe League male exhibitions, reaching the semis in 2012 and winning the Scepter the following year. However, his title meant that he will be banned from playing in future main tournaments for eight years.
Still, Hotarou's strength in ISML remains in its Tournament of Champions contest. After mediocre finishes in 2017 and 2018, he advanced to the final round in 2019, losing to Oregairu's Hachiman Hikigaya. Oreki then returned the favor in 2020 when he won against the same opponent in the final; with Chitanda's triumphing in the female edition, this resulted in them becoming the first pair of contestants from the same series to win the ToC in the same year.
Oreki is also well-received in the r/anime subreddit, but in terms of performance in AnimeBracket contests, he is a middle-tier contestant. His best finish happened in Best Guy 3 where he narrowly lost to Soma Yukihira by 5 votes in the round of 16.
In the anime shipping wars, "Houtarou Oreki x Eru Chitanda" is considered one of the highest quality ships in anime, despite not being given an explicit romantic resolution for the two. The pair are a powerhouse in r/anime's Best Couples / Ships tournament, garnering their best result in Salty Sea III where they lost to Monogatari main couple Koyomi x Hitagi in the final. Overall, they have appeared in the elite eight in five out of six appearances. The Hyouka couple also finished runner-up in ISML's own shipping contest after they got outclassed by Kaguya-sama main couple (Miyuki x Kaguya) in 2019.
Houtarou will return to the ISML Main Tournament in 2022.
Icons
ISML match history[]
Male Exhibitions[]
| ISML Male Exhibitions Record | |||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Edition | Round | Opponent | Score | Result | |||||||||||||||
| 2012 | Round of 96 Group P |  Houtarou Oreki
|
3371 | 1st (Advanced) | |||||||||||||||
 Shizuo Heiwajima
|
3501 | ||||||||||||||||||
 Sebastian Michaelis
|
2931 | ||||||||||||||||||
 Tsunayoshi Sawada
|
2859 | ||||||||||||||||||
 Taichi Yagami
|
1698 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Atsuhiro Maeda | 882 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Round of 32 |  L
|
3317 - 2669 | Win | ||||||||||||||||
| Round of 16 |  Gilgamesh
|
3519 - 3365 | Win | ||||||||||||||||
| Quarter-finals |  Keima Katsuragi
|
3473 - 3131 | Win | ||||||||||||||||
| Semi-finals |  Hideyoshi Kinoshita
|
3629 - 3739 | Loss | ||||||||||||||||
| 3rd place playoff |  Lelouch vi Britannia
|
3417 - 3829 | Loss (4th place) | ||||||||||||||||
| 2013 | Round of 96 Group D | Houtarou Oreki
|
4667 | 1st (Advanced) | |||||||||||||||
 Sorata Kanda
|
2903 | ||||||||||||||||||
 Kiritsugu Emiya
|
2585 | ||||||||||||||||||
 Ciel Phantomhive
|
2140 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Io Otonashi | 1645 | ||||||||||||||||||
 Kurapika
|
1341 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Round of 32 |  Kakashi Hatake
|
4537 - 2305 | Win | ||||||||||||||||
| Round of 16 |  Kyon
|
5504 - 2758 | Win | ||||||||||||||||
| Quarter-finals |  Levi Ackerman
|
4767 - 4716 | Win | ||||||||||||||||
| Semi-finals | Hideyoshi Kinoshita
|
3977 - 2791 | Win | ||||||||||||||||
| Final |  Accelerator
|
5145 - 4857 | Win (Champion) | ||||||||||||||||
Tournament of Champions[]
| Oreki's Tournament of Champions Record | |||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Edition | Round | Opponent | Score | Result | |||||||||||||||
| 2019 | Group Stage (1st) |  Sora
|
8520 - 6997 | Win | |||||||||||||||
| Accelerator
|
5937 - 5640 | Win | |||||||||||||||||
 Hachiman Hikigaya
|
6494 - 5997 | Win | |||||||||||||||||
 Koro-sensei
|
7292 - 4774 | Win | |||||||||||||||||
 Kirito
|
7058 - 6624 | Win | |||||||||||||||||
| Lelouch vi Britannia
|
6475 - 4943 | Win | |||||||||||||||||
| Hideyoshi Kinoshita
|
7986 - 5429 | Win | |||||||||||||||||
| Final round (Range-voting) | Hachiman Hikigaya
|
93,440.7 - 129,199.2 | 2nd | ||||||||||||||||
| 2020 | Group Stage (1st) | Hachiman Hikigaya
|
2729 - 2431 | Win | |||||||||||||||
 Rimuru Tempest
|
3597 - 2258 | Win | |||||||||||||||||
| Sora
|
2532 - 2249 | Win | |||||||||||||||||
| Koro-sensei
|
4590 - 1478 | Win | |||||||||||||||||
| Hideyoshi Kinoshita
|
2641 - 1056 | Win | |||||||||||||||||
| Accelerator
|
2550 - 2095 | Win | |||||||||||||||||
| Kirito
|
2456 - 1858 | Win | |||||||||||||||||
| Final round (Range-voting) | Hachiman Hikigaya
|
52,579.2 - 33,116.2 | Win (Champion) | ||||||||||||||||
Main Tournament[]
Houtarou is expected to make his first Main Tournament appearance in ISML 2022.
Pendant Record[]
- Appearances: 1
Although the 2015 crowns are not counted as pendants in the "official" ISML records, in this wiki they will be counted because they are part of the seven gems.
| 2015 Diamond crown (Special Round) --- 3rd | |||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | Contestant | Votes | |||||||||||||||||
| 1 | Lelouch vi Britannia
|
2289 | |||||||||||||||||
| 2 | Kirito
|
1943 | |||||||||||||||||
| 3 | Houtarou Oreki
|
1636 | |||||||||||||||||
| 4 |  Touma Kamijou
|
1062 | |||||||||||||||||
| 5 |  Edward Elric
|
1004 | |||||||||||||||||
| 6 |  Tomoya Okazaki
|
1002 | |||||||||||||||||
| 7 | Hideyoshi Kinoshita
|
991 | |||||||||||||||||
Poster gallery[]
AnimeBracket match history[]
Best Guy Contest[]
| Oreki's Best Guy Contest Record | |||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Edition | Round | Opponent | Score | Result | |||||||||||||||
| Best Guy 1 (2015) (seed 49) |
Round of 256 | (208)  Yuuji Kazami
|
2871 - 1190 | Win | |||||||||||||||
| Round of 128 | (80)  Itachi Uchiha
|
3269 - 2288 | Win | ||||||||||||||||
| Round of 64 | (113)  Akio Furukawa
|
2902 - 2427 | Win | ||||||||||||||||
| Round of 32 | (17)  Archer
|
2720 - 2978 | Loss | ||||||||||||||||
| Best Guy 2 (2016) (seed 36) |
Round of 256 | (221)  JP
|
2154 - 723 | Win | |||||||||||||||
| Round of 128 | (93) Lordgenome | 1927 - 888 | Win | ||||||||||||||||
| Round of 64 | (157)  Jin
|
2391 - 1548 | Win | ||||||||||||||||
| Round of 32 | (4) Kiritsugu Emiya
|
1563 - 1989 | Loss | ||||||||||||||||
| Best Guy 3 (2017) (seed 35) |
Round of 512 | (478) Toushirou Hitsugaya | 1493 - 460 | Win | |||||||||||||||
| Round of 256 | (222)  Ryuunosuke Tanaka
|
1519 - 579 | Win | ||||||||||||||||
| Round of 128 | (94)  Izaya Orihara
|
1205 - 948 | Win | ||||||||||||||||
| Round of 64 | (30) Template:King brad King Bradley | 1442 - 1118 | Win | ||||||||||||||||
| Round of 32 | (3)  Meme Oshino
|
1359 - 1357 | Win | ||||||||||||||||
| Round of 16 | (19)  Souma Yukihira
|
1417 - 1422 | Loss | ||||||||||||||||
| Best Guy 4 (2018) (seed 74) |
Round of 512 | (439) Jean-Jacques Leroy | 1553 - 370 | Win | |||||||||||||||
| Round of 256 | (183)  Gray Fullbuster
|
1501 - 540 | Win | ||||||||||||||||
| Round of 128 | (55) Shizuo Heiwajima
|
1846 - 1067 | Win | ||||||||||||||||
| Round of 64 | (10)  Shigeo "Mob" Kageyama
|
2079 - 1621 | Win | ||||||||||||||||
| Round of 32 | (23) Archer
|
1513 - 1703 | Loss | ||||||||||||||||
| Best Guy 5 (2019) (seed 83) |
Round of 512 | (430)  Allen Walker
|
890 - 231 | Win | |||||||||||||||
| Round of 256 | (174)  Elias Ainsworth
|
904 - 539 | Win | ||||||||||||||||
| Round of 128 | (46)  Eren Yeager
|
873 - 910 | Loss | ||||||||||||||||
| Best Guy 6 (2020) (seed 74) |
Round of 512 | (439) Yoshitake Shiraishi | 573 - 146 | Win | |||||||||||||||
| Round of 256 | (183)  Jesus (Saint Oniisan)
|
539 - 239 | Win | ||||||||||||||||
| Round of 128 | (55)  Ryuuji Takasu
|
475 - 469 | Win | ||||||||||||||||
| Round of 64 | (10) Levi Ackerman
|
420 - 840 | Loss | ||||||||||||||||
Best Character Contest[]
| Oreki's Best Character Contest Record | |||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Edition | Round | Opponent | Score | Result | |||||||||||||||
| Best Char 1 (2015) (seed 77) |
Round of 512 | (436)  Fuu Kasumi
|
2248 - 1041 | Win | |||||||||||||||
| Round of 256 | (180)  Yuu Kashima
|
1992 - 679 | Win | ||||||||||||||||
| Round of 128 | (52)  Shizuka Hiratsuka
|
2177 - 1612 | Win | ||||||||||||||||
| Round of 64 | (13)  Yoko Littner
|
2410 - 2119 | Win | ||||||||||||||||
| Round of 32 | (45) Kiritsugu Emiya
|
2054 - 2839 | Loss | ||||||||||||||||
| Best Char 2 (2016) (seed 15) |
Round of 512 | (498) File:Ryou.png Ryou Fujibayashi | 1363 - 314 | Win | |||||||||||||||
| Round of 256 | (271)  Papi
|
1333 - 522 | Win | ||||||||||||||||
| Round of 128 | (114)  Nonon Jakuzure
|
1241 - 829 | Win | ||||||||||||||||
| Round of 64 | (50)  Madoka Kaname
|
1522 - 1296 | Win | ||||||||||||||||
| Round of 32 | (18)  Alphonse Elric
|
1270 - 1395 | Loss | ||||||||||||||||
| Best Char 3 (2017) (seed 75) |
Round of 512 | (438) Miyano (HS) | 1265 - 378 | Win | |||||||||||||||
| Round of 256 | (182)  Utaha Kasumigaoka
|
1469 - 791 | Win | ||||||||||||||||
| Round of 128 | (54)  Mio Akiyama
|
1204 - 1226 | Loss | ||||||||||||||||
| Best Char 4 (2018) (seed 109) |
Round of 512 | (404)  Isla
|
1205 - 503 | Win | |||||||||||||||
| Round of 256 | (148)  Fafnir
|
1046 - 559 | Win | ||||||||||||||||
| Round of 128 | (20)  Shouta Aizawa
|
1093 - 1181 | Loss | ||||||||||||||||
| Best Char 5 (2020) (seed 119) |
Round of 512 | (394)  Hodaka Morishima
|
508 - 200 | Win | |||||||||||||||
| Round of 256 | (138)  Akane Tsunemori
|
522 - 389 | Win | ||||||||||||||||
| Round of 128 | (10)  Subaru Natsuki
|
487 - 874 | Loss | ||||||||||||||||
| Best Char 6 (2021) (seed TBD) |
Round of 256 | TBD | |||||||||||||||||
| Round of 128 | TBD | ||||||||||||||||||
| Round of 64 | TBD | ||||||||||||||||||
| Round of 32 | TBD | ||||||||||||||||||
| Round of 16 | TBD | ||||||||||||||||||
| Quarter-finals | TBD | ||||||||||||||||||
| Semi-finals | TBD | ||||||||||||||||||
| Final | TBD | ||||||||||||||||||
Best Couples/Ships[]
Couple icons
  Oreki x Chitanda's Salty Sea Record
| |||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Edition | Round | Opponent | Score | Result | |||||||||||||||
| Salty Sea 1 (2015) (seed 24) |
Round of 256 | (233)  Template:Meryl Vash x Meryl
|
2121 - 529 | Win | |||||||||||||||
| Round of 128 | (105)   Kousei x Tsubaki
|
1931 - 716 | Win | ||||||||||||||||
| Round of 64 | (41)  Lelouch x Kallen
|
2122 - 971 | Win | ||||||||||||||||
| Round of 32 | (9)   Shirou x Rin
|
1694 - 1184 | Win | ||||||||||||||||
| Round of 16 | (25)  8man x Yui
|
1859 - 1391 | Win | ||||||||||||||||
| Quarter-finals | (1)  Ed x Winry
|
2224 - 1970 | Win | ||||||||||||||||
| Semi-finals | (4)   Koyomi x Hitagi
|
2152 - 2381 | Loss | ||||||||||||||||
| Salty Sea 2 (2016) (seed 6) |
Round of 256 | (251)   Hinata x Kageyama
|
1194 - 218 | Win | |||||||||||||||
| Round of 128 | (134)   Shidou x Kurumi
|
1047 - 267 | Win | ||||||||||||||||
| Round of 64 | (59) 8man x Shizuka
|
1062 - 361 | Win | ||||||||||||||||
| Round of 32 | (27)  Souma x Megumi
|
1100 - 505 | Win | ||||||||||||||||
| Round of 16 | (11)  Souma x Erina
|
1082 - 550 | Win | ||||||||||||||||
| Quarter-finals | (3)   Okabe x Kurisu
|
973 - 1237 | Loss | ||||||||||||||||
| Salty Sea 3 (2017) (seed 7) |
Round of 256 | (250) Akira Takizawa x Saki Morimi | 2279 - 436 | Win | |||||||||||||||
| Round of 128 | (122)   Shikamaru x Temari
|
1771 - 764 | Win | ||||||||||||||||
| Round of 64 | (58)   Taichi x Himeko
|
1430 - 812 | Win | ||||||||||||||||
| Round of 32 | (26)  8man x Yukino
|
1333 - 1160 | Win | ||||||||||||||||
| Round of 16 | (42)   Yuuta x Rikka
|
1586 - 904 | Win | ||||||||||||||||
| Quarter-finals | (2) Shirou x Rin
|
1651 - 1443 | Win | ||||||||||||||||
| Semi-finals | (14)  Ryuuji x Taiga
|
1914 - 1757 | Win | ||||||||||||||||
| Final | (9) Koyomi x Hitagi
|
1780 - 2330 | Loss | ||||||||||||||||
| Salty Sea 4 (2018) (seed 22) |
Round of 256 | (235)   Mikiya x Shiki
|
1341 - 432 | Win | |||||||||||||||
| Round of 128 | (107)   Jonathan x Erina
|
1125 - 559 | Win | ||||||||||||||||
| Round of 64 | (43)   Naruto x Hinata
|
1030 - 720 | Win | ||||||||||||||||
| Round of 32 | (11)   Roy x Riza
|
793 - 1100 | Loss | ||||||||||||||||
| Salty Sea 5 (2019) (seed 31) |
Round of 256 | (226)   Hanabi x Sanae
|
799 - 168 | Win | |||||||||||||||
| Round of 128 | (98)   Kou x Rin
|
703 - 373 | Win | ||||||||||||||||
| Round of 64 | (34)   Ling Yao x Lan Fan
|
749 - 498 | Win | ||||||||||||||||
| Round of 32 | (2)   Izuku x Ochako
|
729 - 588 | Win | ||||||||||||||||
| Round of 16 | (15)  Eren x Mikasa
|
820 - 523 | Win | ||||||||||||||||
| Quarter-finals | (10) Ryuuji x Taiga
|
916 - 1079 | Loss | ||||||||||||||||
| Salty Sea 6 (2020) (seed 11) |
Round of 256 | (246)   Kyouko x Yui
|
727 - 127 | Win | |||||||||||||||
| Round of 128 | (139)   Romio x Juliet
|
493 - 165 | Win | ||||||||||||||||
| Round of 64 | (54)   Yuu x Touko
|
484 - 351 | Win | ||||||||||||||||
| Round of 32 | (43) Souma x Erina
|
666 - 292 | Win | ||||||||||||||||
| Round of 16 | (6) 8man x Yukino
|
539 - 530 | Win | ||||||||||||||||
| Quarter-finals | (3)  Subaru x Rem
|
815 - 534 | Win | ||||||||||||||||
| Semi-finals | (2)   Sakuta x Mai
|
570 - 886 | Loss | ||||||||||||||||
Honours[]
Gallery[]
Total wins = 8 + 1 = 9 (
2)
- ISML 2013 male exhibition tournament (Scepter) ★
- ISML 2020 Tournament of Champions ☆
- w/z Best Guy Contest 2019 [1]
- Aniplus Character Tournament 2013 ★
- Pekin University Yuanhuo Moe S2 Male Division (2020) [2]
- Anitown Moe Tournament 2012 Spring [3]
- The Great Awwnime Bracket 2012 Male
- Sakurasou-Moe 2018 Couple Div (w/ Eru Chitanda) [4]
- ISML 2021 Tournament of Champions ☆
External links[]
Beware of spoilers.
| Kyoto Animation Characters | ||
|---|---|---|
| Air | ||
| Kanon | ||
| Clannad | Tomoya Okazaki •  Nagisa Furukawa •  Kyou Fujibayashi •  Tomoyo Sakagami
| |
| Haruhi | Kyon •  Haruhi Suzumiya •  Yuki Nagato • Mikuru Asahina
| |
| Lucky Star |  Kagami Hiiragi •  Konata Izumi • Tsukasa Hiiragi
| |
| K-ON! | Mio Akiyama •  Yui Hirasawa •  Azusa Nakano • Ritsu Tainaka • Tsumugi Kotobuki• Ui Hirasawa
| |
| Chuunibyou | Yuuta Togashi • Rikka Takanashi • Shinka Nibutani • Sanae Dekomori
| |
| Hyouka | Houtarou Oreki • Eru Chitanda
| |
| Free! | ||
| Amagi |  Isuzu Sento
| |
| Kyoukai no Kanata | AKihito Kanbara • Hiroomi Nase •  Mirai Kuriyama • Mitsuki Nase
| |
| Phantom World | Mai Kawakami | |
| Euphonium |  Kumiko Oumae •  Reina Kousaka
| |
| Dragon Maid | Kobayashi •  Tohru •  Kanna Kamui
| |
| Koe no Katachi |  Shouya Ishida •  Shouko Nishimiya
| |
| VE |  Violet Evergarden
| |
| International Saimoe League Champions | ||
|---|---|---|
| Heavenly Tiara | ||
 Fate Testarossa •  Hinagiku Katsura • Mio Akiyama •  Mikoto Misaka •  Kanade Tachibana •  Ruri Gokou •  Kotori Itsuka • Eru Chitanda •  Shana •  Megumi Katou • Rem • Violet Evergarden • Yukino Yukinoshita •  Elaina • 2022
| ||
| Lapis Scepter | ||
Lelouch LamperougeEx • Kazuto KirigayaEx • Houtarou OrekiEx • Hideyoshi KinoshitaEx • Accelerator • Sora • Koro-sensei • Hachiman Hikigaya • Rimuru Tempest •  Miyuki Shirogane • Sakuta Azusagawa • 2022
| ||
| Ex - Exhibition tournament: Counted as official winners, but not recognized on the ISML website's main page | ||
