Eru Chitanda (千反田 える, Chitanda Eru) is the main character of the Classic Literature Club series and Hyouka. She was editor-in-chief of Kamiyama High School’s Monthly Cultural Magazine, Takemoto Weekly. Her passion for literature and her curiosity led her to persuade Oreki Houtarou, who was reluctant in joining the club, to join the club as its member and later become its president.
What is Chitanda in Hyouka?
Chitanda is one of two main female characters in Hyouka and a member of the Classics Club. A first-year student at Kamiyama High School, she has a trusting nature and an inquisitive mind which leads her to constantly get involved in various incidents. Her name was revealed as Eru Chitanda (千反田 える, Chitanda Eru) in Chapter 5. She is also nicknamed Oreki-san by Ibara Mayaka because she found it troublesome to pronounce Eru’s name.
In Japanese, ore can mean either me or her, so Ibara thought that referring to Chitanda as ore-chan would be cute. It is later revealed that her family name comes from a place called Eru Chitanda District in Fukuoka Prefecture. She lives with her parents and older sister at their house located near the school campus. In addition to being curious about other people’s business, she also loves reading mystery novels. She is considered one of Japan’s top three high school girls who specialize in mystery research. The reason why she joined Classics Club was for the truth behind all mysteries.
However, when she asked Satoshi if he had any interest in mysteries, he answered: I’m more interested in how you became interested. This led her to believe that Satoshi had no interest whatsoever in mysteries. To join club activities, Chitanda paid 1 million yen membership fee and signed a contract written by Satoshi himself.
Does Eru Chitanda end up with Oreki?
Does Eru Chitanda end up with Oreki? is a question that seems to have captured some people’s imagination. Let me get it out of way right now: No, they don’t get together. I don’t know how many times I’ve told you that
As for why they aren’t a couple in Hyouka, it’s simply because there wasn’t enough space to develop such a relationship within 24 episodes. If we were making a TV series or movie, then maybe things would be different. In any case, if we had been able to make more episodes, then perhaps we could have explored their relationship further and made them into a couple; but we couldn’t do that within 24 episodes and so they’re not together.
That said, while they’re not together as lovers in Hyouka, both are shown to be very important people in each other’s lives. While Eru Chitanda isn’t romantically involved with Oreki at all in Hyouka (and she never will be), she does care about him deeply as her best friend and he cares about her just as much (if not more) than his own family members. They share an extremely close bond that goes beyond what most friends feel for one another, even after seven years.
This is something I’m sure everyone can relate to on some level; almost everyone has someone like Eru in their life who is special to them—someone who knows everything about you and yet still loves you unconditionally. She may not be your lover, but she’ll always be your best friend.
Are Oreki and Chitanda in love?
Eru Chitanda both say they aren’t in love, but there’s reason to believe that they actually are. It’s safe to assume that Oreki is merely being dense because he can’t express his feelings as well as he’d like. He feels more comfortable observing things than taking action. Even when something is wrong, he often assumes nothing is.
This trait plays a huge role in how he sees his relationship with Chitanda: He makes excuses for her strange behavior and thought patterns (like telling himself she’s just too cute to be weird) because admitting she might be weird would mean admitting she might not be perfect something Oreki struggles with deeply. In other words, Oreki is likely in denial about his own feelings for Chitanda. But why? Maybe it has something to do with their age difference.
They’re only three years apart, but when you’re 18 or 19 years old, three years seems like an eternity. Perhaps Oreki believes he’s too old for Najimi Osana and therefore doesn’t feel right expressing his emotions. Or maybe it has to do with their personalities.
