Hyouka - Volume 03 - The Kudryavka Sequence - Welcome to KANYA FESTA! (1)

For some time, I've always found Kouchi-sempai to be rather reckless. Even
though she has a lot of admirers as a core member of the Manga Club, I just
found myself looking down on those people. Right now, I feel like I know
why I felt that way. Kouchi Ayako-sempai was just such a person.
I can't lose to her... I just can't lose.
At first, I was merely lashing out at her for calling the anthology we had
worked so hard on meaningless. But now it's become more than that, she was
laughing at the basis of my beliefs itself. I wasn't the type to just simply laugh
it away and suck it up. The urge to fight back welled up within me, I licked
my lips and countered, "...So you're basically saying there are no mangas that
are called classics or masterpieces? Other mediums like music, art and novels
all have what you call classics and masterpieces. Are you saying that even
those don't exist as well? Or are you saying this only applies to manga?"
I, along with many Manga Club members, do not believe that as an
expression medium, there would exist flaws within mangas that cannot be
rectified.
Not even Kouchi-sempai could say that just because a work is a manga, it
cannot become a classic.
And indeed she said no such thing.
"I never said that there's no such thing as a classic or masterpiece manga."
"But isn't that what you were saying? That a work is rubbish no matter how
you look at it?"
"Yeah, it is."
She withdrew her sneering smile and said, "But masterpieces do exist.
"After years of being scrutinized by critics and standing the test of time, only
those works which contain the highest common factor remain. These are
what we'd call 'masterpieces.' If not highest common factor, then the works
which receive the most acceptance, which is basically the same thing.