The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya S2, Episode 10 – The Movie Business

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So begins an arc that isn’t “Endless Eight”: instead, we’re now about to get the behind-the-scenes look at how that infamous film which launched the whole franchise, and a million Hirano Aya fanboys, The Adventures of Mikuru Asahina, came to be.

Many have spoken about the K-ONification of Haruhi ever since the second season began. It’s visible from the pointier chins and the way the eyes are drawn. I’m not sure these shots qualify to be even of that quality, though–this Haruhi looks positively weird…

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I have to admit the effect is rather jarring, because aside from that, the background music, the snarky Kyon commentary, the overall feel is really much the same. Albeit slower-paced, with this episode; the first half, where the idea of making a film winds its way into Haruhi’s head and thus becomes law, is leisurely and almost deliberate.

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At this point there is nothing left to be surprised about with this series. Everyone has already seen the end product of this storyline, after all–how could anyone forget?–and Kadokawa and KyoAni have wasted most of whatever presumption fans had that they were about to see something exciting and different with “Endless Eight.” The pleasures will have to be found elsewhere, and I would like to suggest that in a way, Haruhi Suzumiya is perhaps now best understood as a slice-of-life comedy with a few sci-fi elements. Oh, we’ll probably find the answers to why the cat could talk and whether some of the “special effects” were in fact real, but these things–quirks that begged for further explanation and suggested a much larger world of mystery when they were first witnessed–have become background details. Now it’s more about watching Haruhi’s antics, like just what she might have said to those shop owners to give her expensive equipment. Or laughing once again as a taciturn Yuki waits five seconds before answering “Yes” to a question. (I think the semi-BL overtones of Koizumi’s interactions with Kyon were added after the fact in reaction to fan(girl?) desire…)

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It’s going to be interesting to see how all this is going to be received post “Endless Eight.” The whole experience is a testament to how so much of Haruhi has been received not merely as an anime, but an experience–a whole package that includes the hype, the breathless speculation of what certain things mean and whether they will pull some storytelling trick or conceit next, and all the debates that accompany them. As I said before, “Endless Eight” as a compressed story wasn’t bad at all; what its repetition has done was to undermine the meta-advantage, as it were, that KyoAni and Haruhi had over other anme. And as it prepares to deconstruct the very genesis of the phenomenon, which itself was a brilliant deconstruction of otaku tropes, one wonders whether there’s anything left to give. If the arc turns out to be banal, what does that say about that infamous episode 0? Will it help extinguish that spark of mad genius which ignited fandom all the way back in 2006? Or can it survive on its own, with fans perhaps disavowing this whole second season the way fans of the Tsukihime game disavow the anime to the point of denying its existence?

Who knows. Perhaps, when the dust clears, it will be easier to actually judge The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya on its own merits as a show, and nothing more.

Author: gendomike

Michael lives in the Los Angeles area, and has been into anime since he saw Neon Genesis Evangelion in 1999. Some of his favorite shows include Full Metal Alchemist, Honey and Clover, and Welcome to the NHK!. Since 2003 he has gone to at least one anime convention every year. A public radio junkie, which naturally led to podcasting, he now holds a seminary degree and is looking to become Dr. Rev. Otaku Bible Man any day now. Michael can be reached at mike.huang@animediet.net. You can also find his Twitter account at @gendomike.

7 thoughts on “The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya S2, Episode 10 – The Movie Business

  1. I can’t really find the slight character design differences to be that notable.

    We notice because we recognize those signature touches, but it isn’t as though the first season didn’t have its own range of appearances (Live Alive, for example).

    1. From Ray: Perhaps, but there are some things about the eyes, the nose, and the mouth that are so similar to K-On designs that one cannot help but notice. Maybe I’ve watched anime too long. Mike, your thoughts?

  2. moritheil: that’s what I figured. Not that pandering is new for Haruhi! The entire show is simultaneously a joke and a pander.

    Kyuusai, rayyhum777: the close proximity of this show to K-ON! makes the similarities plausible, though, and it becomes really obvious when placed side by side with the original season. There’s nothing wrong with that per se; I guess if there’s a problem, it’s because the original is etched so firmly in the minds of so many fans, it’s become nearly sacrosanct to the Haruhiists out there. Which isn’t really a reasonable attitude when you think about it.

    What is definitely true, though, is that Kyoto Animation 2009 is not really the same studio as Kyoto Animation 2006. It is a studio that has drunk a lot of success by catering precisely to the modern anime otaku and has shown disturbing signs of resting on their laurels; or else something like “Endless Eight” would never have been considered seriously. The thing I miss the most is the exquisitely detailed animation of the old KyoAni.

  3. Actually the BL overtones are present and addressed in the books. I’m really enjoying the show, but thats because of how I view it. I made a prediction some time ago that is bearing true, this is not season two, its the rest of season one. Season two will start at Yuki’s arc and I’m betting we are getting a lot more episodes than we think due to the utter lack of news about what else Kyoani is working on.

  4. Once “The Sighs of Haruhi Suzumiya” kicks into gear… Well, you’ll see. Episode 0 of the Adventures of Mikuru Asahina had a lot of fun stuff happening behind the scenes, and now we’ll get to see what’s the story behind the story.

    I bet you’re gonna like it.

  5. blackholeheart: Ah. I’ve only read the first book so I wouldn’t know exactly. And I really hope your prediction is true, because that would go some ways in redeeming it for me, if they give us more new material rather than the endless repeat cycle.

    serial: I’m liking it already, especially the second episode of the arc. Look for a review very soon.

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