Friday, 21 August 2009

The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya - Season 2 - Episode 11 (aka Episode 21)

With all of the required gear together, Haruhi's hare-brained movie project for the culture festival is all ready to roll, and thus this latest episode continues the Sigh of Haruhi Suzumiya arc as the cameras roll.

What this means in essence is that we're still filling in the gaps left by the treatment of this particular part of the story from the first series, building up to the beginning of filming and then giving us what I suppose you could call behind the camera scenes during filming of the film's commercials, as well as the opening scenes of the movie itself.


As per usual, there are a few good lines scattered throughout the episode (and not just from Kyon either), and Mikuru dual-wielding toy guns is funny in its own right, but at the back of my mind I find myself questioning whether The Sigh of Haruhi Suzumiya requires such an in-depth coverage in anime form - Perhaps it's just because I've read this particular novel as well, but I felt that the original series was "good enough" when it came to this part of the story, and seeing more of what happened during filming almost detracts from a little bit of that original magic.

Don't get me wrong, this is no Endless Eight, but it does mean that I'm still left impatiently waiting for some genuinely new storylines to step forth - We had it in spades with the first new episode of this series re-run but since then such hopes have felt rather barren, and with this series moving towards its close its hard to imagine that there will be time for anything other than fleshing out the current story arc. That lack of wiggle room for "the good stuff" somehow makes me frown at the thought of all those weeks of Endless Eight even more, and while it would perhaps be unfair to say these episodes only exacerbate things, it does feel a little lazy on KyoAni's part not to blaze some new trails if I'm absolutely honest.
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5 comments:

  1. Anonymous22 August 2009 at 20:21

    This whole second crap series is so boring it should be renamed as "The Death Struggle of Haruhi Suzumiya". It's better to read the novels, because the anime is only there for extending things endlessly and messing about with the fans. Never has a series disappointed me so much.

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  2. Rick23 August 2009 at 04:31

    Don't worry about it being monotonous! The mikuru beam will bring back the awesomeness to this series! And the talking cat,too!

    Mi... mi... mikuru beam!! ;-)

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  3. kadian136424 August 2009 at 20:18

    Those are actually my feelings as well. Running through stuff we already know neuters Haruhi quite a bit. What I loved about the first season is that it always kept you on your toes, never knowing what to expect. Bamboo Leaf Rhapsody delivered in that regard, and even Endless Eight would've been fresh if it had been kept to 3-4 episodes. Things feel kind of tedious now, like I'm watching Haruhi just to say I watched it. It's not very fun anymore.

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  4. Anonymous27 August 2009 at 00:34

    After endless eight, I'm now expecting some great things form this series to make up for what we had to go through, but I'm still waiting. It's sad, that everything that happens in this show now is so "predictable".

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  5. Killifish27 August 2009 at 11:03

    Having not read the novels, I really enjoyed this episode. I'd heard that sigh was a really 'meh' story arc, but so far I'm loving it. Of course, you can't expect me to have a firm grasp on what's enjoyable and what isn't when I've just been through Endless Eight.

    I'm just happy they're finally returning to setting they spent the majority of the first season in.

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