It’s kind of ironic that this series is titled “The
Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya.” Haruhi
may seem down, being unable to see or participate in any of the amazing mishaps
Kyon finds himself in…but man can they be fun.
Sometimes, it’s easy to just ignore the whole “Haurhi is God, just
accept it,” philosophy that Koizumi is determined to drive into everyones ears
and just appretiate how nice and entertaining this series can be.
A couple of quick notes before I go further. Like I said last week, I’m watching the
series in chronological order as it is on the DVD. So that means im jumping back and forth between
the two seasons of the series. There was
a three year gap between the airings of Season One and Two. So if you ever watch it the way I am and you
wonder why the heck some episodes look way better than others…that’s why. Should also note that I’ve spilt up the episode
loads by arcs in a way. Last week was
the six part “Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya Arc” and this weeks is more…well
it’s more stand alone compared to the next couple of sets (particularly next
week but ill talk more about that towards the end). Anyway, enough trivia, onto the review.
This week started out with two surprisingly chill but
nonetheless engaging episodes that proved either a lot can happen or little can
happen and things will always fun to watch.
The baseball match provided some good laughs, especially from Yuki both
not getting the concept of baseball and still providing the team with the
ultimate cheat code bat to win the game.
Probably my favorite episode of this set though was Kyon being sent back
in time three years by Mikuru to a pivotal moment in Haruhi’s life. It is a bit hard to swallow that Kyon’s face
was concealed by darkness so Young Haruhi couldn’t see him. And even so, wouldn’t she recognize his voice
in the present day? Still, Kyon ended up
helping Haruhi draw a symbol that she got credit for creating, while also
inadvertedly placing seeds in her head as to where she might attend school and
who she might try to seek out in the future.
Young Haruhi is just as much a brat as her present day self but there’s
something to be said about this unexpected beginning to a dysfunctional
friendship that is the driving force of this show. Also, cudos to Kyon for the Doctor Who
reference (John Smith is a name The Doctor uses as a cover quite often).
The Island Murder Mystery two parter took a little bit to
get going, even if watching everyone having fun on the beach did give a
relaxing vibe. Still, Haruhi wanted a
mystery to solve and her “powers” gave it to her. Surprisingly, this also showed us a really
good side to Haruhi. She was shaken by
the “death” of the house owner and her scenes with Kyon showcased her
vulnerability that can make her a little likeable when she isn’t trying to be
the Overlord. As Kyon deduces, Haruhi
wants a mystery to solve but she doesn’t want anyone to die, even to satisfy
her own wishes. It shows that for all of
Haruhi’s frustrating qualities, there’s actually a kind girl hidden away that
comes out only when Kyon is around.
Though I have to dock Kyon some points for his creepy Mikuru
fixation. Seriously dude, there’s a line
between trying to keep the shy time traveler safe from Haruhi’s antics and
actually enjoying the outfits that Haruhi forces her into. It makes Kyon a bit of a creeper.
Let’s talk a little bit more about the other SOS Brigade
members. If I’m honest, my only favorite
of the three special class students is Yuki.
Not only is her deadpan delivery great, especially during the scene when
she refuses to open a door because Haruhi told her not too, but in the action
scenes she really shines. Last week she
took out the out of control Asakura.
This week, Yuki faced down giant bug on a plain of existence that looked
like Rider’s Reality Marble from Fate/Zero.
More importantly, I really think Yuki has the most potential to grow as
a character. She may be there to observe
the data from Haruhi’s reality warping abilities. But even Kyon seems to believe that Yuki
enjoys the adventures the group gets into on some level. “Do you ever feel lonely?” Kyon asks himself
when looking at Yuki. I do think there’s
a deeper connection between Kyon and Yuki that might dwarf Haruhi and
Kyon. The same I don’t think can be said
for Kyon’s relationships with Mikuru and Koizumi. Mikuru’s aloofness (in both present and
future versions) gets pretty annoying at times and Kyon’s creepy ogling of her
in his mind isn’t helping her much. Then
there’s Koizimi, who I think is the most annoying character of the series. His “I happen to know everything” attitude
comes off as more arrogant and sometimes snobbish than even Haruhi. It’s hard to tell if he’s trying to give Kyon
serious warnings about keeping Haruhi as content as possible, or if he’s
hitting on Kyon, either can be open to interpretation. I did like the hints that Koizumi might be
competing with Kyon for Haruhi’s attention.
At one point, he was appointed “Vice Commander” by Haruhi. But later Koizumi noted Kyon’s trust in
Haruhi during their stay on the island.
Is he jealous of their closeness?
Some slower moments aside, this was a rather solid follow
up week for Haruhi Suzumiya. Though it
gets wordy from time to time thanks to Koizumi, each episode is different from
the last, offering new adventures, new perspectives and some fun Easter eggs to
keep an eye out for (like the use of live action during the murder speculations
or Haruhi’s Phoenix Wright esque delivery of how the crime was committed). All in all, this was a fun batch of stand
alone stories. Next week, however, I
attempt one of the more infamous and grueling arcs of the series. And yes, I’m going to go through it all. Pray for me…for next week…I attempt the
ENDLESS EIGHT ARC…crap.
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