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I thought this episode was pretty hilarious. I just couldn't believe they were ballsy enough to do this.
I found it interesting to compare differences between 3 and 4. Even though they portrayed the same scenes, the direction seemed totally different -- the dialogue, the art. The decision to use still montages to gloss over things we've seen 15,499 times was interesting. It was like watching two different directors handle the same source material.
Something in-universe that struck me was how differently the characters behaved in each episode. When I saw episode 3, I assumed that was the first time everyone realized they were repeating that two-week period. That explained why they were so downcast the entire time. But now I realize they could have repeated that realization any number of times -- once, twice, starting from the second loop, or anywhere in between. I wonder which it is. I also got the impression that the whole world is operating on some sort of random number generator. Everything is reset to August 17th, the same August 17th every time, but the little details turn out differently. The characters involved react differently to the same situations, the weather seems to be slightly different (Kyon lying shirtless in the heat, as opposed to sitting in relative comfort fully clothed), Haruhi managed to pick out nine (that we've seen) different yukatas that all look good. And of course there's Yuki's recount of all 15,499 loops.
It seems to me that a closed system, fed the same data, will produce the same outcomes each time. That doesn't seem to be the case and speaks for the complexity of the world. I don't know if the author and animators intended to provoke this kind of thought, but... Well, yeah, I guess it was intended. That's why I like Haruhi: The series genuinely makes me think.
And there's always Haruhi in white. And Mikuru was drawn especially awesomely this time around. They're just too cute for words.
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