The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya - Episode 7 Discussion / Poll [2006 TV ep. 4]

[Adigard]

Yuki did indeed add data attributes to the bat to make it a homing mode bat... then she removed those attributes when Kyon asked her to. Which, of course, is why the SOS-dan team had those immediate strike outs.

As for the other team buying the bat... I had to rewatch the episode, and pay extra attention... but it all sorta makes sense. Kyon talks about making extra cash then wishes the other team success. Then we switch to the other team with the bat in the background, and the bat falls. I'm guessing the creators are hoping we'll draw parallels, rather than just blindly watching the show and asking "wtf... Kyon has extra money?" ^^

[mr.muffin]

Originally Posted by nasheq

i think the anime series is for fans only. i mean hardcore fans. they totally skipped a bunch of storyline - and if i hadn't read like 5-6 anime blogs + this forum + other sources about the novels - i wouldn't have a clue wtf is going on.

unless they figure out a way to reveal questions that casual viewers have - this anime isn't going anywhere beyond the typical fanatic show.

My 2 friends watching Haruhi started out as casual viewers... but now after the 3rd ep I think they're past casual and approaching hardcore status.
Never underestimate the power of Haruhiism.

[Adigard]

Originally Posted by Green²

I think in this show, much like My-Otome, the creators understand (or at least try to cater to) the interenet meme phenomen and are tossing in certain scenes for EXAXTLY that reason. I think we all remember the psuedo bukake scene from one of the very early Otome previews. That one was blog'ed/photoshopped/and pasted across the internet for a while.

It's all a part of the whole viral spread of the show ^^

[ordnance11]

What's really scary is Haruhi's manic look when she's on fire. I'd run for the hills after seeing that look once.

[C.A.]

Hmm just some little things I'd like to point out:

Spoiler:

Someone mentioned the giant being, the 'shinjin'(not sure if i said the kanji wrong) isn't expressed the same way as the original writer of the novels did. In this case, it makes me think that kyoani is creating a NGE parody. the giant being reminds me of adam, the silhouette, the power cable tower and all.

Haruhi with the arm band of super director in the 1st ep seems to be a hint, like how the other characters were hinted to us. Super director would be telling us that shes going to direct the story or shes going to create the story. Its telling us that she has omnipotent powers to create.

[Xellos-_^]

Originally Posted by C.A.

Hmm just some little things I'd like to point out:

Spoiler:

Someone mentioned the giant being, the 'shinjin'(not sure if i said the kanji wrong) isn't expressed the same way as the original writer of the novels did. In this case, it makes me think that kyoani is creating a NGE parody. the giant being reminds me of adam, the silhouette, the power cable tower and all.

Haruhi with the arm band of super director in the 1st ep seems to be a hint, like how the other characters were hinted to us. Super director would be telling us that shes going to direct the story or shes going to create the story. Its telling us that she has omnipotent powers to create.

I was wondering what that glowing giant reminded me of. A NGE parody makes perfect sense if that is Adam? Does that make Haruhi Eve or Lilith?

[C.A.]

Originally Posted by Xellos-_^

I was wondering what that glowing giant reminded me of. A NGE parody makes perfect sense if that is Adam? Does that make Haruhi Eve or Lilith?

Shes neither, because shes god, or shall i say the Goddess lol

[riznar]

I started watching this show because suddenly everyone on animesuki had the same girl in their sig, I'd define myself as a casual fan. I'm avoiding reading spoilers, and I have to say I have no idea WTF is going on, but episode 4/7 gave me a lot of clues.

You really have to pay attention to catch everything going on in this series, I was completely confused with this episode because I'd missed Haruhi saying episode 7 would be next.

[Adigard]

Originally Posted by riznar

You really have to pay attention to catch everything going on in this series, I was completely confused with this episode because I'd missed Haruhi saying episode 7 would be next.

But the show is even deeper than that... because there's a lot of things that are just hinted at.

Like, Kyon selling the bat to the other baseball club for the money to buy dinner.
I'm personally curious if the SOS-dan's baseball bat was stolen from the school's baseball club, and then sold to a college level team ^^.

They also overload you with a lot of subtle clues in the opening minutes of ep7 to let you know that time has passed. Beyond Kyon's statement that a month has passed (club formed in May, currently June). The girls have switched to their summer uniforms, Yuki has lost her glasses.

We know that the next three episodes will contain, at the very least (we know all this because they told us in ep7)...
A world-cramping incident (with flashbacks of events that haven't occured yet ^^;;).
Yuki drastically changing the weather, as well as injecting data into the world in a different event, as well as the loss of her glasses.
The SOS-dan will walk around in search of aliens or UMA's.
Something that convinces Mikuru to spend all her time in the clubroom cosplaying ^^

I was just really impressed by the more subtle things... the fact that the flowers hanging on the wall in the clubroom in ep7 look a lot more withered than they did way back in ep2 (last weeks episode).

//EDIT: We also learn two other things

Spoiler:

While the audience doesn't know it yet... Kyon (in this episode) knows that Mikuru is a time traveller, and that "it" will happen again if Kyon is nice to Mikuru.

//EDIT2: The other big thing we learn, sorta one-off though

Spoiler for And this can only be inferred:

Is that Itsuki, Mikuru and Yuki are all from three different groups, and are all here to somehow "handle" Asahina. We can further infer that they're here without Haruhi's knowledge. If Yuki is our self-announced Alien, Mikuru is obviously a time-traveller (Her friend is coming from when and where, Kyon asks), which means Itsuki has to be an Esper. Which will also lead us back to ep0 again... Just to wonder what other clues that first episode might have

[melange]

Originally Posted by Adigard

Like, Kyon selling the bat to the other baseball club for the money to buy dinner.
I'm personally curious if the SOS-dan's baseball bat was stolen from the school's baseball club, and then sold to a college level team ^^.

If I recall correctly that is indeed what happened. All the SOS-dan's baseball gear was "procured" by decree of Haruhi

[celcius]

the fact that the flowers hanging on the wall in the clubroom in ep7 look a lot more withered than they did way back in ep2 (last weeks episode).

Woah, you're very observative. o.o I love the way Kyo-Ani pays much attention to details, although I have to admit I missed that completely. BTW, the bat started to be in perfect shape before Suzumiya's 1000 swings.

[Xellos-_^]

Originally Posted by Adigard

But the show is even deeper than that... because there's a lot of things that are just hinted at.

Like, Kyon selling the bat to the other baseball club for the money to buy dinner.
I'm personally curious if the SOS-dan's baseball bat was stolen from the school's baseball club, and then sold to a college level team ^^.

How could it be stolen if God told you to

They also overload you with a lot of subtle clues in the opening minutes of ep7 to let you know that time has passed. Beyond Kyon's statement that a month has passed (club formed in May, currently June). The girls have switched to their summer uniforms, Yuki has lost her glasses.

We know that the next three episodes will contain, at the very least (we know all this because they told us in ep7)...
A world-cramping incident (with flashbacks of events that haven't occured yet ^^;.
Yuki drastically changing the weather, as well as injecting data into the world in a different event, as well as the loss of her glasses.
The SOS-dan will walk around in search of aliens or UMA's.
Something that convinces Mikuru to spend all her time in the clubroom cosplaying ^^

I was just really impressed by the more subtle things... the fact that the flowers hanging on the wall in the clubroom in ep7 look a lot more withered than they did way back in ep2 (last weeks episode).

//EDIT: We also learn two other things

Spoiler:

While the audience doesn't know it yet... Kyon (in this episode) knows that Mikuru is a time traveller, and that "it" will happen again if Kyon is nice to Mikuru.

//EDIT2: The other big thing we learn, sorta one-off though

Spoiler for And this can only be inferred:

Is that Itsuki, Mikuru and Yuki are all from three different groups, and are all here to somehow "handle" Asahina. We can further infer that they're here without Haruhi's knowledge. If Yuki is our self-announced Alien, Mikuru is obviously a time-traveller (Her friend is coming from when and where, Kyon asks), which means Itsuki has to be an Esper. Which will also lead us back to ep0 again... Just to wonder what other clues that first episode might have

The talking cat hasn't shown up yet. Wonder what group he is with.

[riznar]

Adigard, I was talking about all of that when I said there was a lot to pay attention to. I've assumed most of what is going on, my point was simply that from a casual fan point of view with no knowledge of the series, I did a lot of pausing and rewinding to go "What was that?".

It's not that deep, Kyon selling the bat was pretty obvious...

[Adigard]

Originally Posted by celcius

Woah, you're very observative. o.o I love the way Kyo-Ani pays much attention to details, although I have to admit I missed that completely. BTW, the bat started to be in perfect shape before Suzumiya's 1000 swings.

Thanks... I was really shocked when I noticed that... but loved KyoAni all the more for doing it. I'm probably a little too anal in watching this show at times T_T

Spoiler for The bat's pristine condition?:

And sadly, the bat wasn't in perfect condition T_T
As of her third hit, (06m:18s) the bat had at least one of those major dings in it. We see the side of the bat (06m:21s) and see the second ding in it

But I won't tell anyone if you don't ^_^

//EDIT: Added after posting, I saw riznar's post.

Originally Posted by riznar

Adigard, I was talking about all of that when I said there was a lot to pay attention to. I've assumed most of what is going on, my point was simply that from a casual fan point of view with no knowledge of the series, I did a lot of pausing and rewinding to go "What was that?".
It's not that deep, Kyon selling the bat was pretty obvious...

But I think that's part of the charm of the show. I'm of the opinion KyoAni is skipping around like this to force the viewer's mind into a mode where they have to "fill in the gaps" of what they aren't shown. I think they're using this approach to suck people deeper into the show, and make them watch it more than once in order to really understand what's going on. (And I wasn't really pointing at Kyon's selling of the bat as the only deep thing... there are a lot of skipped events that are only hinted at).

But... why does the show have to appeal to casual fans with no knowledge of the series? The show's first airing is at midnight after all... That's not a very casual time slot (unless you're a semi-hardcore anime fan you probably won't be up that late to watch it). Most casual anime fans probably Tivo (DVR) it and watch it later in the week.

In the show's intended market (Japan) the novels seem to sell rather well. Further the manga is being released at the same time. So it'd be easy enough to pick up the weekly manga and read it. We can assume anyone who's going to watch the show at midnight could easily enough go out and buy the first volume of the novels (Vol1 seems to be semi-sold out atm, so if that was part of KyoAni's goal... they've achieved it admirably well).

I understand the American TV/Film market isn't geared that way (trust me, I know enough people in Film who HATE Anime because show's that are based on manga often require at least a passing familarity with the manga to fully understand what's going on. They think (rightfully so for the US market) that films and shows based on books should stand on their own without any knowledge of the source material... but I don't think the Japanese anime industry works like that (IMO).

[Avacado Burger]

Originally Posted by Adigard

But... why does the show have to appeal to casual fans with no knowledge of the series? The show's first airing is at midnight after all... That's not a very casual time slot (unless you're a semi-hardcore anime fan you probably won't be up that late to watch it). Most casual anime fans probably Tivo (DVR) it and watch it later in the week.

So... Does this mean I have to read the mangas and novels to understand what's going on?
I picked up this series out of sheer curiousity, and I'm definitely not going to knock it (I enjoy it, it brings back memories of Sexy Commando). But after episode 4, I'm completely lost to what is going on. Does everything mix up, then wrap itself up in a neat little package with a Pulp Fiction-esque type of story, or is there background that I should know or missed out on between 3 and 4?? It feels like it skipped around a bit, especially with that guy from the first movie showing up, seemingly like he got introduced in without me looking.

You just have to understand; Everyone seems to know what's going on with this series but me. I really want to like this series, but #4 just confused the hell out of me...

[Adigard]

I think Kyon puts it best during the next ep previews ^^

Originally Posted by Kyon's next ep preview

"Well, basically.
It'll pick up where the last episode left off.
This seems unnecessarily complicated."

You've just got to realize from last episode's 'next ep preview', and this episode's 'next ep preview' (God... that must be a tongue twister to say outloud) that you watched Ep 7 (which was totally out of sequence).

You first watched Ep0(14?)... with events that don't seem to occur for a while. Then you saw Ep1 and Ep2... Then for some weird reason you watched Ep7... now you're going back to Ep3. I still stand by my belief that KyoAni is doing it for a good reason. As for everything wrapping up neatly? We won't know for another 9-10 weeks when the show's 14 ep run ends.

[Sinestra]

loved this episode i mean if your going to cheat then cheat well but cheating is bad unless its Haruhi's idea and your part of the SOS. The hinting about furture events was really well done. I wondering about the backstory with Kyon selling the bat to the baseball team. Also at some point in the future in the SOS gang will go in search of UMA's and something about the weather altering incident i will have to go back and watch it again to catch everything. At one point Itsuki tells Kyon that he was in a certin batting order because Haruhi wished for we gets me thinking about why she responed to kyon in the first place. She seems to react to what he says or doesnt say or does and doesnt do which could bring about the end of the world. If you look when Haruhi and Mikuru are in the cheerleading uniforms Haruhi gives Kyon a glace and he has not intrested look on this face you can see her get angry and start taking it out more on Mikuru. I am going to watch ep 0 again like Adigard suggested might lead to more clues

[celcius]

I shudder to think what would happen if Suzumiya would hit someone with that bat, considering she utterly deformed the bat beyond use. -_-;; And by Adigard's observation, by the third hit. :O

Don't worry Avocado Burger, I haven't read the novels and don't plan to until the series has finished upto 14. And I'm as clueless as you are Think of it this way, as Adigard has mentioned, it gives the you even more reason to wait 7 days until the next airing. Those 7 days would probably eat away at you, making you sleep late (thinking of Haruhi and counting the days until next episode) and wake up early (floundering for a calendar and checking the date). Well, at least that's what's happening to me. ^^;

[riznar]

Adigard, I'm not saying it doesn't have appeal to the casual viewer. And midnight is hardly late for the 20-something crowd.

My point was that it does appeal the casual viewer because it isn't that deep; but I guess you still have to pay attention to catch everything. I might be an exception but even though I was confused I noticed just about all the suBtle hints running around in this episode, I'd often have to pause though because they'd be on the screen for just a moment. It didn't all *click* until halfway through when I realized that even though Kyon said no club activities had happened, a lot had still gone on. Kyon's converation with the psychic guy really revealed a lot.


I think your point about them doing this to further draw people in is dead on. By throwing the premise of the show in your face (Haruhi's mood affects the world), they allow themselves to have a longer "charge up" time to the main plot. They basically said "This is where this is going, but we're going to build to it slowly so enjoy the ride." I dunno if you watched either Mai series, but it was at least 8 episodes before the main plot was really introduced. By having this timeskip, the Haruhi series plays its card early, and raises a bunch of questions as to how all this happened.

[Sinestra]

Originally Posted by celcius

I shudder to think what would happen if Suzumiya would hit someone with that bat, considering she utterly deformed the bat beyond use. -_-;; And by Adigard's observation, by the third hit. :O

Don't worry Avocado Burger, I haven't read the novels and don't plan to until the series has finished upto 14. And I'm as clueless as you are Think of it this way, as Adigard has mentioned, it gives the you even more reason to wait 7 days until the next airing. Those 7 days would probably eat away at you, making you sleep late (thinking of Haruhi and counting the days until next episode) and wake up early (floundering for a calendar and checking the date). Well, at least that's what's happening to me. ^^;

Stop Reading my mind. the whole episode seven thing and all hints about future episodes was all i could think about at work today the waiting is driving me crazy in a fun way. im with you about Suzumiya hitting someone with that bat the only i can describe it would be red sticky paste spread everywhere