The Novel and Manga of Haruhi Suzumiya

[Vallen Chaos Valiant]

Originally Posted by Jonbob0008

AAlso, didn't Tanigawa once say that Nagato was his favorite? Maybe he changed his mind over the course of the last few years.

Well, I think Yuki as a character has advanced as far as she could go. Kyon will never return her feelings, so it is why everything Yuki is going to stall from now on. Yuki doesn't interact with anyone but Kyon, so if she can't advance her relationship with Kyon any further then she would get no more developments. It is time to bring in someone else to push the plot forward.

Yuki was liked by Tanigawa for her character develoment possibilities. But now that her story has been told, everyone had to learn to move on.

[Jonbob0008]

Originally Posted by Vallen Chaos Valiant

Well, I think Yuki as a character has advanced as far as she could go. Kyon will never return her feelings, so it is why everything Yuki is going to stall from now on. Yuki doesn't interact with anyone but Kyon, so if she can't advance her relationship with Kyon any further then she would get no more developments. It is time to bring in someone else to push the plot forward.

Yuki was liked by Tanigawa for her character develoment possibilities. But now that her story has been told, everyone had to learn to move on.

I suspect the few remaining Yuki/Kyon supporters out there who aren't crying themselves to sleep at this point would still contend with that. However, I would counter with saying that while further character development for Yuki is possible, it would be next to impossible for anyone, even Tanigawa, to pull off a Yuki/Kyon romance ending without it being terrible. The emotions required from Yuki would be seriously out of character.

Of course, Yuki shouldn't need a MAN to get more character development. Go feminism go!

[Leo Keichi]

Originally Posted by ultimatemegax

10. Who do you think you most resemble in the SOS Brigade?
I'd have to go outside the Brigade and say Taniguchi.

Hm, Taniguchi? I always imagined him more like a cleverer version of Koizumi.

[Vallen Chaos Valiant]

Originally Posted by Jonbob0008

Of course, Yuki shouldn't need a MAN to get more character development. Go feminism go!

Oh, I certainly am not suggesting Yuki need Kyon to exist and to have a life. However, since this book is written from Kyon's POV, Yuki DO need Kyon in order to exist in the book.

Feminism is all well and good, but anyone who doesn't interact with Kyon might as well be made of ether. It's the limits of the story telling method being employed. It is either Kyon or nothing.

[TheHaruhiIncarnate]

Originally Posted by Vallen Chaos Valiant

Oh, I certainly am not suggesting Yuki need Kyon to exist and to have a life. However, since this book is written from Kyon's POV, Yuki DO need Kyon in order to exist in the book.

Feminism is all well and good, but anyone who doesn't interact with Kyon might as well be made of ether. It's the limits of the story telling method being employed. It is either Kyon or nothing.

Mmm. I don't know about that. I mean, if Haruhi found out about everything, it would kind of help Yuki. I think Haruhi would be expressivly grateful. And Yuki wouldnt have to hide. I think Suzumiya would make a great friend for Yuki.

But i'm just speaking hypothetically.

[Jonbob0008]

Originally Posted by Vallen Chaos Valiant

Oh, I certainly am not suggesting Yuki need Kyon to exist and to have a life. However, since this book is written from Kyon's POV, Yuki DO need Kyon in order to exist in the book.

Feminism is all well and good, but anyone who doesn't interact with Kyon might as well be made of ether. It's the limits of the story telling method being employed. It is either Kyon or nothing.

What I meant was that Yuki didn't need to be in a romantic relationship with Kyon to get character development.

[ultimatemegax]

Before I post part II, I have a brief correction of Part I:

Originally Posted by ultimatemegax

The Observation of Haruhi Suzumiya
Chapter 3: Question-and-Answers
Part I: Nagaru Tanigawa Collection

37. What image is on your cell phone now?
That image that Noizi Itou-san drew of Haruhi for charity efforts for the Great Earthquake.

Now Part II of Chapter 3 is the Q&A of Noizi Itou:

The Observation of Haruhi Suzumiya
Chapter 3: Question-and-Answers
Part II: Noizi Itou Collection

1. Of the Haruhi Suzumiya series which is the character you like best (or is most impressive)?
I love all five SOS Brigade members. I couldn't possibly choose just one. My most impressive character is Sasaki.

Spoiler for Surprise:

In Surprise, she was always one step above everyone else thus I drew many pictures of her.

2. What's your favorite story?
It has to be the first story Melancholy. It's the one book I think is most concentrated on just the SOS Brigade.

3. Are there any rules or guidelines you go by when you draw Haruhi illustrations?
When I draw Haruhi characters, I try to draw freely in order to capture the strong intentions of the characters in the images.

Spoiler for Surprise:

4. When designing Surprise's new character, Yasumi, what points were you thinking about in her design?
I went mostly by how it was described in the book: smiley face on her hair and wearing a very baggy uniform.

5. Please tell us any memories you have from designing Haruhi, Nagato, and Mikuru in Melancholy.
Miraculously I had no problems with designing those three. Almost instantly an appropriate image popped into my head. If I had any problems it was the difference in height (there is a slight difference) between Nagato and Mikuru.

Spoiler for Surprise:

6. We've seen the adult version of Mikuru. How do you think the grown-up version of Haruhi and Nagato would look?
Well, you get to see a glimpse of how Haruhi looks this time in Surprise. I have an idea of how that Haruhi looks, but right now it's stuck inside of my head….it's almost like a dream now (laughs). As for Nagato, I can't think of how she would grow older. I'd think an adult version of Nagato would look just like she does now (laughs).

7. Who do you think is the strongest between the aliens, time travelers, espers, and sliders?
Probably aliens, right? But they still stand no chance against Haruhi (laughs).

8. Please give some advice to any Haruhi cosplayers.
When I was designing her, the female uniform itself has this very vivid blue cloth came instantly to me. Don't forget that the neckline ends in a V in order to imitate the North High uniform.

9. Please tell us if you have spoken with Tanigawa-sensei about the events that happen from here on.
I get the sense that big events such like the ones that happened in Disappearance and Surprise will happen in the future. It's on the scale of things that involve the whole world.

10. Who do you think you most resemble in the SOS Brigade?
I can't say I resemble any of them. If I have to pick one it'd be Kyon. His soul's voice tends to penetrate fiercely.

11. Haruhi always keeps an eye on events that happen each season. Itou-sensei, do you have any plans for this summer?
I've not really decided on anything yet…. probably I'll end up doing normal summer activities (like going to the beach).

12. Please tell us any impressions you have of the Haruhi fans when you've given autographs.
I've seen both Japanese and international fans who both enjoy the works as well as seen all emotions from tears to smiling faces. It's very surprising yet wonderful at the same time. The fans were dancing to Hare Hare when I went to France! It was quite impressive.

13. Haruhi always keeps an eye on events that happen each year. Itou-sensei, do you have any big event you look forward to each year?
It'd have to be New Year's Day. That day I can choose whether I want to be very busy or slowly get through the day.

14. What's your favorite genre of books?
I like mysteries and scary stories.

15. What's your favorite type of game?
I haven't played many lately but I do enjoy playing RPGs.

16. What's your favorite sport?
If pushed I'd have to say indoor events. When I was in middle school I was on the badminton club, but I've not played in such a long time.

17. What's your favorite food?
I like spicy foods. Oh, and sweet or salty foods are good too.

18. What don't you like to eat?
I can't think of anything but I've not eaten sashimi yet.

19. Please tell us what your favorite item you've bought lately would be.
When I was in South Korea I went into a Banila co store and bought this hand cream. It's so smooth!

20. What creators are you taking notice of lately?
My schedule is too hectic to take note of people, but I know that mebae-san and Hidari-san have good taste.

21. Please tell us any movies you like.
I like horror movies; in particular vampire and gothic horror films.

22. Do you keep any pets?
I'd like to get a dog or cat but right now I have a Melopsittacus undulatus (parakeet).

23. What kind of music do you listen to while drawing?
I can hear anything and make progress, but quiet is nice too. I do like to listen to techno and pop genres though. M-flo, Nakata, and Sutaka bring good feelings to me.

24. What must you have beside you when you are drawing?
Eyedrops.

25. What do you do when you're discouraged when drawing?
I do something different like go to bed.

26. What did you do when you were a student? Was there something like the SOS Brigade in your school?
There wasn't any nonsense like that at my school. I did pass the time by drawing pictures of my classmates. It was very ordinary.

27. Please tell us any special memories you had from your high school days.
Well… One of my friends fell in love with our teacher and I got ambushed every day to listen to her. Again, that's just ordinary life.

28. Do you have any memories from your school festivals?
I was in the art club so I remember frantically trying to finish my oil paintings.

29. What was your favorite subject in school?
I'd like to say the fine arts, but they weren't my strong points at that time. It'd have to be Japanese.

30. You have a very enjoyable motif in your drawings. Do you have anything that stands out as fun?
Since I'm usually drawing young girls the fluttering ribbons are what stand out. That and the lines around the fingers/toes.

31. What do you think is the most important point when drawing girls?
It has to be their facial expressions. The face is how their character comes together.

32. You used to work in the game industry. What did you learn there that helped you when illustrating novels?
How to finely draw the characters. In the industry there are times where there are only slight differences in the characters so you end up having to re-draw them over and over. That helped a lot.

33. You've drawn Haruhi several times. Is there any particular one that is memorable to you?
I drew the three girls with a giant "BANG!" for some type of campaign. I've used that several times as it's my favorite.

34. How old were you when you had your first love? What kind of person was he?
It was a refreshing boy in my elementary school class (laugh). All of the girls in our class had a crush on him.

35. How old were you when you drew your first illustration?
I had been scribbling since kindergarten but it was officially when I was in middle school that I started illustrating.

36. Do you wear glasses, contacts, or do you go without eye correction?
No glasses at all. I have super great eyesight.

37. What image is on your cell phone now?
Just a default image. That Q-pot is really cute!

38. Has anyone among your family or friends stopped and talked to you about Haruhi?
The child of my mother's tennis partner loves Haruhi and so we talk from time to time (laugh). It's alright though.

39. Please tell us about the history of your pen name.
I just borrowed the two names of musicians I liked and combined them into one.

40. Please tell us what you think of the new head of the Sneaker Bunko editorial department.
As we've worked together on various things he's always had some wise choices to help me. I had that impression of him when we met for the first time after he requested an illustration. I was so nervous.

41. Please tell us any memories you have with the new heads.
From U-san I received some homemade candy and from the handsome I-san I got a beer mug for White Day presents (laughs).

42. Are you a morning, afternoon, or evening person?
I'm a morning person, but I don't mind working until late at night to finish an illustration.

43. Is there anything you really wish for now?
I'd like a cat. At times I have a freeloading parrot that comes by and I think he'd stop with a cat in the house (laughs).

44. What spots would you like to visit?
I'd like to go to Isetan but I'd also like to go to Umeda as well.

45. If it's possible to freely go to the past, what year would you go to and what would you do?
I don't really look back into the past too much. If I had to go somewhere it'd probably be sometime I already experienced (laughs).

46. Up until now, who would you say most influenced you?
Kokawayun-sensei at Capcom immensely influenced me.

47. What do you find yourself most enthused about in your spare time recently?
I've got too many side interests that I'm not that interested in. If pressed I'd say hand creams?

48. Please tell us what you look forward to in the future.
I hope to continue living in harmony with my family and pet.

49. What were your thought about the worldwide simultaneous release of The Surprise of Haruhi Suzumiya?
It was an extreme honor for my work to be thought of so highly around the world. It's an immense pressure that I want to yell sometimes.

50. Please give a message to the fans who are awaiting your next work.
I too look forward to see what Haruhi and everyone gets into next. "I look forward to the next situation!" is what I would send as a fan letter to Tanigawa-sensei. Surely he would make it very exciting (raising expectations).

--This is all I will translate as I have to prepare for two big events coming up. If anyone is heading to AX next weekend, I hope to see you there.

[AbZeroNow]

Thanks Megax for translating the interviews with Tanagawa-sensei, and Itou-sensei. They had some interesting responses.

Originally Posted by Jonbob0008

I suspect the few remaining Yuki/Kyon supporters out there who aren't crying themselves to sleep at this point would still contend with that. However, I would counter with saying that while further character development for Yuki is possible, it would be next to impossible for anyone, even Tanigawa, to pull off a Yuki/Kyon romance ending without it being terrible. The emotions required from Yuki would be seriously out of character.

Of course, Yuki shouldn't need a MAN to get more character development. Go feminism go!

I can still see plenty of Yuki/Kyon fanfic that will try to go for a well written romance ending. Shipping goes on even when the authors themselves shot down pairings(like in the Harry Potter fandom.) and TVtropes does have a section on Fan-preferred couples so the events of canon will probably have little effecting on the shipping itself. Of course, as a Haruhi/Kyon shipper, I am thrilled with the direction canon is seeming to go.

I can see Yuki further developing as a character in ways that don't involve romance. Ways that she slowly gains more humanity, and perhaps this leads her to discover the path for her own evolution. I can also see Yuki as the kind of character that nobly sacrifices herself at the end and goes out with a smile. I don't see Tanigawa-sensei going that route though. I know I want to see more Yuki smiling though, but I imagine that would take a long time to get to.

[Ithekro]

I seem to recall that Kyon too wanted to see Yuki smile again.

[Vallen Chaos Valiant]

Originally Posted by Jonbob0008

What I meant was that Yuki didn't need to be in a romantic relationship with Kyon to get character development.

They are already close friends. Yuki can't get new character development from Kyon from where she is currently standing.

[Jonbob0008]

Originally Posted by Vallen Chaos Valiant

They are already close friends. Yuki can't get new character development from Kyon from where she is currently standing.

Just because she can't get character development directly from him doesn't mean he can't be there to witness it come from other sources. I'm not buying the idea that her character development is done. It doesn't take a lot of imagination to come up with other ways her character could develop without the need for romance.

[Vallen Chaos Valiant]

Originally Posted by Jonbob0008

Just because she can't get character development directly from him doesn't mean he can't be there to witness it come from other sources. I'm not buying the idea that her character development is done. It doesn't take a lot of imagination to come up with other ways her character could develop without the need for romance.

By "other sources" can you specify? Because I can't come up with a scenario without making it seem like Kyon is spying on her private life.

[Gamer_2k4]

Originally Posted by Vallen Chaos Valiant

By "other sources" can you specify? Because I can't come up with a scenario without making it seem like Kyon is spying on her private life.

Well, to be fair, every single bit of character development Yuki has gotten has been non-romance related. She got development from playing a freaking computer game, for crying out loud. And on the other end of the spectrum, she got development from overhauling the universe. There's a lot of room between those two extremes.

[Ithekro]

Having her interact with other would be something on its own. Kyon getting in on part of it so we get to know about it, but otherwise not be part of it would work. Even if it is only her going around with the Computer Club.

There was that guy that was into her as well, though that disappointed her (that in itself is a reaction more than simple observation). So it is possible for there to be things going on with Yuki outside the SOS-dan.

Having her speak freely would even be somthing...not just to Kyon, though I don't know how that will happen since Kyon has a tendancy to omit things that don't relate directly to his situation...though he will omit his own name.

With Yuki, simple things still work. An honest smile for instance.

[Jonbob0008]

Originally Posted by Vallen Chaos Valiant

By "other sources" can you specify? Because I can't come up with a scenario without making it seem like Kyon is spying on her private life.

Really? I can give you 3, all of which took less than a minute to come up with.

Yuki could start dressing normally outside of school, and even start clothes shopping. This would be evidence that Yuki is starting to care about how she looks. Kyon would notice this during one of the Brigade's "City-wide Searches." This is plausible given that Yuki has already started sprucing up her own home a little bit.

Or one time during a City-wide Search, Yuki decided to skip the library and go do something more stimulating, liking going to the arcade (cue the Haruhi-chan version of Yuki). Again, Kyon could witness this while being paired up with her.

Or Yuki could realize that after years of reading hundreds of novels that she wants to write her own novel (perhaps the events of Editor inspired her to become a writer). Kyon could discover this in one of two ways: Either he spots her using the laptop during club time, or he is approached by Yuki later so he could read the novel and tell her what he thinks.

All three of these are relatively simple examples of possible character development that don't require Kyon to be anything more than a friend, nor do they require him to be a stalker to find out about them. And I came up with these off the top of my head. I'm sure Tanigawa could do better with months of brainstorming.

Her personality doesn't have to alter drastically for it to count. Small changes over the course of several novels can add up.

[Gamer_2k4]

Originally Posted by Jonbob0008

Yuki could start dressing normally outside of school, and even start clothes shopping. This would be evidence that Yuki is starting to care about how she looks. Kyon would notice this during one of the Brigade's "City-wide Searches." This is plausible given that Yuki has already started sprucing up her own home a little bit.

Speaking of which, is there any reason given for her wearing normal clothes during Remote Island Syndrome? Did someone tell her to? Is the anime diverging from the novel? Or was this simply before it was decided that wearing her uniform non-stop would be a character trait?

[Jonbob0008]

Originally Posted by Gamer_2k4

Speaking of which, is there any reason given for her wearing normal clothes during Remote Island Syndrome? Did someone tell her to? Is the anime diverging from the novel? Or was this simply before it was decided that wearing her uniform non-stop would be a character trait?

I suspect it was to prevent Haruhi from getting suspicious. I mean, if Yuki had worn nothing but her school uniform the whole time (the trip was a few days long), I think even Haruhi would think that was REALLY weird. This was before the vast majority of Yuki's character development, so I doubt it was something she did because she felt like it.

[Gamer_2k4]

Originally Posted by Jonbob0008

I suspect it was to prevent Haruhi from getting suspicious. I mean, if Yuki had worn nothing but her school uniform the whole time (the trip was a few days long), I think even Haruhi would think that was REALLY weird. This was before the vast majority of Yuki's character development, so I doubt it was something she did because she felt like it.

I think Haruhi has come to terms with Yuki being weird (a scene that comes to mind is Haruhi asking where Yuki's glasses are, Yuki saying nothing, and Haruhi brushing it off); additionally, less than a month after the island trip, Yuki wore her uniform for at least two weeks straight when the Endless Eight stuff was going on.

[Jonbob0008]

Originally Posted by Gamer_2k4

I think Haruhi has come to terms with Yuki being weird (a scene that comes to mind is Haruhi asking where Yuki's glasses are, Yuki saying nothing, and Haruhi brushing it off); additionally, less than a month after the island trip, Yuki wore her uniform for at least two weeks straight when the Endless Eight stuff was going on.

That could still be justified with her washing them every night. But wearing the same uniform for nearly a week straight without washing? Eww (even though I doubt Yuki sweats, I also doubt that Haruhi knows that).

[Ithekro]

Or it was Haruhi's idea...much like the kimonos in Endless Eight. Also Yuki needed to change to a swimsuit for the beach.

Interestingly, she didn't really do anything on that trip aside from follow orders when given (the closed door, which some think was an attempt at humor). Otherwise she was relaxing and reading when not under command by Haruhi (the sticks game scene).