AnimeSuki Forums

Gamer_2k4 · 2010-08-30, 01:35

First season, airing order, first impression: 8/10
Second season, airing order, first impression: 5/10
Full 28 episodes, chronological order: 7/10
Movie: 9/10
First season, first six chronological episodes, second impression: 8/10
First season, remaining chronological episodes, second impression: 6/10
Novels: 5/10
Series as a whole: 6/10

Okay. Time for some justification.

The anime totally exceeded my expectations. While by no means a masterpiece, it was helped along quite strongly by the art, the humor, the characters, and the twist. I went in expecting a high school comedy like Azumanga Daioh, and I went out thinking. "WOW, that was pretty freaking awesome." I attribute this largely to the unusual airing order, which accomplished two major things. First, the mediocre episodes are sandwiched between better ones, so you have a more consistent experience. Second, the series climax was put off until the very end (concluding the anime with great episodes like Live a Live, Day of Sagittarius, and MHS 6), so I was kept on my toes the entire time. I was left with the "that was awesome" feeling, which totally overshadowed any misgivings I had up to that point.
"Hey, Kyon's going back in time. Hey, and there he's - Oh. OH. That's...pretty cool. Wow. Okay, they have summer vacation. Bland, but whatever. Okay, they have summer vacation again. And, uh...here's a third time. Four in a row? Really? Meh, skip through, skip through...yep. They did it. They really aired the same episode eight times. That's weak. Oh hey, they're making that stupid movie! Hmm, so that's why that happened...and that's why that happened... and YES! DO IT KYON! HIT HER! DO IT! Aww.... Well, that was all decidedly mediocre. And why'd they fire the old artists? This new style is awful."
I'll be generous here and exclude six of the Endless Eights from my rating (which would have sank it like a brick). The chronological rewatching was fun because I got a chance to see all the little things I missed before (I remember yelling "FROG SUIT!" the first time I saw Someday in the Rain, having no idea where it came from). It was decidedly nice to see the the six eponymous episodes in a row, as well as not having the gap between the two Remote Island Syndrome episodes. Finally, I had a weird unfulfilled sense of closure after seeing Someday in the Rain at spot 9 in my first viewing; this order validated that closure. It provided a nice conclusion to the two seasons, as well as a decent transition to the movie itself.
The movie is interesting because it's essentially the first novel, only with Yuki cast as the protagonist. I made a post somewhere else explaining the comparison, but the major similarity is that a godlike character remakes the world but undoes it for Kyon. And since I liked the first novel, and since I like Yuki, and since the music and art and animation were all fantastic...Two thumbs up. Amazing movie.
Excellent, excellent, excellent. Tight plot, great cast, and a stunning reveal and subsequent climax. Just package this as a six episode OVA, and everything will be perfect.
Live a Live and Day of Sagittarius saved this from being lower (about time we got some freaking character development around here). The movie was funny and served its use as a hook into the real anime, but loses points for clearly being a gimmick. The baseball episode was unimpressive. ("Hey, let's do something completely normal and boring, only there are minor shakeups because Haruhi's a god!" "Uh...isn't that the plot of pretty much every episode?" "Eh...don't think about that.") Remote Island Syndrome was more of the same; perhaps it was mildly interesting by itself, but as a part of a series, there was nothing special about it. Mysterique Sign was flashy but ultimately superfluous. And Someday in the Rain? Let's just say there's got to be a better way than removing Kyon from the picture to show how important he is to the show.
Maybe it's the translations I'm using, but Tanigawa just doesn't strike me as that good of a writer. His pacing is poor, his writing priorities can be messed up, his conflict resolutions are just awful (for the original example, admitting in the text that kissing someone to save the world is cliche doesn't make it any less cliche, or any better of a plot point), his plot mechanics are just straight up wonky, and on the whole he strikes me as the sort of guy who writes about whatever seems "cool" to him without giving it much further thought. There are plenty of occurrences in the novels that don't stand up to scrutiny at all (why characters act the way they do, why things happen the way they do, etc.), and I think it amounts to more than just literary license for producing fiction. Being picked up by an animation studio (which, in addition to increasing the audience, can and did also tighten the pacing) was probably the best thing that ever happened to this guy.
So why do I rate the series as a whole so poorly, especially since I care enough about it to discuss it with you guys, since I have all of the episodes and novels on my computer, and since the majority of my desktop backgrounds feature the cast of the SOS Brigade? It's because the series as a whole is decidedly average, though there are notable high points. It's hit or miss, but when it hits, it hits home runs. Those home runs are what retain my interest. The animation really brings out a lot of character and subtlety that are hard to interpret from the novels. In fact, given how much I do like the series, it's a bit remarkable to go back and see episode after episode that are just lackluster. The novels themselves provide a decent complement to the anime, but there's really nothing special about them, and they suffer for not having the niceties of animation, or even the fully illustrated form of a manga. (For comparison, I like the Neon Genesis Evangelion manga significantly more than the original anime; also note that many books are truly better than their movie counterparts. These just aren't.) It's rather telling that the only novel I really like besides the first one is the fourth, which, as I mentioned above, is essentially a retelling of the original material. The "Haruhi weirdness of the week" format isn't at all compelling, the characters have limited development, and overall, it's just a mediocre series.

Pikasprey · 2010-09-11, 18:55

I gave it a 9 out of 10. Started and finished it recently. It's one of the greatest anime I have ever watched but those damn Endless Eight episodes were the only thing stopping me from giving it a 10.

Can't wait to see the movie.

Gamer_2k4 · 2010-09-13, 10:48

The real shame about E8 is that there really are a lot of subtleties with Yuki that make it worth watching, like her looking progressively more bored, or her inconsistent counts of the different activities from episode to episode. However, a lot of people just don't have the patience to marathon that sort of thing (like me), and I think the animation studio could've accomplished the same thing in four episodes. Perhaps show the original loop, then loop 5000, then loop 10000, then the last one.

From what I understand, though, they almost had to have made it like that; there was nothing else that occurred before Disappearance chronologically. Bamboo Leaf Rhapsody and E8 were necessary to set up the movie, and Sigh...well, it might as well be thrown in for the sake of completeness.

I think my biggest problem with the Sigh arc is that nothing really HAPPENS. We see the couple of weird things in Episode 00 get resolved (Yuki tackling Mikuru, Shamisen talking, etc.), but besides that, the most emotion I can muster is, "Eh...so what?" Episode 00 already conveyed "a bunch of clueless high schoolers make a movie and suck at it," and it just seems redundant to show the actual sucking.

***CrowKenobi*** · 2010-09-21, 10:32

The posts after the previous one I moved to the general discussion thread since the interesting discussion started to move away from talking about the impressions of the entire anime series to date.

aruchan · 2010-09-21, 22:28

Oh... the second series. <_< Endless Eight was really boring. I got so bored of it I watched the first... 2? Or three, and then I just skipped to the end. Really bad choice. But I <3 the series otherwise. Unlike some of the other animes about school life, it has character development (even personality development), has a quick and interesting plot, interesting characters (especially Haruhi and... well, I like Itsuki.

), and a blend of so many other genres. And Haruhi has a personality really close to mine--which I'm not sure is a good thing. xD And it has science, which is one of my favourite subjects.
As such...
1st series: 10/10
2nd series: 6/10 (or 8.5-9/10 without Endless Eight)
Characters: 10/10
Plot: 9.5-10/10
Development: 10/10
Haruhi: Priceless.

Ballad · 2011-01-05, 21:32

Ahh, love this series. I think I might marathon it this weekend, or maybe tonight, I'm kind of eager to watch it. :P

10/10 for me. Always has been, always will be.

Berlin · 2011-01-06, 19:06

I loved the show no matter the order but WTH was up with the endless 8 part of the series..... it seemed to me a total waste of an episode since it could of been summed up in two episodes or maybe three but eight....... that was the only thing that made me mad about the series.

Berlin · 2011-01-06, 19:16

Quote:

Originally Posted by aruchan

Oh... the second series. <_< Endless Eight was really boring. I got so bored of it I watched the first... 2? Or three, and then I just skipped to the end. Really bad choice. But I <3 the series otherwise. Unlike some of the other animes about school life, it has character development (even personality development), has a quick and interesting plot, interesting characters (especially Haruhi and... well, I like Itsuki.

), and a blend of so many other genres. And Haruhi has a personality really close to mine--which I'm not sure is a good thing. xD And it has science, which is one of my favourite subjects.
As such...
1st series: 10/10
2nd series: 6/10 (or 8.5-9/10 without Endless Eight)
Characters: 10/10
Plot: 9.5-10/10
Development: 10/10
Haruhi: Priceless.

I agree 100% and I did the same thing with the endless eight but eventually I watched them all just to say I did but the differences in them mostly was the cloths and minor dialogue changes nothing to say it was worth the time spent but overall the series has one of the best character development I have watched in a series. The movie rocks. On a different note doesn't Haruhi kinda remind you of Hirasawa, Yui from K-on another fav. but only the first season still can't make it through the second season.

ClannadDango · 2011-01-08, 17:18

I've heard alot about this show, mainly that it was the "Harry Potter" of the anime world. People I talked to are split, saying they either love it or hate it. I must say that after watching it I fairly enjoyed it. It's much better that the shows they have here in America today. I thought it was excellent concidering I just started recently watching the anime medium.

CrimsonSunshine · 2011-03-28, 22:56

I love this series so much. I love Haruhi, the character, so much. (Despite the many people who despise her) And, with that being said, I gave it an 8! You know, 8, as in... Aha, no! I ranked it an 8 because the Endless 8. Otherwise, it would have gotten a 9, or possibly a 10. The best part about this anime is, while I don't generally find most of the characters interesting, Haruhi is so fun, she more than makes up for it.

Hmm, I'll say this
Without Endless eight - 9
Without Endless eight and in chronological order - 10

If only...

View Poll Results: The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya - Total Series Rating
Perfect 10	52	27.51%
9 out of 10 : Excellent	47	24.87%
8 out of 10 : Very Good	27	14.29%
7 out of 10 : Good	24	12.70%
6 out of 10 : Average	16	8.47%
5 out of 10 : Below Average	7	3.70%
4 out of 10 : Poor	8	4.23%
3 out of 10 : Bad	2	1.06%
2 out of 10 : Very Bad	0	0%
1 out of 10 : Painful	6	3.17%
Voters: 189. You may not vote on this poll

2010-08-30, 01:35	Link #81
Gamer_2k4 Anime Cynic Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: USA Age: 35	First season, airing order, first impression: 8/10 Second season, airing order, first impression: 5/10 Full 28 episodes, chronological order: 7/10 Movie: 9/10 First season, first six chronological episodes, second impression: 8/10 First season, remaining chronological episodes, second impression: 6/10 Novels: 5/10 Series as a whole: 6/10 Okay. Time for some justification. The anime totally exceeded my expectations. While by no means a masterpiece, it was helped along quite strongly by the art, the humor, the characters, and the twist. I went in expecting a high school comedy like Azumanga Daioh, and I went out thinking. "WOW, that was pretty freaking awesome." I attribute this largely to the unusual airing order, which accomplished two major things. First, the mediocre episodes are sandwiched between better ones, so you have a more consistent experience. Second, the series climax was put off until the very end (concluding the anime with great episodes like Live a Live, Day of Sagittarius, and MHS 6), so I was kept on my toes the entire time. I was left with the "that was awesome" feeling, which totally overshadowed any misgivings I had up to that point. "Hey, Kyon's going back in time. Hey, and there he's - Oh. OH. That's...pretty cool. Wow. Okay, they have summer vacation. Bland, but whatever. Okay, they have summer vacation again. And, uh...here's a third time. Four in a row? Really? Meh, skip through, skip through...yep. They did it. They really aired the same episode eight times. That's weak. Oh hey, they're making that stupid movie! Hmm, so that's why that happened...and that's why that happened... and YES! DO IT KYON! HIT HER! DO IT! Aww.... Well, that was all decidedly mediocre. And why'd they fire the old artists? This new style is awful." I'll be generous here and exclude six of the Endless Eights from my rating (which would have sank it like a brick). The chronological rewatching was fun because I got a chance to see all the little things I missed before (I remember yelling "FROG SUIT!" the first time I saw Someday in the Rain, having no idea where it came from). It was decidedly nice to see the the six eponymous episodes in a row, as well as not having the gap between the two Remote Island Syndrome episodes. Finally, I had a weird unfulfilled sense of closure after seeing Someday in the Rain at spot 9 in my first viewing; this order validated that closure. It provided a nice conclusion to the two seasons, as well as a decent transition to the movie itself. The movie is interesting because it's essentially the first novel, only with Yuki cast as the protagonist. I made a post somewhere else explaining the comparison, but the major similarity is that a godlike character remakes the world but undoes it for Kyon. And since I liked the first novel, and since I like Yuki, and since the music and art and animation were all fantastic...Two thumbs up. Amazing movie. Excellent, excellent, excellent. Tight plot, great cast, and a stunning reveal and subsequent climax. Just package this as a six episode OVA, and everything will be perfect. Live a Live and Day of Sagittarius saved this from being lower (about time we got some freaking character development around here). The movie was funny and served its use as a hook into the real anime, but loses points for clearly being a gimmick. The baseball episode was unimpressive. ("Hey, let's do something completely normal and boring, only there are minor shakeups because Haruhi's a god!" "Uh...isn't that the plot of pretty much every episode?" "Eh...don't think about that.") Remote Island Syndrome was more of the same; perhaps it was mildly interesting by itself, but as a part of a series, there was nothing special about it. Mysterique Sign was flashy but ultimately superfluous. And Someday in the Rain? Let's just say there's got to be a better way than removing Kyon from the picture to show how important he is to the show. Maybe it's the translations I'm using, but Tanigawa just doesn't strike me as that good of a writer. His pacing is poor, his writing priorities can be messed up, his conflict resolutions are just awful (for the original example, admitting in the text that kissing someone to save the world is cliche doesn't make it any less cliche, or any better of a plot point), his plot mechanics are just straight up wonky, and on the whole he strikes me as the sort of guy who writes about whatever seems "cool" to him without giving it much further thought. There are plenty of occurrences in the novels that don't stand up to scrutiny at all (why characters act the way they do, why things happen the way they do, etc.), and I think it amounts to more than just literary license for producing fiction. Being picked up by an animation studio (which, in addition to increasing the audience, can and did also tighten the pacing) was probably the best thing that ever happened to this guy. So why do I rate the series as a whole so poorly, especially since I care enough about it to discuss it with you guys, since I have all of the episodes and novels on my computer, and since the majority of my desktop backgrounds feature the cast of the SOS Brigade? It's because the series as a whole is decidedly average, though there are notable high points. It's hit or miss, but when it hits, it hits home runs. Those home runs are what retain my interest. The animation really brings out a lot of character and subtlety that are hard to interpret from the novels. In fact, given how much I do like the series, it's a bit remarkable to go back and see episode after episode that are just lackluster. The novels themselves provide a decent complement to the anime, but there's really nothing special about them, and they suffer for not having the niceties of animation, or even the fully illustrated form of a manga. (For comparison, I like the Neon Genesis Evangelion manga significantly more than the original anime; also note that many books are truly better than their movie counterparts. These just aren't.) It's rather telling that the only novel I really like besides the first one is the fourth, which, as I mentioned above, is essentially a retelling of the original material. The "Haruhi weirdness of the week" format isn't at all compelling, the characters have limited development, and overall, it's just a mediocre series.

2010-09-13, 10:48	Link #83
Gamer_2k4 Anime Cynic Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: USA Age: 35	The real shame about E8 is that there really are a lot of subtleties with Yuki that make it worth watching, like her looking progressively more bored, or her inconsistent counts of the different activities from episode to episode. However, a lot of people just don't have the patience to marathon that sort of thing (like me), and I think the animation studio could've accomplished the same thing in four episodes. Perhaps show the original loop, then loop 5000, then loop 10000, then the last one. From what I understand, though, they almost had to have made it like that; there was nothing else that occurred before Disappearance chronologically. Bamboo Leaf Rhapsody and E8 were necessary to set up the movie, and Sigh...well, it might as well be thrown in for the sake of completeness. I think my biggest problem with the Sigh arc is that nothing really HAPPENS. We see the couple of weird things in Episode 00 get resolved (Yuki tackling Mikuru, Shamisen talking, etc.), but besides that, the most emotion I can muster is, "Eh...so what?" Episode 00 already conveyed "a bunch of clueless high schoolers make a movie and suck at it," and it just seems redundant to show the actual sucking. __________________

2010-09-21, 22:28	Link #85
aruchan Junior Member Join Date: Sep 2010	Oh... the second series. <_< Endless Eight was really boring. I got so bored of it I watched the first... 2? Or three, and then I just skipped to the end. Really bad choice. But I <3 the series otherwise. Unlike some of the other animes about school life, it has character development (even personality development), has a quick and interesting plot, interesting characters (especially Haruhi and... well, I like Itsuki. ), and a blend of so many other genres. And Haruhi has a personality really close to mine--which I'm not sure is a good thing. xD And it has science, which is one of my favourite subjects. As such... 1st series: 10/10 2nd series: 6/10 (or 8.5-9/10 without Endless Eight) Characters: 10/10 Plot: 9.5-10/10 Development: 10/10 Haruhi: Priceless. __________________ make a wish: http://www.real-wishes.com

2011-01-08, 17:18	Link #89
ClannadDango A novice to anime Join Date: Apr 2010 Location: Nor*Cal, Rokkenjima, Illusionary World	I've heard alot about this show, mainly that it was the "Harry Potter" of the anime world. People I talked to are split, saying they either love it or hate it. I must say that after watching it I fairly enjoyed it. It's much better that the shows they have here in America today. I thought it was excellent concidering I just started recently watching the anime medium. __________________ Watch Umineko/Inception Ending: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=woFeR...layer_embedded

2010-09-11, 18:55	Link #82
Pikasprey Wannabe writer Join Date: Sep 2010 Location: Halifax, Canada Age: 29	I gave it a 9 out of 10. Started and finished it recently. It's one of the greatest anime I have ever watched but those damn Endless Eight episodes were the only thing stopping me from giving it a 10. Can't wait to see the movie.

2010-09-21, 10:32	Link #84
*CrowKenobi* One PUNCH! Administrator Join Date: Dec 2005	The posts after the previous one I moved to the general discussion thread since the interesting discussion started to move away from talking about the impressions of the entire anime series to date.

2011-01-05, 21:32	Link #86
Ballad robots & skateboards Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: NS, Canada Age: 29	Ahh, love this series. I think I might marathon it this weekend, or maybe tonight, I'm kind of eager to watch it. :P 10/10 for me. Always has been, always will be.

2011-01-06, 19:06	Link #87
Berlin Member Join Date: Jan 2011 Location: In the Milkyway!	I loved the show no matter the order but WTH was up with the endless 8 part of the series..... it seemed to me a total waste of an episode since it could of been summed up in two episodes or maybe three but eight....... that was the only thing that made me mad about the series.

2011-03-28, 22:56	Link #90
CrimsonSunshine We live to make tomorrow Join Date: Mar 2011 Location: Outer space	I love this series so much. I love Haruhi, the character, so much. (Despite the many people who despise her) And, with that being said, I gave it an 8! You know, 8, as in... Aha, no! I ranked it an 8 because the Endless 8. Otherwise, it would have gotten a 9, or possibly a 10. The best part about this anime is, while I don't generally find most of the characters interesting, Haruhi is so fun, she more than makes up for it. Hmm, I'll say this Without Endless eight - 9 Without Endless eight and in chronological order - 10 If only...