The 2009 Re-Launch of Haruhi Suzumiya (General Discussion)

[relentlessflame]

Originally Posted by ultimatemegax

It says that in June 2007, there was a scenario planning meeting (if my translator is right) for the Disappearance movie. I find it odd that they met in the month preceding the 7/7 ad and video on the website. I remember that Yutaka Yamomoto, who apologized for the Endless Eight incident, was still on board at that time. It's possible that the whole "three years" and the eight episodes of Endless Eight to leave space for the movie were both intentional decisions made back in 2007.

Well, I'm not sure I'd necessarily interpret it that way. In June 2007 there was a scenario planning meeting for the Disappearance story (this was after Yamamato was "fired" from Lucky Star), but at that point they may not have decided yet if it would be a movie, a second TV series, or whatever. After the planning meeting they knew they knew they were going to produce something, hence the 7/7 ad. There's no way to necessarily say that they "intended" for the final product (the movie) to be released in 2010 at that point (I'm guessing probably not). But we can certainly say that work had started at that point on what would eventually become the movie. I would guess that it was later in the year that they decided on the movie path (in December, the "second season" was cancelled, but a "new animation project" was announced -- i.e. the movie. There were a bunch of staff changes at this time as well).

If you want my opinion, the re-broadcast itself was the result of the three year gap; I'm sure Kadokawa realized it was important to bring the franchise back into the public consciousness to drum up interest in the movie. And while they were at it they decided to fill in some of the missing gaps in the story (a few of which were important, and one of which critically so), but the problem of how to full a whole cour of episodes came up that would still be before the movie in the timeline... and hence Endless Eight was born. So, if you ask me, the whole thing is sort of the result of a whole bunch of factors both planned and unplanned. I don't think anyone ever sat down and said to themselves "let's make the fans wait three years for more Haruhi!", because that doesn't make a whole lot of sense from a marketing perspective. It seems to me more like playing the cards you were dealt, and making the most of it.

(And by the way, Yamamoto's apology was a total stunt. I like also how you called it an "incident". )

[quigonkenny]

Originally Posted by relentlessflame

And by the way, Yamamoto's apology was a total stunt.

QFT.

**INB4 rep drop from the Yamamoto fangirls**

[ultimatemegax]

Originally Posted by relentlessflame

Well, I'm not sure I'd necessarily interpret it that way. In June 2007 there was a scenario planning meeting for the Disappearance story (this was after Yamamato was "fired" from Lucky Star), but at that point they may not have decided yet if it would be a movie, a second TV series, or whatever. After the planning meeting they knew they knew they were going to produce something, hence the 7/7 ad. There's no way to necessarily say that they "intended" for the final product (the movie) to be released in 2010 at that point (I'm guessing probably not). But we can certainly say that work had started at that point on what would eventually become the movie. I would guess that it was later in the year that they decided on the movie path (in December, the "second season" was cancelled, but a "new animation project" was announced -- i.e. the movie. There were a bunch of staff changes at this time as well).

If you want my opinion, the re-broadcast itself was the result of the three year gap; I'm sure Kadokawa realized it was important to bring the franchise back into the public consciousness to drum up interest in the movie. And while they were at it they decided to fill in some of the missing gaps in the story (a few of which were important, and one of which critically so), but the problem of how to full a whole cour of episodes came up that would still be before the movie in the timeline... and hence Endless Eight was born. So, if you ask me, the whole thing is sort of the result of a whole bunch of factors both planned and unplanned. I don't think anyone ever sat down and said to themselves "let's make the fans wait three years for more Haruhi!", because that doesn't make a whole lot of sense from a marketing perspective. It seems to me more like playing the cards you were dealt, and making the most of it.

(And by the way, Yamamoto's apology was a total stunt. I like also how you called it an "incident". )

That logic makes much more sense than what I theorized. By airing the series out of order in 2006 they really complicated what they could do further on; which I assume is why they now have fixed the chronological ordering of the episodes.

I didn't read much into Yamamoto's apology as a true apology rather than something to grab publicity. I just found the statement about how Endless Eight was planned for multiple episodes back in 2007 interesting. I like calling it an incident due to fan reactions and how funny they were to watch last year.

[bayoab]

Originally Posted by relentlessflame

If you want my opinion, the re-broadcast itself was the result of the three year gap; I'm sure Kadokawa realized it was important to bring the franchise back into the public consciousness to drum up interest in the movie. And while they were at it they decided to fill in some of the missing gaps in the story (a few of which were important, and one of which critically so), but the problem of how to full a whole cour of episodes came up that would still be before the movie in the timeline... and hence Endless Eight was born.

But they didn't make the decision based on filling up the remaining episodes. They could have bought a standard 26 size block (6 eps) or a shorter 24 block (4 eps) but instead they decided on doing another 14 eps and buying an abnormal 28.

[TMSIDR]

Originally Posted by bayoab

But they didn't make the decision based on filling up the remaining episodes. They could have bought a standard 26 size block (6 eps) or a shorter 24 block (4 eps) but instead they decided on doing another 14 eps and buying an abnormal 28.

I think 4 episodes of Endless Eight would be a strange number so they decided to do the most extreme but at least a little bit logical decision to go with 8^^.

Furthermore, they probably wanted to give the fans hope that there are enough episodes left for Disappearance. And most of the fans (me included) believed that. It was certainly a strange decision and I think they didn't anticipate that the full range of "hatred" that E8 produced. I think the lower than expected sales of the BLR-DVD showed that.

[quigonkenny]

Originally Posted by TMSIDR

I think 4 episodes of Endless Eight would be a strange number so they decided to do the most extreme but at least a little bit logical decision to go with 8^^.

Furthermore, they probably wanted to give the fans hope that there are enough episodes left for Disappearance. And most of the fans (me included) believed that. It was certainly a strange decision and I think they didn't anticipate that the full range of "hatred" that E8 produced. I think the lower than expected sales of the BLR-DVD showed that.

4 Episodes would have done both jobs better than 8, actually. The E8 episodes would have worked better in a no ending-outright fail ending-tease fail ending-win ending format. And, ending it sooner would have actually built more hype for the possibility of Disappearance, since by the time E8 episode 5 or 6 rolled around, it was fairly evident that there would be no room for Disappearance after Sigh, but with nine episodes to play with it was conceivable we could see both.

[tyranuus]

You know I liked what they tried to show with Endless 8, and I did actually enjoy the little changes, but jesus christ even sitting down to watch the show at my own pace, Endless 8 was painful, I think 4/5 shows would have been a lot better, because it really did drag. With how long it went on I was half expecting the bit on the roof top where Itsuki tells Kyon to tell Haruhi he loves her to happen!

Especially after, having been watching watching in chronological order, Melancholy VI does make it clear that at least Haruhi feels something for Kyon, and possibly, even if the sarcy git won't admit it the other way too.
Gotta love Kyon's monologues though, he's certainly close to my own heart when it comes to attitude and his lack of enthusiasm for some of the stuff he's forced to do.

I liked the *idea* of E8, but I think some of the airtime would have been better devoted to some more random episodes, or more changes.

[relentlessflame]

Originally Posted by bayoab

But they didn't make the decision based on filling up the remaining episodes. They could have bought a standard 26 size block (6 eps) or a shorter 24 block (4 eps) but instead they decided on doing another 14 eps and buying an abnormal 28.

Yes, but then they wouldn't have had Eight DVDs and among them Eight episodes of Endless Eight!

And really, I could totally see them getting ordered up for 14 new episodes plus the movie, and having that boardroom meeting like "Okay, now what?"

(And actually, it looks Kadokawa bought at 52-episode block on most stations, with 28 Haruhi and 24 Kiddy Girl-and... for what it's worth.)

[Koter]

Hey guys. I was wondering if anyone knows anything about the plans of Tanigawa? When will we see the next novel, is he going to keep working on them after? And will there be more anime, after the Disappearance?

[Bri]

Originally Posted by relentlessflame

I don't think anyone ever sat down and said to themselves "let's make the fans wait three years for more Haruhi!", because that doesn't make a whole lot of sense from a marketing perspective.

That seems a pretty reasonable assumption but marketing considerations appear to come second to the needs of essential people on some anime projects.

I feel the interview on ANN with Tsuguhiko Kadokawa implies that director Tatsuya Ishiharawas was under a lot of pressure to deliver a quality sequel. But rather then finding a replacement who could do it faster, he was allowed to proceed in a slow and careful fashion, which explains the time between 2006 and 2009. Though the translation is a bit unclear so it leaves room for interpretation. Same really for the novels. If financial considerations were that important I'd have expected Tanigawa to hammer out more novels then he did after 2006.

[relentlessflame]

Originally Posted by Bri

That seems a pretty reasonable assumption but marketing considerations appear to come second to the needs of essential people on some anime projects.

I feel the interview on ANN with Tsuguhiko Kadokawa implies that director Tatsuya Ishiharawas was under a lot of pressure to deliver a quality sequel. But rather then finding a replacement who could do it faster, he was allowed to proceed in a slow and careful fashion, which explains the time between 2006 and 2009. Though the translation is a bit unclear so it leaves room for interpretation. Same really for the novels. If financial considerations were that important I'd have expected Tanigawa to hammer out more novels then he did after 2006.

Well, a decision to "take all the time we need to do this right" may have resulted in the three-year wait, but my point was that the delay was a consequence of other factors, and not itself the purpose. In other words, I don't think they started the process with a decision that, whatever they do, it had to take three years -- that's just how it ended up when all is said and done. I think you're right that, in that sense, the needs of those working on the project took precedence over pure marketing concerns, and that for better or worse -- generally, I would say better. With the novels poised to restart shortly, and the movie's great success among fans, it seems that the franchise is getting back on track.

[bayoab]

More clearance sales (already sold out):
Vol 2 LE, 76 yen: http://www.chara-ani.com/details.aspx?prdid=B10400557
Vol 3 LE, 381 yen: http://www.chara-ani.com/details.aspx?prdid=B10400559
Vol 4 LE, 381 yen: http://www.chara-ani.com/details.aspx?prdid=B10400601

[ultimatemegax]

We are stuck in an endless loop!
On the SOS Brigade official webpage, there was a notification today.


The first line is the current theatre list for the movie, but the second line translates to the following: Summer Vacation plans! All brigade members check back everyday! Lateness is prohibited!

When you click on the text, this happens:


A list of summer activities!

[Things to do during summer vacation unless you are useless]

• Overnight Summer trip (Checked off)
• Pool (Checked off)
• Bon Festival
• Fireworks display
• Part-Time Job
• Stargazing
• Batting Practice
• Insect Collecting
• Test of Courage
• Other various things

This is your xxxxxth summer vacation (changes whenever refreshed and is differently encoded)
Something may happen on the 30th, but even if nothing happens, it's nice that they decided to follow the timeline again.

[Ithekro]

There is no escape.

[Gyom]

With have to do homework !

[ijuinkun]

So, will this be 15,498 or 15,523?

[Jill-Jênn]

The question is: in what occurrence of the loop are we? But we'll ask ourselves this question each time.

[bayoab]

Originally Posted by Jill-Jênn

The question is: in what occurrence of the loop are we? But we'll ask ourselves this question each time.

Load the page, and either check the source code for the following line or highlight the bottom of the activity list: (It is encoded in EUC-JP unlike the rest of the page which is SJIS)

<font color="white">あなたの夏休みは11058回目・・・</font>

(If I recall how this script works right, it randomly selects a number and then selects the appropriate list of events. It looks like they are doing it in their backend instead of the front end this year.)

[Jill-Jênn]

LOL.

But, actually, the list of events doesn't change, does it?

[ultimatemegax]

Originally Posted by Jill-Jênn

LOL.

But, actually, the list of events doesn't change, does it?

No, just the hidden counter at the bottom of the list. It's likely we'll see the events marked off throughout the next two weeks.

I'm wondering if the change in encoding is to blame for the page being off-center. It's usually centered, but with this new list, it's moved to be left aligned.