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Blazing General
Join Date: May 2006
Location: CA
Age: 37
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I ranked it a 9. I'm one of those '10 is for perfection' people. If there had been a dramatic, sweeping overplot that had developed all the characters significantly but nonetheless left all the other good points of the series intact, I could have ranked it a 10. But perfection isn't easily attained, and I'm pretty sure some grand dramatic plot would have diminished other parts of the series sufficiently to make it a 9 again. But... there's always hope.
My gut-level evaluation:
I love MoSH. It's the best anime I've watched. The characters, no matter how archetypal, felt fresh and were fun to watch. The animation was great. The voices felt appropriate to their characters. There may not have been a strong overplot, but I wanted to see what the characters would do next time, and usually I wanted to see them do it again. It didn't require me to think, but it gave me opportunities to. It Was Fun.
Now for the pickier intellectual analysis:
Value:
Many critics have pointed out that this series acts like it's original while using concepts that are omnipresent in anime. Haruhi's eccentricity, as Taniguchi says, 'takes a path unlike any you've ever seen,' but she's still your basic self-righteous socially inept tsundere. Mikuru's cowering may be especially moe, that still just makes her the $1 special edition at the dime-a-dozen fanservice store. Yuki? Yeah, I loved Yuki... back when she was named Hanajima Saki. Itsuki pretty much is his philosophical ramblings and none-too-subtle interest in Kyon. The main character has secret powers? That's pretty much a truism in anime. High-school hijinks with a cast of weirdos? Masaru would be proud. Taken out of the context of the entire show, the only thing about it that seems even close to original is Kyon's often-clever stream-of-conscious evaluation of the events surrounding him.
So why am I not one of the people beating this series with the 'overrated' stick? Here's a phrase English professors love: 'subverting the paradigm.' The fact is, MoSH was constructed so that any plot contrivance it cares to implement, and especially those that are typical of anime, has a built-in explanation in Haruhi's attempts to make the world conform to anime stylings and the rest of the cast's need to keep her happy. That Haruhi assembles the Archetype Crew BECAUSE they represent their archetypes is the best example of this, and one I found both clever and hilarious... but it's that the entire show is set up for that kind of thing that's the best part. The self-deprecation of the first episode only enhances it. And that's why I think it can fairly be said that it subverts its paradigm, rather than just being a slave to it. Add to this an extremely memorable cast and a lot of Kyon's wit, and you've got a show that I'll enjoy enough to rate 9/10.
Characters:
The star here is Kyon. I'm not going to claim that Tanigawa Nagaru is the Japanese James Joyce or anything, but Kyon's stream-of-conscious-esque commentary is what gives this series its unique feel. Fortunately he's funny, so the fact that he hardly ever shuts up (at least in his head) is to the series' benefit. I like dry humor and sarcasm, so Kyon provides more or less constant amusement for me. Kyon's character development is nice and even- he slowly adjusts to the reality of the SOS-dan and comes to appreciate the rest of the cast, but the weirdness of his situation is always there in the back of his head (as the narration often demonstrates) and he never loses his critical voice, he justs brings it slowly into line with the reality he finds himself in.
Haruhi I have a hard time judging individually because I like the tsundere archetype anyway, but she displays a personal magnetism and level of physical energy that set her apart. Watching her, I easily understand why Kyon got dragged along in her wake against his better judgement. Her megalomania is hilarious, and while I'd take issue with her lack or moral scruples in real life, as a character I'm more than willing to forgive her when she provides me scenes like... say... all of episode 11. God I love episode 11. Her frequent lecturing of Kyon is usually funny too. Her development is the most obvious with episode 12, and to those who argue that the switch in that episode from a near-sociopathic personality to empathy and effort for the sake of others is too sudden, I respond that there is clear build-up in the baseball and island episodes, and that with her impulsive personality, I would expect her first act of kindness to come out of the blue as well.
I was serious when I said I loved Yuki when she was named Hanajima Saki. They hardly the same character- though I would love it if Yuki grew to show a personality comparable to Hanajima's, which is just right for the quiet-but-oh-so-useful type. But make no mistake, Yuki has a personality of her own. Yes, it's understated, but this presents its own advantages: even though her characterization and development are slight and in reaction to exposure to new people rather than life-changing events (well, I guess socializing with people might count as life-changing for Yuki), because she's effectively a blank slate even small changes or character-defining reactions are readily apparent.
Unlike some fans I love it when Itsuki's around. His philosophical babble usually isn't especially helpful, but unlike Mikuru's explanation of time travel or Yuki's 'you wouldn't understand this if I tried to explain it'-type responses, they're something you can actually wrap your head around easily. His hand gestures and the reactions he provokes from Kyon amuse as well. Unfortunately, he's also the character with the least development... frankly, I can't spot any at all, and you'd think that all this Yuki-watching would teach me to find some little things. Unlike the big three I can't say he's a 'good' character, just one I like to have around.
And last we come to poor Mikuru, Haruhi's chosen source of fanservice for the series. My evaluation is much like my evaluation of Itsuki... her mannerisms (see: cowering, mind-numbingly cute crush on Kyon) are amusing, she gets good reactions from other characters (Kyon may take number one spot for me, but he wouldn't be nearly as great without such great foils), but with little development, I can't call her a good character, just one I like to have around.
IQ:
I'm goind to have to disagree about the series being deep. Things like the Schroedinger equations flying around in the opening, Yuki's book choices, Kyon's historical and literary references, and Itsuki's philosophical meanderings are references to things that require thought. Mikuru's line 'we could no longer travel back in time,' properly examined, is the most mind-bending idea I've ever encountered in anime (one word: metatime). But, like Kyon, we get by just fine by accepting the limitations of our brain with regards to time travel and the nature of incorporeal intelligences or assuming Itsuki is just making all that crap up and waiting for something that really matters, like the subjects of all that jabbering threatening someone's life or reality as we know it. There are parts of this series that are empty intellectual fluff, like said flying equations or Mikuru's description of time and time travel, and there are parts that warrant real thought like Itsuki's subjectivist stance in reaction to his absolute knowledge of the mutability of their reality or Haruhi's existentialist crises. But... I don't know, it just didn't challenge me to think. It makes its references and provokes some thought, but I can't honestly call it cerebral. Among anime it might qualify as an intellectual giant (and frankly, I wouldn't know, since I usually stick to comedic titles), but it isn't exactly Parfit or Hofstadter.
Animation:
Yeah, it's superb for a television show. I love watching the characters move, whether it's Haruhi pacing, gesturing, and drop-kicking, or just Yuki flipping pages in a book.
Man, that feels good to have typed out. Thanks for your indulgence.
Last edited by Kikaifan; 2006-07-31 at 02:11.
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Author
By my math, that makes 59,238 drops. Of those about 43 thousand (I rounded up in the initial estimates), or about 72% of the people who dropped it did so after those three episodes.
