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

[khryoleoz]

Just got my region 1 DVD of the 2nd season. I'm relieved that the content is still premium stuff, but bitterly disappointed with the cheap packaging! Bandai Ent, fans (those who still buy actual media products like this one) deserve better than this!

Just finished watching all of Endless Eight, and having marathon'ed all eight eps, the experience was even better than the original weekly broadcast run! It felt very much like an extended Twilight Zone episode, mysterious and eerie! I don't know how anyone can fault KyoAni's adaptation of a single chapter to an expanded arc in which we got to share in the characters' experiences yet had been given such lovingly detailed variations with each episode! Now on to Sighs, and next Disappearance when that comes out. And should they come out on Blu-Ray, I'm getting them all again in HD!

[Heminga13]

Originally Posted by khryoleoz

Just got my region 1 DVD of the 2nd season. I'm relieved that the content is still premium stuff, but bitterly disappointed with the cheap packaging! Bandai Ent, fans (those who still buy actual media products like this one) deserve better than this!

What do you mean by 'cheap packaging?' I won't get my copy for another day or two, so I'm curious.

[khryoleoz]

So it's great that it comes with the whole season on 3 discs, comes with a DVD extra and CD that has the OP ED themes.

No booklet! Major bummer. Worst of all, the case is one of those cheap plastic kinds where a disc layers above another. It's like an anime legends packaging, which sucks compared to the first season's and Lucky Star's limited edition releases.

[Heminga13]

Originally Posted by khryoleoz

So it's great that it comes with the whole season on 3 discs, comes with a DVD extra and CD that has the OP ED themes.

No booklet! Major bummer. Worst of all, the case is one of those cheap plastic kinds where a disc layers above another. It's like an anime legends packaging, which sucks compared to the first season's and Lucky Star's limited edition releases.

Yeah, mine actually did come today so I was kind of surprised.

I would've preferred the packaging style of the Anime Legends box sets to be honest. It's like a cheaper version of that with crappier middle pieces that you push to pop out the disc (still trying to figure out how to get the two discs on the back out...).

Edit - Alright, I got the last two discs to pop off. The reason I hadn't up until now was because I thought I might break the disc by pulling up on a side any farther. I'm not sure how durable discs really are (I haven't tried to break one before) but it seems like they made the [I don't know what you call the middle pieces that the hole of the disc fits onto] a lot tougher to use they needed to be (I've never had a problem with any other DVD/CD/Blu-ray item).

I'll probably glance over each of the DVDs later just to see how the menus and stuff look but probably won't watch them for awhile (when I feel like running through all 28 episodes again).

[TakariCritic]

Hey, also got my copy today. Yeah, getting the dvd's out was a pain, but overall I'm pretty pleased with the content, even if the presentation is lacking.

Haven't watched them all, but I perused the Location Scouting extras, and its amazing to me, how I remember the settings as the team went through the different locations they use in the series. If I was a resident in that area, it'd be almost freakish watching Haruhi and thinking how easily they'd fit in at those places.

The dub so far is good, but they seem to be speaking at a much slower pace than in S1. I understand that it's dependant on the translation and the animation, but that tiny shift in words per minute leaves a more relaxed feel rather than intense.

[drobertbaker]

I just finished watching the 2nd season.

1. Were they out of their minds with that Endless Eight thing? A hot property like this and they showed that every week for 2 months? Ai-yah! I'm glad I didn't have to listen to the bitchin'!

2. I enjoyed The Sigh of Haruhi Suzimiya. The old spirit was back. I liked seeing the answers to questions from 3 years before like the talking cat. One question left though: Who did the special effects on the film? Or is that another long and involved time travel story revealed elsewhere?

3. I really liked the part where he was gonna smack her one. And he was really gonna too! Great tension and an interesting resolution of sober 2nd thoughts.

[aegisofrime]

Originally Posted by drobertbaker

I just finished watching the 2nd season.

1. Were they out of their minds with that Endless Eight thing? A hot property like this and they showed that every week for 2 months? Ai-yah! I'm glad I didn't have to listen to the bitchin'!

2. I enjoyed The Sigh of Haruhi Suzimiya. The old spirit was back. I liked seeing the answers to questions from 3 years before like the talking cat. One question left though: Who did the special effects on the film? Or is that another long and involved time travel story revealed elsewhere?

3. I really liked the part where he was gonna smack her one. And he was really gonna too! Great tension and an interesting resolution of sober 2nd thoughts.

There is a reason for Endless Eight... You will understand soon.

As for the special effects, the most logical explanation will be Yuki doing it. Especially when you consider the fact that Kyon's face was on the keyboard, Yuki's data manipulation seems a more plausible way of doing it.

The other possibility would be Haruhi's subconsciousness.

[Heminga13]

I just watched a few scenes from each disc to scope it out, and from what I saw it looked good. Except for the end of Endless Eight Part 8, Crispin just sounded kind of strange during the 'big part' of the cafe scene. Almost like he had a slight sore throat or something, but maybe it's just me. Anyway, kind of let me down a little because it's probably my favorite scene.

[khryoleoz]

Originally Posted by aegisofrime

There is a reason for Endless Eight... You will understand soon.

Yes. Endless Eight is one I appreciated much more in this adaptation than in the novel, especially the way in which it occurs (or that they recur?) or placed in the series' timeline of events. Bringing us into the experience of reliving events was an enjoyable ride but one I would say was better the second time around being marathoned in one sitting. Regardless, the expanded arc lends greater significance towards how a character develops in the next profound chapter that was so beautifully adapted into anime.

[drobertbaker]

Originally Posted by aegisofrime

There is a reason for Endless Eight... You will understand soon.

Originally Posted by khryoleoz

Bringing us into the experience of reliving events was an enjoyable ride but one I would say was better the second time around being marathoned in one sitting. Regardless, the expanded arc lends greater significance towards how a character develops in the next profound chapter that was so beautifully adapted into anime.

Really? You enjoyed watching it the 9th to 16th times even MORE than the 1st to 8th times? Well ... I'm agog.

Are you sure you guys ain't hip-motized or sumpin? Y'all sound a little like them pod folks on the late show.

I look forward to the revelation.

[bayoab]

Originally Posted by aegisofrime

There is a reason for Endless Eight... You will understand soon.

No, it was done that way to be "clever", "artsy" and to get the whole endless bit across. It really is not important in the grand scheme of things at all.

As for the special effects, the most logical explanation will be Yuki doing it. Especially when you consider the fact that Kyon's face was on the keyboard, Yuki's data manipulation seems a more plausible way of doing it.

The other possibility would be Haruhi's subconsciousness.

There is a third possibility: Those which do not belong.

[khryoleoz]

Originally Posted by drobertbaker

Really? You enjoyed watching it the 9th to 16th times even MORE than the 1st to 8th times? Well ... I'm agog.

Are you sure you guys ain't hip-motized or sumpin? Y'all sound a little like them pod folks on the late show.

I look forward to the revelation.

You've never watched and re-watched over and over again one movie or series that you really really loved? And here, we got 8 instaces each with certain varied elements in each instance. I suppose it also helped that the Endless Eight chapter was one of my most favorite chapters.

[ultimatemegax]

Originally Posted by Heminga13

I just watched a few scenes from each disc to scope it out, and from what I saw it looked good. Except for the end of Endless Eight Part 8, Crispin just sounded kind of strange during the 'big part' of the cafe scene. Almost like he had a slight sore throat or something, but maybe it's just me. Anyway, kind of let me down a little because it's probably my favorite scene.

It's not just you, that scene sounded very weird. He seemed almost too forceful to me.

I've taken some comparison screencaptures between the R1 Bandai release and the R2 Kadokawa/Kyoto Animation release. Both were captured using Media Player Classic - Homecinema x64 and saved via png. I simply combined the two screencaptures into one image for ease of comparison. I did not alter either image in any shape or fashion.

The Bandai release is always on the left and the Kadokawa/Kyoto Animation release is always on the right. Images are from: Bamboo Leaf Rhapsody, Bamboo Leaf Rhapsody, Endless Eight I, Endless Eight II, Textless ED, Textless OP, Location Scouting 07, Aya Hirano PV Making of Clip 06.

Spoiler for big images:

]

Also the lack of Koizumi artwork makes me very very sad.

[quigonkenny]

Originally Posted by ultimatemegax

It's not just you, that scene sounded very weird. He seemed almost too forceful to me.

I've taken some comparison screencaptures between the R1 Bandai release and the R2 Kadokawa/Kyoto Animation release. Both were captured using Media Player Classic - Homecinema x64 and saved via png. I simply combined the two screencaptures into one image for ease of comparison. I did not alter either image in any shape or fashion.

The Bandai release is always on the left and the Kadokawa/Kyoto Animation release is always on the right. Images are from: Bamboo Leaf Rhapsody, Bamboo Leaf Rhapsody, Endless Eight I, Endless Eight II, Textless ED, Textless OP, Location Scouting 07, Aya Hirano PV Making of Clip 06.

Spoiler for big images:

]

Also the lack of Koizumi artwork makes me very very sad.

Kind of makes you wonder why Japanese otaku put up with two episodes per DVD (at a much higher per-episode cost) when there's literally no noticeable difference in quality compared to the 4-5 episodes per DVD US version...

I do find it humorous to realize that in the time since these episodes first aired, I've actually learned enough Japanese that I can translate what's on the blackboard in the first screenshot (even down to the "light" kanji, although I didn't know the reading in this case)... The fact that I already knew what it's supposed to say helped, but not much... ^_^

[relentlessflame]

Originally Posted by quigonkenny

Kind of makes you wonder why Japanese otaku put up with two episodes per DVD (at a much higher per-episode cost) when there's literally no noticeable difference in quality compared to the 4-5 episodes per DVD US version...

Bit of a sidebar, but it's not a matter of "putting up with" anything, really. The perceived value of Japanese anime DVDs/BDs is not driven primarily by price/episode, but by "collector's appeal". If it were cheap and plentiful, more people may buy it, but it would lose the luster of something rare, special, and valuable. You're talking about a market where typically 90% will buy the Limited Edition of products, and people compare stores based on the quality of the store-exclusive bonus goods they offer. The reason why many hardcore collectors don't care much about most U.S. anime releases these days is that they're "worthless".

So anyway, yeah: suffice it to say, differing priorities. Probably you either "get it" or you don't.

[StarRodMan]

Wow, has the english dub come out already? I'll be sure to pick this up when I get the chance.

[OkamiNoKaze]

Got my season 2 box today, I'll have to say I like the way they split up Endless 8, you can basically skip disk two, if you're so inclined or showing it to new initiates into Haruhiism, so as not to scare them off of this or any anime altogether. As far as the packaging, at least it's not as annoying as the Azumanga Daioh one, I just got, where all 6 disks are stacked on top of each other. hmm, I wonder if you can buy multi disk DVD cases

[OkamiNoKaze]

Ooh, I made in amazing discovery today, fairly cool Easter Egg, on Disk 1, if you keep it on the second page of the extras menu, for a bit, it starts showing security camera footage of Haruhi and "John Smith" drawing their lines at the school. It's really long, I think it's supposed to be real time.

[Joe4evr]

Originally Posted by OkamiNoKaze

Ooh, I made in amazing discovery today, fairly cool Easter Egg, on Disk 1, if you keep it on the second page of the extras menu, for a bit, it starts showing security camera footage of Haruhi and "John Smith" drawing their lines at the school. It's really long, I think it's supposed to be real time.

That would probably be the same footage they put on the internet a few years ago. If I'm not mistaken, you can actually see some buildings change as the clip goes along.

Still, nice find, that.

[TMSIDR]

This was also on the Japanese Bamboo Leaf Rhapsody disc^^.