The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya - Episode 7 Discussion / Poll [2006 TV ep. 4]

[ordnance11]

Originally Posted by Vexx

I must say if they can pull this off in the series, it will be brilliant ... I love time fragmented story experiments where you have to "grok" the whole thing through spacetime to grasp the story. Its like a step above "point of view" narration where the same story gets told via different people and you have to piece it together after reading the whole thing.

The closest anime series MSH comes to ,as far as fragmentation goes in my opinion ,has to be RahXephon. Even if the story if told in a linear fashion, you keep getting the feeling you blundered into the middle of a greater story, which hooks you into the story. You keep watching the episodes from start to finish, over and over, just to pick up clues

[Vexx]

It has me really interested in the episode in which we and Kyon really discover and come to grips with Haruhi actually being who she is.

[melange]

Originally Posted by Kamui4356

What impresses me is KyoAni is able to do it without a large segment of the novels' fans screaming about it. Most studios would have screwed things up by now if they changed the order of events, yet KyoAni hasn't. That shows their quality work. Besides, one could always rewatch the episodes in the order Haruhi gives in the previews so it's presented in a more linear fashion. Personally, I think linear is overrated.

Being a novel reader, I think the novel fans aren't screaming about it because...

1. To a degree thats the way the novels were written. The stories are presented to you scattered around the timeline in way as if Kyon was going, "I told you about A and then about B. Now about just before the time B happened there was this little incident called C..." The skips about the timeline Kyo-ani is doing just so happens to push this even further.

2.

Spoiler for minor hint at gist of later stories:

Towards the later novels (vol 3,4 onwards) the best stories are about jumping and shifting through time.

Thus by changing the presentation of the order of events (note that the actual chronology hasn't been changed) Kyo-ani actually plays to the strengths of Suzumiya Haruhi no Yuu-utsu's source material and thus the novel fans are actually deliriously happy that they are doing so.

[Thelastguardian]

I am a bit late, but I must confess I am also Yuki's fan .

Spoiler:

Someone I know once commented that Yuki is the second main character of the series and that the series should change its name to The Melancholy of Nagato Yuki .

Which does fit the story, surprisingly.

There are many arcs in the story that we see Kyon interacts with Yuki more than he interacts with Haruhi.

cough*3*cough*5*cough

Yuki is a very deep character, more so than Haruhi. You can see traces of her personality transformation as the story goes along. It is quite amazing and give you a lot to think about- what would happen if you place an AI or an alien into her position, and how will she/he grow.

Edit: I gave this episode an 8 for two reasons.
One for the lack of Kyon's sneak remarks about all the people (including his grade 5 little sister) hitting home runs(picky I know ).
The other one is related to the thing I said above.

Spoiler:

If you check the novel, the author tells you that after Itsuki asked Yuki for her help with the bat, Yuki turned around and stared at Kyon. I feel that this is a very hint as to how her character will progress.

Sadly KyoAni choosed to skip that. Pity.

[Sushi-Y]

Originally Posted by Kamui4356

What impresses me is KyoAni is able to do it without a large segment of the novels' fans screaming about it.

I'm not screaming about it because, like melange mentioned above, they didn't actually try to change the actual episode contents (ie. they didn't try to alter the baseball competition, making it look like it happened after Yuki's confession in episode 3). Instead, all they did was shuffle up the episodes and playing them in a non-chronological order. Which, for us novel fans, is a familiar sight since the novels are pretty much like this too (well, not as extreme as slipping in a side-story in the middle of another story, but close enough).

Originally Posted by Thelastguardian

I am a bit late, but I must confess I am also Yuki's fan .

Spoiler:

Someone I know once commented that Yuki is the second main character of the series and that the series should change its name to The Melancholy of Nagato Yuki .

Which does fit the story, surprisingly.

There are many arcs in the story that we see Kyon interacts with Yuki more than he interacts with Haruhi.

cough*3*cough*5*cough

Yuki is a very deep character, more so than Haruhi. You can see traces of her personality transformation as the story goes along. It is quite amazing and give you a lot to think about- what would happen if you place AI or an alien into her position.

Spoiler for novel names:

If you ask me, volume 4 could be renamed to 長門有希の憂鬱 (Nagato Yuki's Melancholy), and volume 7 could even be called 長門有希の自立 (Nagato Yuki's Independence) (Yuki's "Because I don't want to" (したくないから) statement made me go o.O).

[Cal-Reflector]

So without any familiarity with the background of the story whatsoever I began watching.

I confess, I'm just a little bit (just a little bit) confused, but that's quite alright I suppose.

If there's a Mikuru-faction out there (as opposed to Haruhi's), the moment I joined it was the line in episode 3 where she says to Kyon:

"Kyon-kun... if I become ruined for marriage... will you take me?"

*Cue roomful of US marines (or stereotypically hot-blooded men of action otherwise) jumping to their feet with a mighty bellow, stout hearts roused and crimson blood boiling with the chest-pounding righteous outrage to defend the Goddess of Moe in distress*

Yes, that's all I have to say.

That and my face is seriously going numb from the stupid, weirded-out grin that's been pasted on it for the past 80 minutes.

[Kamui4356]

Originally Posted by Sushi-Y

I'm not screaming about it because, like melange mentioned above, they didn't actually try to change the actual episode contents (ie. they didn't try to alter the baseball competition, making it look like it happened after Yuki's confession in episode 3). Instead, all they did was shuffle up the episodes and playing them in a non-chronological order. Which, for us novel fans, is a familiar sight since the novels are pretty much like this too (well, not as extreme as slipping in a side-story in the middle of another story, but close enough).

Most studios, doing a similiar reshuffling of events, would have changed them to some degree. It might be that the novels lend themselves to this, but KyoAni has also been able to keep things somewhat understandable to people who hadn't read the novels, shuffle the order, and not really change anything. That can't be an easy balance to maintain. You have to be very careful about what you show and when. Thinking about it that way, starting with the "movie" was a great idea. Although Itsuki and kyon's sister weren't formally introduced in the anime, we still have some idea who they are, allowing them to be used without completely throwing off everyone who hasn't read the novels.

Btw,

Spoiler for Itsuki question, though I'm not sure I really want it answered:

When he tagged the runner sliding into second out, was that a bit of his power? After all, the guy was already sliding when Yuki's throw reached Haruhi, so unless the guy was just shocked about the power of that throw, the only ways Itsuki could have gotten there in time were some sort of teleport, super human speed, or freezing time.

[viper]

Originally Posted by Kamui4356

Spoiler for Itsuki question, though I'm not sure I really want it answered:

When he tagged the runner sliding into second out, was that a bit of his power? After all, the guy was already sliding when Yuki's throw reached Haruhi, so unless the guy was just shocked about the power of that throw, the only ways Itsuki could have gotten there in time were some sort of teleport, super human speed, or freezing time.

I think his slide just ended short of second and he didn't bother to haul his ass over from the shock of the throw. Thats what I believe...

[mr.muffin]

Originally Posted by Kamui4356

Btw,

Spoiler for Itsuki question, though I'm not sure I really want it answered:

When he tagged the runner sliding into second out, was that a bit of his power? After all, the guy was already sliding when Yuki's throw reached Haruhi, so unless the guy was just shocked about the power of that throw, the only ways Itsuki could have gotten there in time were some sort of teleport, super human speed, or freezing time.

I think the runner was just totally stunned by the power of the throw. Haruhi was stunned too. She's got a pretty high tolerance for pain tho.

[Adigard]

Originally Posted by Kamui4356

Btw,

Spoiler for Itsuki question, though I'm not sure I really want it answered:

When he tagged the runner sliding into second out, was that a bit of his power? After all, the guy was already sliding when Yuki's throw reached Haruhi, so unless the guy was just shocked about the power of that throw, the only ways Itsuki could have gotten there in time were some sort of teleport, super human speed, or freezing time.

I vote for what's behind door #1. Everyone involved (Kyon, Haruhi, and the poor runner from the college team) were all still in shock.

For the best viewpoint... i'd suggest 20m:18s > 20m:20s (ish). Frame advancing it in order to get the best timestamps I noticed that Kyon's hair might suddenly be a tad shorter on one side. T_T

As the ball hits Haruhi's glove (let's not ask how fast it was moving), Haruhi looks down and to her left, obviously believing she caught the ball (looks like it hurt!). The other team's runner sees the ball hit Haruhi's glove and continue flying towards Itsuki. (Actually on a frame-by-frame advance it looks a little weird). The runner appears to step onto the base, but falls backwards in suprise (That ball was moving). He actually ran past one of Haruhi's legs, which tells me he likely landed at least one foot on the base. Haruhi grins confidentaly. BTW, anyone looking for an unclaimed Haruhi siggie image should check that grin @ 20:19. I'm sure I've seen it captured somewhere, but it's a nice smile ^^

//EDIT: Nevermind, panzerfan is already working with that image on making a siggie ^^

Haruhi then looks shocked to see both the ball and glove are missing. Itsuki cathes ball and glove, checks that he has the ball, then starts to walk fast towards the camera.

Haruhi is still staring at her glove-less hand, the other team's runner is still on his rear is shock.

[Kamui4356]

Originally Posted by Adigard

I vote for what's behind door #1. Everyone involved (Kyon, Haruhi, and the poor runner from the college team) were all still in shock.

For the best viewpoint... i'd suggest 20m:18s > 20m:20s (ish). Frame advancing it in order to get the best timestamps I noticed that Kyon's hair might suddenly be a tad shorter on one side. T_T

As the ball hits Haruhi's glove (let's not ask how fast it was moving), Haruhi looks down and to her left, obviously believing she caught the ball (looks like it hurt!). The other team's runner sees the ball hit Haruhi's glove and continue flying towards Itsuki. (Actually on a frame-by-frame advance it looks a little weird). The runner appears to step onto the base, but falls backwards in suprise (That ball was moving). He actually ran past one of Haruhi's legs, which tells me he likely landed at least one foot on the base. Haruhi grins confidentaly. BTW, anyone looking for an unclaimed Haruhi siggie image should check that grin @ 20:19. I'm sure I've seen it captured somewhere, but it's a nice smile ^^

//EDIT: Nevermind, panzerfan is already working with that image on making a siggie ^^

Haruhi then looks shocked to see both the ball and glove are missing. Itsuki cathes ball and glove, checks that he has the ball, then starts to walk fast towards the camera.

Haruhi is still staring at her glove-less hand, the other team's runner is still on his rear is shock.

Ah yes, at full speed, it looked like he was starting to slide, but pausing it, he clearly fell back. Plus that was some throw. I can't say I blame them for being so shocked. They should have just made Yuki pitcher from the start. They probably would have been able to win without needing "homing mode". Though who could catch for her?

[celcius]

Whoever it is that has to catch the ball beside the umpire (sorry, not familiar with baseball, we don't have baseball), will die a horrible death. If he/she ahppens to survive through the game, well, he/she would have his/her hands scarred for life.

Well, maybe Haruhi could.

[Kezane]

I've just realized how ingenious this anime is.

A problem many anime suffer from is the abundance of filler, or any filler episodes at all.

If anyone had though about it, were the series played in chronological order, episode "7" would essentially have been a meaningless filler episode.

Instead, it's been transformed into a stylistic styory-telling technique, hinting at previous important events, spurring the viewer on to view the next few "previous" episodes.

From a simple filler episode into a highly entertaining episode, giving all sorts of clues about the events that happened in between, to leave the viewer guessing, and wanting more.

Genius.

[Onizuka-GTO]

He calls Haruhi a "genius"! It's the end of the world! run for your lives!

*kyon runs*

[Souten no Seigyoku]

This is probably a marketing ploy. Buy the DVDs to see them in order or something. Episodes 2 and 3 were in order I think. Ep 00 (or 1 i think) and Ep4 were out of order.

[Onizuka-GTO]

Originally Posted by Souten no Seigyoku

This is probably a marketing ploy.

Best marketing ploy. EVER

[Setzu]

I love it. Reinforcement of characters personality through acknowledgement of the viewer, and in an episode preview no less.

When she said episode seven, she meant it folks.

[felix]

Nice episode... I see that they're keeping with the surprises... nice to see some new ideas in an anime... the jump in episodes is very interesting and makes for great character development...

Story... Brilliant... I would comment on it but the episode is worth 24 mil words... and I'm too lazy to write

Character development... Excellent... just the way it should be... NO X learns stuff and becomes stronger... NO Y changes his beliefs... minimal change is my favorite type of character development ... just show me some new character characteristic from time to time and I'll be happy

Humor... Perfect... first time an anime made me Laugh Out Loud (... I think this is so common for this anime that it’s becoming a cliché in this thread...)

Fanservice... Perfect... since I didn't notice any cheesy "she's sexy" crap... it's perfect for me

Kyons Opinions... Good... need more damit

Added up... with my own personal math system ... I say the episode was Excellent

Originally Posted by Kezane

From a simple filler episode into a highly entertaining episode, giving all sorts of clues about the events that happened in between, to leave the viewer guessing, and wanting more.

Lets hope they end it wide open as well... just not too wide open

... Considering the current episode progress... can anyone estimate how many episodes they can make out off the novels ?... I remember reading a post saying that the anime is going to be a nice 13 episodes... but I'm wondering how many they can make...

And one more thing ... are the novels finished (complete) ?

Originally Posted by Onizuka-GTO

He calls Haruhi a "genius"! It's the end of the world! run for your lives!

... when I read it I thought he was referring to himself...

[Lost]

Originally Posted by BlackCatXIII

Humor... Perfect... first time an anime made me Laugh Out Loud (... I think this is so common for this anime that it’s becoming a cliché in this thread...)

Fanservice... Perfect... since I didn't notice any cheesy "she's sexy" crap... it's perfect for me

Well on that first line; I have never laughed so much during any other series I've watched. And yeah, its the throw-back-head laugh-out-loud kind of laugh.

About fanservice, do you know the part that scared me most in this episode?



See the close proximity of Mikuru-chan to Haruhi? I was actually fearing another xxx exploitation of Mikuru-chan by Haruhi to procure the field. Remember the I've-caught-you-on-camera moment in the computer lab in Ep3?

[felix]

It's very weird... I totally spoiled myself with games and other... uh... stupid stuff... and even if I didn't play much with dolls and other normal stuff... I still managed to maintain my sensible side ... but the Mikuru torture doesn't even phase me, it's not funny either, but it's kind of... uh normal... I think I know why, but I'll never tell