In 2006
Kyoani’s
Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya took the anime scene by storm. By 2009
Haruhi was an established name and the relaunch with new season 2 episodes received a mixed reception. What is the score after seeing the two seasons? I marathoned both seasons in chronological order in two evenings in search for an answer .
Impression
The second season is not a standalone series and should really be seen as an expansion of the first season rather than a separate entity. In fairness, the original 2006 season is quite unbalanced. The broadcast order improved the 2006 version by spreading the key
Melancholy arc out over the season and ending it on a high note with
Melancholy VI. In the chronological order, the story reaches it’s climax too early and there is a sense of missing information for the latter events. For example Haruhi’s surprise turnaround in
Live Alive does not make much sense without seeing the events in
Sigh.
Adding the two seasons together offers a surprising improvement in the overall flow of the story. The extended first season feels far better balanced. The introduction is clear and solid with the full Melancholy arc which establishes the characters and sets up the plot, then a few episodes that focus on character interaction.
Endless Eight kicks of the second part of the season,
Sigh builds up the tension between the factions in the SOS-dan, ending with the
The Adventures of Mikuru Asahina.
Live Alive and
Days of Sagittarius show the new, slightly more compasionate Haruhi. Yuki’s character receives more and more attention during the second part of the combined season and I assume that something will happen in the upcoming
Disappearance Movie (haven’t read the novels). The story winds down gracefully in
Someday in the Rain. Already enjoyed that episode a lot in the 2006 season but it makes far more sense at the end of the extended season. It shows off the character development in both Haruhi and Kyon and their strengthened bond after the events in
Sigh without either explicitly acknowledging it.
Endless Eight
Everything worth saying on the impact of this controversial arc on fans has been done to death in other threads so I will limit to the extent it influences the combined season.
E8 is a massive block and it slows down events to allow a focus on details. Story wise it effectively cuts the season in two and starts the slightly darker second half. For those who do not like the idea of watching the eight episodes again, it works perfectly fine as a three part story capturing pretty much all story elements. I’d recommend either the second, fourth or fifth episode for the middle part as these offer the most visually. If you are interested in animation techniques, each episode in
E8 seems to emphasize different visual elements and the being able to follow the gradual evolution of the art style is pretty unique.
E8 ep2 for example was the first s2 episode where CG light sources were used extensively again,
E8 ep4 focused on backgrounds (clouds),
E8 ep5 on color use and
E8 ep7 on still shots.
Animation
The quality of animation has improved in the 2009 parts, motions are more fluid and the characters take on a wider range of expressions as can be expected from a progression in animation techniques in the time between. There are differences; the color palette, backgrounds, character designs and CG effects have changed. Also the total quality varied a lot per episode in season 2.
BLR and
Sigh I were the worst of both seasons. Very basic colors, poorly detailed backgrounds and little to no CG effects like the added light sources and Kyoani is known for. Just compare
Melancholy III to
BLR for the scene at Yuki’s apartment. The colors are not changed in the artificial light in
BLR and the background lighting is simplified.
The 2006 version made better use of CG lighting; the colors were changed to reflect artificial light at night and the applied filter added to the atmosphere. I’m tempted to say that
BLR and
Sigh I were rush jobs as there were some superb S2 episodes as well.
E8 episode 5 and
Sigh III and
Sigh IV were beyond anything seen before in S1. Particuarly the talk between Yuki and Kyon after leaving the restaurant, the compilation of summer events in
E8 ep5 and the shrine scene with Kyon and Koizumi comes to memory.
Colors
In general you can say the 2006 episodes had a more subdued colors palette creating a more realistic natural look. The 2009 episodes use more primary, saturated colors quite similar to
Clannad and can be called more atmospheric. One exception is at the end of
E8 episode 2, the scene at the batting center till the end, they used the same subdued colors as S1 so it suggest a deliberate style choice and not an inability to recreate it.
Character designs
For some reason the character designs for the second season have been altered.
Shoko Ikeda is the main character designer for both seasons, she adapted the original designs by
Noize Ito for animation. The 2006 designs were long legged with short torsos and relatively wide heads especially on the girls. For the 2009 version the proportions of the faces were altered; the width was reduced and the line art for the jaws no longer consisted of a single curved line, instead receiving an angle change halfway. The eyes were slightly altered as well. To compare:
Furthermore the males received larger eyes and made to look younger and less bulky. The torsos off all characters were heightened, the hips have become more dominant and the legs shortened and finally the feet were reduced in size. There is a resemblance to the
K-on! anatomy but
Ikeda never worked on
K-on!, both the designs for
K-on! and
Lucky Star were adapted for animation by
Yokiko Horiguchi, so it may be just coincidence. I like Haruhi and Kyon slightly better in their 2006 forms, but Mikuru, Koizumi and Yuki’s designs were definitely improved in the 2009 version.
CG effects
A key strength of
Kyoani has always been using digital effects to manipulate light and color. If I look at the 2009 episodes it took them three episodes to get back to their normal standard.
BLR had only basic effects,
E8 ep1 was an improvement,
E8 ep2 was very experimental and after that episode, average quality jumped (with
Sigh I as exception) and resulting in the previously mentioned gems of
E8 ep4 and
Sigh III and
Sigh IV.
Direction
The directors of the 2006 season used more original camera angles, were more creative with stills and had used background shots more effectively. S2 was more conservative in that respect but having more animation time and a higher pace per episode might result in different choices that I can’t judge. In general I think the 2009 season was lacking in consistency regarding quality but when they got it right, they really got it right as these examples show:
Plot
The real strength of this anime is the basic premises of a world revolving around the life of a single individual, and who must not be allowed to notice this.
The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya is more than just a high school comedy. It’s clever and down to earth sci-fi of the best sort. The anime has a way of hiding upcoming events in plain sight, only to realise this message in hindsight.
Haruhi and Kyon are great characters whose respective flaws draw them inevitably together. Haruhi is a caricature of the natural achiever and homo universalis, a person who has the potential to change the world but lacks the focus and morality to make a difference. Kyon is the opposite, the noble, socially gifted slacker with a conscience who is headed for a life of mediocrity and boredom before being rescued by Haruhi and becoming her moral guardian. They save each other from themselves, and reluctantly start to develop feelings without being willing to acknowledge them.
Impact and revised impression
I value anime that after rewatching retain their impact or even improve over time. Haruhi Suzumiya is still a fairly recent anime but definitely found a place among other anime I keep enjoying time and time again like
SDF Macross, Urusei Yatsura, Seikai no Senki, Evangelion and films by
Oshii and
Miyazaki. Haruhi still suffers from the internet hype surrounding it, but I don’t think it will take too long for that to die down. Hopefully this very nice anime will soon be judged on its true merits instead of gimmicks.
As for a final judgment, the combined season is better than its parts, the main storyline has become more consistent and balanced and the characters have gained in depth and development. The varying quality of the second season coupled with a not completely successful change in character design is a slight minus, though
Kyoani still has the magic and I am looking forward to seeing the movie. Hopefully a real second (or third depending on pov) season will follow after. For me the show is still the most enjoyable anime of the last 5 years so I rate it 10 out of 10.
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