Ok, I finally got the stomach up to watch this - I had been putting it off once I found out that the Endless Eight arc didn't end here.
This was, in my view, the best Endless Eight episode, and
by far. The artwork is very,
VERY close to on-model with Season 1. There's a couple scenes in particular where the look, feel, and mood of the old Haruhi
is back - such as her body posture, heightened position, realistic anatomy definition, and imposing stance just before the SOS Brigade sets off on their summer's adventure.
Finally, Haruhi doesn't seem like generic bubbly cheerful slice of life teenage anime girl.
This was also Groundhog Day done
right for a change, thank Heaven. A Groundhog Day approach isn't only about breaking the loop. The
other big idea behind a Groundhog Day approach is that the same period of time is repeated in a loop,
but there's
significant plot-related differences from one iteration to the next, leaving something new and fresh to see each time; it's the unpredictability of "how will this iteration play out?" that's a big part of the fun behind a
good Groundhog Day approach, and which this arc has
horrifically failed to capture... with the exception of this episode which at least executes it somewhat well.
Well, this episode solved a voting dilemma for me.
On the one hand, each episode (viewed individually) isn't entirely bad on its own, but the arc as a whole is Groundhog Day executed
terribly for the most part. This is a rare case where the whole is
less than the sum of the parts.
So... how do I vote in a way to give justice to the strength of individual episodes, but to also show displeasure with the EE arc in general?
Well, with this episode being the best of the lot - I'm voting it a 9.
And I'm going back and voting the previous episode (K-ONified as it is) a 1.