The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya S2

Summary:

It’s July 7th and Kyon is bothered by the sweltering summer heat. Haruhi, on the other hand, is elated because it is Tanabata and she has a  big plan for a “grand Tanabata event”. During the planning of her big event in the clubroom, Haruhi became strangely dejected, much to Kyon’s curiosity. As the other SOS Brigade members leave the clubroom, Asahina asks for a favour from Kyon, and it involves travelling back in time with her. What does she have in mind and where exactly where in the future is she intending to bring Kyon and herself to?

Within anime circles, 2006 is arguably the year that is synonymous to the emergence of a female anime character who has now become somewhat of a deity to some anime fans – Haruhi Suzumiya. Since the first season appeared three years ago, the series has enjoyed a stellar success because of its unconventional story concept and out-of-the-box episode arrangement that only Haruhi is capable to doing with her godlike capabilities.  The sequel is naturally surrounded by a lot of hype as to how it can emulate such a tremendous feat like its prequel has. Well, KyoAni did manage to put this series under the spotlight, but it’s all for the wrong reasons, where a phenomenon called Endless Eight has put the series into intense controversy.

The Endless Eight is a story arc introduced in the midst of the series and it has sparked fierce debates not because of its ingeniousness; rather, it is because of KyoAni’s decision to reiterate the same storyline eight times in a single series. Each episode bears only superficial differences and the reason why the staff decided to do such a thing has resulted in countless theories and assumptions by the viewers and everyone else involved. Some of the optimistic opinions include the staff’s experimental intent of spotting the minute developments that each episode has, while other cynical ones include the failed attempt at unique storytelling. Each episode in the arc bears zero entertainment or watching value and by the time it reaches the end, the viewers would have been irate at the hours they have wasted on watching basically the same episode for the eighth time.

The Endless Eight is not downright terrible per se, but it does drain the interest in viewers to see what the hype is all about surrounding this series.  Eventually, viewers would grow weary of the arc just after a few of the episodes and to make things worse, the arc wraps up with a somewhat predictable ending that seems too trivial to solve the dire problem. From a retrospect, it sets viewers thinking on the mediocre note the arc begins on, and how equally dissatisfying the end is as well. In a cynical point of view, the arc serves nothing to the overall plot and frankly, it has become a topic of how viewers respond to the arc rather than a substory within a series itself.

Enough about the arc though; Suzumiya S2  has another two arcs, “Bamboo Leaf Rhapsody” and “The Sighs of Haruhi Suzumiya”. The latter is an arc that is integral to the entire story of Haruhi Suzumiya, and while the former is something that seems to be an add-on for the series. Both are quite enjoyable to watch but seeing this series as a whole, one may feel dissatisfied as how ordinary Suzumiya S2 turns out to be. Where is the creativity that makes the prequel ever so popular even until now? What happened to the unconventional storytelling that would render a series unpredictable and riveting to watch from start to finish? Why does the animation look shoddy compared to the prequel? Why is there a strange feeling that some of the scenes resemble those in K-On? These are some of the questions that viewers would be begging to be answered and this sense of dissatisfaction is what renders the series disappointing and a failure.

If there is one thing that I can conclude on both Suzumiya S2 and the prequel, it is that both series have attained such a name for themselves but both have done so for contrasting reasons. I shall make it clear that although I am not a big fan of the first season, it is clear to see why it has such a huge positive impact on the anime community. Unfortunately, it is not the same case for this series where, despite ending on a good note, the series has sustained massive damage from the dreadful Endless Eight. Some viewers suggest giving the arc a pass but that would defeat the purpose of making a conclusion on a series that would otherwise contain only six episodes. KyoAni has done a lot better in its previous works – where some are among my favourites –  but this is a series that has tarnish the production’s reputable name and one that shall be remembered just because of an infamous arc.