Anime: Suzumiya Haruhi no Yuuutsu (2009)

Note: Please refer to my Suzumiya Haruhi no Yuuutsu review for details. I'll mostly state the differences and comment about the new content.

Review
Back in 2006 the original Suzumiya Haruhi no Yuuutsu made quite an impact on the fandom. It brought school-life shows a production value never seen before, with vivid colors, a sharp and cute art style, and with top quality animation. I judge the show as the guilty one for changing the style of japanese animation, and this line of thought is reinforced when you check out how many hundreds of shows feature the same cute style. So, what's better than milk the franchise and release the same show again? Let's add a new season, merge them into one, and call it by the same name! Bones is doing the same with Full Metal Alchemist, why Kyoto Animation can't do it with its flagship franchise?

So they released Suzumiya Haruhi no Yuuutsu (2009), Haruhi (2009) for short. What's this about? Is it a remake like Bones' Full Metal Alchemist Brotherhood? Wait, the same show all over again? Yes! Fans rejoice! What we have here is the same, with fourteen (!!!) added episodes. Strangely, these episodes are a sequel (all of them numbered right after the first season), which makes me think why the hell they did release the fourteen first episodes again. Anyway, while the original content is exactly the same, this new stuff may be enough to please the fans, as it's basically just more of the same we had back in 2006.

1. Ha! The hype shows its true colors!
   I usually state that Haruhi was one of the most hyped shows I've ever seen. It was a crazy tale of a energetic girl who brings chaos to Kyon's life when she decides to create her brigand to find espers and other stuff. It has some other mind-twisting elements inside, but the basics were very simple. Regardless of this, the show was hyped because it was freaking beautifully animated and detailed, especially for a show that occurs inside a school.
   
   But hey! HEY! What's with all these low scores? People suddenly stopped liking Haruhi? No no, that's probably the hype factor. It's faded, most people watched it again and were probably enlighted, managing to see how the show was not all that masterpiece. It was good, but not everything the hype made they think. So it gets the scores it deserves even from many of its formers fanboys. That's a relief. A pity most people don't re-evaluate their previous ratings.
   
   Old production
   As I told you, we have fourteen new episodes. The old ones are exactly the same, ripped from the DVD release, so you can waste your money again to buy it once more (for those who pay to watch). The rest of the show is new, but certainly short of reaching the standards of the best shows of the year like the original Haruhi did. We basically have the same artwork with more distortions, similar backgrounds, and similar animation job from before. That's certainly good, it was Haruhi's strongest point, but three years passed and when comparing to other recent shows it loses a bit of the impact. It's still gorgeous and nice looking though. Sound-wise the show is roughly the same as well, mainly because nothing done in the new episodes is completely new or unexpected.
   
   The New Episodes
   I won't enter in the talks if the new episodes are worth a watch or not. But knowing that from these fourteen new entries, eight are roughly the same episode repeated again and again, with only slight changes, then you can make your judgment. I think Haruhi's authors were always trying to make a joke even though I'm certain they were just trying to do a good job. When it was released in 2006 we had the shuffled sequence of episodes, trying to bring some mystery and making people think that was "cult" or "smart", but it was just a stupid idea to mask how basic the plot progression and character development were. This time they make us watch the same episode eight times for fans to say "Wow! That's a smart idea, it's a very intelligent and cult plot device! Only the smart watchers can understand this!", but that's bullshit as well, even the former fans complained about it, it's just a way to troll the watchers. It's like an Xbox Achievement like "Endure the Endless Eight" and you can brag with your friends about it.
   
   The reminder of the episodes are not as bizarre, but also don't give us anything new. It's the original Haruhi all over again, so this can prove to be fun for those who truly liked the original show, but if you had the slight doubt back in 2006, you probably won't be amused by the rest.
   

Comments
I admit I was caught by surprise here. I wasn't aware that this show was released, I thought it was just the annoucement of a new DVD release, BluRay, or whatever. My friend (the same that worshiped the original Haruhi and annoyed me to watch it) said to me that it was a new season, so I gave it my try. I was surprised to see the same thing again. It made more sense because the episodes were in straight order, but I thought I would see something new like in Full Metal Alchemist Brotherhood. But no, it was exactly the same.

The new episodes felt even more like a joke. So yeah, why watch the same thing again? Haruhi had my respect for being a show that marked a transition of styles in anime industry, but it didn't deserve another season or something extra. It simply doesn't have enough content for these whole new fourteen episodes. Even the previous show already had small issues with a lack of content for its length. Perhaps this is the reason they released a part of it as a movie later. It's not a deep slice-of-life where they can throw new life-changing events to her life, the setting is not a full world where they can go explore somewhere else, the cast is not about to grow old and change their lives, it can only offer more school episodes, beach episodes, Haruhi's energetic attitude, the clumsy girl dumbness, the silent girl treatment, the typical protagonist, etc.

Anyway, if you want more of Haruhi, you can find it here, skip the original episodes and enjoy more Haruhi stuff. If the original show already made you doubtful, you can skip this. Don't do the same thing I did, even if it's for just fourteen episodes. I warn you it won't change your opinions about Haruhi for better.

So after steering clear of Haruhi after hearing the horror stories about endless eight, I've finally gotten around to finishing the second (new) half of the Haruhi series. In addition to the original 14 eps, you get an additional 14 episodes; well 7 if you consider endless eight as one... I followed Chihiro's ordering rather than the Visual Novel order as shown on the main page. Does the new content breathe new life or will I get bored and end up subconsciously rewriting the anime?

(Note that the review ratings here encompass all 28 episodes, not just the "new" content).

General Summary:
Haruhi is a pretty well known name in the anime community but if you haven't watched the original, you can rewatch it in this updated version. It's about a girl who, three years ago, became gifted with the subconscious ability to change the world how she sees fit. She assembles a band of interesting students and forms the SOS Brigade. These chosen students are secretly time travelers, aliens, and espers occasionally with their own motives but overall working to try to keep Haruhi from destroying the world as we know it. The story follows the SOS Brigade as they go along with Haruhi's antics; narrated by an ordinary (though somewhat cynical) human named Kyon, aka Haruhi's lap dog.

New Content vs Original (2006):
Minor details aside, there were really two primary arcs added vs the original. The really big one everyone talks about is endless eight. It's an endless loop of summer vacations where events end up resetting right before school starts, picked up by the next episode; each episode differs ever so slightly giving you a misleading feeling that it will finally end. The other major addition is the making of the Mikuru movie already shown in the first season. Mikuru beam... enough said.

Animation:
Coming from KyoAni, I wouldn't expect anything less. This is a very crisp show with good designs, colorful scenery, and fluid movements (+blinking). There were some annoyingly blatant CGI uses in the original series that carry over here, but the new content didn't seem to abuse it as much. I'm sure plenty of people would watch this just for Mikuru. Yes there is typical KyoAni moeness here.

Endless eight was a pretty gutsy call. Not only did you have to put the viewer through eight repeats of almost the same thing, but the animators had to draw things slightly different each time (including different outfits for everyone, and there's like 4-5 sets throughout each episode) and the VA's had to also say things slightly differently. As far as the animation is concerned, they did a good job of changing camera angles and the like to keep it interesting despite the literally repeating content.

There are a few fighting/action scenes in the Haruhi show ranging from Yuki's superhuman strength/recovery to espers turning into flying red blobs to defeat giant er... blue blobs. Some of these include some pretty detailed injuries to Yuki, who won't even flinch when being stabbed. As for ecchi, there isn't too much relatively speaking, just cosplaying Mikuru.

Sound:
The original OP and ED to the Haruhi 2006 return for the repeats here. Both are very fitting for the series, though I think the ED is a better melody (and has some really nice animation/choreographed dance). The new episodes have a new OP, also by Aya Hirano, which is a more rock-heavy piece, and to be honest she doesn't sound as if she's using her Haruhi voice. There is also a new pop-based ED, also sung by the female cast; but the first ED set a pretty high bar for comparison. Overall, I think the original songs were better, though the new ones aren't necessarily bad. BGM wise, it's supportive when it needs to be, with some fairly distinct pieces.

As this is a character-interaction based series, the VA cast play a tremendous role in making the show interesting. And there the cast does not disappoint. Aya Hirano, Yuuko Gotou, and Daisuke Ono are all pretty huge names and give their respective characters a wealth of personality. Though to be honest, you'll be hearing the most from Tomokazu Sugita who acts as both the main protagonist and narrator/commentor. If you don't like Kyon's somewhat dry and nonchalance personality, that may detract significantly from your enjoyment of the series.

Story:
The premise in Haruhi is interesting, if a bit wishful. The original series hit the anime world like a bombshell and forever redefined what you could do with a school-based slice of life. The actual story was also unique for being very unpredictable, I mean you have someone who could literally change the world at her subconscious whim. Though a bit confusing, this made it a very engaging watch.

However, the new content in this series, while informative and a nice bonus, is probably not what most people expected for the followup to the smash original. I'm sure endless eight must have been very challenging to produce but it sure didn't satisfy my appetite for new content. There just isn't enough new material to warrant watching this new version, other than bragging rights for having survived watching through endless eight.

Character:
The characters in Haruhi are what set this show above so many other school-based slice of life shows. Haruhi to this day is a benchmark for character personality, and the other characters aren't too shabby themselves. Whether it be the quiet yet mysterious Yuki or the sly, ever-smiling Itsuki, none of them come across as bland. Put all these characters together in a room and you're bound to get into some interesting/comical situations. The overall interactions are very good though the characters themselves are a bit more static than I'd like.

I will admit that there are some thrown in characters that aren't really well-introduced and developed, Kyon's friends and moe sister for example, but luckily their parts are small enough not to notice. There's even a little three-way relationship going on in SOS, though again I was terribly disappointed that it wasn't further developed and expanded upon in the second season.

Haruhi is a strange one. She's at times completely logical and level headed and at other times a dictator who expects everyone to obey her every command. Kyon is a strange one as well, I haven't come to a conclusion on what is going on in his brain (Haruhi vs Mikuru) but I find it rather depressing that he ends up as Haruhi's slave, as she almost always ignores his complaints.

Value:
The original series is a classic, there's no doubt about that. However, the new content is pretty marginal and only serves to lower the value overall (i.e. much lower value/length). The content is nice but totally optional in the greater scheme of things. It's still a fun and rewatchable show (perhaps minus endless eight) but given it's age the wow factor is now diminished.

If you've watched the original, I'd say this is a skip unless you're dying for any new content. If you haven't watched the original, then watch the original first, then apply the rule above.

Well!
First of all I would like to say I am a Haruhi fan And Recommend the First Series to everyone.
I waited 3 years for this series .

But Not expected THIS
Animation beautiful 7 but half of it is the first series which we have already seen,so 7/2=3.5or less ….
The graphics is good but I already saw most of it in the first series.
Sounds it gets 7 nothing special good It was the same good quality like I heard in the first series. Although they could at least make a new Intro (1st series eps). Well laziness is without a limit.
Story = 1
(ctrl+c ctrl+v) copy paste what else is there to say?
14 eps was copied and added (season 1), at least this time in the proper order.
Endless 8 was a copy of the first episode of (12) seven more times The others had only minimal changes.
20-24 Let's make an episode about how we made episode 25 (the Haruhi film)
zero originality
I would give 2 for the 2 original episodes but they made 8 copies of Endless 8 so I give 1.

Character development they didn't do anything i haven't seen yet and my personal woe is, they did a lot I didn't wanted to see.(Drugging Mikuru and bullying her so much....)

Value : nothing new so = 0
Enjoyment : If not about rewatching the old eps Endless 8 sure made me go to the edge of selfdestruction. =0


Advice to the creators of this “uninteresting anomaly”:
1. Next time Give the job to Haruhi….Even better quit making anime! XD
2. I repeat DO NOT MAKE ANY MORE COPIES OF OLD EPISODES I CAN WATCH THEM IF I WANT MULTIPLE TIMES ALONE!

Advice to fans If you saw the original (Suzumiya Haruhi no Yuuuts 2006) 14 eps
From this Anomaly only watch Episode 8 and Episode 19. The onther Eps are Copies of the old one
Or If you are interested in how Haruhi made the SOS bridge Film: „The Adventures of Asahina Mikuru Episode 00” in the anime Episode 20-24 (I found its boring compared to the fact that with an Esper an Alien and a time traveler and a god in a story could be more creative. But that is only my opinion).

Conclusion

With exception of ep08. and ep19.
DON’T BUY IT DON’T SEE IT
DON’T WASTE YOUR TIME WITH IT

It is about time someone gave the new season of Haruhi a proper review.

The new season included all the episodes of the original season, as well as new material in the form of episode 8 and episodes 12 to 24.
In hindsight, the decision to reuse all of the original episodes in the second season should have been a dead giveaway as to the quality of what's coming. But hindsight is always 20/20.

This review does not concern itself with the episodes of the original run in the series and only works with the new material.

Animation
The execution of visual side of things is on a very professional level. The pictures are flowing, the attention to detail is on a good level. From backgrounds to facial expressions - everything is polished to a good degree. The technical side of things is beyond reproach. The characters are drawn with great care. The moods of every single shot are all captured perfectly.

Seriously, the animators did a bloody good job.
The problem is, the task they were given was incredibly simple.

They were animating a series of talking heads, which default to a maximum of two facial expressions. The amount of action was even less than in Haruhi season one, where it was next to none to begin with. In fact, looking back at it, i realise that they drew everything so well because they didn't really have a whole lot to draw.

It can be argued that it's the horrible story holding back the animators, but that's simply not true. Because there are shows out there with stories even more horrible, which are still pretty awesome to watch ( *cough* Lucky Star *cough* ). Why are they awesome to watch? Well, because the guy, who was telling the animators what to do, actually stopped for a bit and considered how the picture stands on it's own.

You see, the picture needs to entice, to inspire, to draw you in and to keep you entertained. An ideal animation does not need sound or plot to hold your attention and interest. Most of Haruhi s2's animation does not even begin to approach that.

In short, the pictures were moving and pretty, but they also were boring as hell. So 100% marks for technical execution, 20% marks for artistic vision. Therefore 6/10 for animation.

Sound
6/10 for sound as well. All of the above reasons.

Everything is in place - SFX, background noises, whatever. Yet, why is Kyon's voice the only one sound i can stand in the whole series? Probably because he is as bored as irritated as i was when i watched this.

I guess the biggest breaking factor for me was Haruhi's voice acting. In season one, Haruhi sounded genuinely desperate to find something new and interesting. In season two, the feeling just wasn't there. Probably because the whole setting is not new or interesting, even to it's own voice actors.

Character Development
Pretty much every minute or two of episode 8 signifies some sort of development, for at least one of the main characters. That's how it should be for a Haruhi show.

During the other 13 episodes i only seem to recall two such events - one with Kyon standing up to Haruhi in episode 19 (Endless Eight arc final), and one with Kyon / Koizumi in episode 24 (Sighs arc final). Everything else was just every character doing their usual routines, which we have already seen so many times in season one episodes - which were actually reaired as well.

That kind of character development strikes me as seriously lame. Where is further development of Nagato's human emotions? Where is Mikuru dealing with being torn between secrecy and obvious affection for Kyon? Why the hell it took Kyon 8 episodes of absolutely nothing happening to grow a friggin' backbone? I guess we do get to see high-and-mighty Koizumi in a broken crying-for-help state, but why in the world did they decide for the actual breaking to happen off-screen?
And what's the point of the side characters? Just to be there and look pretty for the camera?

The ultimate ruling looks like this. There were no new characters introduced, and there were virtually no new developments for existing ones for the majority of the new content. That's a fail. The only upside is a good in-character implementation of original character designs.

Therefore 2 / 10 for character development.
It is, in fact, not even a job poorly done. It is a job not done at all.

Story
Haruhi is a character-driven show. Interesting stuff happening to Haruhi and her inner circle is it's story. In fact, it is explicitly being told by one of the characters that, even though there are various organisations fighting their own passionate battles around Haruhi, all of it has no meaning to Haruhi herself.

However, when the character development is as sad as it is, this line sounds less like a good story element and more like a cop-out.
The remaining two arcs had very little interesting stuff happening to the characters. Sure, the basic story elemets are there, but the space between them is filled with nothing but boredom.

Thus, story score is 2 / 10

Value:
There is no value in this. Everything that was done in this show was already done in Haruhi season 1, and much better too.
Well, i guess we got to see Mikuru squirm a bit more. Value 1 / 10.

Enjoyment:
I had my hopes up very high as i saw Kyon and Mikuru emerge from their 3 year stassis, as Kyon pondered the meaning of him stepping on some past butterflies.

At this point, i expected season two to be at least as good as season one was.

Boy, was i in for a disappointment.

2 / 10

Last time, I gave Haruhi 2006 a perfect 10/10 in all categories - the only anime I have done so to. Now, all you readers may have different opinions and rating systems, and a lot of you cannot support reasons for your ratings or just plain did not enjoy what you watched. Here in this review I will show why Haruhi is such a highly rated and enjoyable (and overrated/overhyped) show, and that this second season, which fills in chronologically missing stories, is still a great show.

I'll get this out of the way first: Endless Eight almost killed this season. Weeks 11 to 18 were broadcast to be the same one-episode story arc, all individually animated and voice acting worked. This daring decision by Kadokawa and Kyoto Animation had an obvious resulting effect, losing many viewers and decreasing the loyalty of the fans. While it could have been a two-three story arc, they decided to do it eight times over just to fulfill the titular promise. One inference is that we would feel the same melancholy as Yuki Nagato does (15498+ times the two weeks = 597+ years), but from an anxious fan-base's point of view it does not work at all, especially if 8/14 new episodes will not guarantee that the highly-anticipated "Disappearance" arc will get animated. We viewers waited three years for them to continue the hype, and they disappoint us with this near-insane scapegoated approval of planning this misuse of animation budget. Plain bad business modeling as even a fan-base of hundreds of thousands will have an upper limit in loyalty. It also has low rewatch value, seeing as the middle six episodes are almost not worth touching anyways.

HOWEVER, Endless Eight itself is a very good story filled with lots of fun and adventuring. Why are we wasting our summers studying, schooling, and sitting in our couches watching anime when we should be doing fun activities outside the house with our friends and family? It should last forever! True to Haruhi's personality, an assortment of activities enlisted Kyon and the rest to wear themselves out for their last two weeks of vacation, never with a dull moment.

Direction-wise, Endless Eight is also very well done. Each episode had its own individual storyboard, with many unique techniques to showcase the story for each iteration whether it be red herrings, unrecycling recycled animation, breakdown (as in shortening or worse in telling; subjective flavour) of a repeated plot, rising tension at every "conclusion", etc. It is almost compellingly fun (or a chore, if you are bored; you should not be bored! Get outside and do something!) to spot the differences in all the episodes, such as the stylish wardrobes, animation of almost all the activities Haruhi listed, delivery of lines (Kyon-kun, denwa!), drawing styles (sometimes their faces have been K-ON!-fied, sometimes CLANNAD, as per production team), and many more! You can tell the animators had a lot of fun (as a 10/10 in animation would tell you) working on the Haruhi franchise even if they knew they shot their source of money in the foot. All-in-all there were a lot of creative direction differences, all adding to the experience of watching this eight weeks in a row (for the most loyal viewers, anyways, like me!).

I'd say Endless Eight should deserve three paragraphs max, as should have the number of episodes. Bamboo Leaf Rhapsody was an excellent reintroduction to the season, with plot points very important to later-on story arcs. I shall now discuss the only other story arc: The Sighs of Haruhi Suzumiya.

"Sighs" is not the best story to be told, but author Nagaru Tanigawa has been penning smart things throughout the series. When I first read "Sighs", I was not very amused with details that will be explained below (skip paragraph if you feel you will be spoiled). If you have not noticed, I really dig around the community to find other people's opinions and insights on a series before I do a huge review on them (case in point: Lucky Star, ef, Rozen Maiden). In this case, "Sighs" should have been retitled "Jealousy". "Sighs" tells of the making of the infamous "Episode 00" movie in the span of five episodes. Haruhi was shown in a bad light through most of it, and we all wonder how Kyon can stand up to most of it. But if Kyon survived through the strange happenings in "Melancholy", then surely he can withstand the various immoral acts that Haruhi forces upon the SOS Brigade, especially upon pitiful Mikuru. But after finding out the reason (and it was explained in the last episode that I could have missed if I did not know beforehand...), I now have more appreciation for Haruhi's character and why she is the way she has been written to be. Yes, Haruhi can be extremely (bossy) sometimes, but she just proves that she's having a lot of fun, especially with her new-found friends she recruited only months ago.

And of course, the supernatural phenomenon surrounding Haruhi is always fun to watch, especially now that Shamisen's ability to speak has been revealed (like it wasn't obvious...). Kyon also gained some more character development, especially through "Sighs". Our once normal high school student has been changed (and still changing) with an eccentric girl in his life, as we normal folks should also (have been) be blessed with. I'll say, the ending to "Sighs" is really good!

Now that I've reviewed the second season, let's show to you folks not rating Haruhi higher than an 8 (SUBJECTIVE) why Haruhi should be the defining cultural icon of the 2000's. As a disclaimer, I do not support unsupported 10/10's these people who cannot support their reasons with decent reasons give to Haruhi, and I do not wish to be associated with them, nor do I think your opinion of this show should be changed because of such poor writing and "hating popular things is cool" sort of attitude. I also don't support the disloyal fans going 1/10 just because of the Endless Eight arc; they are understandable, but a stupid rating nonetheless. By the way, think of the next few paragraphs as an extension of my previous first season's review, and that my main review for the second season ended a paragraph back.

First of all, if you are watching anime especially of the high-school genre, then you should be aware of the Japanese cultures and customs. Japanese education is all about studying studying studying; never a fun moment. They get into universities just by memorizing facts, figures, and answers, hoping they do well on multiple-choice exams (as was shown in Love Hina and various). I am ever grateful to be educated in a western society, and it has taught me to be aware of many things like other country's cultures and values; but I am not in the concentration of arts (sciences FOR THE WIN), which is why I like reading about people's insights and analysis of the shows I watch! In this case, the author pens up an eccentric character who wants to relief the boredom and normality she is surrounded with, and within the Japanese culture, this is an original attitude to have; she has been shown to be outcast by her classmates, of course. He also pens up some stereotypical cast members dedicated to serve the current perverted tastes of the Japanese population (moe, or turn-ons, as explained in Melancholy I); feminism has a lower agenda there than in western civilization, and crowded commuting trains makes groping easy.

Haruhi is meant to be about having fun in life and life in general. The comedy, supernatural phenomenons (includes the induction and prevention of), and philosophical questions come SECOND. If you are already having fun, I don't know why you are sitting around watching anime. For cryogenic cynics (it just sounds cool), then you won't have fun watching this. You COULD try an analyze this deeply, but I'd rather read about completed (and great) analysis other people have already written about this show. There are no "funny jokes", only satirical remarks that click or don't click. There are many mysteries, even supposed "plot holes" (heck, Sighs V had many "holes", but it added to the experience of watching) that are meant to be there to entice you - there is certainly no grand unified explanation for all the aliens, time travelers, and ESPers that exist in this anime, mostly because it isn't necessary to the PLOT, and that they really don't exist in the real world anyways. These theories about Haruhi and Kyon loving each other is just a romantic afterthought the author WANTED you to feel.

For the people who feel this is overrated, I shall tell you that NOT EVERYTHING MUST BE PERFECT FOR A SHOW TO BE PERFECT (subjective). There are MANY flaws (may you point them out to me because I see less than you do) in any show, including this one, and your experience suffers because these flaws nag you to no end. For example, characters are static (never change, never development, same traits throughout) because they are meant to be static. Please go back to high school English if you have never been taught about literary devices and the such. Of course, here in Sighs V Itsuki, Mikuru, and Yuki's roles are expanded by a bit with the conflicting organizations and minor plot details, but otherwise they are still the same as you have known them from the first season. Another example could be the "weak" main plot - perhaps the conversations about Haruhi being some sort of God might have zoned you out, but there is a point to all meaningful (and by that I mean the author penned it exactly the way he wanted it to be) dialogue.

As for why this show is overhyped... long story short, the movie (episode 00/11) was a unique way to start things off, partnered with great animation (especially AFTER the "movie" ended), and it took off from there. Everything else is an aftereffect.

At this point the reviewer ran out of ideas to rant about. Having entertained yourself to read this review, please vote/rate it! Thank you very much have a pleasant anime watching.

[This series combines a re-airing of the original Suzumiya Haruhi no Yuuutsu interleaved with new episodes; I will concentrate primarily on the new content. Please consult a review of the original series for a fuller picture, if you haven't already seen it].

Few shows have this much to live up to. The original series of The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya was my favourite anime series, bar none, and while KyoAni's more recent efforts may have attracted as much hatred as they have love, none have failed to be popular. But three years on, does the show still stand up?

Obviously there are places it has slipped; most immediately, technology marches on and the animation has ceased to be quite so impressive (impaired further in this case by a poor HD transfer that will hopefully be fixed for the inevitable bluray releases). But while no longer pushing the boundaries, it remains a pretty series. The backgrounds are frequently very lush, the character designs are good, detailled without ever becoming cluttered, and while there is nothing new to really rival the stunning episode 4 fight sequence for effects, the new, more stylized opening is a brave and effective piece. It's also backed up by an excellent song, capturing the upbeat, lighthearted mode of the series perfectly, and delivered by a much-improved Aya Hirano - she's developed a voice that is at once clearly the same person as Haruhi but markedly distinct from the chracater's usual one. There are fewer insert songs this time around, and very little new background music, but the show never feels cheap - rather, the consistent melodies help tie the series together. Likewise while the series makes a lot of use of static scenes (far more in the new material), the scenes in question are beautiful enough it can get away with it. Even in the immensely controversial "Endless Eight" arc (a series of eight episodes showing the same time period), the repetitiveness always feels stylistic rather than budget-saving, and care has been taken to include enough new material in each episode to support this. Whether that prevents the episodes becoming boring is, of course, debatable, but I certainly found them to be pleasant viewing.

It is, however, unarguable that Endless Eight had little in the way of plot advancement, and coupled with the relatively weak first new episode ("Bamboo Leaf Rhapsody", a standalone) this cast doubt on the new material. In part this is an inevitable result of fitting the new episodes chronologically around existing episodes, and the original series plot remains more than enough to sustain the series, but it did result in a different, more character-focussed mood than the Haruhi we're used to. Thankfully, the final new arc ("The Sighs of...") reverses this, building gradually up to some really quite dramatic character clashes that also raise important questions about the world of Haruhi. In the last new episode, one character leads us down an exploration of just one of the myriad theories about the behaviour of another character; while some viewers might find this condescending, it does help the less experienced viewer to start thinking about the show in more detail. It could also be seen as a gentle acknowledgement of fan influence on the show, which while certainly something best enjoyed in moderation, is also nice to have.

Throughout all this, though, Haruhi's true focus is on the characters - but then it always was. The genius of this series is that while (the approximate leads) Haruhi and Kyon's relationship is far from normal, it still manages to feel real - and so their gradual revelations of co-dependence, and especially their one severe falling-out, have genuine emotional impact. Likewise each other character's relationship with Kyon reveals human truths despite most of the characters being far from normal humans. Haruhi, above all, has charm, and there's a simple pleasure in watching that goes far beyond what plot or visuals alone could do. While all things considered there has been a slight shift in the direction of more character- than plot-based episodes in the new material, this is still very much Haruhi, and it's still my favourite series.