Reviews Literature / Haruhi Suzumiya

Just visited your page. You only contribute to this site to express your hate like it's a job?!?!? For once I'd love to see someone write something serious!

...and yeah, the show was 'meh.

I write some nice things too.

I had so much fun writing this that I might expand this into a full review in TV Tropes style on my blag.

Okay, I agree with you on the "Haruhi = God" thing (although I think the changes she makes are a bit bigger than a witch's) and on the Fan Dumb, however I disliked the rest of the review. You keep going on about how viewer-unfriendly it is, yet, apart from the episode order, you never explain exactly how or why, even considering the short space you have. Also, why exactly does everyone think Kyon is the bee's knees? I found him more whiny and pretentious than ever actually funny, even considering what he goes through.

Then again, I get the feeling that this review wasn't really meant to be entirely serious, so maybe I shouldn't be either. Good thing you're planning to expand this.

Er, that's meant to be a slash through the equals sign.

I could go on for 4000 words but I have papers to write that are actually important. It's hard for me to explain the endless personal grief that could have been avoided in only 400. I might turn this into a bulleted list, but don't hold your breath.

I'm also relieved to see that I'm not the only one who holds this opinion. There is only one other man I personally know who would agree with this, but I haven't heard from him in years.

Interesting enough. Despite being a fan of the show (although not a retarded one, and I will emphatically admit that there are plenty of those) I often find that looking for the most brutal criticism that people can offer is also the path to the greatest insight. Well met, and good luck with, you know, destroying everything ever, seriously.

Will do. Thank you for your support.

It was an overall solid review, but I haven't met a single fan that didn't reccommend me to watch it in the anachronic order. I did, and hardly had any trouble following the plot. I don't think it's as viewer unfriendly as you say.

Also, it's a bit unfair to judge a show based on its fanbase, it's not like they could help it.

Edit: Not the fans, the show. The show doesn't get to pick who watches it and who doesn't.

It was an overall solid review, but I haven't met a single fan that didn't reccommend me to watch it in the anachronic order. I did, and hardly had any trouble following the plot. I don't think it's as viewer unfriendly as you say.

Also, it's a bit unfair to judge a show based on its fanbase, it's not like they could help it.

Edit: Not the fans, the show. The show doesn't get to pick who watches it and who doesn't.

I think the main reason people equate Haruhi with God is not because she appears perfect, but because she is apparently the omnipotent creator of the universe (as it is now,) whether she realizes it or not.

Whether she's a benevolent god is a different question entirely.

I know it's unfair to judge a show based on the people who watch it, but it's really hard for me not to. The anachronism served no purpose for me, nor do I accept any justifications for it presented by fans. The show itself seems to not want me to like it, although I really want to. It sounds weird, but whenever I'm about to accept something of it, I'm reminded of why I had a hard time with it in the first place. It's very frustrating, as I wrote in the review, but when I get around to it I'll explain it better. Unfortunately, every time I do explain it my opinion appears to fluctuate. I wonder if I'll ever be able to pin down my stance on it once and for all before the second season starts. Just know that if the second season tries to pull the anachronism card again then I'm giving up on this series for good.

I realize that this is going to sound a lot like a Justifying Edit (because it is), but the episode order is outlined in the episode previews. Haruhi states it's chronological order, Kyon states it's Broadcast order. And yeah, the Anachronic Order is annoying but I always thought that it was for pacing issues. (The Broadcast ending much more satisfying than the actual one. And the only character I remember inexplicably appearing was Itsuki, who was introduced in the next ep anyway... >_>

Anyway, Good Review, moar plz.

Too bad I don't watch previews. In fact, I change episodes the instant the ending credits start. I'm sure I'm not the only one, and putting such critical information there isn't doing people like me a favor. First impressions fuel the negativity in this review and I am not going to change my mind about anything I said if I were pressed to watch the entire series again. I've given this show enough room for Fridge Brilliance already. It's as if the show doesn't want me to like it precisely because of presentation decisions like this. I'd elaborate, but I don't think I'm important enough to request an increase of the word limit.

No one's asking you to change your mind. It's perfectly acceptable that you don't like this show. I'm just saying you shouldn't say "They expect us to figure this out for ourselves?" when they don't. Yeah, it's not ideal, but honestly, where else would they tell you?

I'm saying that they should skip the shuffling altogether. I wrote in my review that I don't see any good reason to have it in the first place. That the only place to put the answer key is in the next episode previews only makes it worse. If they're going to give only one piece of the proper timeline randomly at the end credits, they may as well spoil the ending while they're at it.

I appreciate any form of experimentation in art, but this is a failed experiment through and through. How anyone is able to disagree boggles the mind.

It's for pacing and such. Having the climax of the story be at episode 6, with everything else being essentially slice-of-life afterwards kills any sort of dramatic tension. It means that the big "holy shit" moment happens at the end instead of the middle. The arc also serves as a way to highlight Haruhi's character growth from total Jerk Ass to someone actually tolerable.

Somehow I missed that. Looking back on the order, I still wouldn't have guessed it.

I'm told that the other episodes were side stories all happening after the main plot. Putting them randomly among the actual story is complete lunacy. It wouldn't be so bad if they were flashbacks, but as it is they serve only to chisel out huge amounts of dramatic buildup in the main story and substitute it for their own. If I wasn't conned into thinking that they were actually important, maybe I wouldn't have wasted so much energy looking for characters, plot points and devices that don't exist in the thread I'm watching. It creates a blatantly inconsistent pace that would have been much better with fewer stories involved. I would have enjoyed the series more if I had known better to check the order first so I can watch the main story in one sitting only the way it's supposed to be seen and watch the other episodes as an afterthought. Essentially, putting the order this way forces the viewer to watch two shows at once. The chaos possible with the next season can only be imagined.

I have a hard time seeing why you wouldn't be able to guess the purpose of the anachronic order. From the first time I watched through it, I immediately felt I wouldn't have been able to enjoy it nearly as much in chronological order, and my second time watching it, that time in chronological order, confirmed it. When broadcast in the order the events take place, the pacing is horrible, calls attention to a plot hole that can only be resolved with information from the novels, and leads to a season that simply peters out at the end in a manner I can only describe as faintly depressing.

I respectfully disagree with everything you said. Whatever was lost on me won't matter come the second season anyway.

I'd also like to clarify that this review was based on a watching of the fansubs some time after all episodes were released.

I wonder why no one here wrote a positive review of this series yet. I'm also confused as to why no one has commented on the other review. It makes all of the points I made, except it does so much better.

I think that the lack of a totally positive review might indicate that people are worried that a positive review might devolve into the same pandering nonsense that the worst part of the series - that being the fanbase - so often belches up at the drop of a hat (or flamebait, as the case may be on 4chan)

I wouldn't say that Japanese Teeth's review is negative or neutral, more like it's just positive but also realistic. You're going for the straight accentuate the negative, unless I'm mistaken.

I do agree a bit with Anachronic Order, but I think it should include what Desertopa says, because this is the biggest problem with the show: trying to use Anachronic Order in order to hide the fact that the standard pacing of the story is horrible, (things after this are my opinion) and the story ends in only half the season and the rest of episodes are fillers (Sure, those episodes are adapted from other stories, but in the 1st season it has no connection to the main plot whatsoever, thus fit the definition of filler).

I made a point of listing what I liked first. I have no issue with the pacing. In fact, I didn't even notice anything bad about it. I like how the actual story part of the story is six episodes long, as it gets a lot more accomplished in those six episodes than most other plots many times its length. That doesn't make up for the other problems with it, which is why my review sounds so negative.

I think you might enjoy the way they are airing the new season actually. They are airing mixed in with the old one, but everything is in exact order, with new episodes appearing in the places where they chronologically fit. It should make for an interesting run.

Excel, you must see the second season. And like it. Or else, we´re all doomed.

Endless personal grief?

Well, whatever else the show may or may not be legitimately accused of, eliciting indifference is not one of them.

You mean I get to decide the fate of the world based on my opinion of a television show? Hot dog!

I'll care again after I have obtained all of the "new" episodes and not a second sooner. I will not update this review until I have the complete set in the only proper order, after which I'll give this show a second chance. I think this is some kind of attempt to save face, but the damage has already been done three years ago ([Edit] Oh god.).

Also, *vomit*

Look at me, I finally took it to the forums.

Agree with you, although it offers an interesting meld of genres, the execution is ....meh.