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.
