7.09.2009
Haruhi Suzumiya "New" Episodes - What the hell is going on?
I'm going to actually contain my thoughts on this in the comments, as this deals with spoilers. But I don't want that to turn you (if you don't want Haruhi spoilers) away, though. This is...well, whenever you do get to see episode 13+, you'll see what I'm ranting about.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
6 comments:
Alrighty now. In case you didn't know, the latest episode of Haruhi subbed by Kadokawa on Youtube is of the "Endless Eight" storyline, which is apparently a sort of...Groundhog Day event where a set number of days repeat endlessly (because Haruhi doesn't want the Summer to end).
Why do I bring this up?
Because episodes 13, 14, and 15 are all going to repeat the episode almost entirely (with a few minor changes). Yes, you read that right. If you've seen episode 12, you'll have seen the next three episodes already. But wait, there's more!
It looks like episode 16, and perhaps even 17 will be repeats.
Yes. Possibly 6 episodes that are almost all the same episode with some extremely minor differences (a few different lines here, some different clothes, that's it).
I've seen some people talk of Kadokawa and/or KyoAni trolling fans as of late, and I'll be honest, they have been very...teasing. First they put out the "Haruhi returns"-ish article in the Japanese Newtype, but then it said that it was only a double reairing of the first series, but then hid the fact that they were putting in "new" episodes in with the old.
And now this.
Personally, I feel that they're going a bit far here. At some point there's going to be a backlash, and if this absurdity reaches SIX episodes...well, I won't bat an eye. I can understand doing this Endless Eight thing over two, maybe three episodes. Five, maybe even six episodes? That's just abusing fan loyalty.
Hrmm, this is interesting.
Spoiler from the latest episode, but its nothing really earth shattering.
Anyway, apparently in the light novels, they repeat this week 15,498 times. Which makes one wonder, what number is the latest episode, episode 15?
Its 15,513. In other words, Kadokawa's gone over the original number of repeats, and will be doing so again.
Yeah, they're stretching this out. Feh.
Just watched the first of the Endless Eight eps.
So, this episode is really going to be repeated several times? That's kind of crazy, but so is this series, so it really doesn't surprise me that they'd pull a stunt like that. That said, I thought this episode was hilarious. I think I laugh out loud more during this series than anything I've ever watched. I can't stop laughing - it's just right on my level for humor.
Okay, so this week gets repeated nearly 16,000 times? If it's one week that is repeated 15,498 times, times that by 7 days in a week and you have 108,486 days. Divide that number by 365 days in a year (I'll omit the leap years for this calculation since it's just an estimate), and you're looking at around 300 years of living this week over and over again. Since the week is repeated, no one ages? Do any of them know what's going on? I guess I'll find out, maybe, when I watch the next eps of this Endless Eight storyline.
That length of time seems even extreme for Haruhi. You'd think she'd get tired of it after the first several years of repeats...not after a couple hundred. Geez.
For the most part, yeah, it'll be repeated. There will be some differences (clothing, some lines different, apparently one episode has a slightly different scene at one point), but otherwise its pretty much the same.
I know they like to do things in a strange way (the airing order for the first series being a good indicator of that, heh), but this is...I dunno, kinda feels like they're pushing things a bit far. Screwing with the order of episodes is one thing, but repeating episodes with some minor differences for 5, maybe 6 weeks? Bit much. And I shudder to think of what may happen if Endless Eight airs a 6th time only to not be finished again.
Sorry for spoiling the repeating part, but this is a burbling cauldron going on in some circles I know of, so I wanted to mention it here. This, I think, is a dangerous gamble. So far Kadokawa's gotten by due to fan loyalty and hope, but both are starting to run out for a good many. The backlash could hurt.
I suppose I'll see how much patience I have when I watch those new eps. I do like that they are available on youtube. I did laugh enough with this first of the Endless Eight that I know I could watch the same scenes again a couple of times and still find it funny. Not sure about 6 times, though. :D
I don't consider it spoiling. I don't really know how you could spoil this series. It's just so random. I appreciate the heads up. So, thanks!
Hmm, after I watched that last episode, it did kind of strike me as to how, well, normal it was for Haruhi. Just about every other episode at least had some kind of offhanded reference to something out of the ordinary, even if nothing obviously weird happened, so it was a bit strange to see basically a mundane slice of life episode featuring the SOS Brigade doing all the cliched Japanese summer vacation things almost without any mention of the fantasy/sci-fi elements that set the show apart.
Now, before I complain, adding that whole Groundhog Day element to the plot actually does inject those elements in a way that does fit with Haruhi's character and the feel of the series. I love how that shift in the mundane reality can sometimes be so subtle, and making the next episode a rehash of the last one with some slight differences actually sounds like an ingenious way to tip the audience that something isn't quite right here.
But yeah, while playing a spot the differences game across two or even three episodes might be somewhat amusing, I would agree that any more than that is going to test my patience, especially if these episodes are technically all separate. After all, I'm not going to want to buy an eventual second season if half of it is essentially the same episode repeated. There's also the case that the Groundhog Day plot doesn't really work unless you have at least one character who suspects something is wrong. You don't have to go any further than the movie that this plot is named after to realize that. Still, if they're going as far as six nearly identical episodes, I have to wonder if maybe they're at least planning something where the last episodes actually are clearly different from the first episodes, except you wouldn't realize that if you watch them in sequence. That might be somewhat interesting at least. Maybe start with subtle changes like clothes or different lines, then work their way up to scenes and characters getting shuffled around or replaced.
Post a Comment