Review of The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya (2009)
Endless Eight should have been 2 (maybe 3) episodes, not 8. Watching the same events over again was almost insufferable. I was hoping it was a case of minor details sneaked in that would eventually lead to putting the pieces together and an "Ah-hah!" moment. However, half-way in, it became clear that wasn't going to be the case; the repetition was contributing nothing to the narrative. I can respect others finding enjoyment in the details (I do too, to a certain extent), but I find that too lacking in substance on its own. For me, great visuals need to be backed by a decent story. Ifthe story is great, even better, as that would more strongly suit my preferences. The variances in each episode did make sitting through all 8 episodes tolerable, but those variances were still inconsequential in the context of advancing the narrative. I appreciated the minor differences and the change in presentation of the same events, but that couldn't save Endless Eight. Even the splendid animation and sound couldn't save it. In fact, putting aside the entire time loop narrative, the activities in which they partake together during the summer aren't even very interesting to begin with.
Don't get me wrong - one of the most appealing aspects of the first season was just watching the characters interact with each other and seeing what they would be up to next. I enjoyed the episodes, such as the baseball game and The Day of Sagittarius, which were interspersed among the main arcs. The difference was that they were given a full episode to develop, whereas the activities in Endless Eight happen in the span of one episodes. This does make sense, as the narrative revolves around the time loop, not around what they did during the summer.
The ending of Endless Eight was utterly unsatisfying. I was hoping it'd answer some of the questions I had about the time loop and the actions of the characters, but it only raised more of them. First, why does Kyon feel a need to stop the time loop? It'd be different if he slowly retained more and more of his memory, but instead everyone forgets everything on the next loop. I fail to see his motivations. In fact, despite after learning about the time loop, he and the other characters fail to take any significant action. This agrees with regards to my statement about a lack of motivation. However, this contradicts with Kyon's actions in the café on the penultimate day.
Why does a feeling of déjà vu instil in him urgency and motivation to stop the time loop? Despite the sudden urgency, he still has another day to take action - which he yet again fails to take. Is it the déjà vu that makes him unable to utter anything to stop Haruhi from leaving, or is he simply a moron? If it's so urgent, why not get Haruhi to stop first and then think of what to say? Why is he fixated on trying to dissect Haruhi's actions over the summer and finding the "right" thing to say anyway? I can accept characters not thinking in such manner, but the show doesn't do anything to justify their actions.
When Kyon finally came up with what to say, I burst out laughing. All the dramatic build up for THAT? Did it even have to be that specifically, or would saying anything else have also sufficed? Just... what the fuck? I was desperately hoping for a good, clever resolution after having been subjected to 8 episodes of the same fucking scenes.
Thankfully, the following episodes, which revolve around the production of their film for the festival, did somewhat make it up. It was a breath fresh air to watch those episodes after Endless Eight - it reminded me of why I liked the series in the first place. These final episodes make me feel ambivalent towards the season in whole. I'm conflicted on how to rate it; Endless Eight was dreadful, but the final episodes were wonderful. It just isn't in me to give a part of the series an extremely low score. My rating may be too generous, but perhaps ignoring the repetition of Endless Eight justifies it.