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The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya (TV).

I don't particularly like spoiler[the Kyon-Haruhi pair-up. I would much have preferred Kyon-Asahina (and Haruhi-Yuki with the self-righteous Koizumi dying alone in misery). ]

I still don't like the Haruhi-as-god premise... here's what I'd like it to mean: spoiler[that Kyon does tell Haruhi the others' identities, and the rest of the series--the ball game, the movie, etc.--is Kyon and Haruhi "playing" the others. ]

I can't say I particularly like the pair up either, but spoiler[ although Kyon does like Haruhi, he also seems to want to be with Mikuru and Nagato. What it comes down to though, is that Haruhi likes Kyon, and if Kyon wants to live in our world he has to be with Haruhi. That's not exactly "normal" but nothing about this show is. If you want a watch a "normal" romance comedy go watch Ah My Goddess... ]then I think you'd see why we all prefer this to the alternative.

That's part of what people LIKE about this series, most of us don't see that as a bad thing, but as a bonus. Almost nothing about this show is "typical", from the character desgins, to the story, to even the order of the episodes everything is done similar to, but not the same as anything else. You may argue that you don't think Haruhi should be the god-like figure, but it wouldn't be nearly the same show (and would probably be quite boring) if she wasn't the exact person she was. The paradox between wanting to believe so bad and not believing because she's a rational smart girl is part of the allure.

spoiler[Except Haruhi doesn't "like" Kyon. She abuses the crap out of him. She may have feelings for him, maybe even deep love, but she doesn't express them.

See, I can buy that Haruhi wants aliens, time travelers, and espers to exist, but they don't want her to know. That's them being jerks. But I can't accept that Haruhi *wants* to be frustrated--that she wants them to exist, but hidden for her to chase and never catch. And so I can't accept that she wants her love to be circumstantial and unspoken. This is antithetical to the Haruhi we know. That Haruhi would sooner drag Kyon off to a hotel than set up a closed space.

If it is true, however, then it means that Haruhi of the changing hairstyles, the SOS Brigade, the home movie, is nothing more than a front. It means that her genki personality is nothing more then her compensating for being unable to get close to people, or her way of dealing with being one person in a crowd, as she mentioned last episode. It means that deep down, regardless of what powers she has, she's really a normal person.

If that is the case, I lose almost all respect for her. If there's one thing I can't stand, it's a normal person. ]

A great ending to a great series. I think I will give this series a masterpiece rating. The only other series I've given that rating to is Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind.

Did anyone else notice two of the band girls appear right after the music from the opening starts? Or at least I think its the girls from the band, as one of them was playing a guitar.

The last line is somewhat cryptic, but here's what I'd like it to mean: spoiler[that Kyon does tell Haruhi the others' identities, and the rest of the series--the ball game, the movie, etc.--is Kyon and Haruhi "playing" the others. ]

Quote:

The last line is somewhat cryptic, but here's what I'd like it to mean: spoiler[that Kyon does tell Haruhi the others' identities, and the rest of the series--the ball game, the movie, etc.--is Kyon and Haruhi "playing" the others. ]

Well, in the novel (at least the translation of it I've partially read), spoiler[Haruhi just laughs at him after he tells her it and, as Yuki predicted, didn't take him seriously. This may also be the case in the anime since, in the ending credits of their movie, when Haruhi reads off the "this isn't based on..." bla bla bla, you can hear her complaining to Kyon about "isn't it obvious?" I suppose it's possible that it's all an act on her part and she really knows who they are, but if it goes along with the book, I don't think that's the case.]

Also on top of the talking cat being unexplained...spoiler[In one episode, I can't remember which - I think it's either Remote Island Syndrome (Part 1) or Mysterique Sign - I don't have the episodes right here to watch - When Haruhi asks Kyon "don't you remember?" at one point when they're in the clubroom, Kyon says something like "she's not going to bring up (so and so) from 3 years ago is she?" This line could mean something, but again, in the novel, they DID meet 3 years prior and perhaps in the anime Kyon had figured this out at one point. Or it could be nothing.]

Congrats! Less than three hours ago, Proware Multimedia has announced that it has licensed The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya for R3!

Hopefully an R1 distributor (I'm hoping for Geneon or FUNI) will announce the license soon.

*ahem* And there it is, folks; at the time I'm posting this, The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya is the #1 rated anime at the ANN. Truly crazy. We all knew it was inevitable though, right?