Forum - View topicREVIEW: The Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya
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s.alsa-man1991
Posts: 137 |
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I'm probably gonna get stoned (Bible-style!) for saying this, but I've gotta get it off my chest: I like Haruhi, but I think it's overhyped. Some people act like it's the be-all and end-all, and I simply do not find it to be the case. Maybe I'm overlooking something, but most of the time it's just a pretty normal show about the antics of a crazy girl, adding a few sci-fi elements and some meta-rambling. In one sentence, what I mean is that "it's good, but all of its elements have been done better by other works of fiction". And yet, a ton of fans act like it's the most complex and touching story ever told.
Again, I'm probably overlooking something, but that may be because I've never read the novels, only watched the anime. |
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Ingraman
Posts: 1077 |
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Don't buy the popcorn and drink? While the theaters may need the extra income, I don't recall the last time that I bought their overpriced food. The movie's a bargain when comparing the runtime to the ticket price, but if you're not at least somewhat interested in Haruhi or the other characters, then the length of the movie might be painful. ^_^ |
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Teriyaki Terrier
 Posts: 5689 |
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Agreed. Even if I were a fan of this series (which to be honest, I am not) I wouldn't pay that much for a show that is just in subtitles. And considering Endless Eight, I am not even sure if I would bother to watch the movie at all. |
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machetecat
 Posts: 396 |
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Hey now, don't underestimate the amount of female fans of this series. There are quite a bit of Kyon and Koizumi fans. =3 |
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antrodemus
Posts: 4 Location: Seattle |
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I've just watched the first season of Haruhi on Crunchyroll, and I've been reading the manga (up to vol.4). I was wondering if any of you know if the manga follows the novels closely? In other worlds, is there any reason to read the novels if you've read the manga, or the other way around?
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Splitter
 Posts: 1276 Location: Knockin' on Heaven's Door |
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Please tell me you're not just a guest reviewer. I like you. I want to see more reviews from you. |
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Shadowrun20XX
 Posts: 1935 Location: Vegas |
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ninjapet
 Posts: 1517 |
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The anime does a very good job at sticking to the novels, the manga is a bit iffy and it's one of those things you really should stay away from. The novels are great, and depending on how you liked the anime, it can be more of the same, or you could take the text differently then how you watched the anime. I felt that the novels had Kyon acting way more sarcastic at points but thats just me. About the movies length I thought it was perfect. Even if it was a bit slow paced the book is like that to. (you really don't get anything ground breaking till chapter 2/3 in the book) Over all the movie is just what the review said, it's for fans of the series, your not going to get one friend in to the series just by the movie. It did a wonderful job at sticking to the book no problem and thats the whole point really isn't it. |
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Zac
ANN Executive Editor
 Posts: 7912 Location: Anime News Network Technodrome |
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Gia's our new Associate Editor (meaning for the first time in 5 years, I actually have some help around here!), and while she won't be doing too many reviews, she certainly will from time to time. |
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maaya
Posts: 976 |
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The later novels have not been animated yet, so you might want to check them out, once they're released. I also thought that novels as well as anime are way better than the manga, which is imho the weakest part of the franchise. Ok, half of the second season of the anime is pretty bad as well >< Another reason to read the novels. And after all they're the original work ^^ |
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antrodemus
Posts: 4 Location: Seattle |
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Thanks. Maybe I'll start reading the novels instead. I read the comic because I actually thought that was the original work, like it usually is in anime adaptations. I only found out later that the books were the source. |
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UltimaLuminaire
Posts: 18 |
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Though Gia mentions Kyon's time travel experience... it actually isn't much at this point (he's done it a grand total of once before the movie). His lack of experience is compounded because he is purposefully left in the dark about time travel itself. Whatever he has, it certainly isn't enough to warrant extreme genre savvy, especially in this situation.
About Kyon being useless: that's actually no fault of the book's writing. In the books, this lends itself to fridge brilliance. WARNING: Those who actually wish to read what I have here in spoilers must prepare for natter and extreme spoilers. spoiler[ First, let me state that the movie was indeed underwhelming because of choices in directing, not writing. This includes the overly long time, the poor pacing, and the over-zealousness of the animation's details. The elements combine to make for a very ho-hum movie by Hollywood standards, though the fanservice is unquestionable. With that out of the way, first thing you mentioned: bitching. In the books, all of Kyon's bitching is limited to internal monologue. It may just be me, but complaining to yourself IN YOUR MIND is far from annoying. The movies do not have Kyon actively voice his bitching either, but narrates them. I can understand the narration irking you and coming off as bitchy, but in no way is Kyon, as a character, ever bitchy in the actual sense of the word. It's sad that so many people think the way you do. Now, let's touch upon the phone book issue. We're talking about a modern, urban, middle class area. In Japan. The last thing a teen is going to think about is the phone book (if you don't believe this is possible, then you should consider that where you live is limiting your ability to analyze lifestyles). You may have wanted to mention Kyon's cell phone, but let us not forget that the reality alteration would have erased Haruhi's phone number from Kyon's cell phone (and if you say that he should have memorized the phone number... heavens... there's no convincing you the writing is keeping Kyon in character as a teenager in the modern world). As for physically searching, Kyon goes hyper and does indeed search (it's just poorly presented in the movie). Kyon, having utter confidence in his own intellect, jumps to conclusions early on (especially given his own self importance in the role of keeping Haruhi in check). Instead of being able to calmly analyze the situation, he becomes caught in the revelations of the 1st day: Asakura's reappearance, a past that doesn't add up, and nakama that no longer exist. The mental stress causes him to lash out immediately instead of calmly approaching the situation. This process is a defining moment for Kyon's character, like it or not, and establishes his true overall want: to protect his nakama. Unfortunately, the movie did not handle the logic well due to poor pacing. In the books, it's much easier to trace Kyon's actions and thoughts through his reveries, which propel time forward considerably (thus the 2 days feel extremely short in the books). You cite over reliance on Yuki as being stupid, but that too is still fridge brilliance. Up to this point, every book has had to rely on Yuki to fix something. The author decided to finally tackle this subject in book 4, leading to a snowball problem that would eventually become a major problem in the movie's Crisis, as well as becoming the central issue of The Truth Comes Out. At the end of book 4, Kyon came to realize how reliant he was on Yuki and resolved himself to help and protect Yuki as much as possible, thereby reducing her work-load. Again, the movie doesn't handle this well due to pacing and the lack of emphasis (which is much easier to achieve in the novel). Finally, let's touch upon Kyon's character up to this point and why book 4 is the start of a whole new beginning (thus making book 4 a fan favorite). Kyon is normally a pseudo-doormat. He is a man that would rarely take action to change himself or the world to his liking. Instead, he merely accepts. However, starting from book 1, we begin to see that Kyon CAN take action under dire circumstances. Unfortunately, the actions that solved the problem unequivocally lead to Yuki, further leading to a conditioning effect (yo, Pavlov) that would later come back to bite Kyon in the butt. The books gradually see Kyon take more action outside of running to Yuki, but it isn't till book 4 where the issue is made clear to Kyon: relying on Yuki is hurting her. This is where Kyon shows his true colors as someone who ultimately cares about his friends more than himself, and Kyon literally vows to take a more active roll in solving the problems that result from Haruhi's presence. From this point on, Yuki is not only freed from a majority of responsibility in the books, but Kyon takes several levels in badass and works his way around many events that would have sent him crying home before. In any case, none of this will convince you that Kyon isn't a useless character. However, regardless of what you think, Kyon actually accomplishes much in Disappearance; So much that it makes Kyon even more crucial in the novels to come. ] |
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Megiddo
 Posts: 8360 Location: IL |
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Thank you for that information, as I do appreciate it. spoiler[ I do kind of see your point with the phonebook being somewhat out of date, but I imagine there's social media sites then, if you want to talk about "modern" technology being used to find Haruhi. I just wanted Kyon to do something. And the whining was not just in his head. Do you not remember his outburst at school? He was rather vocal there.
However, I'm saddened that you didn't touch upon the fact that finding Haruhi depended entirely on random chance of that guy overhearing him. I figured you were going to tell me that in the future he goes time traveling back to the past the tells the guy to be in the classroom at that date/time or something. As this series seems to be the one where it just explains a bit of a weak writing with "time travel". I'm glad to hear that this movie acts as a pivot point for Kyon's character, but that still doesn't make me enjoy the movie any more.] |
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UltimaLuminaire
Posts: 18 |
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Ah, then I'll get to those points, since they are still major flaws/issues within the books. spoiler[ One major outburst isn't exactly unjustified in the situation. In terms of sticking with Kyon's character, this actually serves its purpose as both Inciting Incident and Denial. Regardless of whether you believe it to have been the right action or not, the writing is consistent with Kyon's Overall Want up to that point. His reaction to being Denied serves its purpose in fleshing out Kyon's personality (since the whole situation is completely new to him) and status as a teenager with healthy hormonal growth. It does bear note that the movie dramatizes the outburst far more than the book did, as the book focused more intently on Kyon's thought process rather than his actions and the reactions of those around him. Social technology is an excellent point, though I must remind you that at the time of writing, Facebook and Twitter hadn't made the sensational splash that they have today. Regardless, it really is a sore spot in the writing. Upon further reading I've realized that Kyon doesn't even have a personal PC. His lack of vices with devices is baffling, and would lead to a person who would be at least aware of public resources such as a phone book. The only explanation given is his constant BSODs throughout the early portions of the story, which cements him negatively in all your points previously. Another explanation might be a stigma against the internet (just look at how much the Computer Club is made a butt monkey out of), but even that doesn't stop social media on the internet, accessible by cell phone no less, from being a major search hub. In the end, it may just be the writer intent on dramatizing Kyon's reactions. To be fair, I ate it up when I was reading just because, back when I was a teenager, I would have overreacted the same way. But no, you've got one on the writing with this one. As for the random guy overhearing, I don't recall that being random chance at all. Tanaguchi was the one that revealed Haruhi's presence in the alternate world. In essence, it was just a secondary character elevation sequence. Tanaguchi, in previous books, had always been referenced as having gone to Haruhi's school, and Kyon knew this. The writing becomes solid when you realize Kyon couldn't ask Tanaguchi anything on the first day due to Tanaguchi leaving class early from illness. By the time Kyon is able to talk to Tanaguchi again, Kyon has already jumped to conclusions. This doesn't stop the situation from being aggravating to you, though. In any case, there's no question that the first issue is not handled well in the movie. Like Gia's review stated, the directing in the beginning conveys the writing poorly. Though your point proves a weakness in the book itself, it is not so weak as to remain unjustifiable by any means, especially given that the book suffers very little from pacing issues since it's, well, a book. Again, as stated by Gia, the book is able to sidestep the issue through great characterization and mini-twists. Of course, I wasn't trying to convince you the movie was enjoyable, merely that your criticisms on the movie's writing were misplaced. The directing leads to the major flaws in most productions, be them animated or live action. This movie is no different. ] |
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