Forum - View topicREVIEW: The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya DVD Second Season
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walw6pK4Alo
 Posts: 9322 |
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So you want Haruhi Season Two, eh? Too bad you gotta eat through 8 layers of feces just to get to some old and slightly moldy nougat center. Wasn't it well worth it?! Oh, and please give us $39.99 for that wonderful experience.
This season should just be completely forgotten. There is no season two. There's only one TV series and a long movie. Hell, even the parts that weren't Endless Eight were still far inferior in every single conceivable aspect to any episode in the first season, combined. |
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GARlock
 Posts: 32 |
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This review was way, waaaaaay too generous. Season 2 was the most disappointing thing I've ever seen. As a big fan of the first series, I was so so so pumped for S2, but then they screwed it all up with Endless Eight; I dropped the show outright as soon as the arc ended. Just remembering it makes me rage. It's like an acid flashback except with pure hate instead. With every new episode I kept thinking "Well, they'll definitely end it this week", but by week four I had given up all hope of that. I just started praying that at least all that weird plane and cloud symbolism would lead to some awesome, mind blowing, soul shattering payoff. Then it just resolved itself in the most obvious way possible and you realize all those weeks of build up were all for absolutely nothing and you just wasted all that time raging over some stupid Japanese cartoon and it's time that you'll never get back no matter how much you wish you could and you can do nothing but weep bitterly at the sad sad state of your sorry existence because this is what your life has become
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asimpson2006
 Posts: 3151 Location: USA |
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I agree with Theron's review of Season 2. Personally I didn't think Endless 8 was that bad as a whole at least watching it on DVD it wasn't so bad. I could see how someone could be upset watching one episode a week over an eight week period. I didn't care for the Bamboo Leaf Rhapsody episode, it was the weakest episode of S2 IMO. I did enjoy the last five episodes of S2 they were my favorite of these episodes.
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pachy_boy
Posts: 1331 |
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I was rather surprised reading this, especially when Theron followed it up with listing all this single episode's intriguing elements, which is far more than what anyone can say about the Endless Eight. Apparently the Endless Eight arc has its fans, and that's cool, really. But it seems so obvious to me that Bandai had absolutely no choice but to release Season 2 as a whole set because of this story arc. And after having skimmed through this story arc one time, here's how I watch it--I watch the first episode since it's just a regular friends-go-on-vacation episode, then I watch the 2nd episode since that's where the big revelation is, and then I ultimately skip to the very last episode since that's where the resolution is. In other words, skip the entire 2nd disc (except for its special features), and nobody's missing anything, not even the airplane-themed episode. Because seriously, with even just 3 episodes of the Endless Eight arc, it was redundant to get through, made even more excruciating if I were to have fast-forwarded through all the episodes in between. But aside from that, as a casual Haruhi fan there was really nothing to dislike about Season 2. The animation's just as good as it ever was, the dub acting was as good as it ever was, the writing and its twists and turns, and of course that one episode where Kyon and Haruhi spoiler[lash out at each other] really pleasantly stunned me. I discovered that easter egg solely by accident, when I had the DVD on 'menu' and I had to go to the bathroom. Here's looking forward to the movie (without a care of how long that one is)! |
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PetrifiedJello
Posts: 3782 |
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I am so glad you don't write reviews, dtm42. Not only would I have to endure your attempts on telling everyone how wrong they are, I'd have to deal with your attitude of how right you think you are. though I'd kill to berate you in the comments section I find it truly comical most people whining about the eight similar episodes are usually the ones bragging at having seen a series more than eight times. While it may be true watching them in succession may not be entertaining, there's no reason one would have to. I can't speak for others, but when I re-watch a series, there are some episodes I skip, so I'm pretty confident I can take this same approach with the eight episodes. On topic now. Damn you, Key. I didn't expect anything less in your grade and you're making it hard for me to turn down TRSI's offering of $39 for 14 episodes sold in a shitty package because Bandai hates its fans but loves its money. *orders it I feel so ashamed. 
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The King of Harts
 Posts: 6712 Location: Mount Crawford, Virginia |
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For the people who haven't seen it like me when I first bought it, Endless Eight isn't that difficult to watch back to back. I mean, I still only made it through six episodes, but it's not because I felt like it was "eight layers of feces", it's because I really wanted to see how it ended (even though I knew from reading the novel). And honestly, I think the last 5 minutes or so of the last episode is totally worth sitting through those episodes since they made me feel just as relieved as Kyon and everyone else. I'm quite sure that ending wouldn't have felt the same had I only watched two or three episodes.
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AnimeMaine
Posts: 123 |
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Fortunately the second disk is all Endless Eight. Skipping it makes Endless Eight watchable. It's almost how it should have been in the first place, an initial episode, a couple of deja vu episodes, and a conclusion.
However, I watched the episodes over 2-3 days and enjoyed them, unlike when I was waiting week after week for the storyline to end. Not only did I enjoy seeing the differences between episodes, but by the end I could better sympathize with Nagato,spoiler[who had to watch this over 15,000 times.] |
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ssgOverlord
 Posts: 91 |
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I've always liked Endless Eight...so I'm glad it was put in a set I got for relatively cheap. For 40 dollars, it seems like a good deal even if you remove 5 episodes of Endless Eight compared to usual Bandai pricing for singles.
But I've watched all Endless Eight episodes 4 times (2 sub, 2 dub) at this point...2 times was with a friend. It's great being to pick out all the little differences and seeing the art and music direction for each episodes, which scenes are omitted/included/added, etc. I always found it interesting, even as it was airing. The *extreme* fan rage provided some other form of entertainment too... But that said, I perfectly understand the rage for it. If they were all singles, I'd even have a little trouble placing the order for the E8 only disc... |
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bahamut623
 Posts: 1463 |
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The thing that bothereed me most about Endless Eight wasn't sitting through the same content 8 times, but that there was a wasted opportunity for creativity. I remember really liking the airplane episode because it was the best example of what they should've done (I could be wrong, but I don't remember any similar theme episodes). The key episodes for the story are the first two and the last one. That left them with FIVE episodes to go nuts with and they didn't. They could've gotten experiemental with the animation, or handed only the script to different crews (making the visuals completely different) or something just to play around with it. Different camera angles and the girls in different bikinis and kimonos wasn't quite enough. While it was annoying, I can't say I disliked the season. Like two posters above me said, without watching all of them, you won't feel the same relief Kyon does and you don't get the full impact of what it was for Yuki to experience and remember the thousands of times they went through it. It still was kinda annoying, but even now the phrase "Kyon-kun, denwa" will make me giggle more than it will make me shake my fist in fury.
But I completely disagree with the review. Bamboo Leaf was far and away the best episode of the season. Sigh was alright. And thanks to this thread I remembered there's a movie to look forward to! |
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vashfanatic
 Posts: 3492 Location: Back stateside |
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He said "arguably"...aaaand didn't really argue it.  Yeah, it was my favorite part, really, with the neat SciFi element and character insights. "Endless Eight" should've been three-four episodes (I watched the first three episodes, and then the final one), and even "Sigh" felt like it went on a little too long. But both it and "Bamboo Leaf Rhapsody" added something to the ongoing character relationships, particularly the like/hate connection Kyon has with Haruhi (does he want to be her friend? does he just want to smack her? probably both...). "Endless Eight" ultimately added nothing, or at least nothing that couldn't be expressed in far fewer episodes.
I wish Bandai had released this in singles ala the first series: DVD 1: "Bamboo Leaf," "Endless Eight" 1-3 DVD 2: "Endless Eight" 4-7 DVD 3: "Endless Eight" 8, "Sigh" 1-2 DVD 4: "Sigh" 3-5 Or maybe come up with a second edition that skips the bulk of what I have on "DVD 2" here. Let those who (for reasons beyond my comprehension) liked "Endless Eight" and would want to rewatch the whole thing buy it, but let the rest of us avoid paying for it. |
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Teriyaki Terrier
 Posts: 5689 |
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It is. It's like watching paint dry off a wall, every now and now then a tiny amount of change, but it's the same thing over and over and over again. I know a guy who is a giant Haruhi fan who buys almost anything Haruhi but will never buy this. He told me it was a complete waste of time and not worth buying in the very least. |
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Charred Knight
 Posts: 3085 |
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I felt relieved that Code Geass ended as well. I would also rate Code Geass as a C series with Code Geass R2 as a flat out D, and I was relieved that I could stop torturing myself trying to get through this show so I could properly bitch about it. When a series is making you relieved that it's over than they did something wrong. |
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Panon
Posts: 242 |
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Uh, you know that's exactly what they did, right? |
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pachy_boy
Posts: 1331 |
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I find it a bit ironic that you point out dtm42 making himself sound all-knowing (which I don't disagree with), and yet you go on to accuse Bandai of "hating its fans," which is nothing more than your own subjective opinion. Haruhi Season 2 may not be in a glamorous box set like the first season, but they still spent money and hard work on a high-quality dub, the DVD menus are animated (in which normally nowadays the disc menus are just still images with music playing over them), loaded with special features and with a CD containing the theme songs. What are you basing this "hate over fans" on, when they work hard and spend money to license series and publish them on DVD? If you're talking about the constant release delays, that's not proof of anything either. |
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JackCox
 Posts: 386 |
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Theron was way too generous this should have been given a D. The Endless Eight kills this purchase for a lot of people, I among them, because of those eight episodes I am in no mood to run out and purchase this immediately.
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