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whoisfriend
Posts: 369 |
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YOU are the one who didn't do your research. Volume one of the novels, named "The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya" covered the chronological episodes 1-6. Everything else fell into place in a mostly chronological order. It's very much like the FMP novels. You get one of story, two or three of short stories, then another long story. In Haruhi's case, novel four (The Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya) is the next full story title and will likely be the basis for the next series. Besides, the airing of episodes out of order allowed for a longer running time, otherwise we would've ended up with six episodes of solid plot followed by eight episodes of filler. Airing them out of order gave us glimpses of the big picture, letting the audience put the pieces together, then giving the climax. I say it was a good move on the staff and made for a much more unique viewing experience. That said, I do believe the series is overrated, though it has one of the BEST scenes in any anime ever, that being the concert in episode 12, Live A Live (or Live Alive). That scene was just spectacular. Mikuru is nothing but a moe-blob and Haruhi can be whiny (but I like her when she gets in her "dere" mode). Also, I resent the comment that Key's girls fall plainly into Moe stereotypes. For one, they were the basis for future stereotypes. Each girl has their own qualities and some (Mai, Nayuki) stand strong by themselves, while others just need a helping hand along the way. Moe isn't a type of character, it's a feeling, and some characters just give off that feeling. I liken it to the way you'd feel about a younger sister myself, wanting to keep her safe and such (obviously I personally don't have a younger sister, otherwise that feeling would be more of annoyment). I don't liken it to love, just a kind of affection. @movie: Shonen based movies are not all bad. For one, the second One Piece movie was very well made and a nice action romp (the first was garbage though). I've thought most of the One Piece and Pokemon movies were well animated and had a relatively good plot attached to them. I also find it hypocritical that Zac says that he couldn't have made reasonable judgements about movies he hadn't seen, then goes on and makes a generalized statement about movies he hasn't seen. |
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Kenotic
 Posts: 167 |
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[quote="SoloButterfly"][quote="radda"]
I warmed to Haruhi herself as the series went on. I kind of hated her at first, but then she showed a bit more humanity in various scenes and episodes -- some of the better moments being in the final chronlogical episode. I'll admit that the "moe" (more specifically the fanservice) was a bit much for me, too. By the third episode (broadcast) I was wondering if I wanted to continue. Then the baseball episode happened and I was hooked. I usually hate fanservice, but somehow this just seemed to make fun of the worst excesses without getting creepy. The one thing I assume is that the "moe" factor seemed to be more of a post-modernish winking to the "moe" fad -- Mikuru is such a cliche at first that you suspect that something is up....and even the series admits this. It's almost as if the producers are asking "Is this really the type of girl you fanboys go for?" I didn't really like her at first, although that changed as the series progressed. |
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Asako
 Posts: 751 Location: Hawaii |
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Hmm, since I haven't watched Haruhi yet, I can't really say anything about the rant other than, at least you thought about it rather than some people who disregard a series due to hype
Haha, was interesting to read the Answerman reminiscing on the past Don't suppose this will be a new segment for Answerman? Just kidding  But it's very interesting to see predictions of certain things and see that they came true or didn't! This week's column was fun!
I enjoyed the 2nd Tenchi movie more than the first as well. Maybe because it's the only movie where Ayeka did "something" that helped Tenchi out. She's annoying! Beautiful Dreamer is such an acid trip! But I can understand the frustration. I enjoyed the story but since I watched that movie before knowing very much about Urusei Yatsura in the first place, it was a tiny bit confusing. Though use of the legend is very amusing. Aww, a baby chick Nice to have something other than kitties!
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clsnwbrdr616
 Posts: 22 |
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I watched the Haruhi series and liked it, but I honestly cannot see how people treat it like its a god of anime series. I know my anime club was going insane over this series and they were getting on my nerves.
 That aside, I thought it was an enjoyable anime, although it did have some flaws. My main complaint was just how much dialog there was it that anime. Too much talking. Kyon's little (not really) monologues, while funny, annoyed the heck out of me. Because of them (and a lot of other dialog) I felt like I was reading a book (subtitles) rather than watching a video. LOL. (I think the ranter would disagree with me about Kyon's monologues, lol)
My point here is that I think its a good anime (with some flaws) but is mainly a fad (my anime club proved that to me, lol). That's just my view on it at least. |
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kazenoyume
Posts: 425 |
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I have no idea how Yuki could possibly be considered more moe than Mikuru. That doesn't even make any sense to me. I realize that moe has come to mean varying things and has no concrete definition, but it seems like the majority see it as the kind of watery-eyed naive character that Mikuru is. (The most common features include youthfulness as a physical trait (younger age or twintails) or as an emotional trait (naive or innocent outlook) and some obvious sympathetic weakness the character works hard to correct (extreme clumsiness or a life-threatening disease).)- Wikipedia's definition. So then perhaps if some people do consider Yuki moe, I should clarify. I don't like the 'innocent watery-eyed guys please do me. I look like jailbait even if I'm not actually' character type that most moe seems to refer to. I don't strongly dislike Mikuru, but she's not my favorite. I'd like her less if the series took her seriously, but the presentation of her character is obviously done as a parody of moe stereotypes and I can deal with parody. |
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Thinkersblock07
 Posts: 26 |
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I don't find that too surprising since it was adapted from a novel. Personally, I like his monologues. 
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dizzywulf
Posts: 102 Location: Wakayama, Japan |
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Maan...I loved the first Tenchi movie and didn't think there was any incestual undertones in it. It never seemed like Tenchi loved Achika as anything more than his mom, and Achika seemed genuinely more attracted to Nobuyuki than Tenchi.
The second movie made me cringe though. I only watched it once, but that one bath scene....eww. Also, that other scene where Tenchi was sleeping and his daughter(?) comes in...ewwwww...
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Thinkersblock07
Posts: 26 |
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I totally agree with you about when Tenchi is sleeping and his daughter comes in. x_x But still, I loved the romantic tension in the second movie. |
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teh*darkness
 Posts: 901 |
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Hmmm.... that's all I have to say.
Though, I do agree with one thing the ranter said. "Ignore the hype." I haven't seen it, but this is exactly what I'm doing. I was around the fansub scene when this first came out, and I didn't hear anything about it until after the series was finished, because a lot of people didn't realize how good they thought it was until they'd seen the whole thing. Now, after the fact, I'm just gonna continuing waiting for the hype to pass, and once everything has cooled down, maybe I'll rent the first DVD, and give it a looksy. There are plenty of series I'll buy sight unseen, like .hack//ROOTS, because I'm a fan of the franchise, or due to artwork, director, or character designer (I love anything by Hisashi Hirai). But Haruhi just has WAY too much hype surrounding it, and even my friend, who's recommendations I trust, though he liked it, said it was very plainly not for everyone. So I'm content to wait for now. I don't feel like I'm missing anything. There are enough other series coming out to occupy my time (here's looking at you Mai-Otome!). |
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Tortoiseshell Tabby Girl
 Posts: 153 |
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 Ahahahahha....*contented sigh* This was the line in this column that made me laugh out loud the most. It's always nice to be reminded that everyone's human, everyone's falliable at times. It's strangely refreshing and comforting to see someone actually admit they're an idiot. Too bad more people don't do that.
This particular column reminds me of when I was in Junior High and had to write a letter to myself that I was eventually supposed to open a year later. Time does strange and mysterious things. All I have to say to anyone who doubts this is go find some of your old writing, whether it's a journal or a school paper or whatever, read it and you'll probably find yourself wondering what in the heck your past self was thinking back then.
As for Tenchi movies and sequels...my favorite Tenchi movies are the first one and the third one. The first one felt like it had a lot of the good stuff that was present in the Tenchi TV series and the third one had a mature, bittersweet feel to it that made it feel like the cast of characters had grown and made it a good ending point for the TV series continuity. The second movie had some fun and enjoyable "Tenchiness" in it, but I agree that it was kind of creepy, plus it didn't belong to any of the other Tenchi anime continuities. I still kept the DVD, though.
I also really like The Cat Returns. It's an interesting sequel because it's more like it's one of Shizuku's stories (Shizuku was the main character of Whisper of the Heart, of which The Cat Returns is a sequel--for those who may not know). In fact, I loved it so much, I bought the manga, too. But I probably also love it because it's a fantasy with cats, and I loves my cats and my fantasy! 
You know, I must say that I enjoyed Ghost in the Shell: Innocence, maybe even more than the first Ghost in the Shell movie. It's hard to say. I just really felt involved in Batou's story. And he had a Basset hound. 
I like all of the Inuyasha movies, but my favorite is the third movie because it deals with Inuyasha's father and the sibling rivalry between Inuyasha and Sesshomaru. It also seemed like the fighting didn't drag on as much in that movie. That's the one thing that actually irritates me about the Inuyasha movies--too much fighting!  They ought to have taken more inspiration from the more character-driven parts of the TV show and/or Rumiko Takahashi's work. Oh, well. It's still always nice to watch Inuyasha's group rendered in theater-quality animation.
Oh, and Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust was much more elegant, smooth, and dramatic that the first Vampire Hunter D movie (not that I didn't like the first one in a certain kind of way--I mean, if you look at it as a campy movie, it doesn't seem that bad). But the designs of the second movie were especially luscious. I think I've seen a couple Dragonball Z movies, so I think it's okay to say that they all seem the same and mediocre to me, but maybe a Dragonball Z fan out there has a different opinion? Right now, I can't think of any other anime movie sequels that I've seen. I think I may have run out. |
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Swissman
Posts: 768 Location: Switzerland |
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[ ] You know what you're talking about. [x] You've never seen movie 4: "Lum the Forever".
I wouldn't equate cinematic autorship with artistic pretension. |
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luffypirate
 Posts: 3186 |
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i bought dunbine...
i have a special place in my heart for shou and marvel <33 as for haruhi, i never believe all that hype bs. bandai is gonna make a killing off that show though (well i guess they already have with the art box preorders). no offence implied. it does look like amusing moe nonsense, and i would buy it if i found it cheap somewhere (nice box) but other than that... theres so much artistic and thought provoking shows coming out like beck, mushishi, and higurashi. ill wait. |
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Steroid
 Posts: 329 Location: At home, where all good hikikomori should be |
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While I agree that Suzumiya Haruhi no Yuutsu is overrated, it's not for the reasons outlined in the rant.
-The chronology. This worked in Pulp Fiction, it worked in that one episode of Seinfeld, and it works here. The challenge in laying out a 13-episode series is to make all the episodes interesting. If you have filler, disguising it as plot or re-timing it is a good way of working. It also allowed for the gag of Haruhi wanting chronological order while Kyon wanting broadcast order. That adds to the philosophical nature of the show (does Haruhi know she's in an anime? Does Kyon? At what level?) -The characters. For something purporting to be "a good non-biased review," or at least a counter to the bias of the others, it manages to come to the exact opposite conclusions I did on all the characters. Haruhi's "crimes" are just as wrong as Dirty Harry's--she's the protagonist; she's supposed to get away with actions that are normally wrong! Yes, Asahina is moe, but moe is popular. The "moe is a sign of a decadent culture" position is hardly the end of the debate. I didn't like Koizumi, but not because he was long-winded, but because he was cryptic. And Yuki. . . if participating in an action scene is all you need for a character, go watch Dragonball. But more to the point, these characters were supposed to be parodies of anime chiches. Moe girl, silent girl, mysterious transfer student, and the character who knows everything but can't tell. They were supposed to be so over the top that they're funny. -Not enough plot. I wanted less plot. I thought the best parts of the series was the slice-of-life stuff. There's an unrecognized sub-genre of anime I call "WTF is going on here?!" It includes shows like Air and Utena, about situations where something mysterious and magical is occurring, but we don't know what until later episodes. And while the shows may be good, it's usually not because the mystery. SHnY follows this pattern. The show was not about the aliens, espers, and time travellers. It was about the people. As I said, the ranter and I had completely different minor conclusions that led us to the same major one. SHnY has flaws, and it's not the sand on which I'd like to build my house. But I can see where the love and the worship come from, and if you think it might be your thing, then by all means believe the hype. |
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ichiro3923
 Posts: 167 Location: hiding in your closet watching you |
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I don't really agree with that particular reason for the rant; the ranter states that Haruhi's vice's and flaws is what turned him off. I particularly do not believe that the main character has to be virtuous and perfect to make an interesting sroyyine. Plus it adds originality. |
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sunflower
 Posts: 1080 |
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People need to relax about Haruhi. It's a fun anime. That's all. It's satirizes the cliches of anime, as well as plays some fun philosophical games. The order suits it, considering the questions it's asking. If you enjoy that kind of thing watch it. If you don't, skip it.
But if you watch it keep in mind that in stories like this, the journey is usually more important than the destination. That's why it doesn't matter where the "last" episode was shown, because it wasn't the point of the series. |
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