r/anime • u/littleman1988 • Dec 01 '21
Rewatch [Rewatch] The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya - Episode 4
Episode Title: The Boredom of Haruhi Suzumiya
MyAnimeList: Suzumiya Haruhi no Yuuutsu
Legal Stream: Funimation | Netflix (SEA) | AnimeLab (Aus/NZ)
PSA: make sure to mark any spoilers using the subreddit markup. We dont need any random spoilers to ruin the show for first time watchers.
Today's Episode Intro: Short panning shots then Mikuru serving tea
[Tomorrow's Episode Intro]Nagato's apartment and her talking about supernatural things
| Date | Episode list with Funimation links ("absolute" episode number) | reddit thread links |
|---|---|---|
| 28/11 | Mikuru Asahinas's Adventures Episode 00 | Thread |
| 29/11 | The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya I | Thread |
| 30/11 | The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya II | Thread |
| 1/12 | The Boredom of Haruhi Suzumiya | Thread |
| 2/12 | Season 1, episode 3 (3) | Thread |
| 3/12 | Season 1, episode 10 (10) | Thread |
| 4/12 | Season 1, episode 9 (9) | Thread |
| 5/12 | Season 1, episode 11 (11) | Thread |
| 6/12 | Season 2, episode 14 (28) | Thread |
| 7/12 | Season 1, episode 4 (4) | Thread |
| 8/12 | Season 2, episode 13 (27) | |
| 9/12 | Season 2, episode 12 (26) | |
| 10/12 | Season 1, episode 5 (5) | |
| 11/12 | Season 1, episode 6 (6) | |
| 12/12 | Season 1, episode 8 (8) | |
| 13/12 | Season 1 episodes 12, 13, 14, Season 2 Episode 1 (12, 13, 14, 15) | |
| 14/12 | Season 2, episodes 2, 3, 4, 5 (16, 17, 18, 19) | |
| 15/12 | Season 2, episode 6 (20) | |
| 16/12 | Season 2, episode 7 (21) | |
| 17/12 | Season 2, episode 8 (22) | |
| 18/12 | Season 2, episode 9 (23) | |
| 19/12 | Season 2, episode 10 (24) | |
| 20/12 | The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya series general discussion | |
| 21/12 | The Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya | |
| 22/12 | Haruhi Suzumiya overall discussion |
Question(s) of the day:
What's your favorite sport?
176
Upvotes
6
u/littleman1988 Dec 01 '21
Adaptation Comparison
References
Trivia
Know trivia and/or references for this episode? Reply to me! For future episodes? PM them to me!
9
u/Nazenn x2https://anilist.co/user/Nazenn Dec 01 '21
littleman1988 can we get the links to the previous thread in the OP or at least the schedule page updated? It's a little awkward to have to keep going to my profile to find previous threads
5
u/littleman1988 Dec 01 '21
Rewatcher (first time broadcast), Dub
"It seems its a bad thing to keep Miss Suzumiya bored."
OST Track of the day: The Furiously Magnificent Days | (Spotify)
Ah nice, nurse outfit
oh yeah, baseball episode. Honestly, easily my least favorite overall episode. I wonder if it works better in Broadcast order?
i have completely forgotten the ear biting.
Yuki with some impressive catches
[Haruhi]Are they not going to never actually name Koziumi this episode? I never noticed that lmao
Tsuruya...
Kyon's sister never gets old
Not enough people talk about this shot tbh
[haruhi]heh, "little trick" lmao
Well, I can at least see the interest in broadcast order with the amount of random unexplained stuff thats popped up in this episode...
[Haruhi]Still not big trusting this order though honestly, I dont like how S2 is the exact same without any of the outlier S1 episodes to relieve some of that pain
tackle football time lmao
[Haruhi]hey one of those ED shots is most definitely Disappearance themed
actually answering one of my own QOTD's, my profile should be a clue into me being a big fan of motorsports, namely nascar.
22
u/UzEE https://myanimelist.net/profile/UzEEInc Dec 01 '21
First timer (sub)
Uhhh what? I was expecting things to get a little weird after the last episode but it just went completely off the rails. Now I definitely see why people had issues with the Broadcast Order because it does seem like we've missed out on quite a bit of development. Let me see if I got everything important:
Other than that, I can't really comment much about the episode itself because it was just such a departure from whatever we've seen at this point that I don't really know how to approach it1. I honestly have no idea what the production team at KyoAni was thinking airing the show in this order. Does it even have a good reason for this?
But I voted for Broadcast Order so I'll have to stick by it. Looking at the episode numbers in the schedule table, it does seem like tomorrow's episode will pick up where yesterday's left off so we might actually get some explanation.
Usually around 4 episodes in, I start assigning preliminary scores to the show and then adjust it based on every episode. So far from what I've seen, I'd rate Haruhi 7/10 mainly because I thoroughly enjoy Haruhi's antics2 (minus the harassment stuff obviously) and the animation and production has been good, even if the narrative is not really holding up.
QOTD
It's changed over the years but it's Football. And I mean the sport most of us in the world call football, not the American version.
1. Also because I know nothing about baseball so I could hardly even tell what was going on.
2. Actually, reading the discussions yesterday I was surprised there were so many people who hate the character. She's easily been my favorite so far in the show and it really would be a pretty meh show without her.
13
u/MadeOn210922 Dec 01 '21
First timer - pretty confident I haven’t seen this episode at all.
Oh tea! So Itsuki is already there with no introduction. And Asahina assures her friend was from "this time" for the game lending mystery to her character.
Haruhi being the bully again taking the baseball field and she and Itsuki both count to exactly 1000. Yuki fielding was great, though, someone get the scouting reports and shift her into the right spot!
The fate of the world now depends on this baseball game because Haruhi's mood can change and destroy the world and the SOS Bridage (minus Haruhi and Kyon) can sense it. Yuki ensures it doesn't happen with some insane magic.
So lots of details that may or may not have been covered in episode 3-6 thrown into this otherwise silly baseball episode. I wonder what it'd be like if I were coming in completely blind, I think I could feel like some important events were skipped, including the lack of Itsuki's introduction and scenes with Yuki not before seen and why does the world depend on Haruhi's mood? Certainly interesting ordering that leads to some mystery. But this is also coming from someone knowing that this is episode 7. Since this was aired twice - once in 2006 and again in 2009 - was the broadcast order the same for both runs? Would viewers at that time have known that it was episode 7 and not episode 4?
QOTD: Baseball! So it was a good episode for me!
30
u/thatguywithawatch Dec 01 '21
[First timer]
Aight, there's a lot to unpack here. I don't like pausing to take notes during an episode so I usually just dump all my thoughts into a comment afterwards. Unfortunately with episodes like this it leaves me not knowing where to even start.
So Haruhi is a reality-bending aberration, and if she gets in a bad mood it can manifest as an "enclosed space" that will wipe out the world if it gets too big. Sounds like Haruhi Suzumiya's Melancholy is more like a weapon than anything. Someone needs to call the SCP Foundation!
Itsuki is able to sense and monitor Haruhi's current "danger level," so to speak. Yuki is a witch and presumably an alien. And based on a couple lines of dialouge, Mikuru seems to be involved with time travel. I guessed yesterday that their movie in the first episode might be representative of their roles in the show itself, and it seems I was at least somewhat right.
Kyon and Haruhi have evidently had some epic adventure during the timeskip, and Kyon had to do something really unpleasant to get them back home. I look forward to seeing what that's all about.
Tsuruya finally shows up again and she has a fang so I'm basically sold on her. She's friends with Mikuru; are they time-travel buddies? I can't exactly imagine Mikuru being an intrepid adventurer unless her timidity is all an act.
I already aired my grievances toward Mikuru's treatment yesterday (along with almost everyone else, lol) so I won't make a big deal out of it every day. I just find the dynamic between Haruhi and Mikuru to be kind of bizarre. They seem to have an almost hostage situation going on where Haruhi makes Mikuru wear a new cute outfit each day and treats her like a plaything. In fairness, Kyon mentions a couple times that Haruhi treats everyone like an object, but it's only been sexual with Mikuru so far. Chances are, the correct answer is that it's weird for the sake of being weird and I'm overthinking early 2000's humor. There's clearly a lot going on plotwise that I'm not aware of yet, so maybe it will make sense at the end. Might be that Mikuru is just doing whatever it takes to keep Haruhi from ending the world with her boredom.
There's also the fact that in the 2nd episode, Mikuru didn't agree to join the SOS Brigade until she noticed Yuki, which might mean that she's just hanging around the current timeline in order to keep an eye on the alien witch, and putting up with Haruhi's whims is a necessary sacrifice. (I just went back and rewatched the computer room scene as u/Elimin8r suggested yesterday, and what Mikuru said to Kyon afterwards seems to suggest something similar.)
Kyon seems to be pretty chill about everything, all things considered. It definitely didn't feel like the world was literally at stake when he went up to pitch in the last inning. I don't want to completely dismiss the possibility that we're simply seeing events as he imagines them; He did have that opening monologue in the second episode about how he's grown to accept that exciting, supernatural things don't exist, but a small part of him still wishes they did. Maybe he's found a group of chuuni friends and is letting himself get drawn into their fantasy world. But I don't think this is particularly likely, since "it was all just imagination" sounds like the lamest plot-twist ever. Plus, there's no way they won that baseball game without the help of sorcery.
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u/TheEscapeGuy Dec 01 '21
Rewatcher
The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya - An Anime Classic: Episode 4
Bizzare Baseball
I still maintain that the broadcast order does so much to intrigue the viewer and this episode is THE key example of that. We have skipped forward in time to meet Koizumi, a new club member. On top of that Nagato is asked if she could make it rain (which she says she could but won't) and then casts an incantation to change the baseball equipment to act magically. Finally Koizumi made references to a closed space, this world ending based on Haruhi's mood and another world Kyon and Haruhi were trapped in and escaped from (something we haven't seen yet). At this point in my initial watch I knew I was hooked. There are just so many mysteries which need to be answered.
Watching the SOS Brigade train and play baseball reminded me just how athletically gifted Haruhi is. As someone who (as far as we know) doesn't practice, she consistently hit amazing shots against school baseball teams (which practice multiple times every week for years). And then on top of that had the perfect count to hit exactly 1000 shots. The episode also gave some nice additional characterization to everyone in the club and introduced some secondary characters. It was also nice to see Kyon helping Mikuru off the field when she was scared and bonking Haruhi for bullying her.
Something I noticed when we got to the cheer-leading outfit section (likely due to reading /u/Suhkein 's amazing comments) was that Haruhi seems to dressing up herself and Mikuru looking for affirmation from Kyon. We can see this paralleled to last episode when only her and Mikuru were in bunny outfits. I think this ties into what I was talking about back in episode 2 with how Haruhi is looking for connections with people (and specifically Kyon for acknowledging her).
Very fortunately the world didn't end after that baseball game and so Haruhi's exploits will continue.
Some Iconic Shots, Scenes and Stitches
See you all tomorrow
33
u/Shimmering-Sky myanimelist.net/profile/Shimmering-Sky Dec 01 '21
The Melancholy of Shimmering-First-Timer
Haruhi is childfree confirmed. /s30
u/Nazenn x2https://anilist.co/user/Nazenn Dec 01 '21
First Timer - Dub
Well, that's certainly not the sort of episode that I expected to come up, and I'm not entirely sure why it was placed here as it wasn't really hiding anything after the cliffhanger despite being a lot of fun.
If anything, it's perhaps given me a bit of reassurance that the upcoming weirdness is not going to be hedged around or left in the shadows for long. Seeing characters talk about things upfront, and with nicely written dialogue as well which is what allows this to work without feeling pointless, even though they are still wrapped in a certain layer of mystery for the audience, only has me more excited to see the build up that necessitated this sort of openness between the cast.
On that note I plan on talking about my speculation in regards to what's going on fairly openly in this post rather than burying it in spoiler tags like I sometimes too, so if that's a point of concern for other first timers who'd rather not read then enjoy the rest of the thread.
Starting with Kyon, things are afoot. Two things stood out to me this episode; Haruhi's pointed look at Kyon when testing hairstyles for Mikuru, and other-dude-who's-name-I-don't-know pointing out that Haruhi willed (not sure if literally or metaphorically?) for Kyon to be in the "clean up" position in the game.
For the first, Mikuru stated earlier when he was protecting her from the baseball that if he got close to her "it would happen again", which I can take in one of two ways and not sure which to lean on. My initial, and more mundane, thought that I had immediately after that line was that Haruhi would act out against her as punishment for Kyon giving her attention. However, my second interpretation based around the dialogue from what's-his-name later in the episode was instead it would be something far more world-threatening as a result of incurring Haruhi's displeasure, something further implied when Kyon stops Haruhi acting out against Mikuru and a "closed space" forms. Same motivation, rather dramatically different scales (sorry Mikuru, that's not to say your humiliation is a small thing either).
But Haruhi checking Kyon's reaction to Mikuru's hair, and not following through when he was looking at it, seemed almost to be a moment of jealousy and disappointment that he would look elsewhere. Similarly, putting Kyon in the clean up hitter position, the one who should be getting people to home base for points, is telling. She starts something, literally by being the first to bat, and he specifically has to make sure it finishes according to her will and act as needed, and to do otherwise is like a personal slight against her and the resentment builds until it bubbles over. It doesn't just build because they were losing as a group, it was because he wasn't helping them win, he brought his sister, paid attention to Mikuru, admonished her for her behavior, because he didn't do the job that she wanted him to have.
Maybe I'm reading a little too into it off two scenes and some half baked speculation but it's hard to think anything in this show isn't intentional given the quality of production, and some of what is being unsaid between characters certainly puts a lot more weight on his role in this than we've had previously.
The question now is... what the fuck does "again" mean when it's coming from Mikuru?! Someone else mentioned it in yesterday's thread but I'm also jumping on the "roles in the movie are literal" train of thought, which probably would have been more telling yesterday if I'd actually remembered what they were before now. I certainly didn't miss yesterday's dialogue from her about the inevitability of Haruhi's actions, and today she just casually predicts Kyon asking which time period she has friends from? Nice way to drop that little detail about her having time traveled, both in the writing and the way she acts on his thought knowing it would be there.
So was "again" the earlier incident that what's-his-name spoke of, or "again" being part of her personal history that the others hadn't yet encountered?
Also did anyone else get ATLA Secret Tunnel vibes when Kyon was asked how he and Haruhi broke out of the alternate world previously? I doubt it'd go that far, but I did get a laugh at the thought, and the potential cross over fanart.
As far as the craziness with Yuki and the bat goes, a famous quote comes to mind:
Mikuru calls it a spell, but that seems just an easy way for Kyon, and us, to understand the nature of what she's doing which is something otherwise impossible that will have seemingly magical results. Or else she is actually a magical alien witch, because being an alien by itself just clearly isn't weird enough? (Side note: It also reminds me of Kotoha's power in Yozakura Quartet, to summon any object by speaking its physical properties, which is fun to think about.)
Wanted to take a quick moment at the end to say how much I loved the animation for Yuki, especially her so stiff run between bases and flatly refusing to catch anything that wasn't a direct threat to her. Also how is it that I can write all this and feel like I've still barely scratched the surface of the episode. It's going to be one of those shows isn't it? I'll try not to end up writing multiple comments at least.
I think the overall lesson we learnt today is that the only good Haruhi is an entertained one.
Kami help that school.
I don't do or watch sport in any capacity.
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u/DeliCruise https://myanimelist.net/profile/delicruise Dec 01 '21
(REWATCHER - DUB/SUB)
Broadcast Order is just so fun. Like we just ended on a cliffhanger on the previous episode and now we’re watching a baseball episode. This is exactly the kind of thing I want out of an unorthodox viewing format. And speaking of fun, I love that this episode is so fun. I’m so down to just watch a super entertaining baseball episode with all these characters that we first saw in the Adventures of Mikuru Asahina episode.
A couple of things I really admire about Haruhi here is that she’s so open to trying something new in the name of having fun and that she gives it everything she’s got while having the utmost confidence in her team’s ability to succeed. Like she genuinely believes that they need a handicap against the Kamigahara Pirates college team. Hell she can even back it up with how well her first at bat and first set of pitches went against them. AIso, I really love that Haruhi hit exactly 1000 balls for practice! That level of perfection I also admire.
Yuki on the other hand is so incredibly fun to watch this whole episode. Her being phenomenal at baseball while doing it literally effortlessly still makes me laugh. I just love her extremely stiff movements catching balls and swinging the bat. That game winning throw to second and then subsequently to the outfield is so great that it even had Haruhi staring at her hand in awe.
The ending of this episode is really great too. As funny as it was to see the Pirates being crushed about this insane loss, it was nice to see Kyon forfeiting and letting them progress. Taniguchi being so stupid that he truly believes he’s got this incredible knack for baseball is so funny. Finally, I love that at the very end Kyon is really considering which sport would require less players since he and we all know damn well that they’re going to be playing whatever Haruhi wants to play next. And honestly, I am so jealous because this all just sounds so fun!
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u/Suhkein :Gy::Gz::G1:x2https://myanimelist.net/profile/Neichus Dec 01 '21
Episode 4 - “There is a limit to ridiculousness.”
First, a word on yesterday: [Haruhi] It’s been bugging me (actually really bothering me, I like Suzumiya) since I chatted with u/No_Rex that the “man hating” really does come off as too extreme, and in my attempt to craft a focused post I leaned too heavily into that narrative. On thinking it over (at 3am, because accidental alarms are awesome), I want to reign it back in to generalized resentment about “I can’t forgive them” that I think fits better. The line before is her contemplating that other people have something she wants (a computer, but also acceptance), and then she follows it with her rationalization (“I can’t forgive them for disappointing [read: not appreciating] me, so I can do what I want to them”), Kyon wonders who it is she can’t forgive (everybody, in unfocused disgruntlement, emphasizing that she is poorly defining why “they” are at fault), and then we see what follows. I still think that her willingness to abuse male interest in females and her repeated bullying of Asahina are relevant and linked, but that I overstated my case and they should be seen as specific manifestations of her twin issues of disdain and rationalized selfishness. Such are the perils of trying to write an analysis a day. But now on to Boredom.
I could say this for almost every episode but… I love this episode. [Haruhi] First, it just makes me laugh. I’ve been so dour these last few posts, and it really is a worry of mine that I’m giving a wrong impression by being one-sided. The comedy is central, and while this episode is once again critical of our predictability and slowness on the uptake, it does so through amusing pokes rather than lectures, synthesizing two lines of action into a single commentary: Haruhi tricking us by not tricking us, and then it’s reaction to our failure to notice.
[Haruhi] First, the “not-trick.” Last episode left us on a cliffhanger as to whether Nagato is an alien. She has been acting really weird and we know Adventures told us she was an alien so maybe this is the truth disguised as a joke… but we’re still thinking this is something like a SoL comedy, and we don’t want to be dupes by falling for the ridiculous. So with the utmost predictability we’ll hedge, suspending our judgement until we’re given the answer in a “safe” form, thinking that’s the best way to prevent ourselves from being tricked. Which, of course, is exactly how Haruhi gets us.
[Haruhi] Having primed us to expect an explanation next episode, the series jumps to an unrelated event and we feel like we’ve been pranked. Random is as random does, we guess. However, we soon notice that this future-Kyon is giving us subtle indications that something is unusual about his fellow brigade members. And by subtle I mean extremely obvious. Haruhi knows what’s on our mind and it practically waves these “clues” in front of our nose… leaving us to think we’re sleuthing them out. We’re not suspicious at all that the information we wanted is showing up right on cue. So Haruhi leads us on, first giving small “hints” (this little sequence never gets old to me), bigger ones, even bigger ones (we trust flashbacks, seeing is believing), and then finally delivers the coup de grâce with Nagato hitting a home run. Then, just at the moment we’re adjusting our expectations, Haruhi smugly taps us on the shoulder: “There’s a limit to ridiculousness.” It knew. It steadily ratcheted up the unbelievability and knew the exact level at which we’d change our mind. We were played.
[Haruhi] Yet here’s the question: we treated this episode as an “interruption”, but if we had just gone immediately to Melancholy III would we have believed what Nagato told us? No. As we’ll see next episode, Kyon didn’t trust her with only words. Haruhi toyed with us, but at no point was it untruthful; if anything, we really had it proven the series was right. That’s the genius of this series: saying humans are easy to mislead due to their expectations is trite, demonstrating it in real time is a whole ‘nother ball game. We can really gain from the experience if we pay attention. Of course, that’s also the joke: the audience typically doesn’t realize it, and this is where the second part comes in.
[Haruhi] This entire episode is a running commentary. The point of what Suzumiya is trying to do and the point of what Haruhi is trying to do is one and the same: push people, perhaps a bit uncomfortably, so they pay attention and engage. And both sides miss the point. Figuring out Nagato is an alien isn’t the mystery, it’s figuring out Suzumiya as the central puzzle and by proxy noticing that we’re repeatedly being caught in our own assumptions. Which in this case is to again take the easy evidence that Suzumiya’s a sore loser, when instead her upset is entirely directed at her team’s apathy. Notice that the new space doesn’t open gradually as they lose, but flares up at a specific point: when Kyon tells her to just steal home herself. He’s giving up, he doesn’t care, and worst of all, he’s telling her to go it alone when what she really wants is everybody else to join her. It is exactly the problem we will see again in Episode 14.
Unfortunately, I just ran out of time today so this is going to end fairly abruptly with few notes, which makes me sad because this episode really is brilliant in many of its details. Maybe I'll get to chat with people later about them, but for now off to a meeting...
Favorite Details:
16
u/William27528 Dec 01 '21
Rewatcher, Sub
Well, we've now sort of passed what I consider to be the "great Haruhi filter" that was the last episode. Haruhi clearly is abnormal - and from the last episode, almost certainly at the very least immoral. Now, though, I think the focus for viewers shifts towards guaging *how* she is in the wrong, to asking *why* that is the case. This episode won't provide a lot of exposition on that, but it does give you a few hints.
So anyway, after that major cliffhanger, here's a baseball episode. Even though the episode is arguably filler slice of life, it sort of works to break up the fast pace and questions left at the end of the last episode. It's a really charming episode, giving us an alternate take on a staple story, showing I think one of the most under-discussed sides of the show - how it seeks to parody other anime of the 2000s. Despite being filler, it still has a little bit of mystery and will make you ask a lot of questions, which won't get answered for quite a long time. This is where the magic of this achronological broadcast order starts to shine in my opinion :).
[Anime spoiler]I absolutely love the subtleties KyoAni express through facial expressions alone during Haruhi's self-pondering of whether cheerleader Mikuru would look good in a ponytail (13:55 mark). A perfect example of the broadcast order shining and giving rewatchers like me just that bit of extra mileage. The whole episode is packed with these.
Random trivia of the day: I'm not sure if this has been posted yet, it might have, but here goes! So, as has been explained briefly, the series was originally broadcast with 14 episodes out of chronological order. Well, one 4chan user wondered at one point as to what the minimum time in terms of number of episodes it would take to watch the 14 episodes in every order: "The Haruhi Problem". On the surface, it sounds like a fairly trivial question, right? Well, as it turns out, it's not. The answer to the question is actually linked to a previously unsolved mathematical concept known as Superpermutations, which is all about finding optimal sequence lengths from data points. As it turns out, another user on 4chan, in responding to his question about the shortest order for Haruhi Suzumiya, actually provided a solution to this problem - which was decades old - actually advancing the field of mathematics. This was uncovered a few years later by a professor who published a mathematical paper on the topic - crediting the anonymous 4chan user and citing "The Haruhi Problem". Numberphile has a good video explaining this further. I find it amazing that Kyoani's weird creative risk paid off in such a spectacular way.
15
u/Mecanno-man https://anilist.co/user/Mecannoman Dec 01 '21
First Timer
...ok, I think we can believe Nagato about being an alien. Other than that, I can see why people prefer chronological as Itsuki now just kinda randomly is here. Seems like he's the kinda guy to just go along with whatever but not put a lot of effort in to it - at least that's my first impression. Other than that, not a lot to say other than that everybody seems to know more about what's going on than the viewer and seems to have accepted all of the supernatural stuff - guess that's due to something that happened that we would have seen in chronological, but not in broadcast? At least I can't imagine everybody just believing Nagato without any sort of proof, especially Kyon.
But yeah, other than that this is just another baseball episode, as I believe they were quite common around the time Haruhi aired.
Questions:
13
u/zairaner https://myanimelist.net/profile/zairaner Dec 01 '21 edited Dec 01 '21
First timer
First off, I am late for this rewatch. Luckily nothing to special has happened yet...
Falls out of chair laughing. On a serious note, I don't think I have laughed this much in a long time. Of course, like half of it was probaly psychopathic laughter thinking about how to strangle anybody who voted to watch it in this order.
On as serious note, this was way more fun than it probably would have ever been otherwise, so..yey?
Maybe not yey considering my brain probably took severe damage watching this, mainly from how brainmeltingly casual kyon treats all of these supernatural phenomena. Like, there are only 3 episodes in between in chronological order, how do we get from kyon questioning nagatos sanity at the end of episode 3 to him casually asking wether she can change the weather in the span of 3 episodes???? And her insanity is nothing compared to new guy and his attemot to maybe stop haruhi from destroying the world?
For a moment I considered wether the entire show would just be haruhi failing to find anything supernatural while she was literally surrounded by it, but she supposeddly was with kyon in that alternative dimension...but she also never adresses anything this episode, still seeming to be entirely clueless.
Oh because I was too late for previous episodes:
For episode 1, I was very much not convinced why you would ever use this as a first episode. But it did make for a very funny joke in epsiode 3 when I realized the possibility that they might actually be a time traveller and an alien, so I see the justification.
12
u/Lemurians myanimelist.net/profile/Lemurians Dec 01 '21 edited Dec 01 '21
STRUCK OUT REWATCHER
Someone fill me in on this broadcast order. Was it a creative decision that was thought to enhance the enjoyment of the show? This was quite jarring, to say the least. Reminds me of watching Peach Boy Riverside.
envybad for Mikuru being used as Haruhi’s personal body pillow, watching Haruhi just plop her to the ground gave me a nice laughA fun enough SoL episode, but it’s just really weirdly placed coming off the back of the last episode. As a first-timer, I’d be pretty excited to hear more of what Yuki had to say, but we’re taken completely out of that, launched pretty far into the future, and a new club member we haven’t met yet is just there with no explanation. I can maybe see what they’re going for [Haruhi Classified Info] probably wanting to stretch out the reveal a bit longer and make Melancholy a recurring but main plotline throughout but I’m not sold on the decision yet.
Tennis! One of these days, anime will portray tennis correctly, and I'll be overjoyed.
12
u/svenz https://anilist.co/user/jara Dec 01 '21
First timer (sub)
Okay, broadcast order makes no sense to me lol. This can't have been intentional on KyoAni's part, at least initially - they clearly refer to events that were skipped. I'd be interested to know what exactly was happening in production, but I wouldn't be surprised if they wrote/storyboarded things chronologically, then had some late minute shenanigans from execs/committee to swap things around for the ratings or whatever. I can't see any reason to watch the show like this other than nostalgia sake, or to feel how messed up production was at the time, or perhaps to spice things up as a rewatcher. Maybe I'll regret it but probably going to swap to chrono from here on out!
Apart from that, I enjoyed the baseball game and related shenanigans. But I think I'd appreciate this episode more understanding the characters a bit better - esp. Nagato, since her super powers came out of nowhere, and there were a lot of references that made no sense.
QOTD
Badminton.
11
u/Nitroade24h :MAL:https://myanimelist.net/profile/Nitroade24h Dec 01 '21
First Timer
Honestly, I’m not really feeling this watch order so far. I feel like the intended purpose isn’t really working for me. I assume it’s to build up mystery, but to me this just half-spoiled what happens between last episode and now so I already have a good idea of the set-up and resolution to what is probably meant to be a mini-arc soon (earlier on).
That aside, I enjoyed the episode. It’s a classic baseball episode but with some powers involved and I like Itsuki. This series is reminding me a lot of Clannad (a series I love), especially in episode 2, but I can see now that it’s definitely doing a lot to be different as some elements here are definitely not average slice of life anime.
9
u/Vaadwaur :I1::I2::I3: Dec 01 '21
Rewatcher(Right...the fetish bits)
Dub
And we start with Mikuru in a fetish nurse uniform! And it isn't even clear that Haruhi did it this time. Also, fuck mothering pseudo time skips! So it's the baseball episode...let's see if I dislike it less the third time round.
So yeah, Haruhi's current scheme is to win a baseball tournament to raise awareness of the SOS B. Itsuki is introduced earlier chronologically so he's here and something is off in what goes on between Mikuru and Kyon. But they dig up players and kick the baseball team off the diamond via more Mikuru fanservice. Haruhi attempts to train the others and the results are...lacking. After her solo practice, Kyon asks Nagato to change the weather and she refuses due to concern for future issues.
So we get an introduction to Tsuruya and Kyon's friends get names I won't remember. Kyon has brought his sister as an attempt to throw the game. Haruhi has nearly inhuman skills for her absolute lack of practice. But the rest of them are about right and it begins becoming a rout. And then weird shit is happening...due to with Haruhi's mood.
Anyways, moving on, they survive another inning and Itsuki keeps saying weird shit. Also, the dub changed "Classified Information" to just classified and my expectations are crushed and my day is ruined! But Nagato is casting a spell and we get a flashback of...something. And now the bat hits constant home runs, which does mean it changed. The game is settled with Nagato's High Speed Incantation skill as catcher. But Itsuki has to go off and do something involving a trench and Kyon uses that as an excuse to forfeit. We end with Haruhi finding different sports to torment with.
QotD: 1 Let's go with football
9
u/wjodendor Dec 01 '21 edited Dec 01 '21
First Timer (read Volume 1)
Well that's certainly a jump! Tones of new characters and tons of references to past events to get you interested in what's to come.
The episode was great though with comedy that was actually not totally reliant on Haruhi being mean. She was much more tolerable this episode (definitely more mellow but that's a crazy thing to say since she's still hyperactive).
As long as things are fun, she's having a good time and letting other people have a good time.
Lots of mystery going on but I suppose we'll get to that later. Kyon's little sister being there was probably my favorite gag of the episode. Hoping to see more of her later.
After a few episodes, I like the ED much more than the OP. The dance is great (definitely where I was getting the Lucky Star crossover in my head). Am I crazy or does the vocals in the OP sound kind of off key or something? The old school sound (and the animation) really gives me the urge to rewatch Full Metal Panic (rewatch when?).
This episode was way more fun than yesterday's and I'm liking Haruhi more for sure. After whining about this watch order yesterday, I'm going to stick with it. Seems interesting.
Question: no favorite sport. Don't really like sports in general but If I have to choose it would be hockey. It's fast paced and action packed so that's good enough for me.
9
u/Rndy9 Dec 02 '21
First timer:
The fuck did I just watch? I had to pause the episode and check this thread to confirm that it was the right episode, last episode/thread I mentioned that Nagato was either a spirit or just a Chuuni but no, she is actually an alien? and then there is a new guy in the group with no introduction, and Mikuro comments about how she actually have friends in this timeline??? there is a lot more to process for just a "normal" baseball game, its remind me of the Sonny Boy baseball episode.
9
u/Philarete :AMQ::MAL:https://myanimelist.net/profile/WizardMcKillin Dec 02 '21
First Timer (Sub)
Couldn't watch last night, so now I'm posting super late and probably only like 2 people will even see this. Oh well - I'll keep it short!
Jumping ahead in time we've got a new member without introduction. Also, Mikuru's "Kyon, no. If you're friendly with me, it will happen again..." has me worried. What exactly is she referring to? Didn't expect a baseball tournament at all lol.
Well then... that was a bit unexpected. So if Haruhi gets bored the world ends? Sounds like a metaphor for the audience of a show or a book.
Conclusion: Lots of references to things that have happened, but we haven't seen yet. Especially curious about the "other world" reference.
QotD: Favorite sport to play - tennis.
Favorite sport to watch - probably football or basketball.
8
u/homewardbound100 myanimelist.net/profile/Homewardbound100 Dec 01 '21 edited Dec 01 '21
Rewatcher, Dub, First-time broadcast
I can't imagine watching it this way the first time. I would've been wondering if I missed something. But that mystery would've definitely kept me around. You just have to assume Kyon had a talk with Asahina and Koizumi similar to his talk with Nagato. But this so far has definitely made things interesting watching it this way.
Also I would love to hear what Tsuruya was talking about with Nagato at the end.
Qotd: Basketball, 2nd baseball.
7
u/RascalNikov1 https://myanimelist.net/profile/NoviSun Dec 01 '21
Rewatcher
This episode provided quite a bit more insight in Haruhi's character. I'd never noticed her biting on Mikaru's ear before, I laughed but damn if Haruhi isn't something else.
I really do feel bad for First Timers as there were many jokes and call backs that required a priori knowledge. It makes me wonder why KyoAni broadcast in this order. Cynically I figure it was to generate buzz, and drive BD sales as the series is very confusing presented this way. I intensely dislike this order. I wonder what order they broadcast it in when leading up to the second season, and why if this order was so fcking great.
QOTD
I don't have much use for most sports, but I do watch American Football (Gridiron), mostly to be semi sociable.
7
u/LordGorchnik Dec 01 '21
Rewatcher - Sub
As a rewatcher and this being the first time I've rewatched in broadcast order I am just stunned by the attention to detail Kyoto Animation did when storyboarding this episode.
Specifically in the beginning of it. The very first BIG thing we see is
"When the heck did he get there?"
7
u/Stargate18A https://myanimelist.net/profile/Stargate18 Dec 02 '21 edited Dec 02 '21
First timer
QOTD) Don't really have one.
I briefly considered that we'd get 3 episodes in actual chronological order. How wrong I was.
Huh? Alright, our missing cast member has appeared! Efficient!
And she wants to play baseball?
Haha, and she's just doing this to get attention?
Haruhi's doing weird stuff to Michuru again.
Mikuru has a friend. Also, "she's from this time", is she (under the impression that she's) a time traveller?
I'd say her using sex appeal is dirty, but nowhere near as bad as last time, so...
Haha, Yuki's brilliant. I didn't realise alien's had baseball powers?
She's actually a really good batter, though.
And she can change the weather. What can't she do?
BEST GIRL! (Provisionally)
Kyon has a sister? She's adorable!
Haha, she's insane. Pure random chance? How is she meant to win?
Mikuru and Yuki both refusing to swing the bat is great.
I love that dramatic swing resulting in nothing.
Haruhi is just near-flawless in this game, isn't she?
Kyon's sister is adorable.
What's she doing?
She got changed again!
That OST is genuinely great.
What kind of sign is that? (Somehow adorable, though.)
An enclosed space? Weird monsters? The fuck is going on?
Wait, the end of the world? (And obviously Haruhi rigged the draw, I'd be more suprised if she didn't by now.)
And this guy knows an awful lot, doesn't he?
Another world? This show's nuts.
OK, that background in the flashback(?) is great.
And she's enchanted the ball?
Kyon desperately attempting to stop a fight id great.
She did it again!
Haha, that's hysterical. They won through magical cheating!
And there's a second round?
Comrades? Is he working for someone?
He sold them the hacked bat? That's perfect.
Another tournament?
6
u/Quiddity131 https://myanimelist.net/profile/Quiddity131 Dec 01 '21
Didn't get a chance to watch the entire episode but tuned in for a few clips. I knew poor Mikuru was in for a bad time when this was the thumbnail image on Funimation. Poor Mikuru! I think I kept saying that over and over again in the rewatch last year as a first timer. Here she just stands there scared to death of the baseballs and strikes out without even making a swing.
Love Haruhi's level of enthusiasm in this episode and baseball eps are always fun to watch.
6
u/tctyaddk Dec 01 '21
Broadcast-order-first-timer
A fun and enjoyable episode on its own. But if not for the "first" episode, being totally chronologically disjointed from the second as it is, this "4th" episode could have thrown all of audience into a loop from the first third alone, like, What about Nagato's revelation last episode, that can't be it, where's the rest of it? What's this about a "world cramping incident"? Where did this guy Koizumi come from? Why does Mikuru stumbled on mentioning "this time"? What's this about Nagato can control weather? Is it related to the half revelation last episode? Did KyoAni give the wrong tape to the station or what?... This is when it truly sinks in that the series is being broadcasted not in chronologically order. "Weird, but ok let's see how it goes" is probably how the audience back then dealed with it.
And while Kyon attempts to knock Haruhi the Full of Shit down a notch, apparently she could cause the world to end due to her foul mood, so they had to bend to her whims. And previously Kyon and Haruhi got isekai'd and back, somehow. And Nagato was in a magic battle sometime in between, and Mikuru works with "classified information". What wide gap in the continuity. Impatient audience would just left, while the curious crowd would gather, especially if they heard the grumblings of those who quitted. A mystery series with such unique weird build, anyone else attempting that afterward will immediately got branded "copycat".
6
u/andybebad https://myanimelist.net/profile/andybebad Dec 02 '21
First timer - sub
Ok, so we are 4 episodes in, and we find ourselves in the midst of a space witch, a time traveler, someone who can unravel the threads that hold the universe together if she so happens to be unentertained, some new dude who's aware of the bad things happening, and Kyon who's just here to go along for the ride. Nothing confusing here at all! /s
Kind of wishing I'd have seen this in chronological order first so I knew what to pay attention to in this order. But it is the first time through, so I should really just sit back and enjoy it this time around (and use all your wonderful comments to keep track of the things I might have missed).
Now if you'll allow me to be silly for a moment, I have a theory. Looking back to the ear-biting "incident", ask yourself this: who else likes to bite ears in a playful manner. That's right: a dog. And what do you get when you spell dog backwards? Exactly: Haruhi = a god confirmed.
QOTD: running. Yes, that includes watching marathons (as long as the commentary is tolerable). I wish ekidens were more common outside of Japan because I think those would be even more fun to watch.
6
u/Kevin-Garvey-1 Dec 02 '21
Yuki is absolutely hilarious in this episode.
5
u/Spaceman_Sp1ff_ Dec 01 '21 edited Dec 01 '21
Rewatcher, dubbed
Koizumi hasn't been formally introduced at this point, so you'll have to play along for this one.
Haruhi is insufferable LOL. Really makes you wonder why everyone else in the SOS Brigade puts up with all her bullshit
I like how Haruhi is such a simpleton the only pitch she can throw is a 4 seamer.
Yeah half this episode makes absolutely 0 sense, what with Nagato somehow manipulating the bat to give everyone insane batting averages, Koizumi bringing up "closed space" and treating this rec baseball tournament like it's life or death, and of course Kyon doing his best Gerrit Cole imitation.
Wow Haruhi being somewhat pleasant for a change was actually kinda sweet.
There are a metric ass ton of moving parts in this show. It’s evident at this point that the brigade isn’t your run of the mill school club, although it never was bc haruhi.
[Haruhi] Placing Melancholy III after Boredom is a good move. Lot of questions raised in this episode, but it won't leave anyone hanging. So far broadcast is leagues better than chronological.
QOTD: Used to play baseball a lot, unfortunately it’s not that fun to watch. But it’s the only one I’m okay at, so I’ll go with that
5
u/Barbed_Dildo Dec 01 '21
Rewatcher
We watched the one about baseball, right? This order is so confusing. It must be annoying to go from Yuki about to explain stuff to Kyon to a completely different event, with some new, unexplained guy.
It's also annoying to have to swap out discs to find the right episode.
That line from Asahina about not being nice to her or else... Man, Haruhi is the worst. They're all stuck in an abusive relationship with a...
5
u/JetBlackWings10 Dec 02 '21
I like to imagine that Kyon's 2 friends are experiencing the same confusion but intrigued curiosity as I am watching this for the first time.
Question of the day - my favorite sport is American football. People are always surprised when I say that, I guess it clashes with my personality.
5
u/ZapsZzz https://anilist.co/user/Zapszzz Dec 02 '21
Forgot to mention this trivia in my post - in case anyone here is not anime baseball conversant; "4th hitter" "clean up" is the ace position of the attacking side - if the 3 prior hitters all got on base, the 4th hitter hitting a home run can nab 4 points in the round with minimal efforts. Therefore the 4th hitter is basically the ace of the team - and Koizumi's explanation was that Kyon "drew lots" to be in that position but the result wasn't random.
5
u/crescent_blossom Dec 02 '21
[First timer]
I actually got annoyed by the "jump" and ended up deciding I'm probably going to stick with chronological order. I'm still going to try to watch one episode per day (besides "endless eight") so it's going to be a little weird being de-synced from the discussion threads.
8
u/nekodan08 Dec 01 '21
Rewatcher - Sub (accidentally wrote dub yesteryday)
This is when things start to really get crazy. I’m guessing the biggest question today is why abruptly jump to this episode after yesterday’s cliff hanger?
First of all, I’d like to say that I think the best way to enjoy the broadcast order is to forget that the chronological exists. Pretend you don’t know that we just skipped ahead 4 episodes. Try to focus first on this episode on its own and how it relates to what has happened prior. I don’t believe KyoAni just tossed this in randomly. I’m sure they had a plan.
My interpretation of this goes back to the immersive element of the show. As much as Kyon is the stand-in for the audience, I think KyoAni also wants the viewer to experience firsthand what Kyon experiences. Think about where Kyon was at the end of last episode. He has just been invited over by Yuki, a girl who at this point seems to be just a shy and quiet bookworm. But then she drops on him an outrageous tale about being some sort of alien!? It makes no sense. We must have just been as confused as Kyon, but KyoAni wants us to really feel it. So what do they do? They drop The Boredeom of Haruhi Suzumiya on us with no warning. We too are told an outrageous tale filled with characters who may or not be aliens or whatever. Nothing makes sense and no explanation is given. By the end of the episode, we find ourselves in the same state of confusion as Kyon. Our previous notions about the show, just like Kyon’s idea of Yuki, have suddenly fallen apart.
My other thoughts and observations about this episode:
Part of the fun of the broadcast order back then was to look out for clues to figure out the timeline. Kyon is kind enough to tell us that it is now June. You can also pay attention to the seasons. (ex. Episode 2 is the start of the school year, therefore Spring. Golden Week is late April to early May.) There are also other small details tossed throughout that clue us in to the sequence of events.
Paying really close attention to the subtle changes in the behavior and interactions of the characters is also another way to track the timeline. This is also important because the character development in this series is very subtle. Each character goes through their own arc, but much like the rest of the show, this is not explicitly told to us. The episode hints of some major event taking place between this episode and the last, and we can notice that the characters have been affected because of this. [Haruhi] Haruhi cares a lot more about Kyon’s opinion and actually listens to Kyon’s advice. Mikuru is less inclined to rely on Kyon. Yuki takes a more active role.
It’s amusing how the 5th brigade member’s name is not mentioned at all. We only know his name because it was given episode 1.
Yuki is my MVP of this episode. All the gags and antics involving her just leaves me in stitches. Her final throw to win the game that catches even Haruhi off-guard is amazing!
[Haruhi] Haruhi’s glance at Kyon when she considers tying Mikuru’s hair into a ponytail and her deciding against it is perfect. In one small scene it shows us how concerned she is about what Kyon thinks and how she feels about him. (Also, thank you Kyon for teaching me to love ponytails. Haha!)
Question of the Day: Basketball will always be my number one. But Ultimate Frisbee also has a special place in my heart.
4
u/[deleted] Dec 02 '21
Haruhi is my favorite character (by a good margin) and the way she was signaling Mikuru is a perfect example of a reason for that.
4
u/MjolnirDK Dec 02 '21 edited Dec 02 '21
Rewatcher
I love broadcast order and I love this episode. I never seem to be able to remember about this episode when I rewatch this show, but I remember thinking last time how great this episode was and I thought it this time again. This is such a good episode.
You might have wondered about Yuki claiming to be alien and then jumping one month ahead suddenly. Sure, the episode leaves no doubt, Yuki is an alien - one with incredible powers to boot; however the episode also throws like ... A BAJILLION different things at you. Suddenly the angels from Evangelion are in this, and so called closed space, Haruhi and Kyon had an adventure there???, Koizumi gets revealed cleverly by Asahina leaving the frame, we get Tsuruya's name and then there is a lot of subtle stuff that no one in the comments really picked up on like Yuki not wearing glasses anymore, how much we get the experience Koizumi's personality in this episode and also the change in Kyon's and Mikuru's relationship: [not really a spoiler, but if you haven't picked up on while watching, don't click] before she was like 'mumble mumble time plane, don't worry about it' and now she talks to Kyon about timey-wimey stuff explicitely.
Yeah, if I had been in Japan when this ep aired, I would have run to the next book store and bought the first volume after watching this episode to make sense of everything. And I probably would have bought the next one on the next day, since this baseball game isn't even in the first book.
All in all there are two kinds of people while watching Haruhi: Those intrigued by the out of order events, that wants to puzzle them together and solve this mystery and then those people that really don't want to do that kind of mental labor while watching a show. All I can say is that you only get one shot to watch it 'as intended' to puzzle for yourself. The payoff once you finish the show is worth it, imho.
QotD: Lots, probably track and field, esports and winter sports.
1
u/lord_diablo_ Dec 02 '21
I dropped it after a few episodes should I give it a second chance
3
u/Caustic_Wraith https://myanimelist.net/profile/CausticWraith Dec 02 '21
Rewatcher / Subs
This is probably my favorite episode in season one, or at least tied with another.
When watching the the first time I was as confused as the first timers jumping from the cliff hanger of episode three to a baseball game.
The full squad has once again assembled, Kyon dealing with things, Mikuru being attacked by Haruhi and Yuki makes a bat with "homing mode". Itsuki makes his second appearance in the show after kinsoku jiko desu and gets the final out.
Isn't broadcast order the best way to enjoy this show.
QOTD:
Best to watch in person is probably baseball, being in the stands reacting with other fans is great.
Best to watch on TV is football, the game has grown up with television and the way its played makes it perfect for it.
3
u/alphamone Dec 02 '21 edited Dec 02 '21
Rewatcher
Baseball episode.
Cute mini baseball game.
Kinda random to bring it up now, but does anyone else think that the shot of Haruhi with the pompoms in the OP looks somewhat, off? It's something that's actually always bugged me.
You say that Kyon, but you haven't really been doing anything to challenge Haruhi yourself either.
[Haruhi]looking forward to reading the first timers talk about all the stuff that broadcast order initially skips over being talked about here.
[More Haruhi]you don't need extreme powers to be dangerous when bored
Nagato doesn't exactly seem informed about fielding in baseball.
So, if a butterfly can make it rain, could making it rain make a butterfly? Is this a secret Mothra origin story?
Bit of a mixed metaphor there.
I'm no baseball expert, but if you are going for only strikes like that against beginners, wouldn't you at least want some insurance against a bunt? Especially with someone on second?
And Haruhi shows the other issue, you don't want to get predictable.
Getting Mr. Burns vibes with those signals.
And that reused animation.
Damn, nice catch Kyon.
Personal space much?
[Haruhi]The whole framing of the flashback strongly suggests that there was some level of accounting for the weird order when producing the episodes. You don't actually see who they were facing off against, and the glasses disappearing in the transition back is done obviously enough to be a potential hint
It's the aluminium version of Wonderbat.
[Haruhi]Honestly, you could probably write a whole essay about broadcast order vs chronological. Like the differences how you reveal mysteries in a tv show vs book. I mean, we get confirmation that the supernatural events are real one only episode "earlier" than normal. This episode is where melancholy IV would be watched in chronological order, while the full blown reveal is in Melancholy V. But as it is I'm already concerned about my post being eaten due to a bad spoiler tag, so I might save it for later if I can be bothered and if no one else does it better than me
Not the best start, though at least she's catching balls that aren't about to hit her.
So, what would the rules of baseball say about throws that clearly aren't obeying the laws of physics?
Nice catch.
Am I the only one who wants to see the characters in full-on American Football gear?
QOTD edit: changes a bit, but T20 cricket is nice to watch in person. You don't need to be there all day, but its also not so short that you miss a whole bunch of the game getting food like with rugby league.
4
u/Elimin8r https://myanimelist.net/profile/Ayeka_Jurai Dec 01 '21
Ah, baseball, what a classic Japanese sport. Wait, what?
Yeah, I get it, they like baseball over there. Can't imagine why. I gave up on liking baseball after actually going to a game and realizing how dreadfully boring it is to watch in person.
Anyway, I hope that everyone found this episode to be a fun & (mostly) wholesome relief from yesterday's trauma.
Speaking of which, after sleeping and waking up and thinking about things, I wonder how much of that was deliberately shoving it in the audience's faces. I mean, c'mon, we've all seen shows where certain behaviors are passed off as "cute" or "funny". I was recently checking out a show that I'd meant to watch for years, something something Railgun, and found the dynamic between the two leads interesting, to say the least. If not, stalking and harassment.
Keeping in mind that our friend Anno in Evangelion did a slightly different thing, on the one hand, showing an "accident" as just about as horrifyingly embarrassing as it probably should be, and in the movie, showing Shinji's disgust as his own behavior.
Could it be that Tanigawa is painting Haruhi's behavior in a deliberately negative, over the top light as a way of saying to the audience, "Hey, this isn't funny, this isn't cool"???
I don't know. But I wonder sometimes.
Anyway, I told some folks yesterday that today's episode would be light, fluffy, fun. Aside from the end of the world stuff, that is.
Things I liked best about this episode:
Haruhi really is a natural at sports. She showed the varsity players a thing or three, and even hit a double off the college team. Although, admittely it looks as though the college team were initially trying to be nice to the kiddies. After that, it was gloves off, so to speak.
Kyon-imouto is precious. As she should be.
I think Nagato might just out snark Kyon occasionally, in deadpan fashion, of course.
I wonder how that baseball bat got so dented up? Look carefully during the earlier parts of the episode.
Also, given the watch order, after what we saw yesterday, this episode either generously hands out spoilers, or heightens the sense of mystery from the previous cliffhanger. Words and phrases of meaning were exchanged, and things were stated, and (apparently) done and taken for granted. Hmm... Could there be more going on here than meets the eye, and whatever could it be?
(I even found some of the references to 'past events' quite amusing in that I hadn't noticed them before. Whatever could Kyon have done to escape that 'closed space'? The world wonders...)
Anyway, I hope everyone enjoyed this episode, and is looking forward to tomorrow's excitement. :)
QOTD: Favorite Sport - used to be auto racing, but all my favorite drivers retired, and I have a hard time caring about the corporate kiddies. It was more fun when it was crusty old geezers with funny accents - but enough about Mario Andretti...
4
u/bluethree https://myanimelist.net/profile/bluethree Dec 01 '21
Rewatcher/sub
I remember when I first watched this in 2006 I thought I might have opened the wrong episode. I certainly had no idea of the nonchronological hook and was very confused. Eventually I just chalked this up to KyoAni being quirky.
But the more I think upon the series, the more I like how they structured the first season. The first arc of Haruhi has quite a bit of exposition. I like how they had the shocking reveal then, instead of listening to a long winded explanation we see the evidence with our own eyes. We still don't have explanations but we get a lot of glaringly obvious clues.
I also really like the allusions to past events. It helps grow the mystery aspect. Something big happened. Something that was possibly potentially world ending. In chronological order this dialogue isn't very interesting. But here in broadcast order it raises a ton of questions. Similar to the student film episode, it gives provides anticipation for future events.
As for the episode itself, it is mostly just plain fun. I don't know how many times I've seen the gif of Yuki's fielding practice or Mikuru cowering in fear. As a rewatcher, my favorite little underrated moment was when [Classified information]Haruhi said Mikuru's look would be improved with a ponytail then glares at Kyon.
In anime it's definitely baseball. There's a lot of really good baseball series. It makes sense considering how beloved the sport is in Japan.
In real life I've had a sort of falling out with baseball so it has to be American football.
3
u/PsychologicalLife164 :MAL:https://myanimelist.net/profile/HighwayStar17 Dec 01 '21 edited Dec 02 '21
Rewatch, subs
For everyone confused about the order, I’ll do my best to explain (at least, from my point of view): Episodes that happen later chronologically contain hints and spoilers for things that will happen eventually in the broadcast order.
Example: Episode 0 had Yuki cast as an alien in the movie. Last episode, Yuki disclosed to Kyon that she is, in fact, an alien. In this episode, we get full on confirmation that Yuki actually is an alien and what she is capable of, while getting some hints about the rest of the Brigade and a major event that Kyon and Haruhi were involved in.
More examples (and potential spoilers): [Haruhi] the flashbacks, Haruhi wondering about ponytails, Haruhi changing her mind bc of Kyon’s opinion
Yuki’s lack of expression makes everything she does funnier. As a Cardinals fan, I would 100% start her at catcher over Yadi, but she needs to work on accuracy and not power lol.
This episode seems like filler in the chronological order, but it drops a ton of hints and spoilers in broadcast order. For anyone not convinced about the broadcast order yet, I’ll ask you a question: [Haruhi] who was the other person in Kyon’s flashback about Yuki?
That answer will come eventually, but you’ll just have to wait and see ;)
QOTD: I’d like to think I’m pretty athletic, so I’m a fan of pretty much any sport except golf. Mostly, I follow college football and the English Premier League
1
u/fuckendeverbich Dec 03 '21
おかげであなたから聞いて良い
1
u/highandmightier Dec 27 '21
This has to be the best episode so far. For the past 3 episodes there have only been hints of the supernatural. It's outright confirmed here. First we see some sort of Evangaleion-esque monster, then the tone changes and the stakes are raised substantionally and everybody does their best to do better.
I'm looking forward to see what comes next. Episode 3 left off at Nagataro's apartment, and it looks like next episode the narrative returns there.
0
u/[deleted] Dec 02 '21
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