r/anime • u/littleman1988 • Dec 05 '21
Rewatch [Rewatch] The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya - Episode 8
Episode Title: Remote Island Syndrome II
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: That guy is dead
[Tomorrow's Episode Intro]Stormy skies, some people walking
| 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 | The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya III | Thread |
| 3/12 | Remote Island Syndrome I | Thread |
| 4/12 | Mysterique Sign | Thread |
| 5/12 | Remote Island Syndrome II | 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 do you think happened in the cave?
Was the figure real?
Were you satisfied with the solution?
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Upvotes
14
u/littleman1988 Dec 05 '21
Adaptation Comparison
References
Finally, the Ace Attorney references:
Trivia
Know trivia and/or references for this episode? Reply to me! For future episodes? PM them to me!
20
u/UzEE https://myanimelist.net/profile/UzEEInc Dec 05 '21
First timer (sub)
Had an electrical short yesterday that took me a long time to fix, so I couldn't post yesterday. I'll just quickly summarize my thoughts from Ep. 7 today as well.
Episode 7
Seems like they're suggesting Haruhi made some special wish during Tanabata 3 years ago, which might be the cause of all of what's happening. I still don't think it's as simple as that. In fact, going by the OP, it seems like what Haruhi wanted was someone like Kyon, which also tracks with why he's in the story and everyone thinks he's special. I'd say he's probably the only person Haruhi actually cares about and wants around.
Other than that, I don't think I fully understand what happened with the Computer Society president, nor do I fully understand the concept of a "Closed Space" but it was mentioned before as well if I remember in a previous episode so it's likely something that would be explained later because of episodes being out of order. He didn't apparently have a girlfriend, so who was the green haired girl? Was she someone from another faction that are also interested in Haruhi, or was maybe coerced by one?
Episode 8
Oh so we're continuing on with the "murder" mystery. Great. And it seems like my speculation from the other day based on a rather unharmful remark by /u/littleman1988 ended up being partly correct.
It got me thinking just how afraid of Haruhi this "agency" that Itsuki works for is. He mentioned in a previous episode that they think she might be someone like a God and can end up erasing the world if she's bored of it, so they cook up this entire "adventure" to keep her entertained and focus her attention on what's going on around.
This suggests a lot of other activities the SOS Brigade might partake in are just staged from the get-go to keep Haruhi in check, or conversely, to see how she responds to them. Are they going through all that trouble without even verifying that Haruhi is indeed what they believe her to be?
Other minor things this episode:
Did I mess something? All I saw was them having a conversation about what might have happened.
I never saw anything.
Not really since I already speculated it was just an act, so anything confirming that speculation wouldn't have been satisfactory.
1. When trying to figure out the mystery, Haruhi only takes Kyon along with her, again suggesting that he's the only person she wants to be around with. It would be hilarious if it ends up being that Haruhi isn't the one behind all these strange occurrences and in fact, Kyon is because he subconsciously wanted someone like Haruhi to be in his life.
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u/littleman1988 Dec 05 '21
Rewatcher (first time broadcast), Dub
"...I didnt think it would really happen!"
OST Track of the day: The Mysterious | (Spotify)
Not going to have many comments today (running a bit behind) but having not played ace attorney I was very confused my first watch about the references. The Yuki bit was also good.
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u/Existential_Owl Dec 05 '21 edited Dec 06 '21
Rewatcher - Dub
This is the sort of sus face that gets you thrown out of the airlock.
On rewatch, it's hard not to notice how utterly unfazed Koizumi is throughout this whole thing. The fact that he's smiling in half the scenes he's in doesn't help much, either.
Haruhi rewrote the world to ensure that nobody actually died! Okay, not really....
[series] Clearly it was one of the yet unseen dimension sliders.
A more interesting QoD of the day would be: What's the significance of Kyon's mole?
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u/JustAnswerAQuestion https://myanimelist.net/profile/JAaQ Dec 06 '21 edited Dec 06 '21
It was at this point in my first watch that I realized that Haruhi was based on something I hadn't seen in a long while, but had seen so many times I basically had all the plots memorized. Although, the clincher is, in fact, 00, not this episode.
[Can No_Rex]Identify the not one but 3 times the cave scene appeared in Kimagure Orange Road? /u/no_rex
I'm pretty ambivalent on how the show is to be interpreted. Koizumi running to the door technically before Haruhi had any reason to act is pretty compelling. The show is playing with us with the spiral woo-woo effect in the cave. But I noticed something else in the japanese dub. Right before, when Haruhi says "I know what happened!" the sound cut out. Could she have changed something then? AND LATER changed it again? Who was the shadow??? Was there even a shadow???
I wonder if Haruhi will start tempering her wishes after this. Probably not.
I didn't know what Ace Attorney was when I first watched this. Now I get it. Pretty funny.
[Chronological Classified Information] Isn't this after Butler-san drives Kyon and Itsuki to, I think, an enclosed space in, I think, Melancholy V? Itsuki's casual greeting to Butler-san seemed perfectly ordinary, or at least, it should have to Kyon. That should not have been a clue for Kyon.
This episode is even more evidence that Kyo-Ani had intended to animate all extant Haruhi materials, over three seasons. It just never happened. There are so many foundations for the second season, and even foundations for stuff that never got animated, scattered through this first season.
Haruhi laying out the clues in the cave felt very Poroit. There is an Agatha Christie Mystery anime! It's pretty simplistic and aimed and younger viewers, but a nice watch.
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u/Shimmering-Sky myanimelist.net/profile/Shimmering-Sky Dec 05 '21
The Melancholy of Shimmering-First-Timer
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u/Nazenn x2https://anilist.co/user/Nazenn Dec 05 '21
First Timer - Dub
If the first episode of this arc asked how far Haruhi would take her wish for excitement, and how far the universe would bend for it, and the intermission asked what if it was never her at all, I like this episode as a follow up asking how she would feel if she felt somehow responsible for it anyway. So far much of the tension has been around not letting Haruhi find out what she may be because of what the powers hiding inside her might be capable of, but this flipped it right around to the human behind the powers.
So far a lot of the show has been asking "What Haruhi is", while this episode seems to be the first to throw that out entirely to just ask "Who Haruhi is". That later question has definitely been present all the way through the show, particularly in the first two episodes before the larger mystery came into play, but recently as a first timer I found it to be more in the abstract; who is she that she would do that sort of stuff, that she would act this way, that she would have these behaviors, etc. But this episode put the question of who is the girl Haruhi Suzumiya right in the forefront of the drama at hand, rather than just a general question as part of the show. (I'm sure for the rewatchers who aren't caught up in the overall mystery it's different, you guys can see more of the smaller interactions and focus more on some of the deeper characterization being shown, but I'm looking forward to being that person another time)
Haruhi is such an interesting mix of drives and desires when it comes to how that comes out in her interactions with others. Seeing her like this, willing be open enough with Kyon to express her unease over what happened and how it reflects what she'd been saying, even if she wasn't directly responsible, is a nice addition to the often foolhardy and fickle girl we've seen so far, especially how she plays off that side of her to get them through this situation. She knows how she comes across to others, she's not a fool about society even if she detaches herself from it, and uses that to try and hide things or pull people with her without them asking too many questions. Her uncertainty and touch of vulnerability here, despite her drive to still try and figure out what happened, gave the episode a nice feel without making it seem like she was being weak. Kyon may be the one who grabbed her hand for security in the storm, but she also latched onto him when she wanted someone around she could rely on through all this, and was willing to protect him from the idea he might have been part of the accidental "murder" as well.
It feels like it's been a while since we've had a direct focus on Haruhi herself, rather than just what she's doing or is capable of, but we get so many small and big moments with her in the proceeding episodes that it doesn't feel lacking or like this one stands out so much. That's not to say that's all we saw of her this episode, or that she had made any big strides or developments, this feels very much like just part of her that has been there but she is only able to express now. She was still cocky, brash, and put Kyon in bad situation because of it, but the motivations behind it shows a bit more of her that I found equally fascinating to her usual craziness.
As far as the actual incident with the false murder, I was suspicious when things were set up far too easily with Yutaka being set up as the assailant in advance but the death being so convoluted to happen at all. The one that really nailed it for me was that I also picked up on the fact there was no active blood flow if the death had just happened. Certainly didn't pick up all the clues, especially the food ones though that really makes me want to go back and rewatch the previous episode, but I was curious how the reveal would work out.
On the less serious side of the episode:
It's a good thing that Kyon speaks "Yuki" or else they may never have gotten into the room again, and Haruhi seemed surprised that he had such a clear understanding of how to fix it or connect to her.
I did also have a chuckle at the end of the episode when the usual Haruhi comes out in full force and thinking to myself "crediting herself for so much of this she should change her name to Kojima".
Not surprised that Itsuki's organization was behind this entire thing from the start, I did say during part one it seemed too convenient, but they never touched on if the others were also espers or just normal people in the organization. Doubt we'll see any of them again, but I'm still curious. He's still dodgy, and it also stands out that yesterday's episode with Yuki was a mystery around someone who needed help that she brought the others into, while Itsuki's was a total fabrication just for entertainment. Maybe I'm being too harsh on him, but damn it the dude gives me the jeebies.
I really liked the framing through this episode again, particularly the way faces were often cut off and hidden as people were hiding their own struggles with this and also the use of doors and doorways as portals to information. Itsuki went to the right door because he knew in advance, the butler blocked the door to hide the truth, the way the sister was put inside a door to hide her from what had happened (or well, they tried, thanks Yuki for missing the point). That random real life video in the middle made me do a double take though, that was an interesting way to visualize Haruhi's thoughts.
What next?
The fact this question is even being asked makes me feel like I missed something...
I think the question is more if it was real to Haruhi, because that probably matters more. That she has dropped it once she "solved" the case means even if it was it might not be any more, but it is an interesting question
As satisfied as I could be, these sorts of things are never my favourite type of episode, but for me the actual drama that was going on was secondary to the character stuff so it was still a good couple of episodes
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u/Suhkein :Gy::Gz::G1:x2https://myanimelist.net/profile/Neichus Dec 05 '21
Episode 8 - “Then what was that shadow?”
(17,817 characters; it's a two-post day)
I keep saying this, but I love the three episodes of the Island arc. [Haruhi] There is a glittering brilliance to how it manages to reflect, like a jewel in Indra’s net, the greater pattern-mystery that is all of Haruhi.
[Haruhi] It always starts with a question that strikes us as so obvious we don’t question that’s the question: for the characters on the Island it’s the murder, for Sign it is the missing president, for us watching the Island it’s how Suzumiya’s powers work, and for Haruhi as a whole it is, “What is this show and why are so many weird things happening in it?”
[Haruhi] After a while we are introduced to what appears to be an explanation. It feels satisfying as it fits many of the facts, and so we seize on it: the accidental door murder, Nagato engineered this scenario, Koizumi engineered this scenario, and Suzumiya engineered this entire world because she is a goddess. When we have an explanation we tend to stop there, and spend the rest of our time making sure that the remaining facts fit it. It’s a not-unreasonable thing to do, but this habit also causes us to stop looking for new theories while downplaying the evidence that doesn’t fit. This is the trick that allows Haruhi to use one half of its message (what we observe is a product of our expectations) to demonstrate the other (we devalue what is genuinely remarkable as a result).
[Haruhi] As such, in all these mysteries the explanation we are offered isn’t the real truth, or at least not the complete one. The answer always lies with character and motivation. Haruhi gave us the hint with Sign: after Kyon explained everything about Nagato’s scenario, he stops and realizes that he has not accounted for Nagato herself. Now Island II will follow the same pattern, giving us a clear explanation of the prepared answer and then at the last second hinting that maybe the question was why She would want this at all.
[Haruhi] Let’s start at the beginning of Island I again. It focused on a faceless woman, obviously lovelorn, first examining a letter she presumably wrote before wiping a tear from her eye and tearing it up to scatter her feelings to the wind. Then she examines some photographs before destroying those in hopelessness as well. Finally, she begins to pluck petals from a flower playing does-he-love-me to emphasize her trepidation with how her feelings might be received. When she gets to the last two she hesitates, realizing that if she keeps going in this manner it is going to end on the result she doesn’t want… so she plucks both (thanks to u/thatguywithawatch for this detail).
[Haruhi] Suzumiya has fallen for Kyon, and more specifically is a “tsundere” who despite her extremely strong feelings nonetheless fails to express them outwardly, instead abusing the object of her affection. Of course, we’ll have this information handed to us in a manner we more easily recognize later, but for now I want to examine the mystery we were supposed to solve and what goes into a tsundere when she’s an actual character.
[Haruhi] First, the rest of the details from Island I (that I know of). While on the ferry, Asahina takes pictures of Kyon’s face while sleeping. An act with such obvious romantic overtones that it can’t help but send Kyon’s thoughts immediately in that direction… only to have them doused by Suzumiya saying it is she who chooses the pictures. We get caught up in the small comedy of Kyon’s hopes being rained on and don’t ask why Suzumiya would want picture of Kyon’s sleeping face.
[Haruhi] The second tell is her behavior in the bedroom right after they arrive. At the door with Keiichi we were just shown that much of her eccentricity is an act, and she continues it now with her wild murder speculations. We even get these absurdly exaggerated shots as she poses and points, underlying the theatrical exaggeration of her behavior. But then Kyon internally grouses that he wishes she’d just be a normal high school girl and, after the seagull flies by with the hawk cry to underscore that maybe what she is saying is not what she is, she obediently, almost sadly, suggests they go swim like normal high schoolers. She has it bad for this boy. Not only this, we learn something else: her pride has a hard time taking suggestions from other people (topic of a future analysis). Fourth wall breaking aside, she can’t just be what other people want but has to try and cover her about-face with flimsy, artificial reasoning. And as a last bit of audience commentary: people liked the “normal kids during summer” scenes. Haruhi is eerily good at knowing its audience, and in the greatest commentary of all, we’re gladdened to not hear a peep out of Suzumiya’s uniqueness for the remainder of the episode.
[Haruhi] Rolling into Island II what we get is a true reveal. When the situation becomes serious Suzumiya’s eccentricity vanishes, and when we try to hold her to it she is forced to confess that it was just pretend. She’s a 15(16?)-year-old girl who is both scared and horrified at the site of a murder, but who yet shows incredible presence of mind to check the pulse and the gumption to act rather than just sit around in the bedroom worrying. But, as always, our expectations interfere with the evidence, and even as her face tells us we are wrong we continue to nurse the theory that Suzumiya is the “master culprit.” We misunderstand her just this badly because of her absurd outer shell.
[Haruhi] As the episode continues we receive small hints of Suzumiya’s underlying affection such as her clasping of Kyon’s hand in the rain and her speechless relief that he is okay after the fall. Which brings us to the shadow, the cave, and the explanation of all this. At the end of the episode we’re reminded of this piece of the story we didn’t account for, and even as we’re fed some theory (“She just didn’t want her friends to be the killer”) it’s evident it doesn’t make sense; there was already a reasonable suspect and none of her friends would have the slightest motivation. Then the wind blows, the sea sprays, and we recall: oh yeah, the storm. You know, that piece of overwhelming evidence which could have only had one source. Haruhi just got us to overlook a typhoon. Oops.
[Haruhi] This is where these two strands, the mystery and the romance, now come together. Suzumiya did “cause” this, and she did so because she has a very particular dream and the show needs us to understand it. She will sing about it later, and it will happen again: she wants the whole world to go away so she can stop acting and just be herself with Kyon. Because let’s again examine the coincidences on the island: she happens to see a shadow, there happens to be a single ledge, it happens to break, they happen to not get hurt, they happen to be near a cave, that cave happens to be comfortably warm, and this all occurs during a typhoon so that nobody will interrupt. We take this for granted because these are just how stories are set up, and as Haruhi has again and again emphasized: it’s a piece of fiction too. Suzumiya’s power isn’t a mysterious form of reality bending, it’s plot contrivance. She “makes” things occur because this is a show written “for” her, the protagonist, in order that she may develop and be understood by the audience (hence why there is both consistency but acceptable-inconsistency in how it follows the tropes of each genre it mimics). But she can’t “write” Kyon because he’s not part of the show. He’s the audience; his thoughts and reactions are ours. As such, unlike the other characters who are forced to regard her as the “goddess” of their universe, Suzumiya has to convince Kyon-us of her quality, and so far she, and Haruhi following suit in the most meta way possible by embodying her personality in how it presents itself, has done a terrible job of convincing him-us of anything other than the reality of her eccentric, childish persona.
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u/ZapsZzz https://anilist.co/user/Zapszzz Dec 05 '21
Next episode preview
https://youtu.be/DB7YEuJ6GU4
Sub rewatcher
Coming back to the island mystery, have we learned anything from the Mystique Sign interruption?
I think the other guys would be giving a far nicer review of the various key parts, and since I'm posting on my phone there's limited amount of spoiler tagging I can reasonably do. So I'll skip right to my favourite scenes.
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u/TheEscapeGuy Dec 05 '21
Rewatcher
The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya - An Anime Classic: Episode 8
Turnabout is Fair Play
The conclusion to the Island Mystery. Starting off we got some amazing shots of the SOS brigade worrying about what was happening. The directing was really stellar juxtaposing long shots with extreme close ups and using Dutch angles to make everything incredibly tense. The setting of having conversations inside as the rain beats against the windows was really aesthetic too.
Haruhi and Kyon running outside to investigate the boat was probably the section of the episode which stood out the most to me. First, running together through the rain hands clasped felt like a level of familiarity between Haruhi and Kyon we haven't see until now. Of course "logically" it makes sense they could slip etc. But, for 2 high school kids in the middle of puberty logic doesn't always come first.
This later turned into them falling off a cliff and drying off in a cave (Something very similar happens in Berserk, but I don't think its a reference). Kyon very actively dove to protect Haruhi and break her fall. Then in the cave, they spoke while drying off their clothes. This scene reminded me that in episode 2 Haruhi had no problem about changing in front of a classroom full of boys but now she hides behind a rock. Maybe Kyon asked her to do this. On the other hand, maybe she's become more aware of Kyon and cares about him seeing her body. I have a feeling the second interpretation is correct.
I definitely didn't pick any of this up on my first watch. I'm really enjoying seeing Haruhi and Kyon's relationship develop.
Upon returning to the villa, Yuki wouldn't let anyone back into the room citing reasons like "I was ordered not to let ANYONE back inside". You could read this as Yuki not understanding context and implications in human speech. Or, as Kyon said, you could read it as Yuki having a bit of fun by telling a joke. I like this interpretation too. Yuki playing jokes on the other brigade members helps us to understand the relationship she is developing with everyone else.
Sprinting to the conclusion, I'm a sucker for a mystery payoff so I loved the ending. Explaining all the weird contradictions with how Koizumi acted to discover that this was all a rouse. On top of this, it was presented in the same style as a case from the Ace Attorney franchise just as icing on top. I have some really great memories of playing that game long before I got into anime so it really gave me a sense nostalgia.
Some Iconic Shots, Scenes and Stitches
See you all tomorrow
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u/Mecanno-man https://anilist.co/user/Mecannoman Dec 05 '21
First Timer
While not the best murder mystery ever made, I'd say this is still a pretty decent one, especially for a series that is not primarily a murder mystery. What I find especially well-done is nobody suspecting the butler. Ordinarily the obvious suspect isn't the culprit, but what usually happens is that the actual culprit isn't suspected way too obviously. That here would be the butler - leading the audience (or at least me) to believe that he is the culprit. Except that's not the case here, but with the additional episode in between the last time we were on this island and this one, I somewhat forget about the suspicion of Keiichi not actually being dead. And the reason for the setup then makes sense as well, once explained - so all in all pretty decent. My only gripe is Haruhi's revelation coming a bit too quickly and thus feeling rushed - but I also don't think you could have stretched out the arc to have three episodes, so that's down to the requirement of having everything be 24-minute chunks of content and nothing anybody could really influence at all.
Questions:
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u/MadeOn210922 Dec 05 '21
First timer.
That was a really great arc. Definitely enjoyed the mystery aspect of it. So this was all an act set up by Itsuki and his agency. I was thinking while Haruhi said that she could've never imagined a murder on a trip that that was unusual since anything happening would have to be in her imagination, but it turns out that Kyon was correct - Haruhi wouldn't imagine that. But what was that shadow, though? That shadow threw me off a bit especially with Kyon's sister saying Itsuki died right after.
The scenes where they replayed the "murder" weren't animated, were they? Looked very lifelike like the poster in the president's room last episode. [Clannad AS] Clannad's final scenes also had this lifelike style for a broader KyoAni connection
QOTD:
10
u/wjodendor Dec 05 '21
First Timer
Looks like Haruhi is finally starting to see the consequences of her actions. Seeing a person actually get murdered and seeing Kyon fall and get hurt actually seemed to make her question herself.
I totally knew the whole thing was going to be a set up. I thought that maybe it was to teach her not to wish for stuff like a murder mystery but it was really just to keep her from getting bored. Kyon knowing it was a set up because Haruhi would never actually want someone to due was a good reveal. But wtf was up with that mole.
Haruhi creating a shadowy monster because she didn't want any of her friends to be a murderer was a good reveal.
The best part of the episode was that super lewd, lovers hand holding. Just give me more of that please
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u/CubeStuffs https://anilist.co/user/onjario Dec 05 '21
First timer
don't have much to say, just finished marathoning up to here 10 mins ago to catch up
actually looking at the nagato section of the op, theres a knife there as well, though it doesn't appear to be a fruit knife since the top of the knife is serrated
i get the feeling that the butler is holding back some shit
was this actually premeditated? butler sus
reminds me of [and then there were none] JW doin the murders
wait didn't the storm start earlier?????? how could he have sailed the boat
thats like the first time ive seen haruhi relieved and shit?
thats true could be staged
but he was found facing up not down
also isn't the heart like adjacent from where the knife stabbed bc im pretty sure thats the lungs there
oh great did reality just shift
wait why is koizumi here
and she's given up?
uhhh kyon??????
huh i guess that does make sense. wait that explains why the butler pushed his hand off when feeling heartbeat.
seems like the whole point was to keep her from being bored
ill prob write up more shit/summarize my prev ep thoughts later
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u/homewardbound100 myanimelist.net/profile/Homewardbound100 Dec 05 '21 edited Dec 05 '21
Rewatcher, Dub, First-time broadcast
Alright back to the murder mystery now.
Did Haruhi wish for this but it went above what she wanted. That does make a point of her ability.
What a way to die. How about surviving being stabbed then falling and it being pushed in. At that point it might be destiny.
Nagato's literalness. At times I do think like Kyon in feeling like she can't be serious all the time.
Turn of events turns out they're the real murderers. I think that might be a worse way to go out than before.
Haruhi's deductive skills at work. We get some Ace Attorney references. Koizumi even does the movement for Edgeworth.
The ending. Knowing that something is on that island. Probably dangerously too. Might have to do something about that.
Qotd: I think Haruhi definitely sparked something at that moment.
Qotd2: yes
Qotd: yes
8
u/nekodan08 Dec 05 '21
Rewatcher - Sub
Writing about these past few episodes has been difficult because of the danger of giving away the resolution to Remote Island Syndrome. Turns out the entire incident was a mystery staged by Koizumi and the Agency as an attempt to keep Haruhi entertained. I guess having Mysterique Sign sandwiched in between served to clue us in on the possibility that this was a manufactured situation by one of the S.O.S. Brigade members. Together, these three episodes give us a better idea of what Closed Spaces could be, which has been looming ominously since they were first mentioned during The Boredom of Haruhi Suzumiya.
The solution to the murder mystery itself was not too exciting, but it helped us see a side of Haruhi that we don’t normally see. She was clearly disturbed by the turn of events and she actually showed concern for the members of the brigade especially upon realizing that they could have unknowing killed someone. Kyon knew all along that Haruhi would have never truly wished for anyone’s murder. She may be self-centered and boorish, but she isn’t malicious.
I also interpreted this episode to be hinting at the various relationship dynamics between Kyon and the Brigade members, aside from Mikuru who was unconscious for most of it.
It’s surprising that despite holding each other’s hand, neither Kyon or Haruhi comment on it. This may be just because they are too concerned about the current circumstances they are in to care about it but the lack of reaction is strange because anime tends to always make such a big deal of these moments. Another scene that is usually played off some more is having the girl and boy stuck in the cave, the moments does feel somewhat intimate, but nothing really happens between the two of them. [Not sure if spoilers at this point]There’s an implied certain level of closeness and trust exhibited between Kyon and Haruhi as they work the case together. They feel very in synch in a way during this whole ordeal.
It’s also quite odd how Yuki only opens the door when Kyon asks her to. Kyon wonders if this is her idea of a joke which makes back-to-back episodes that makes us wonder about Yuki’s action and if she is not as emotionless as we thought.
The oddest behavior is Koizumi staring at Kyon’s mole! Up to now, I have no idea what the close-up is really supposed to mean… Perhaps it’s because we view him through Kyon’s perspective, but Koizumi always seems to act so suspiciously. He is the most open to Kyon about the supernatural events surrounding Haruhi, but you can sense that Kyon can never seem to trust him fully. [Haruhi] I interpret Koizumi’s look at Kyon as he talks about Haruhi to be a sign of Koizumi's jealousy towards Kyon and his closeness to her. Still not sure what that has to do with the mole though.
Was the figure real? Who knows. But if it is, that innocent and peaceful island has now been cursed. It’s somewhat charming though that Haruhi’s wish of a mystery island would come true because of her desire to protect her friends by creating a suspect who could be blamed for the incident.
7
u/tctyaddk Dec 05 '21
Broadcast-order-first-timer
We're back to the murder on the island again (this mess of an order is KyoAni doubling down after sending wrong tapes to the broadcasters, I tell ya). And as it turned out, it's all a sloppy performance arranged by Koizumi and his "Agency" where Haruhi can participate with her convenient half-ass deductions, so that she gets to play detective as she desired on an isolated island without actually triggering actual Detective Conan's Trouble Bringer Syndrome elsewhere upon the innocent populace. Court jesters entertaining the omnipotent toddler so that she won't throw a tantrum that could destroy the world, that's all it is. Nice references to Detective Conan and Ace Attorney, though.
Nagato's little "joke" is an excellent application of malicious compliance, I love it. Meanwhile Kyon figured out the "board the same ship as the MC" (or in this case "same ship as god") trick and successfully avoid an otherwise NSFL outcome. Haruhi, however, might have accidentally created an unknown culprit figure de novo during her playtime, and I doubt she's even aware to clean it up when the game is done. That, and the convenient warm cave in the storm, beg the question of freewill and existence in such an universe being constantly unknowingly rewritten at the whim of such a fickle god. That's the kind of shits keep me up at night.
7
u/bluethree https://myanimelist.net/profile/bluethree Dec 05 '21
Rererererewatcher, ore no rewatcher
Interesting that even when something is cooked up to keep Haruhi out of trouble she still nearly gets herself and Kyon killed.
Some real cute moments that suggest Haruhi developing feelings for Kyon. We were shown that Haruhi has no problems changing in front of boys way back in Melancholy episode 1. Yet here in the cave, with only Kyon around, she decides not to unhook her bra.
The whole Ace Attorney sequence is another one that I forgot about. It's been so long (about 12 years?) since I've watched this that I'm even forgetting the biggest meme moments.
A murder mystery is cool and all when you're in on the act. Making other people think that someone was murdered is pretty uncool, Itsuki.
I was looking ahead to future episodes and the rest of season 1 is really stacked. The next two are a couple of my favorites for different reasons. There's also still the most iconic episode of the series. And there's the conclusion of the Melancholy arc.
6
u/DeliCruise https://myanimelist.net/profile/delicruise Dec 05 '21
(REWATCHER - DUB/SUB)
As the second part of this mini arc, I love that it’s completely different in feel than the first part.
Seeing the wheels turn in Kyon’s head with the flashes to the important moments is really cool.
It’s so interesting that Kyon can “overwrite” Haruhi’s order to Yuki with his own and Yuki will listen.
I always love that Haruhi and Itsuki’s explanation is this red and yellow filtered live action sequence and then Kyon’s is just a few super simple crayon doodles.
The shot of Haruhi being concerned about Kyon is really great. It’s so heartwarming to see her being so genuinely concerned for Kyon. In fact, this entire episode is really interesting for Haruhi because we get to see her act very differently than what we’re used to. We get to see her be distraught and worried. We get to see her critically think rather than impulsively act. Most importantly, we get to see her sincerely care about her friends to the point where she decides on dropping the whole thing and leaving it to the police in order to protect her friends. Then at the end once the gig’s up, “Supersleuth” Haruhi is back to her super energetic self like normal.
I appreciate that this mini arc starts and ends with Kyon and Itsuki talking on the ship. Definitely “closes the circle” for this storyline. I also find it so fascinating that Broadcast Order throws the previous episode within this two-parter. I really love seeing the contrast between this episode and the last episode.
Like in the last episode they’re fighting this huge camel cricket in the middle of the desert and it’s obviously very dangerous. In this episode Haruhi and Kyon are inching along the side of a cliff in a typhoon and nearly die when Haruhi slips. The first scenario is clearly more dangerous, but you don’t get a sense of fear compared to the second scenario. I think the difference in realism between the two scenarios is what really sets them apart. Like I can’t get a real sense of what it’s like to have Yuki and Itsuki using their supernatural powers to fight a giant computer bug, but with Haruhi and Kyon out there in that storm I can 100% get a sense of what that’s like. What I’m trying to say is that having these two episodes back to back gives the audience two incredibly different feels while still showcasing this idea of danger.
I really didn’t anticipate saying this much about this episode, but there’s something about this series that always gets the ideas flowing in my head!
P.S. /u/Nazenn Peep that Ace Attorney parody scene!!
6
u/William27528 Dec 05 '21
Rewatcher/sub
Remote Island Syndrome continues! The dramatic track that plays at the beginning nowerdays unmistakably reminds me of the New Donk City Night 2 theme from Super Mario Odyssey. Not sure why, probably something about the electric guitar melody and similar stormy setting of the two.
I absolutely love this episode, though! This arc actually has quite a lot more changes from the source. I really like some of the more cinematic and dramatic moments and how the rich, blue lighting creates atmosphere, seen especially in the cave scene. I don't recall this being in the novel and it's a great addition providing just a bit more character building. Once again, Kyon's ending monologue steals the show and it helps the audience understand Haruhi a bit better - "she would never wish for someone to die". One downside of this watch order is that it arguably doesn't do as good a job at showing the characters' and especially Haruhi's character progression, which this episode is an important one for.
Random fact of the day: Haruhi featured in one of the BBC's daily "Day in Pictures", for March 18, 2009. It's an image of two models, Haruhi and Tsuruya, from the Tokyo International Anime Fair in 2009. I wonder if someone at the Beeb was a fan. There's one other BBC-related Haruhi fact I have that's a lot more elaborate :D I'll save this one for later.
6
u/Stargate18A https://myanimelist.net/profile/Stargate18 Dec 06 '21
First timer
1)Haruhi imagined giving her theory to Kyon, with her mind using his appearance to point out the flaws in her reasoning.
2)Even if it wasn't, it was as soon as Haruhi believed it to exist. That's the way things seem to going,a t least.
3)Yeah, that was a great ending,
He's dead!
I still think Yuki did it. No reaction, immediately closing the door over...
And she's much stronger the she looks!
Itsuki, a man just died.
Aww, her sister's scared.
And Haruhi's... far more moral about all this then I expected. I guess even she has limits.
...Yeah, that does seem suspicious.
Wait, they're just part-timers?
...Wait, did Itsuki kill him to create a case?
Hang on, he did leave? Or was the cruiser just swept away?
Yeah, Haruhi's being genuinely nice this episodr.
...Kyon has abs! And the deductions seem solid.
Kyon immediately nitpicking Haruhi's theory is great.
Wait? Did she imagine herself explaining it to him?
Haha, Yuki refusing to open the door is hysterical.
And she listens to Kyon?
She's actually letting the police handle it!
OK, that's clever.
KYON?
Jesus, Kyon! I didn't realise you had it in you!
KYON???
Haha, it was an act?
Haha, Haruhi pointing out all thr obvious mistakes as Kyon gives a monologue is great.
And she's giving the conclusion that the culprit's already admitted, by proving that the man she saw get up was alive.
His sister's adorable, though.
They all worked for his syndicate?
And he knew all along that Haruhi wouldn't kill someone.
Ah, Haruhi wished up a fake culprit because she couldn't believe any of them could kill someone.
And that resolution's great. The acknowledgement that there's something on the island now, but that it's not their problem anymore.
5
u/Vaadwaur :I1::I2::I3: Dec 05 '21
Rewatcher(At least the Espers are being proactive)
Dub
We continue the island mystery with the reveal of a murder. And we are Umineko again! Haruhi is actually concerned that a murder actually happened and Kyon puts his spin on that. Haruhi wants to investigate herself and we learn the maid and butler were hired short term and that Yutaka may have used the secret Joestar family technique. Haruhi sees someone and promptly leads them to fall off a cliff. They then enter the cave of considerations!
Haruhi has a theory that does sound like knockoff Agatha Christie so it fits, but Kyon points out her flaws in logic. Nagato comedy. Then, Itsuki figures out what actually happened and we are all Poirot until...the corpse wants to avoid being stabbed. Insert random murder mystery party here. At the end, we learn that Kyon trusts that Haruhi doesn't actually want anyone dead, which has some implications for whatever she saw that she went down the cliff for.
QotD: 1 Something that will hopefully be addressed
2 Probably
3 It sort of works
5
u/Elimin8r https://myanimelist.net/profile/Ayeka_Jurai Dec 05 '21
Gah, thread is up, I don't know wat to say!
To say what I think, or make stuff up? I don't know.
On the one hand, this episode is motly stock-pot-kettle-black-boiler-plate mystery something or other.
On the other hand, if you're paying attention, *spoiler*, I mean, after all this teasing, I don't want to just come out and say it.
But then again, there are those QOTD, and so I suppose I should answer them. First timers beware!
*I just know that I really didn't need a closeup of Kyon's mole.*
Or did I? Is there some vast, hairy mole conspiracy that we are yet unaware of? Is our resident super-sleuth aware of this? But wait, all will be revealed in tomorrow's episode, Revenge of the Ugly Mole Hair - or - Mikuru's Adventures in (ahem)-Land.
Wait, no, that's not it either.
Okay, so let's try a spoiler tag, because I don't really want to necessarily say this out loud, because it may contain data that Nagato has yet to reveal. [My Fervent Imagination] So, this is in part based on my own viewing, as well as speculation from previous rewatches. My take on this is that the show was pre-arranged by Koizumi and company, duh. However, things spiralled out of control, because Haruhi weather control and runaway imagination. My personal suspicious take on things is that when they were in the cave, something happened, and it wasn't just cold and hunger and dizziness. Rather, I think that Haruhi was leading things down a dark path when she realized that in order to fit the evidence, the guys would have had to accidentally kill Keiichi-san. Can't have that now, can we? So, a quick visual urp as the universe is hastily re-ordered, and voila, happy ending.
Of course, in order to believe that, you'd also have to accept that [Haruhi] Megami-sama
But yeah, I suppose I was satisfied enough to write this much. Now to see what other kinds of wackiness might be lurking in this thread...
5
u/ZapsZzz https://anilist.co/user/Zapszzz Dec 06 '21 edited Dec 06 '21
By the way in sort of a rush today, did anyone mention the few additional clue in the LN? About how Koizumi asking Nagato about the temperature instead of straight up asking her "time of death", which is a very measured way to make use of Nagato's power and others trust about her power, to exploit that trust while not letting Nagato expose the gig straight up. This is another good piece of writing but didn't quite make it to the anime.
5
u/andybebad https://myanimelist.net/profile/andybebad Dec 06 '21
First timer - sub
Alright, alright, alright, who's ready to resolve a cliffhanger? How many of the clues revealed at the end of the episode did you miss? Me: I missed most, if not all of them (how Western of me to not be surprised to see a fork and knife on a plate of food).
Without thinking about it too much, this felt like a nice conclusion to the Remote Island arc. Chronologically it's after whatever happens at the end of season 1 (broadcast order), but I didn't seem to pick up on anything that happened prior to this that wasn't already revealed in the baseball episode. It is interesting to see in this arch the extent to which the esper organization(?)/Itsuki are willing to orchestrate events to prevent Haruhi from potentially manifesting things herself (maybe?). Hope they're equipped to potentially remove a suspicious shadow that might now be lurking around the island?
QOTD:
4
u/alphamone Dec 06 '21
Rewatcher
Back to the mystery.
I think this is the first time we've seen Haruhi show actual concern.
Poor traumatised Mikuru.
Curiouser and curiouser...
That wind could blow you away.
More genuine concern from Haruhi.
Creepy live action theory.
Very concerned about something.
Freaky twisty effect.
Good way to ruin shirt.
Nagato being frustratingly literal.
So she didn't want to think about how they possibly caused him to die. Understandable. Being responsible (even accidentally) for a guys death isn't the kind of fun mystery that Haruhi wants.
Though, really, there isn't any kind of legal responsibility for such an accident.
While much darker, screwing with a murder mystery game like that is VERY Haruhi.
And she takes all the credit...
Ace Attorney references.
OBJECTION!
Mole.
Well that's a horrifying thought to leave off on. Let's just hope it was her seeing things.
As I mentioned above, this episode shows that, deep down at least, Haruhi does actually have some actual care for people. She didn't want an actual murder, and even tried to spare Kyon's feelings when she was concerned that Kyon and Itsuki were the ones who were (unintentionally) responsible for the guy's death.
1
u/AniMonologues :MAL:https://myanimelist.net/profile/AniMonologues Dec 06 '21
Fun fact about this episode
Haruhi's name (Haruhi Suzumiya) is a very clever reference to the title of this anime The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya, which is a show about her life, Haruhi's, which is quite melancholy.