I've completed the first season of Suzumiya Haruhi no Yuuutsu with mixed feelings about the series. I wasn't quite sure if I liked it or not. This second season definitely helped me to get a much better understanding of the series as a whole, which is a very good thing, not all second seasons do that.
When I started the second season, I didn't expect much of it, well, atleast not more than I expected from the first season. It started out normally and took a turn I did not expect.
Well, I DID know about 'Endless Eight' before starting to watch.
And as you may have guessed, this review mainly focuses on E8. Well, I mean it's more than half of the season, it basically IS the season.
To get that out first, I really did enjoy E8. I mean, the idea itself is nothing new or spectacular, but the way KyoAni managed to put it in scene was absolutely... brave, to say the least. For those who don't know, 'Endless Eight' is a story arc, where our main characters are trapped inside a never ending summer, a timeloop. Basically, the same episode is repeated 8 times, with minor differences. Some may call it lazy, others call it a failed experiment. And I can totally understand why people would say that. It's not for everyone. But for some strange reason, the eight episodes did not feel like a burden to watch for me. The further I watched the more intense the feeling of curiosity became. I felt like I endured the same struggle as they did in the series. And all that tension built up to that one highlight, and you knew it was coming and you were excited and it was just so thrilling. I could not wait to see how they got out of the timeloop.
There were certainly some things wrong in E8, for example even though they knew that they were stuck in the timeloop a REALLY long time, they don't try a single thing. I mean after getting told you're doing the same thing for the 16000 time, don't you think a normal person would try about anything to get out of there?
The worst part about E8 is definitely the ending. I have to say, I was truly dissapointed by how they ended the arc like that. It felt like a slap in the face and then it was over so fast. It just didn't feel right.
All in all, I feel like they could have done more with the idea, which was great in my honest opinion, but I can totally understand if some people hate it. But to say the least, it was a thrilling ride for me. And if the reviews on here have scared you away from this season, or the whole anime, I'd say give it a shot anyway, you can still skip the most of E8 and don't miss anything if you don't like it. E8 is something I will never forget.
