Suzumiya Haruhi no Yuuutsu (2009)

15,532 reiterations, and we've only endured episode length instances of 8. Should we really be complaining? Well, Kyon should have. Better yet, he should have done something productive much earlier to spare us the stupidity, if not the time. But he'll redeem himself yet.

The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya (2009) is the next installment (discounting the Melancholy of Haruhi-chan Suzumiya shorts) of an anime series originally based off the light novel franchise by Nagaru Tanigawa. It was directed by Tatsuya Ishihara, scripted by Yasuhiro Takemoto, and produced by Kyoto Animation, the same studio that animated the Full Metal Panic Series, the Key holy trinity, Hyouka, and ... K-On! Hosting three new stories from the source material set in between the events of the first season, it was aired as a surprise (however unwelcome to many when they viewed its contents) with the previously animated material from the series in chronological order. No fresh or innovative doses this time around. This season wasn't much successful either. Truth be told, it was more aggravating than confusing.

Let's cut to the worst: Endless Eight. Perhaps the producers, deciding to withhold the exploration of any material beyond what they used in the movie, somehow felt they needed to broadcast the same number of episodes as its prequel. Perhaps they wanted to experiment. Perhaps they wanted to be cheap. In any case, the reactions to this (almost) eightfold repetition can be likened to an experiment with grease over an open stove. And that's that.

Well, not exactly that. While I didn't happen to watch this show while it was airing, which would probably make Endless Eight all the more monotonous, I would loathe to dismiss the other arcs solely on this one grievance. The rest of the show, on the whole, still has that humorous hyperactive charm about it. Bamboo Rhapsody is comparable, if not not better, than some of the other content aired 3 years ago, and the Sigh of Haruhi Suzumiya is the best that I've seen, defying expectations to what I thought would be a comedic telling of the back story behind Episode 0. While it presents the female lead in a rather nasty light (though she's more excitable than nasty herself), it also features a sincere confrontation where, for once, Kyon puts his foot down against Haruhi's antics. How Haruhi reacted to it... that's something to see for yourself. It was executed beautifully, from the slow but sure escalation of frustration to backlash, the emotion so vividly rendered. For consistency's sake, I would like to have criticized Kyoto Animation for changing the character models and animation style, but the reactive expressions that it allows lends itself more to the approach this season's going for than the sweeping motions the previous style would ever permit. In addition, however subtly, we begin to get the impression that the rest of the SOS Brigade may have something more going on with them then before. It's only an impression, though, for the sake of the leisurely pacing, I'm satisfied with just that.

The OP “Super Driver High” by Haruhi's Seiyū Ana Hirano and the ED “Tomare,” or “Stop,” by Yuko Goto and Minori Chihara, the Seiyū for the other two female leads, in addition to Hirano, emanates of the same factor that defined the OP and ED of the previous season: energy. The vocals are just as brazenly peppy and addictingly catchy as before, and the electric guitar get their own nice spotlight moments in both songs. At times, it even seems to surpass them in amount, though the ED's lack of choreographed dancing was sorely missed. Though what we have instead is nothing to scoff at, a mixture of what appears to be neon lighting imprinted throughout different parts of the school setting's premises combined with a flip-book style sequence of shots, blurs, epilepsy, and all, of the main cast. The OP's visuals also utilize something of flip-book and shaky cam, but the most obvious things that standout are those elements one would normally find in comics and manga. The images, names, and onomatopoeia literally pop out from each character introduction scene.

Does the series suffer from Endless Eight? Yes. Is Endless Eight this franchise's death knell? Well, I'll end with this. I'm not saying one should omit Endless Eight from their memory or, for anyone who has yet to watch it, viewing experience. In fact, watching through all, or at least part of it, (specifically, the first two episodes and the last one if you'd rather forgo the distinction of having survived it all) is crucial to being able witness the full impact of the movie. Just don't omit the rest of the show, or the series, for that matter, because of it.

I give The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya (2009) a 7 out of 10.

How should I say this.. This series have enraged every single haruhi lovers with the ultimate weapon called "Endless Eight". They still commit the crime are they've apologized and so. Anyway,if you are planning to watch this series, don't do it or if you really insist, then better be mentally prepared and we'll appreciate your corage.
Overall, this review is trying to tell you that this series sucks balls.

I may be the only one but I'm actually enjoying what I've seen of the new Haruhi I am a fan of the first series and I really enjoy it. I think the endless eight chapter has been done wonderfully. It really gives the sense that you are there with the characters especially poor Yuki who remembers it all (just like the viewer). Now granted if the show was nothing but the 15,513 some odd times that the week repeats it would be overkill, four or five episodes isn't overkill to me. I think it's plenty of time to get the point of the ... arc and the real feeling of monotony and melancholy the characters must be feeling.I know only after five episodes it is still too soon to make a review but there are just so many people hating this series and I think it has potential to be a well liked anime. Ok off with my opinion and on with my review.

Story
I gave the story a seven because honestly very little of the story has been given to us. I really like what has been given. I particularly like the reason for the time loop. It is very different than the reason that was given in Higurashi.I also really liked the origin of the frog costume. Now hopefully they will explain that freaky cat.

Art
This series is still just as spectacular looking as the first which I also gave a 10 towards animation. This series is definitely on my list of prettiest anime.

Sound
Ditto with the sound and music. there are some very familiar tunes to be heard. and the sound quality is still very nice.

Character
If there is one place where this series shines the brightest for me it's the characters. I love Kyon's biting sarcasm, his wit, and his humor. Kyon is the best nararator in the history of anime. The only reason I gave this a nine is that there has not been anyone new introduced and none of the classmates have shown back up again.

Enjoyment
Like I said I may be the only one enjoying it. But I do. Granted when episode four went off I was like no way are they repeating this again and then they did. but when they did I didn't mind. and when five went off I was like nooooooo! kyon don't go to sleep! which is the first time I yelled at an anime in a long time. haha!

Overall
I give it an eight I still really like the art, sound, and characters. The story does need to progress in order for it to get a higher score. :) I made this review because I want everyone out there to know that there is at least one person out there who enjoys this anime. I don't want everyone to start watching it expecting to be disappointed there may be a few like me who actually enjoy the repetition. It's a little melancholic.

There is something to be said for the distasteful arc known as the relentless and unending "Endless Eight".
However, what was forementioned has already been said, countless times by reviewers over and over again. The irony in this is that the people complaining about how "Endless Eight is annoying and the worst thing ever" are annoying others with their own endless rants on the prementioned topic. While I understand and coincide with their intentions, it does get annoying when others repeat the flaws that have been already pointed out get recycled in what I call a "make-shift review".
Furthermore, the very same people who bash the ... unfortunate sequel continue watching it, and with each episode that passes, become further infuriated. They are simply fanning their own flames of anger.
So, to those who are considering writing a review of this anime, please, abstain unless you believe you have new input that could benefit the myanimelist community. If you do not have anything new to add, simply support and campaign an already existing review, and your words and thoughts will spread.

For all the otakus out there who were waiting and waiting for Haruhi 2 to come out, this was a dissapointment. We all heard rumors about how Endless Eight was bad, but God, actually sitting through it made you want to drop the anime right then and there. The first episode was great, then we hit Endless Eight, then we have five episodes which are the making of the movie (episode 00 of season 1). So, overall, it seemed as if there were only 7 different episodes. I usually try to be fair with reviewing anime, but this actually was one of the worst I've ... seen. Sorry to all you Haruhi fans, but this one gets an overall 4. I know, I'm dissapointed too...

After the first season of Haruhi Suzumiya, fans couldn't get enough. In 2009, a second season came out. And what were the fans' reactions?

"THIS IS THE WORST SHIT EVER! PHUK HARUHI! PHUK KYOANI! I'M NEVER GONNA BE A FAN OF HARUHI AGAIN!"

Pay no heed to these people, for they are butthurt fanboys, or trolls, or both. Having just finished the second season in preparation for the film version of The Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya, I can say that the second season . . . is definitely a disappoint compared to the first. Was it a waste of time though?

Story: The antics of the SOS brigade ... continue in three story arcs. The first arc is the first episode. It's a clever episode, more mysterious than funny, but it intrigues you. The second arc, and where most of the complaints come from, is about Kyon and friends stuck in a re-curring timeloop. The so-called "Endless Eight" runs for eight episodes; five of those episodes are wholly unnecessary. You only need to see parts 1, 2, and 8 to see everything. Also, the ending to this arc was a let-down, I thought. The last arc is about the making of Haruhi's movie. This is definitely the best part of the second season, for it's here that the show acts like the Haruhi I remember, the Haruhi I love. It's hilarious, fun, and even dramatic occasionally. However, the developers could've used those five superfluous episodes from Endless Eight to make another story arc or two, and because of that, the story score suffers. 5/10.

Art: For the most part, still good. However, some of the character designs don't look as nice. For that, I'm deducting one point from the art score I gave the first season. 8/10.

Sound: There's new music, but it's not as catchy as the music from the first season. The background music is still good.

The voice-acting, in both English and Japanese, is still top-notch. No complaints here. It's reassuring to know that even though this season doesn't match up with the first one, at least the characters still sound good. 8/10

Characterization: And speaking of characters, this is the one thing that kept me going throughout the season; the characters are still great, even if the stories are not. Kyon is still a sarcastic master of observation, Haruhi is still an energetic troublemaker, Yuki is still a silent yet kickass "Data Entity", Itsuki is still the token bishounen, Mikuru is still the token moeblob, Taniguchi is still obsessed with girls, et cetera. Not as much character growth here as in the first season, but there's a reason why this cast has become iconic among anime fans, namely, I didn't drop Endless Eight because of them. 9/10.

Enjoyment: The last five episodes were great. The other episodes were good although not great, or complete and utter filler. Filler and I usually do not gel well together. If these characters weren't so likable, I probably would've dropped this series. Was it a waste of time? For the most part, no. If the entire series were as good as the last five episodes, I would've given this season an 8. As it stands, I'll go with 6/10.

But of course, I'm sure a ton of people are gonna downvote this review because I didn't join the hate bandwagon. Luckily for us all, I don't care if I get all downvotes or not. I only write these reviews out of boredom. But seriously, if you hate the anime version of Haruhi that much, I have a suggestion; read the original light novels instead. I've been told that they handle the stories in the second season much more effectively than the anime. As for me, I'm still a fan of Haruhi. I like the premise and the characters too much to abandon it just because a story arc ran a little too long. Still, I'm not going to be buying the second season on DVD. Let's hope that Disappearance is worth owning.

okay so ill make this short because this was an anime i absolutely will never watch again or think about again.

story
-was mediocre. fair enough i didnt see them in chronological order which made it hard to keep watching, but i expect atleast the episode's to suprise me a little. boring boring boring.

art
- good art i have to say i liked it and it was almost the only uplifting point in the anime.

sound
-fair
...
characters
-now the characters were okay main was the one who i ofcourse liked the most because of his personality of being "smooth" or not fucking around like a twelve year old. the rest were okay highscoolers except the supernatural shit. fukn do it right nothing was ok with the supernatural, esper, alien etc things going on unsatisfactory i could say at least.
combo that with Haruhi who is a amazing person. oh my god what shit was going on in her head. i.. i.. i just dont like her because she is portrayed as a fukn smart person but acts like a twelve year old. but she not all at fault i have to say that the whole gang made me cringe more than one time.

enjoyment
- now why do i hate this piece of shit that much but love it.
well thats why when my enjoyment is as good as a 3 , but then i got my hopes up when i saw a fist flying towards haruhi. you know a plan is 50%planning and 50% execution so enjoment would be a ten if it were executed. so 5+3=8 ill be fair and give enjoyment 8 because the second season was rubbish but putting that little fucker back in place was the damn right thing to do haruhi YOU DONT DESERVE TO BE A GOD U LITTLE SHIT.

overall
- it.. was just rubbish. for a second season this was so bad i wnted to take my own life during 8 neverending episodes of please end it. overall it could have been good for me personally if they spiced things up a bit. personally tho i think this was written by someone with one more chromosones than all us others even if u had downs. but ill be honest and say that as a slice of life relaxing type of anime it was great maybe in the top 10 and for those who love highscool, slice of life see it it is probably good in your eyes.

-off to listen to some death metal then to cool off.

I actually watched The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya(2009) (but never felt compelled to write a review until now) a long time ago and I've seen a lot of negative thoughts about it. I do agree that this anime wasn't all that good but at the same time I don't think it deserves a 1 that a lot of people give it.

Lets start off with some pros the artwork and animation was very good, the sound was awesome with one of the best openings I've ever heard and the characters are as lovable as ever. Because these departments in the anime do so ... well I cannot see why anyone could rate this a 1.

Now time for the dreaded endless eight arc. I agree with most people on this one, this arc just plain sucked (although I do the like the idea). Although there were some minor changes through-out each episode in the endless eight they were too minor to change the fact that it is basically the same thing over and over again. Believe me watching the same thing over and over again is not fun.

Now the content in the remaining episodes that were not in endless eight was actually quite good and although one bad arc does not make the whole anime bad I cannot simply overlook it. Considering this is a 14 episode series the majority of the series was endless eight

In conclusion although endless eight was something I would want to forget and it took up most of the series, this anime also had some good stuff too and that' why I give The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya (2009) and 5/10

I enjoyed the first season of The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya and I am enjoying this season as well. I really enjoyed all of the characters from before, and being able to immerse myself once again into their lives as they try and prevent Haruhi from bringing total chaos to the wrold.

I'm probably one of the few people who is enjoying the "Endless Eight" arc of this series so far. Maybe it's because I'm not one of the ADHD/MTV generation. I enjoy all the subtle little difference between episodes, like the different masks Yuki selects. There are other changes as each of the characters are ... becoming more aware each time they go through the loop. It's like revisiting your favorite coffee shop after they've renovated. It's still the same place, but yet it's different at the same time. I know this arc isn't going to last forever, so I'm enjoying it while it's here. In my opinion most of the viewers out there don't have the patience for this sort of thing. If you don't have a good eye for detail all of the episodes in the "Endless Eight" story arc will probably all seem the same to you.

I don't think it was a bad idea, I just don't think the people today have the patience for this sort of storytelling. In old movies you used to see shots that slowly panned across from one side of the scene to another giving you time to absorb the whole scene. Now everything is cut into choppy little segments like a video on MTV. A lot of people now have grown up with that choppy style and can't sit still for those slower paced scenes in older movies.

I'm really interested to see how this arc is resolved and what comes after it.

** THIS REVIEW CONTAINS MILD SPOILERS**

Well, this is my first review, and I'm going to do what no one else has done: actually give an in-depth review explaining why this series sucked. Not just: The Endless 8 sucks because etc. etc. therefore, this show sucks. Nor will I be "ok, the Endless 8 wasn't very good, but the rest of the series was pretty decent due to *insert quick explanation here*." No, this review will show why the WHOLE SHOW sucks, not just one part. I'm sick of just "Endless 8 sucks so automatically, so the show sucks by default". Forgive my aggravated rambling; I ... needed that off my chest. Do you wanna know why this show is bad? Do you wanna know why this almost ruined the franchise for me? Then, let's find out, shall we?

To be honest, nothing about this season added to the story of the series. It's 14 episodes of (mostly) pure, bona-fide filler. This show is a midquel that answers next to nothing about Season 1, particularly because Season 1 left little to be explained. This season takes place before the last 4 episodes of season 1. The 2nd season starts off well. It's a small adventure that only really becomes relevant in the Haruhi Movie. Then, the Endless 8 begins. Episode 2, is also good. Then, episode 3 redoes a lot of the previous episode with a twist! Everyone is in an absurdly high time loop spanning over 15,000 repeats. First off, since all of the following episodes of the arc literally go one repeat after another, why not start this off with say 50 loops, and then continually increase the number dramatically? It would be more like the show to do that. Then, episodes 4-8 repeat the exact same episode (episode 3) with minute changes. Finally, episode 9 breaks the loop in hilariously stupid fashion after terrible buildup with 7 episodes that show no progression towards the arc. This whole thing literally could`ve been resolved in three episodes. One for introduction, one for setup, and one for resolution.

As for the final arc, I've actually seen people DEFEND this arc, which really boggles my mind as to something just as mind-numbingly stupid as the Endless 8. Honestly, we'll save this one's biggest problem for later as this arc`s biggest sin is how badly it botched up the characters. Let's put it this way. Season 1 established that when Haruhi is visibly upset, a different field of the world begins to suffer the wrath of giant monsters, and that could prove dangerous to the real world. At one point, Haruhi is the most unhappy she’s ever been via confrontation that she effectively deserved, and NOTHING HAPPENS!!! First off, Haruhi brought this on herself, and Kyon was scolding her for being basically tyrannical to her friends, and he's forced to APOLOGIZE?! WHY?! Haruhi also gets off scot-free for being so horrible. also, for how "smart" she is, she should've put two and two together during the final scene of Season 2. I get that maybe trying to hit her was a bit out of hand, but still, she needed some repercussion for being so damn awful! This season was pretty awful by this point by this moment killed any chance of it recovering. The ending sucked too, just to let you know.

If you know Haruhi Suzumiya, you know that she's kind of a spoiled brat with an (understandable) god complex. She's a bit of an ass, a tyrannical one, but you understand why she's that way, and see her developed into a slightly more polite and caring person. Despite the fact that this season takes place after the events containing most of her development, this final arc, in particular, decided to DECIMATE all decency from her, and flanderize her obnoxiousness and bratty-ness to new levels. She actively treats Mikuru like a sexy slave, even more so than in season 1. She becomes a bigger dick than ever and ignores all sense of likability and development. Mikuru is reduced to a whiny moe slave for the series who only accomplishes following Haruhi`s demands, and only to varying effect. Itsuki is the same, only spouting off his stuff under unreasonable circumstances that only serve to make Haruhi a Karma Houdini, which sort of waters him down a bit. Kyon, is the same, only less entertaining, less intelligent, and less snarky, meaning that like almost everyone else, he is at least somewhat watered down here too. Yuuki Nagato is the only character with any improvement, as we see a more urgent and ambiguously caring side of her, as she does some risky things this time around. Unfortunately, the side characters are less present, and less likable, albeit, when Haruhi makes you drug your friend with alcohol, and you accept in a heartbeat, that's bound to happen.

Knowing KyoAni, brilliant animation to them is as simple as doing a worksheet of simple math problems. Takes a bit, but it's easy and leads to damn good scores. Not much was stepped up, other than slight changes to character models, though I kinda like the change. While this season didn't get to show off its creative muscles like Season 1 did, the animation was still really good, and if it got to show off some of the amazing stuff Season 1 did, it would've gotten a 10, for even the minute changes in the Endless 8 are appreciated, as they change the clothing, and give new angles for repeated scenes. This is always a highlight of the franchise, and even though this season sucks, at least it lived up to KyoAni's expectations in the animation department. Too bad it was wasted in this garbage-tier anime.

Unfortunately, the music isn't as good as in season 1. Luckily, it's still overall decent. The OP and ED themes are once again, great, really capturing the tone of the series, and are just as good, if not better than those of season 1, even if they'll never become as ubiquitous as "Hare Hare Yukai", season 1's ED. This season, otherwise, added nothing to the soundtrack, and the recurring themes aren't memorable, minus a few jingles in some of the themes. Also, while the dub has the same voice actors and talents, the repetitive dialogue for the Endless 8, along with Mikuri`s aggravating squealing, bog it down a bit. Heck, Kyon doesn't even get any deliciously scathing monologues here.

This series had no right to be as long and annoying as it was, and the botched characters, nigh-useless story, and painful moments make me hate this show, no matter how pretty it is, or how good it sounds. Honestly, this is an allegory for how this season made me feel about Haruhi herself, attractive and with a nice voice, but a total bitch. Yes, the first two episodes are good, and yes, the Endless 8 had the potential to be pretty good if they cut large portions out and made the set-up more in line with the spirit of the show, but overall, this series can't stack up to its predecessor in any way other than production. Lastly, thank God for the movie since if not for that, this would've actually killed the anime franchise as a whole with it being such a gigantic pain. With that, I bid you adieu.

I was really excited when I heard they were making another season. I really enjoyed season one and after watching the first episode of season two, I was looking forward to another good season. My opinion quickly changed as I continued to watch. I was very disappointed with the endless eight arc. After a few episodes I just couldn't take it. It would have been good if they did it in two or so episodes, but they drew it out way too long. It made me lose all interest in the show, and I ended up just skimming the remaining episodes. Now that it is ... over, I may continue to watch, but my opinion of the show has plummeted immensely.

honestly I don't understand all the animosity toward this season. I thought it was brilliant. the endless eight was brilliant.
What's the point in showing the same story eight times? to piss you off.
It achieved its point so give back its points.

In the entertaining world, nothing can be repetitive or it wouldn't be entertaining.
As a work of entertainment, the endless eight broke the boundary, just like episode 1 of the first season did. I enjoyed getting tricked and tortured because it was intended that way, and because it's intended that way, in the end it's no longer trickery or torture for me but simply enjoyment. ... If you only feel torture, I'm sorry, but you have been tricked and fell into the trap of the entertainment world. The show is only trying to pull you out of it.
Give back its well deserved effort and points.

First, if you think of quitting watching The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya 2. Let me remind you of some important rules about watching anime

Rule #1, the producers are always right.

Rule #2, if you think the producers are wrong in any way, please refer to rule #1.

Now back to the review
At first watching The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya 2 seemed like a great idea. I could finally understand more about the characters and more funny situations Kyon is always placed in. Like the previous season, great art, I enjoy watching the Opening and Ending Song and video, but after the opening, a big disgrace begins.

Now I ... am not saying do not watch the show, but give it some time. Like after it pasts EVERY EPISODE IN THIS ENDLESS EIGHT LOOP SAGA. (I am trying my best not to give away plot, I am sorry if I spoil anything for the diehard Haruhi Suzumiya fans) You will try to enjoy after the first or second time spotting things that changed, but once it past that, you will feel like someone just robbed you how an half hour that you will never get back. Ever get the feeling of déjà-vu? Well that is a good sum up. Hopefully it end and go back to the great show we loved to watch……..

I've enjoyed the first season of Haruhi very much. The original 14 episodes have a cult status for me, and the story of Haruhi had a huge influence on me... no, I should even say that it changed my life. The story by Nagaru Tanigawa, which KyoAni decided to animate, had everything which a good story should have - a very original, very well thought-up story, well defined personalities of the main characters, and an epic climax. To all this, KyoAni added good art, well done voice acting, great soundtrack (I think that "Bouken Desho Desho?", "Hare Hare Yukai", "Koi no Mikuru Densetsu", "God knows..." ... and "Lost my music" are among the most recognizable and remembered anime tunes today)... and an interesting ordering of the episodes, with the main story from the first book going after the "what the hell?!" first (or zeroth) episode of The Adventures of Mikuru Asahina, and being intertwined with short stories adapted from later books. It all made the series epic for me.

After watching the anime, I've read all the light novels, save for the last, tenth installment which simply isn't around yet. There are better and worse stories among them, but overall, the books are great, too.

During the three years of waiting for the new episodes, we were promised the anime version of Disappearance/Vanishment (Shoushitsu - the English translations of the title vary), another great installment of the series (second best behind the Melancholy, I would say), but in the end...

In the end we got trolled. First, we were told that a new season is going out, then we were all disappointed hearing that it's just a rerun (this time in chronological order), then, finally, we were happy to see the not animated before gaps in the original timeline of the books are being filled with new episodes.

The first new episode was "Bamboo Leaf Rhapsody", a short story from the third book, and a pivotal turn in the timeline. When I was reading it in the book, it was really shocking and entertaining to me. I already knew what's going to happen when I was watching the anime version, so maybe it's because of that, but I had the impression that it's too static and affected, and I didn't really enjoy it much.

Then, after few already-seen episodes, we got "Endless Eight", another short story from the fifth book. A short story - yet, with respect to its title, turned into eight episodes. Eight episodes for a short story... it sounds frightening - and it sure was. It's very difficult to explain what it means without giving a huge spoiler... When the first episode of Endless Eight aired, those who haven't read the book probably thought about it as a unimportant filler episode, or as a kind of introduction, similarly to the first episode of Remote Island Syndrome - while those familiar with the story smiled to the clever idea which the makers thought up. Second episode shocked everyone as it did not conclude the story, and with every another more and more fans were getting upset as the story was not progressing even a little bit, even though the mood varied slightly between the episodes. The finale of this story arc was certainly worth seeing, and it was probably the best scene in the whole second season - but it should have happened in the third episode, fourth at most - but not the eighth.

Sure, the way KyoAni did Endless Eight is one and only, and it may turn into an anime legend one day. But it was certainly boring to wait for several episodes to see a progress of the story - that's not a soap opera!

Finally, as a supposed ending of the season, KyoAni animated the second book, "The Sighs of Haruhi Suzumiya". It's about the filming of The Adventures of Mikuru Asahina Episode 00, which we've seen in the first season already. For this reason, and for this story arc being one of the least interesting portions of the book series, I doubted the very point of bringing it to the screen, but KyoAni apparently wants to have the entire Haruhi universe timeline animated. Well... it isn't bad, but nowhere near the first season, either. And the feeling of staticness and affectionateness which the Bamboo Leaf Rhapsody episode had, and which gone during the Endless Eight arc - returned, though at least with not as huge strength as in Bamboo Leaf.

I assume that this is the end - some suggested that The Adventures of Mikuru Asahina Episode 00 might get re-animated - we even get a hint of that in the last episode of Sighs, where the ending credits in the screening we see, differ slightly from the actual ending credits seen in the original episode. But even if so - there's not much that can be done differently in that episode. Others suggest that after the remaining four episodes of the original series, there might be something more (Disappearance?) - but if so, I would consider it the third season then.

To sum everything up... the new episodes in the 2009 airing of The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya are merely a shadows of their three-year-older siblings. The art is still good - though I hoped for real HD, not upscales. The voice actors are doing their bests - though they cannot do much about such static scenes. The opening and ending themes are great once again - though the BGM seems "glued-on" and doesn't really flow well with other aspects of the show. There are too many "thoughs" for this show to repeat the success of its predecessor. Maybe the fact that I've read the books before made me receive this show as I did. Maybe if the anime version had been the first for me to know, my rating would be better. But I find this show just mediocre.

I admit - Endless Eight and The Sighs are not the best moments of the storyline - I would even say that they are the worst, so the animators couldn't do much. But Bamboo Leaf Rhapsody could be done better, Endless Eight could be two times shorter, and The Sighs could also be more condensed and shortened by an episode or two - then we could have Disappearance animated in this run, and the overall impression of the show would be much better.

As random as the anime generally is, with wacky events that keep you on ur toes an keep u interested the second season really does not bring many elements of its successor the first season.

Story- Whatever the reason may be for this, (whether its lack of time, lack of support or just pure lazyness) the anime really has taken things for the worst in terms of storyline as most of the new seasons consist of repeats of generally the same episode ( If you havent watched this season yet you will notice starting episode 3 of the second season ).

Art - Same as always, still ... enjoying watching some of my favourite characters and such.. nothing too different.

Sound - the OP for second seasons is catchy and pretty addictive especially for me. Im not one to download the TV sized version of the song but beacuse i havent been able to download the full ive been living off that. Other then the OP and EN it seems to be the same old, not that there should be any changes.

Characters - characters are as unique and fun to watch as usual and if you are a fan of the first season because of these characters like me surely you would continue to watch ( or watch ) this series.

Enjoyment - The overall enjoyment of this series will not be as great as the first season due to lack of a decent storyline so far so it might be one of those animes that pick up after midway ( Since im writing this after episode 5 I myself am not sure if this may be true ).

Fingers crossed that the second season does pick up so that the anime gets a better rating then it deserves. However no matter how bad the storyline does get, I dont see myself dropping this anime since I was waiting for it for a while.

I seriously don't know whats up with all the bad reviews. It honestly isnt as bad as everybody is making this out to be. The endless 8 time loop wasnt as terrible as everybody makes it out to be. each episode adds onto the plot of the infinate time loop and it occurs in a way that was true to the first season.

Story: Same bizarre situation and overall plot that was evident in the first season. Also i must say it is rather fun putting the entire storyline together as you move through the series. Just stringing each episode together and determining when each ... episode occurs in the timeline. 8/10

Art: Nice animation, colouring, drawing style. same as the first season and still great. Crisp clear artwork. 7/10

Sound: same sounds as S1. The Seiyu were chosen well and each voice seems to perfectly express each character. I do enjoy the Opening and Ending songs. Then again im a Hirano Aya fan, so im a tad biased. 9/10

Characters: One of the Aspects that made Season 1 great and it carries on to the second season. All characters are so unique. 10/10

Enjoyment: Although the endless 8 arc did carry on a tad long the series has been enjoyable and i look forward to more of the series. 7/10

Overall: To anybody who may be reading these to determine if they should watch this season i must say give it a try. Its not as horrible as other reviews seem to make it to be. Give it a chance, you will be pleasantly suprised.
8/10

Well long story short i just dropped watching this series since i seen so many bad reviews about this 2nd season, im not gonna bother going back to watch where i left off which was the 2nd episode.

I was busy watching other stuff and right when i was about to even try to watch where i left off. I seen numerous numbers of bad reviews about it. If over half the season shows the same crap over and over then im not gonna even waste my time watching it if its like that.

Well im better off watching the first season if the 2nd was a ... TOTAL EPIC FAIL like almost everyone says.

The fanbase for this series is greater than the series itself. Don't get me wrong, this show is reasonably good and the characters are extremely likable. However, that does not justify for the crappy 8 episodes of the same thing.

When you over-analyze anything, there's usually a reason behind it. The main reason for this show is that it wasn't very good. So you'd have to spew some bullshit to defend it. The fact that the "endless eight" is unique does not make it enjoyable. Rambling on about how each episode is different does not make the story deep.

So out of the 14 episodes, there are ... actually only 6. Out of the 6 episodes, there's no real pacing, because it just branches off the original series.

There's no other way to put it. The 2009 version of Suzumiya Haruhi no Yuuustsu mediocre to be kind.

Okay So overall i loved the first season but so far
im quite -.- annoyed with the second one repeating over and over again?
Did the animatiors get lazy or something because it hurts my head
i skipped when i got to the forth episode cuz i got impacient
~~i give up till this part has finished

I know it's been a while since the season has finished but I just watched the trailer for the movie and wanted to see what MAL scored the second season.

I cannot believe that some of the members in here gave it 8, 9, 10 after that embarrassing endless eight arc. There's no spoilers in here and I'm writing as a big Haruhi fan trying to warn others.

This season was KyoAni just trying to make money. For the guy who said this was carefully planned, you are CORRECT, but not for the reasons you think. If you are a Haruhi fan and still want ... to watch season 2, save yourself some time and agony and just skip the endless eight arc or read the light novels. And please do not feed the trolls by buying their DVDs.

RANT:
KyoAni says they did it because they don't have enough story from the novels to make a whole new season but I don't see why they didn't just air the other eight without the endless8 or not release any at all. I wouldn't have mind waiting longer. Also they changed the animation. I gave it a 5 because although it is clearer and the quality has indeed gone up, they've tweaked the style to be more moe (like Lucky Star and K-On) in hopes it would attract more fans. And lastly, when they asked Kadokawa about releasing the endless eight in 4 DVDs with the same crap, they replied “Even in the company hardly anyone knows why it took eight repeated episodes spread across 4 DVDs with two episodes each in order to unravel the mystery thoroughly. We are aware of the fan reaction, but… Well… All that can be said is that it would be nice if they sell, wouldn’t it?"