Well, let's just say that this was a disappointment. The first season was dramatic, epic, and amazing in all sorts of different ways. The second season... not so much.
Story 8/10:To be honest, disregarding the endless 8 arc, if this season wasn't a sequel to the first season, it probably would have sold really well. The storyline is pretty good, no matter what the haters say. However, the anime portrayal was fairly repulsive. When I watched episode 1, I was settling down for a high enjoyable new season. Endless 8 left me in pieces, however. It was monumentally horrifying: after the first 2 episodes, I spent the rest of my time begging for it to end each week. What is even more fail is how Kyo Ani took the time to shoot each episode from a different angle. They didn't reuse a single frame. However, the 3rd arc was fairly well done, which is why I rated the story so high.
Art 7/10: Kyoto Ani... ;___; Let me explain why I was so sad. Kyoto Animations is an extremely well known animations group, most notably for Clannad and Kanon, not to mention Haruhi. Their animations are best described as spectacular. However, when they start Haruhi 2, they were fresh out of animation K-ON!, which had nice art, but was entirely unsuitable for Haruhi art. I mourned over the desecration of Kyon's face, and even more so Haruhi's, which had a look reminiscent of Yui from K-ON!. The animations are still far above average, but it looks like someone's been skimping on the money.
Enjoyment 7/10: I probably would have enjoyed it a lot more if I hadn't read the novels already, but since I did, the ruination of a great novel was no enjoyment. The promise of a Disappearance arc was evidently not fulfilled, although there will be a Disappearance movie in Japan theaters in February 2010. Coupled with the deteriorated art, this show was definitely not what it could have been.
Overall 7/10: I'm being really really lenient on this, because most Haruhi watchers, both lovers and haters, truly disliked season 2. However, I'm a liiittle bit hardcore; I absolutely loved season 1, and even though season 2 was a disappointment, I can't help but be a tiny bit biased.
Feedback is appreciated! ^^
