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your thoughts have summoned this post from hell so, as i pray... Home > Archives > 2006 > April > 26 The Big H
To start off, I’m not going to say much about the show, or provide much background info. Its title is Suzumiya Haruhi no Yuuutsu. For some more info on Haruhiism, check out the following people’s opinions on the topic: Jpmeyer’s, Kurogane’s, Kozumura’s. This post is meant to add to the discussion already out there, not reintroduce a used phenomenon. I’m also assuming that the reader of this post knows a good deal about the show, that they might have seen an episode or two or read the various posts floating about the anime blogosphere. If everyone started buzzing about Higurashi no Naku Koro ni, and how great and sugoi it is, and how nothing can measure up, I’d probably take issue with that as well. This post is not a statement on my preferences in anime; this post is an evaluation of what the good and bad effects of large-scale acceptance are, and my opinion on those effects. I’ll give it to the show, it does a good job of inducing the effects on people that would cause them to go running and spread the word. Hell, I spent a few days sitting in the AnimeOST.NET IRC channel, spitting out “Watch Haruhi!” left and right. Fellow Kozumura has been swept up entirely to a point of no return, or so it would seem. It was refreshing to see Washi object to some of the content of episode 3 instead of taking the stance I was expecting of most Haruhi watchers: “wtfawesome!!”. So what’s my opinion? Do I think it’s a good idea to throw oneself at the bandwagon without thinking twice as to the spiked wheels? Do I think it’s prudent to raise a doubtful eyebrow as the show’s more, as previously put, “unsavory” content? Neither, really. I’ll continue to take each episode as it comes, and enjoy what I can. And, of course, analyze the dynamics behind Haruhiism. Stuff that makes the show rock ^: character fanservice. According to ANN, it’s not even fanservice, due to the fact that the fanservice IS character-whoring, and thereby relating directly to the characters. Having characters in the OP and ED isn’t new at all, but there IS something uncommon in Haruhi- the way in which they’re displayed. Blame it on the high quality animation? It seems excessive. I consider it fanservice… throwing in something that serves to please the fans (in other words, more Haruhi moving her body!) V: Mikuru. Yes yes- some have the theory that her abuse is a statement against such characters. In my opinion a statement against such characters is NOT one to which someone could respond on a BBS with “HAWT” or “fappable!” Mikuru, and the ways in which Haruhi uses her, is like chips for salsa. It’s a delivery system. Serving your fetishes. And people like it. But are the chips good? By themselves, they’re crap. And they’re unhealthy, too. V: Span. By throwing us forward joltingly in episode 4, they’re able to toss in lots of stuff we don’t know we’ll ever get a more solid view of. Ignoring how confusing it makes the show, it gives it far more depth than a liner progression would. It makes the series seem wider, more thoughtful, better planned, more immersive. I suppose this could make some people go nuts. “Wooow Haruhi’s world is big” or “Dayum, I was not expecting them to have such a well-done line of story”… that’s all well, but lemme grab a quote from Os.
Hits it spot on, pretty much. If anything, to me, this kind of device is off-putting on the level of the first episode. An inside joke that we’re SUPPOSED to get. Very funny. What amazes me more than anything else about the show, because it’s the selling point for me, is… Stuff that makes the show roll ^: Kyon’s little sister. Sorry, but it’s been a long post, and I really needed to say that it. V: the plots seen so far sure make the show roll… in reverse, downhill, when it’s run out of gas and its breaks are failing. Set up a club? Play baseball? Please, we got out baseball fix in FSN 16. V: the hype. Let’s examine. Until now, we’ve looked at all those things that make the show so beautiful to its fans. Now, the biggest question- don’t the fans affect the show? If anything, all the hype has made Haruhi take a downhill route in my eyes. It’s like Fate/Stay-night, how it was anticipated beyond belief, and how it crumbled apart and became, in simple terms, the “meh” show to follow up Mai-Otome. It’s a matter of meeting expectations. What will Haruhi do now that expectations are soaring higher than they have for anything since my own expectations fluttered as I double-clicked the file for Kannazuki no Miko episode 9? Oh, and how they were dashed down, faster than the media took out Dean in the primaries. When I watch episode 2, and enjoy it, and see the first post on Haruhiism… what am I to expect? Nothing less than a superior episode 3. When I see ten, twenty posts on Haruhiism, hear that the thread on 2ch passed 50,000 posts (probably at twice that by now, damn fanatics), and see 80 ED parodies on YouTube (chill out, guys) all I can imagine is: damn, this series is going up. Higher than anyone else has gone, higher than Hikaru can hope to elevate his go, higher than Kanna is flying in the sky full of arrows and curses. But is that the case? Episode 4 was a few steps down from the third, a step down from the second. At this rate of quadratic progression we’ll have an episode of quality lower than Joshikousei 3 next week. If we ignore all the hype, it’s a damn good show. I wouldn’t say it’s all new. I wouldn’t say it’s all unique. Aliens? Been done. School comedy? Been done. Combination thereof? Saying that that’s new and innovative is almost as retarded as my classmate’s comment on “the only reason dotq was cool was because it was a mixture of your writing and your anime reviews.” Innovative my ass. Exceptional, well, yes, the animation is. But that doesn’t make or break the show. Gundam 08th MS Team easily overpowers Bleach… wait, that doesn’t prove my point at all. In short… people need to cool down. The show’s got good points; it also has its share of downsides. It’s “human”, as anime goes. It’s not godly like Full Metal Panic, nor is it subpar like Soul Link. The hype, the expectations, the cultish followings… all they do, in my mind, is fail to elevate the show above its peers, and only manage to secure its place amongst them. I appreciate the show- don’t get me wrong- but there are better this season. I’m glad they’re not receiving the ism treatment, because Higurashiism or Bishieism just… don’t ring the same way. Furthermore, if the trends I’ve observed mean anything, the better shows this season are just as well off with less attention. … |
it is moist & delicious meta and it's not even a lie! 20 ResponsesLeave a Comment |
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Aluur said:
-Very slowly, a ring of clapping and cheerless applause ring out through all of not dotq as one man.. orc.. being, stands and bows his head in respect for a few moments-
Excellently written. Your point shines through brilliantly. I could give this more praise, but it would only be ridiculous.
I do enjoy your much more whimsical posts, but these serious bouts are just as entertaining and interesting. I hope to see more, and yet, I also hope there is no need for more. Knowing fanatical fans of fanaticism though, I’m sure that won’t be possible.
lolikitsune said:
Thanks for your praise. Eat more chocolate, watch more yuri, and read more FSN posts. Dismissed.
RetQ said:
You’ll be glad to know that there’s at least one person who isn’t infatuated with tMoHS… me.
My preferences seem to be counter to everyone else’s – Kyon is the only reason I watch this. His comments, as you say, are what makes the show. I think it’s because I can totally relate to him – his intro narration in ep 2 totally struck a chord with me – I used to be obsessed by aliens and paranormal things when I was young too, then I abandoned it. He’s just this normal guy, caught in a flurry of utter weirdness, which he comments on with dry humor and sarcasm. Fantastic.
As for what’s *supposed* to be funny in the show, it isn’t. I just don’t find *any* funny parts at all. Apart from the first ep, that is, which was comedy gold, but unless people had told me that the main show was supposed to be funny, I would never have guessed.
jpmeyer said:
If the show were like, I dunno, F/SN or Bleach-popular or something, I don’t think that any of us would really care about the popularity. We’d just end up like “Yeah, I can understand why some people like this show” and that would be that.
lolikitsune said:
We would still care because the show IS definitely worthy of praise, unlike the trash that Bleach has degraded into. With shows like Bleach, it’s just like why the hell do we bother anymore?
Oh, and RetQ… I don’t care if people like it or not. It’s fine to be infatuated with it. Enjoy what you enjoy, by all means. I just have issue with how this nearly-global infatuation has led to a huge uproar. Why all the commotion? <– that’s my question.
Jamesui said:
The big H. It’s subliminimal. It’s luring us in with promises of porn involving dancing girls in various costumes.
Wait, wait.
That’s not subliminiminimal, huh?
lolikitsune said:
You seem to be obsessed with the idea of “mini.” Maybe you like mini girls. Loli is one thing… but midgets? Go get a shrink, dude.
GheoFabulousDuk said:
OHhh fuck you and your fucking Chaos Demons my Tyranids could kick your fucking ASS even though there are only four of them they’d be all FLEET OF CLAW and you’d be like FUCK 12″ ONE ROUND MOVE AS FREE ACTION and I’d be like bitch please that’s not all and my Tyranids would be like FOUR SLASHING CLAWS BITCH and your Chaos Demons would get PWNED.
GodDAMN that felt good. Haven’t geeked out about Warhammer 40k in way too long.
Good post, though. Even though I haven’t seen any Haruhi.
~Duk
lolikitsune said:
Problem is with Tyranids, a good SM Terminator with a flamethrower can roast a pack of’em with below-average roles. Good stuff!
Os said:
Though Kozumura shares the writes on the same blog as I, I want to say his views aren’t the same for all of us. Scuba hasn’t even watched it, and Amry has already said he has found a better series. I for one, think its getting overhyped. Because I was the person who wrote the “first impression post” for the first episode, I get first dibs to the series and went to town. Buuut, as you said, Episode 2 was amazing and the following two weren’t so great. I enjoy it, but not as much as other shows this season. What brings me back is 1)I do the reviews 2) Kyon’s narration and 3)… Kyon’s little sister.
P.S. I giggled when I saw I was quoted.
lolikitsune said:
I note that you guys have differing views on things, hence my “Kozumura” and “Os” references instead of a general “Kono Sono~” Oh, and long-distance high fives are possible.
kacpy said:
* Kyon!! Kyon!! Surprisingly, to me, I keep hearing how his narration either bores or annoys people. Is this true? Does he bore you? Does he annoy you? To me, he’s the thing keeping the show together. His sarcasm and cynicism are like modeling glue.
I think I am the ONLY one who thinks he’s annoying – I just haven’t found another person who would agree. Whenever I hear praise about the show, and reasoning why it’s so awesome, Kyon is always either the first or second reason listed. I can’t exactly say why I don’t like Kyon… and if he is really the reason for me not liking the show as much as I thought I would after the first episode – the narration in the movie did not bug me at all, but when it moved to “real life” it just started being so unnecessary to me.
It doesn’t help that the whole show is now basically THE movie from episode 00, just widescreen and higher budget. Haruhi is still the director, Mikuru is still Mikuru, Kyon is still the narrator and whatever else role he might have later on, Yuki is still an alien, and Itsuki still is a superman or whatever. The thing is… the movie was BAD, but since we knew it was a BAD movie, it was FUN and just a spot-on parody of many things. Now however… the show is on its way to be uber-serious in the end. Not that I mind serious shit, hell no, but that’s not what caught my attention in the first place, and I have to say that I am NOT one bit interested in Espers, Time-Travelers or Aliens in this show.
The episode shuffling is another thing that bugs me. Once again, it wouldn’t bother me, but this cliffhangerish way of shuffling is just TOO much – ep6 is part1 of a new story, when the original Yuutsu part still hasn’t finished, and the next episode instead of being part2 of this new story, is not even Yuutsu IV but actually a prequel to the latest episode. This is just TOO much.
lolikitsune said:
>>It doesn’t help that the whole show is now basically THE movie from episode 00, just widescreen and higher budget.
Yes, that’s pretty much what I complained about on AoMM in the Haruhi 5 post’s comments. In the Haruhi 5 discussion post, Jason explained to me in a loving manner that that was one of the things he loves about the show. I immediately began smashing my head in with a dell laptop.
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free rape movies said:
was sure that the line “we have met the enemy and he is us” is from Shakespeare, but I cannot find it anywhere! Can you help?
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bettynoire said:
Very much agree with Kyon being one of the most awesome parts of the show. He cracks me up more often than anything else.
p.s. Haruhi is definitely a psychotic bitch. But… hey. Without her, Kyon wouldn’t have anything to snark at.
lolikitsune said:
He snarks at Taniguchi just fine.
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