Something seems off. I agree. I've been feeling like crap all week, and that's before I get to the second go-round.
OK, so the differences are the fashions. Most animated TV shows are infamous for making their characters wear the same clothes every day. Ichigo Mashimaro is one of the few anime that does not follow this. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-C3bxQ06Kpg
Our first entrance of Kyon is with him shirtless. It could be because it's hot, but I think it's because they want to show off his chest.
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| I however, do not. |
Once again, Haruhi calls him to meet at the station at 2. There's something familiar about all this.
She again tells him to bring a swimsuit and plenty of money. I think I'm going to give my Studio Ghibli movies a good workout when this whole thing is over.
Kyon realizes this whole thing has happened before.
Same opening. If you do elect to watch this the whole way through, I don't recommend doing so sober.
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| Perhaps "The Monotony of Haruhi Suzumiya" would be a more appropriate title. |
Kyon arrives at the station. Again, Haruhi says he's late. Again, he knows he's early.
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| I read the news today, oh boy.... |
Haruhi says they're going to the pool, and of course, Kyon is aware something is amiss; as is everyone who watched it.
The swimsuits are different, but everything else feels the same, looks the same, (sips Pepsi, bites into Fudge Round), tastes the same.
Koizumi mentions he's become paranoid. So have I.
Kyon continues to realize what's going on, noticing he's gone through this before. So, five minutes into 2 of 8 of these episodes. I can imagine they're not going to be episodes so much as levels of Hell.
Haruhi introduces her two new brigade members again. I introduce a couple Tylenol to my headache.
Now they're back at the restaurant. Here's a fun fact: Guy de Moussapant was known to have eaten at the restaurant at the Eiffel Tower every day. Why? Because it was the only place in Paris he could eat without having to look at it. I can only imagine his chagrin now that he's dead and it's the most-recognized landmark in the entire country of France.
OK, back to the Endless 8. Haruhi then starts discussing plans over what to do during vacation again.
It's roughly the same outline they had in the last episode.
The plan is the same, and they're going into action tomorrow.
Kyon expresses disdain that he had to pay again.
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| We all do, Kyon. |
I also take notice of Kyon's "Pumu" bag. Did he buy a knockoff somewhere?
Of course, Yuki is fine. I feel sick again.
So, the cycle starts over again.
Haruhi says they're going to buy yukatas again. I feel like we're in some sort of experiment to see how much pain a person can possibly endure.
Kyon and Koizumi continue to goof around while they shop for Yukatas.
They all look wonderful. At least we have eye candy that's mildly entertaining.
Once again, Kyon is ecstatic. That is a face that says satisfaction, a face I will not be making anytime while watching this.
Of course, Kyon realizes this is all familiar. Just about nine minutes into episode 2.
This time, I notice there are Super Sentai/Power Rangers and Pokémon masks on the rack of masks. Better add those to the list of shows I plan on watching a lot when I'm finished with this tripe.
She chooses another Ultraman mask, this time from a different version of Ultraman. I'm not sure which one, though.
Then, Haruhi says it's time for fireworks again.
Haruhi once again mentions she finished her homework in 3 days. I'm still paying attention to that, I feel it may be important.
She mentions they're going insect-catching again tomorrow.
The day comes, and Haruhi wins again.
Kyon compares the cicadas being released to opening Pandora's box. I actually wish that happened, it would be more interesting.
Next, it's the part-time job with the frogs again. Kyon mentions they have no idea what's going on. Frankly, neither do I.
Once again, their pay is the costumes.
I must say, Kyon looks even angrier than the first time he found out about this, as are the viewers.
That night, he gets another phone call. It's from Mikuru!
She sounds like she's in trouble, and Koizumi says something has come up.
It turns out Mikuru can't return to the future. OK, what you need to do is jury-rig a flux capacitor with 1.21 gigawatts of power, take a vehicle to 88 mph, and you can go to wherever time you please.
Koizumi has determined what the audience already has: they're caught in an endless loop of the same time period. And there's still 6 1/3 episodes of this slag to get through (with apologies to any British readers I may have).
To be precise, August 17-31 has been repeating. I've been repeating this episode to take notes and screencaps on it due to connection and computer battery problems. I hope to get through this and go back to writing about anime I enjoy more.
Time is all lost on September 1 it seems.
Of course, Kyon doesn't buy it. I know. It's a tall order to believe ANYTHING from this franchise.
Mikuru completely breaks down, saying variations of phrases with "classified information" in them. She doesn't know what to do.
Koizumi says a portion of time has been torn away, and the place where they live, the world has been lost in a time loop.
He then mentions Haruhi's intent of an endless summer. I know it sounds glorious, but for every ice cream, camping trip, and blockbuster movie, there's a sunburn, a drought, and a bunch of mosquito bites. So it has its benefits and drawbacks.
They wonder if there's something else she wants to do, but they can't think of anything.
They talk about something called the thought entity, but my apathy is growing further. It hasn't peaked yet, but we still have 7 minutes left in this episode.
Yuki says they've repeated this loop 15,498 times. Oh my dear, the rest of this is going to hurt. She then lists off all the times they did each activity. And it's been repeated for 594 years. So, we've entered the next circle of Hell.
They go stargazing again, and Haruhi wants to see martians.
Haruhi and Mikuru are asleep. This arc is every bit as effective as valium, and a lot safer and cheaper.
Koizumi suggests embracing Haruhi to break the loop.
Kyon flat out refuses and shoves Koizumi away! YES! Thank you Kyon. At least one over-optimist is decked.
They go to the batting center again, and Kyon asks Yuki if she knew about the loop before. She did. Kyon then asks why she didn't say anything. She says it's her job to observe.
They continued to run through a torrent of summer vacation events. That's the terminology they use.
They kept going, Kyon remarking there's nothing he can do.
Again, it's August 30. They've finished their list, and Haruhi wonders if this is enough.
Kyon has that look in his eyes as he remarks that Haruhi still isn't satisfied. It's the look that wonders if he should skip town or throttle Haruhi; godlike presence be damned.
Kyon then gets the feeling again. He realizes he can't let Haruhi leave. If she does, the loop will start over again.
The next morning, Kyon wakes up facing his desk.
Kyon looks at his homework, but since he's aware of the loop, he has grown despondent, like much of the fanbase has, and just crawls into bed, defeated.
Endless 8 Part 2 is where the infamy of this arc truly begins. While I do credit the changing fashions and good animation; I never really liked Haruhi Suzumiya when she was in the original series. That said, I can take comfort in the fact that I'm not the only one that hates this series. With the delay setting me back, I'm going to get to work on the next Endless 8 recap.
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