Been on a bit of an anime binge lately, and in particular just finished watching Haruhi stuff. Seen references here and there so decided it's time to check out what all the fuss is about. And, well, it did leave quite an impression.
First off, Haruhi herself ended up quite surprising me. That is, surprising me by how much I might come to want to slap - or even stab - a fictional character. And not in an affectionate way. Can't stand obnoxiously bossy selfish characters, even if that's how they show their positive feelings. As for the latter, well, after beating Morrowind I see nothing wrong with deicide. And with how easily she ends up threatening the world (seriously, even losing at an amateur baseball game upsets her that much, ffs) I quickly came to thinking of that as the most reasonable thing to do in the situation.
But then, in the last few episodes (chronologically), it happened. In the past, I would read about why people like her and go "Character development? Does THAT really count as character development?". But with age I started to notice and appreciate the smaller details. And gotta give it to authors, her growth was shown subtly but masterfully. I hate to admit it, but by movie's end she did start seeming somewhat charming. Not to the point of becoming someone I'd wish to be friends with but still.
Though it's not just Haruhi herself that gave me mixed feelings. The anime itself feels like it's not worth half the time you'd spend to watch it. Sadly, there's way too much stuff that feels like pointless filler (especially, but not limited to, Endless Eight, of course). The confusion with episode orders doesn't do it any favors either. I watched them chronologically but I did pay attention to where they would be originally, and it felt like that order would be only detrimental to experience.
The movie didn't need to be as long as it is either, way too many dragging shots and pointless plot threads (to the point of paradox in the end). Though if it did one thing right, long hair Haruhi is a blessing.
There's one more point about the story I find annoying. There's a lot of romance teasing between male lead and all of the female SOS members, but it's just that, teasing. Some of it is so thick it almost screams for a love thread, but it's almost impressive how the story avoids anything substantial. From what I know, the novels are like that as well, and it does make for nice fanfic fuel, but still, it's like the author couldn't decide whether to go for that angle or not.
In the end, after watching it, I'm just happy that KyoAni learned how to do a good adaptation by K-On and Chuunibyou because this didn't quite feel like one. The only good thing I carried out of it is finally seeing the appeal of completely emotionless girls.
