Wednesday October 12, 2011 at 06:32 am by 7jaws7
This blog contains major spoilers.
It's no secret that many fans of Haruhi Suzumiya felt that the second series was the lowest point in the franchise. Much of this can be attributed to the infamous "Endless Eight," a series of eight episodes where the entire world is trapped in the same last two weeks of August over and over again. Certainly, eight episodes of the same material would alienate anybody. But this is an exception, and here's why:
1: Impact. This isn't necessarily unique to Haruhi, but it still works. The feeling of being trapped in an eternal loop can only be described if experienced at least three times - or rather - three episodes. In the end in particular, that feeling of impact is even greater when compounded with all those episodes. When Kyon finally discovers the unlikely solution, it makes going through all those loops redeeming in a sense - for him, at least. You can also get a sense of how Nagato is feeling, since she's the only one truly affected. This will lead into another point which I'll cover soon.
2: The Number Eight. There's a reason why this takes up eight episodes instead of something more reasonable. Study the 8 if you will. In case you haven't noticed, the number eight is also the symbol for infinite, when looked at horizontally. Quite fitting for a time loop that seemingly never ends, wouldn't you agree?
3: Setting up the movie. Every bit of the Haruhi franchise is important to watch going into this movie, and unfortunately I figured that out the hard way having only seen the first series. The Endless Eight is no exception, and not just because of a few references to it. If you recall at the end of that eight episode, Nagato wasn't seen in the club room. After 595 years of living through and remembering the same damn things, it's no wonder she ended up recreating the world. Haruhi wouldn't have all those powers, and Nagato wouldn't ever have to go through something like that again.
So like it or not, that's the Endless Eight. Did you hate it with a burning passion? Was it a boring and unbelievably bad experience for you to sit and watch the same thing over and over again?* If all that's true, I'm glad you hated it. Though she doesn't show her emotions, that's exactly how Yuki felt during the other 15,524 loops she had to observe Haruhi.
*That feeling of it taking forever by watching it as it aired - which took up two months - makes it even better.
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