Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya - Ep.#00

[timepiececlock]

It's a good thing someone on my flist warned me strongly about the first episode, because it is very bad. Incredibly offensive and fairly stupid. But, once you realize the joke of what you're really watching, and WHY it is so bad, there is a kind of demented humor in it. Every time the fourth wall is broken (about every 45 seconds) you get a clearer idea of what's really going on and, more importantly, the kind of "people" who would actually go to lengths to make it, and make it this bad. I like how the one boy keeps accidentally showing up in the wrong scene, and the narrator's rambling tangents and narrative skips. The main girl (Haruhi presumably?) is really a terrible actress.

"Combat waitress" puts me in mind of Ranma 1/2's Ukyo and Shampoo. The product placements are kind of amusing too.

::halfway through::

Actually, the narration is getting fairly funny on a consistant basis now. It's a blatant but amusing commentary on all bad anime tropes. The comment about the villain appearing in the window made me chuckle out loud, which is more than a lot of anime gets out of me.

This whole thing reminds me of this history project I had to do in high school where student teams made a video "news report" from a historical era, and one guy who was doing his scene started going off on this long, improv monologue about a runaway horse and cart that was running over serfs right and left and leaving in its wake a path strewn with adults, children, pets, farm animals, produce, etc. We had to record it three times because the rest of us, behind the camera, kept breaking out into belly-laughter off-screen.

Comments

[faoiltiamatani.livejournal.com]

The main girl, if you mean the redhead in the bunny outfit, is NOT Haruhi, haha! Haruhi's the one "directing".

But yeah, I watched episode one and couldn't figure out why people loved the show. Then I watched more episodes and got hooked.

[flutingfrenzy.livejournal.com]

Oh! Also a warning! You may find Haruhi's treatment of Mikuru, and the other characters' tolerance of it, extremely offensive. I certainly did. I mean, there are actually some in-text mitigating factors to draw on if you want to rationalize it away, but even when I do that (and man, do I ever try), I just keep coming back to the image of crying, traumatized little Mikuru curled up on the floor while everyone else just stands there and shrugs their shoulders and GAH thinking of something happier now.

Otherwise, I loved the series. Go figure.

[rashaka.livejournal.com]

I'll keep that in mind, thanks. I'm watching episode 1, and I can already tell that Haruhi is pretty insensitive. And rude. But her dynamic attitude makes her more interesting than most female anime characters who have "inner strength" but are a wet blanket on the outside. This is an early guess of her character, but I don't think Haruhi would know what a wet blanket was, and if she got one she'd throw it at someone's head.

[jade-sabre-301.livejournal.com]

Ah-hahahahahaha. Somehow I've only gotten halfway through the series, but I absolutely adore it. But I remember first watching the first episode the first time--my friend and I watched it together, chatting over AIM, and he's said "you'll love this!" and I spent almost the entire episode saying variations on a theme of WTF. Ah-hahahaha it is so brilliant. And Kyon is love.

[rashaka.livejournal.com]

How could you stop HALFWAY? I watched all the way until #8 last night, then the rest this morning!

[jade-sabre-301.livejournal.com]

Well, I started watching them with my friend from high school last year, when we were both really far away from home at different colleges where we didn't have many friends, and then gradually I got out more and actually had stuff to do, and we just never finished. I think we're actually going to watch them this summer, but...I was able not to finish them because I didn't need them as much? Or rather the companionship they provided? Ah, freshman year of college, how happy I am that you are over...

"and while we're unable to transition to the next scene, why not have a shot of the sky?"

[rasielle.livejournal.com]

"Combat waitress" puts me in mind of Ranma 1/2's Ukyo and Shampoo.

... my god, you're right. *just finished the Ranma manga!* Only, not Ukyo so much as Shampoo. But I'll never think of "combat waitress" the same way again!

Before you realize what this episode really is, it's horrid, isn't it? While I was watching it for the first time, I was absolutely horrified that people actually love the series - nay, enjoy it all - until Kyon's narrating became rather transparent and it clicked.

I loved Yuki and Itsuki's dramatic, "plot"-forwarding conversation the best - it vindicated the painful experience of listening to brain-frying anime plot dialogues that make no sense whatsoever.

Oh man, I want a history project like that. We're going to have something like it, but not really - just a preparatory vid for kids coming into the same class next year, but we're free to direct it any way we want as a class. No room for horse-and-cart monologues, unless we come up with something that insane.

SPOILERS

[rashaka.livejournal.com]

After I got to the end of the episode I went back and rewatched the Yuki/Itsuki "plot" conversation and the second time I actually understood it more fully. In the full context, it's hilarious, with Itsuki going all "so you're saying this and this and I am this and this and that's all I know...it *is* all I know, isn't it? unless you're going to use this dramatic moment to tell me more...No? Ah. I see. Kind of." ...or something to that effect.

What I couldn't figure was if Haruhi or Kyon was holding the camera, and if the narration was added after the fact when Kyon was editing, or during the thing.

I love that their roles mimicked their actual life situations, even to the detail of Mikiru being exploited and Itsuki having power that only gets "unlocked" in certain circumstances, and how he is the "key" in the video just like he "unlocks" the closed spaces.

Re: SPOILERS

[rasielle.livejournal.com]

About the camera thing, I know! At some point, Kyon referred to himself as the cameraman, but previously, he had also said something like, "and what's up with this pan-up?" You think maybe they alternate? I really could just pop in my CD right now and rewatch the bit with the credits, but I'm too lazy :P and I recall only seeing Kyon's name once beside "Other Menial Tasks." Only Haruhi could ever consider cameraman "menial."

I love that their roles mimicked their actual life situations...

And Haruhi was the insane director and Kyon the cynical yet amused narrator! It's perfect! I didn't catch the parallel about Itsuki's powers, though; that's a good point. O_O

Hmmm... it just occurred to me: why do you think Haruhi doesn't question the talking dog? It's been a while since I've seen the series, so I don't remember if she even knows, but she can't miss it...

Re: SPOILERS

[rashaka.livejournal.com]

I watched the show too quickly. Waht talking dog?

Re: SPOILERS

[rasielle.livejournal.com]

... Talking cat. His name was something like Shami or Shisami or Shazaam, but I remember he kept talking accidentally during their homemade cultural fest video, and I always wondered how the heck that happened.