I finally finished the Melancholy of Suzumiyu Haruhi, and what a ride it was. It still remains to be seen if this show will ever see a stateside release, but judging from reactions and sales in Japan, it would seem very likely.
Here’s hoping Manga doesn’t screw up the localization.
The scene pictured above is a dream sequence, which, depending on who you ask, either saved the world or completely re-wrote it into one strongly resembling the one preceeding. Besides, it’s more of a red-herring, since the whole show was aired in an arbitrary order, and this is actually the fourth episode.
And since it was a “dream,” it doesn’t affect the characters’ relationship significantly (as much as it might have affected reality as a whole).
At least that’s my take. Opinions vary.
Confused yet? Good. That’s part of the fun with this. If you follow the order that Kyon gives in the end credits, you’ll get something close to the “chronological” order (which makes sense, since Kyon is the “logical” center of the plot), but in its own way, the series takes on a different life if you watch it in broadcast order.
In any case, I strongly recommend downloading this one. The folks at [a.f.k.] did a marvelous job on the fansub, and it’s one of the most well-animated and written things I’ve seen in the genre in awhile. Considering the high-water mark that 2006 has been for anime (Kino no Tabi, Last Exile, Saikano, Place Promised in our Early Days, et al.), that’s high praise, but all the more well-deserved.
I took a number of screen captures, which you’re welcome to use. I’d like to thank Rin Tohsaka for turning one into a wonderful banner for this site:
