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ファイト／ステイナイト 
This is probably the last entry that I can write before I go to the airport. I'm going on a one month leave to Japan but I have my laptop and an internet connection while I'm there so I think I'll be able to continue blogging. This also means that I'll update Kongetsu from time to time. Anyway, this episode finally gives a little bit of explanation to Haruhi's eccentric personality. I also like the part where a surprising element of the episode begins to show and a gregorian chant/song begins to play in the background.
Brief summary:
Continuing the story from episode 10, Haruhi forces Kyon to accompany her to find out more information about the disappearance of Asakura Ryouko. They eventually arrives at her apartment building and after unsuccessfully ringing at the bell, Haruhi decides to interview the concierge in charge. Unfortunately the old man tells her that he never saw Ryouko leaving that on the day she left, her room became empty. Since there is nothing else they can find in the apartment, the two decide to get out of the apartment and end up bumping into Yuki, who turns out to be living in the same apartment complex. Before Haruhi and Kyon can leave far, however, Yuki tells Kyon to be careful. Haruhi then ends up walking without any destination and stops in front of a rail track. She tells Kyon that at one point when she was young, her father took her to a baseball game. Upon seeing the number of people inside the stadium, Haruhi realised that as a person, she's just an insignificant number.
Prior to this Haruhi always thought of herself as living a special life but after the incident, Haruhi thinks that her daily life is boring. Kyon seems to feel sorry upon hearing this but since he has no other thoughts, he decides to remain still when Haruhi leaves to go home on her own. When Kyon arrives at his house that day, he finds Itsuki already waiting for him in front of the house. Itsuki tells Kyon that he wants to fulfill the promise that he made to Kyon back in episode 5 and that is to show Kyon his power. Because of this the two end up taking a taxi to an undisclosed location. While inside the taxi, Itsuki tells Kyon that at the moment the world is heading towards Haruhi's wish and points out to Kyon that him being included in SOS-Dan along with Yuki and Mikuru is a proof of this. This means that if Haruhi can create the world as she wishes it to be, it means she can destroy it at will. Kyon suggests that maybe Itsuki should let Haruhi know about his existence so that she will be happy and does not destroy the world.
Itsuki, however, thinks that this is a bad idea. If Haruhi finds out that people like him exist, it is likely that she will turn others into similar being, thereby causing a mess into the structure of the universe. Upon hearing this Kyon asks Itsuki if Haruhi really wishes the likes of Yuki, Mikuru, and Itsuki then why she has not realised their existence all of these times. Itsuki believes that while Haruhi wishes for the existence of alien, time traveler, and ESP user, deep in her heart, she doesn't believe that any of those exists. In other words, her way of thinking is actually quite similar to a normal human being. Itsuki then tells Kyon that Haruhi actually settled down in the past few months until Kyon appears and suggests that she created that weird club. Their conversation, however is halted when the taxi stops at their destination. Itsuki then tells Kyon to close his eyes before taking the other guy's hand to a specific location.
Upon opening his eyes again, Kyon finds himself inside a blue-like world which has no one in it. Itsuki explains that this place is called the Sealed Dimension and the one that they're in has a 5km radius. At the moment, normal people still lives their daily life normally in the normal world so Itsuki believes that normal people won't be able to get into this world. The appearance of a sealed dimension is random. Sometimes it's once every day and sometimes it's only once every several months. However, the dimension usually appear when Haruhi is emotionally instable. Itsuki also tells Kyon that his ability is to detect this kind of dimension. Itsuki then asks Kyon to point his gaze at the nearby building where a giant of light has risen and starts destroying buildings. Itsuki believes that the giant is a manifestation of Haruhi's frustration. However, they can't allow the giant to destroy the building outside the sealed dimension and this is why they have to fight it.
In order to combat the giant, ESP users like Itsuki turn into red orbs who then proceeds to attack the giant. Itsuki then tells Kyon that it's about time he joins his companion and proceeds to radiate red shield out of his body. He then turns into the same red orbs as his ESP companions and begins to attack the blue giant of light. After its initial resistance, the giant is finally brought down when one of the red orbs people manage to slice off its hand. Eventually all parts of the giant crumble down and in effect, the sky inside the sealed dimension begin to crack open, revealing the real world. On their way back from the place, Itsuki explains to Kyon that the blue giant of light is called Shinjin. It's when sealed dimension and Shinjin appear that Itsuki and his comrades can start using their power. The two go on their seperate way after Itsuki asks Kyon to pay attention to Haruhi since her unstable mental state has started to show rapid change.
Impression:
This episode finally reveals the reason for Haruhi's obsession with aliens, time travelers, and ESPer. The reason is actually rather simple and quite understandable: she simply wants her life to be extraordinary and fun. It's hard to be excited about life when your day to day life consists of doing the same thing over and over again. However, in the process of looking for an extraordinary life, Haruhi ends up ignoring the possibilities that ordinary life could also be fun from time to time. The irony of this, just like Kyon said at one time, the happiness she's looking for is actually right in front of her all of these times. She meets the alien, the time traveler, and the ESP user almost every single day. However, because deep down she believes that these people do not exist, she is unable to notice them. The implication of this message is actually rather sad because it means that unless one believes that they can be happy then it's likely that they'll never be happy.
This is the reason why the series is called The Melancholy of Suzumiya Haruhi. Because at its core, this is a story about a girl who is unhappy with her life. The story suggests that she probably possesses the power to change the world through her sheer wish but since she does not realise it, she does not derive satisfaction out of it. I can't help but thinking how this is actually a metaphor about how people often don't realise the power that they have to realise their own wish. The good thing about Haruhi is that she tries her best to realise her wish. The problem is, sometimes she does not believe that her attempt and ability will produce something especially when she thinks her wish is unreachable to begin with. I think this is the same reason as to why she failed to get a one on one pairing with Kyon back in episode 5 because back then, she believed that Kyon is either uninterested in her or out of her reach.
Next week will be the last episode: Suzumiya Haruhi no Yuutsu VI. Something scary will happen in this episode. Poor Kyon.
Wooww i didnt really notice that the whole serie has a deeper meaning
Thanks for the screens !
Those giants looks good. I hope they'll release an action figure of it someday.
Very nice analysis in your impression; I think you've hit all the nails on this. Though some feel it's a drop from the last two episodes, I appreciate this a lot more for the deeper meaning for the series and its characters (mainly Haruhi, but Itsuki gets to shine again) and even more so as a setup for the finale.
wow i cant wait till this gets subbed so i can watch it. i have to say your impression is great and it really made me realize how deep this series is. Thanks for a great summary garten and have fun on your trip.
looks like a good episode but then again everyone is good
next ep... snow white.....
I agree with your impression, but there's more to it than just that if you read the novel.
Only 1 ep left, I wonder if there will be a 2nd season cause most of the short stories in the novels is used up....
*spoiler starts*
From time to time in the novels you will get a sences that Kyon isn't what he claim to be a normal person. You will find tiny little bits of hints that Kyon isn't normal from Yuki, Itsuki, Mikuru chat/actions with Kyon. As to are Kyon really a normal person, hmm I will leave you all to decides (if there are season 2), as for me? can we really trust a guy that doesn't even tell us his real name?
*spoiler ends*
he did tell us, but he casually didn't mention it during the class introduction
now that I think of it......... I have this feeling I'm going to hear God Knows at the end credits(or somewhere near the end) of the final episode ^^ and what a pity existence you got dead right with the Argument of the Melancholy of Harui Suzumiya.... O.O
its rather sad that Suzumiya Haruhi will be ending so soon. Does anyone else think that due to the success of this the first series of suzumiya Kyoto ani will be peoducing and airing the second series asap?
about what RickaZ mentions
if that happens ... i will cry
^^
i hope they will otherwise they will miss this supreme chance
They better make the next book into an anime, if not I will hate kyoto animation.......not really, but I'll be mad...
if the next episode is the last one, then there seems to be some unexplained stuff going around...
for example, the talking cat (Shamisen, was it?)... they never explained how SOS-dan met him.....
Two things:
In ep10, this explains why Itsuki had a one-liner for the entire episode when he said he had "work to do". After Kyon told Haruhi to not upload the pics of Mikuru, she got frustrated and bolted, and then you can guess what happened next.
Anyhow... why can't Itsuki explain to Haruhi say... something like that he's the ONLY Esper in the world? If he makes Haruhi believe that, not only would that satisfy what Haruhi wants, but Itsuki will also have her believe that he is very special, being the one and only Esper in existence, heck you can even add another thing on top of that, his colleagues might lose their power if that is what Haruhi believes and that lie could become reality.
it's what I think~
hmmm...
now i'm seriously tempted to read the original novel...
does anyone knwo if there's a translated version of the original work?
Here's a Wiki where they're working on translating the novel.
There is a translation in progress of the novels at the Baka-Tsuki Translation Project Wiki. The URL is:
http://www.baka-tsuki.net/project/index.php?title=Suzumiya_Haruhi
Hmm...after finally reaching the 2nd last episode in this season, I went back and started watching the 1st episode.
Anyone noticed that Itsuki could actually use his powers in real life, and not just limited to the sealed space? Check out the part after the talking cat. The special effects look too good for it to be done by the cast of the SOS dan.
why are there only 14 episodes!!! The story kinda built on me from time to time. This episode was pretty interesting, especially the closed space part. (Kyon showed some facial expressions)
In response to Godskitchen:
(the following will be mildly spoilish for the novel but I doubt they'll get to this in the anime)
*spoiler starts*
A lot of weird stuff happens while filming the movie... entirely because Haruhi wishes for it. For instance.. Mikuru isn't normally capable of shooting beams out of her eyes. Haruhi thought this should be an ability her character had and would bring colored contacts for days filming her doing the "mikuru beam" but during the scenes Mikuru found herself actually possessing the beam attack (much to her dismay).
Lots of other bizarre stuff happens in the movie for the same reason... for example cherry blossoms were out of season at the time they filmed the final Mikuru/Koizumi scene yet the trees suddenly blossomed because Haruhi decided they needed them for the scene. Shamisen (the cat) even started talking simply because Haruhi thought they should have a talking animal in the film.
So my guess is... in a similar fashion Koizumi is not normally able to do weird light esper stuff but because Haruhi thought it should happen in the movie... it was so. :)
*spoiler ends*
the part that Koizumi used his 'power' on the first episode was not his powers... its actually Nagato's barrier because Koizumi was being pushed backwards ever so slightly... but for the sake of the movie, the barrier was disguised as Koizumi's ESP... watch episode 7, when the cave cricket attacks Nagato...
for Nagato to use her power, i'm figuring Haruhi wasn't there to witness it during the filming... therefore Shamisen, the talking cat, can actually talk not only for the movie but i'm guessing outside the movie as well since Haruhi wasn't there to actually wish for the cat to talk....
the Mikuru beam incident however could be explained by Haruhi wanting it to happen... what about Nagato attacking our beloved SOS-dan angel? thats completely out of her character to be aggresive to someone who gets physically abused by Haruhi every single day...
*grins* Honestly I wonder how dense Haruhi is sometimes...
My friend came up with the theory that Haruhi was pulled away to talk with the teachers after the fireworks incident and the rest of the club went off to film the final scenes without her which is why Shamisen started talking (in the novel he explains that he felt like it would be a bad idea to talk in front of "the hyperactive one").
One wonders what would have happened if the young Haruhi had just shaken off the feeling of not being "special". She would have had more rewarding relationships with family and classmates, and none of this would have happened.
It's really true that the world is shaped by the discontented and frustrated - this series just embodies the concept more concretely.
It was only a vfx which was added by Nagato or someone else, wasn't it?
Thanks for the analysis for this episode. I never thought it of that way. Though to some this is not as good as the previous episode, it sure gives us some philosophical enlightenment. :)
That one shot of the Closed Space's destruction looks like a nod to NGE. Probably in response to all the comparisons going around.
After all those frustrated and discontented days, Haruhi finally had her moment. That was exactly when she sang in front of people, in the previous episode. After all, that baseball park had different kind of people from those 50,000 spectators there, the players. those 50K people were there in order to watch the players to perform in the first place. Yeah, you could guess those professional baseball players' lives should be somewhat extraordinary, and interesting, even in Haruhi's standard.
On that festival day, Haruhi had an exiperience to perform on the stage. She was not among the crowd(=ordinary and normal people), but in front of them, and made them say wow with her performance. She seemed even shocked at the experience, finding how good she was feeling on the stage. Afterwards, under the tree, she admitted she was like "I'm doing something right now" at that time. And then she decided to have that kind of experience more in the future, with her best friends, SOS brig. members. Because now she knows having those kind of shows and even just practicing for them with her friends, should make her life special, interesting and full of fun.
So I guess the previous episode and this one is very related, and thats why they placed the former just before the latter in the televising order.
This anime is now just acting like one of those old "sci fi" explanation episodes; They say that Haruhi is able to create new "yet undiscovered theorems," and make things act upon her will. Well, is Haruhi the only obnoxious and bored person on Earth? There are so many contradictions that all of those the meaning of the explanations Itsuki made turns into void. I still don't understand why Haruhi is so special: Is it just because she has some wild imagionation and is a concieted over-optimist?
Well Hanlu, according to Itsuki: the world the characters live on is not THE WORLD, but a reality created by Haruhi in her dreams.
There is no reason to believe that Haruhi gets her powers because she was "obnoxious and bored." It is far more logical to presume that she already had powers but the trigger for them was the realization of her alleged insignificance.
The irony here is subtle and humorous, yet perhaps a little sad at the same time. The very abilities inside of her which makes her significant are triggered by her belief that she is insignificant.
Why does she have these powers? I don't have an answer for that. Maybe it's because it really is her dream.
Haruhi is lame. Let me just tell you, I went to a baseball game yesterday and I did not stir up some emo-ass feelings of insignificance and sadness. I ate a hotdog, cheered happily, and watch people in the audience react in quirky ways.
And listen you little ungrateful bitch, your life is not the same as everyone else's life. You live a damn good life. I don't see you starving for food, dying slowly of AIDs, being amongst a violent and turbulent war, or being sexually used against your own will.
Sorry, I think Haruhi is an entertaining character and she's a lot of fun, but sympathetic? No freaking way. Boredom is just another word for peaceful.
Ohhhh, you're so 'edgy' deadpill. Calling a fictional character an 'ungrateful bitch' because she doesn't want to drown in a sea of mediocrity.
With an attitude like that, we'd have never gone past the fire and wheel stage.
I think Haruhi works better when she is being aggressive, pushy, and overbearing. When the writers try to introduce explanations for her behavior, it seems to weaken her characterization overall. I can definately why other people might appreciate this development, but personally, I became irritated with Haruhi in this instance.
Perhaps, this is why the characters of Azumanga's Tomo and Ichigo Mashimaro's Miu were never explored. Their obnoxious behavior is better left unexplained.
After all this series is the "melancholy" of Haruhi Suzumiya, not "eccentricity" of you know who. So the the original storywriter, who is also apparently deeply involved in this anime production process, needed this side of Haruhi, especially for story telling reasons.
I am more interested in characters with many aspects, like Haruhi, like Kyon, like, even Yuki, and of course many others in this series. If you prefer one-dimentional characters better because they would act just how you expect or want them to act, then it's fine with me, that's your choice, but I like characters with multi-aspect. Because they are much more fun to me.
did anyone notice the kyon/itsuki in this episode, or was it just me?
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