finally,
Ever since I started keeping a list, as I kept a list in my mind well before physically listing the anime I watch, I've wanted to put Haruhi in my impenetrable top tier. There's so much going for it, but the series lacked something. The first season lacked a scene of sweeping drama and catharsis that had real gravity. More pertinently it lacked closure. While it provids some closure to the narrative, major conflicts were not resolved. Specifically, the conflicts of Kyon and Haruhi's relationship and the risks involved with Haruhi's limitless power were not resolved. It left me feeling unsatisfied; unfulfilled. The second season was very good, barring the unbearably frustrating Endless Eight arc, but it did scarce little to provide what was missing. However, because of the theatrical film, "The Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya," I've decided to move the series to my top tier. If the length of this post wasn't indicative enough: this is serious business.
Disappearance was excellent. I had high expectations, due largely to the long wait between its release and season two, although releasing on December 18th, the day of Haruhi's vanishment in-movie, was a cool touch. What I loved most was the how the premise's reveal brought a huge shift in tone away from the typical energetic merriment and amazed disbelief into tones of loneliness, rejection, and most of all, desperation. The tempo slows in somber accompaniment and the soundtrack leads wistfully as our unshakable hero loses his cool. I'm always a sucker for contrast, and the directors showed real talent in how well it was executed, but perhaps most important was how it made the step-by-step climb to normalcy seem glorious. It was moving, especially on my repeat watch. Kyon was so glad to see Haruhi being her normal upbeat, fearless, intolerably bossy self. And that was just the beginning of the ascent.
It was moving seeing the lows and highs Kyon was forced through, so much so my eyes watered a little. So there it was, one of the two things that the series was missing: a strong catharsis. But it wasn't enough alone to move the series to my God Tier. It was more like half of the difference, in part because it wasn't moving like some scenes in Eureka Seven were and I certainly wasn't sobbing like a bitch like Haibane-Renmei made me, and in part because the series would still feel unfinished without a sense of closure... which leads me to my next point.
Disappearance has several cues that imply series closure. Kyon is given the opportunity to leave the insanity of the SOS Brigade behind, in effect forcing him to choose between his dangerous, humiliating, and demanding current life or a peaceful, normal life. The opportunity for narrative closure is used well as the plot echoes the reasons why the Brigade was formed. If I'm correct, the director used camera angles and establishing shots that match the first episode. These aren't the only bookends in Disappearance. As the plot progressed and the tone rose there was a scene of nostalgic reminiscence, where Kyon and adult Mikuru were waiting to close a time loop they left open in a previous episode, and fondly talking about all the fun they've had being bossed around by Haruhi. It was a moment suitable to wrap up the series.
As nice as it is, I consider the narrative closure seen in Disappearance to be only a quarter of what I was looking for, as it is only cues that the story is ending. It gives no progress towards the major conflicts being resolved. Also, I know that the light novel series the anime is based on is incomplete, and there is a cue or two that they intend to adapt more of the series, albeit they are subtle and interesting cues. So the score so far is: emotional resonance brings me 1/2 of the way towards putting Haruhi in my God Tier, narrative cues that wrap up the series brings the score to 3/4... And last but not least, there is somewhat of a resolution to a major conflict.
It should comes as no surprise that Haruhi disappears in "The Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya," and I guess it should also come as no surprise that the absence makes Kyon's heart grow fonder for Haruhi. Plus, in being forced tp put his pride behind him and decide between normalcy or Haruhi brings him a big step closer to resolving his feelings for Haruhi. And by a twist of fate, Haruhi is forced to consider life without Kyon. This is all very well done, and such a setup would soon contrived in less capable hands, but not here. The major conflict of Kyon and Haruhi's relationship takes a big step as they are both aware of their feelings, but that's it. The conflict is not actually resolved. So I consider this 1/4 towards what I want... Bringing the total to one, earning it the right, in my opinion, to be considered God Tier.
It may sound like my opinion of the series meekly takes its place with a whimper. Disappearance was fantastic, but it just barely satisfied what I was looking for. You see, re-watching the entire series in chronological order made me appreciate it even more. I'm adding Haruhi to my God tier with gusto.
What surprised me the most is the continuity between episodes and between seasons. Season two aired almost exactly three years after season one, and the episodes from season two are chronologically intertwined with season one. Actually, all of season two took place before the concluding events of season one. Throw in time travel, and you've got yourself some difficult continuity to follow. Yet, if the characters acquired some item in season two that they stored in the club room, it would be there in the next episodes, even if those episodes were part of season one. That, and to my knowledge, all of the issues regarding time travel avoid paradoxes. The series shows pretty amazing attention to detail.
With a re-watch, I understood the characters a little better, especially Haruhi as her character slowly changes. I like that she doesn't change in a predictable way: when it seems like she ought to be more personable she instead gets even more bossy, jealous, and sociopathic. She finally realizes the value of friendship very late in the series.
The show is just fun to watch. Aside from Endless Eight and "Someday in the Rain," the show moves along at a fast pace. "Someday in the Rain" is excusable because it drags intentionally, and Endless Eight I kind of choose to ignore since its so obviously bad. Anyway, the dialogue is snappy, clever, and enjoyable. Kyon's narration can be thoughtful, and it's a perfect foil for Haruhi's bullshit, even though everything she puts them through looks like so much fun. I wish my high school experience was like that.
I noticed something remarkable while watching Disappearance: it is well acted. It's strange talking about animated characters as "well acted," but I don't know how else to put it: the characters display emotion and thought through their actions in a very natural way. Especially Yuki. This is remarkable since much of anime's style was founded by shortcuts taken to avoid the costs of animating natural character expressions. Slowly, anime has been moving away from these old-school staples towards fully animating character expressions, and with Disappearance, someone's finally doing it well.
All in all, I'm glad to finally move the Haruhi series to my top tier. While Disappearance just barely fulfilled what I felt was missing, a back-to-back chronological viewing made me realize just how good it really is, and Endless Eight is easy to disregard. Plus, "The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzymiya-chan" was pretty enjoyable. I'll explain: a year or two after season one, it was announced that there would be more Haruhi. Everyone rejoiced, then it was announced, as I understood it, that this was going to be a few short Youtube-released adaptations of 4koma comics, making it something worse than a typical OVA. It turns out that it's amusing, pretty well animated, and twenty-five episodes long. Surprise! The total running time is about an hour and a half. Plus the OP and ED are catchy.
Oh and I almost forgot, Disappearance had a certain aspect that made the infinitely frustrating Endless Eight plot seem almost tolerable in hindsight. Unbelievable, I know!
That took forever to write.