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kaylinalexanderbooks · 26 days

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Find the word

Thanks to @ayzrules here and @cat-esper here for the tag!

I usually don't do two in one because these can get long, but they are really starting to pile up.

My words: tape, grass, leg, bottle, return, last, dream, forgive

Your words: depress, favor/favour, entertain, attract

Tagging @emberlyric @chauceryfairytales @aalinaaaaaa @gottestod-writes @elsie-writes @ahordeofwasps @spitefulbull @stesierra @pluttskutt @duckingwriting @mjjune @dyrewrites

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TSP tag list (ask to be +/-): @thepeculiarbird @illarian-rambling @televisionjester @finchwrites

Keep reading for:

Jason tries to get important information out of Sadie

Lexi goes through the portal

Ash is being manipulated ew

Lexi and her lab partner Jackson

The aftermath of an intense moment

Lexi has good memory

Maddie's weird, annoying dream

Maddie and Rose make up

Tape - from "Hero's Journey Short Story" (I could not find "tape" anywhere except for this short story from the creative writing class I took in high school. Enjoy)

“You see this?” Dr. Jackson asked, pointing at a highlighted area of the brain scan. “This is Broca’s area. It has a significant amount of damage to it.” “What does that mean for Sadie?” Jason asked. “It means she’ll have trouble producing words,” said Dr. Jackson. “She can think coherently, and her comprehension is overall intact, but there will be some struggle, so keep things simple for her.” Jason nodded, pushing himself away from the wall. “Okay, Sadie. Come on.” She pushed herself out of the chair she was in and scurried to Jason’s side. Jason grabbed a clipboard, paper, pencil, and tape recorder off the desk against the wall and led Sadie out of the med-bay and out in the hallway. He opened the door to what was now Sadie’s quarters and allowed her to walk in first. “There’s a lamp by the bedside for minimum light,” Jason explained. “We already put your clothes in the dresser.” Sadie switched on the lamp and hopped onto the bed, dangling her legs off the end. Jason closed the door and crossed the room to sit next to her.

Grass - from The Secret Portal Part One (Lexi POV)

I tried to sit on the grass to contemplate everything when I hit something hard. I cried out in pain and shot up, rubbing the now-sore spot—feeling awkward even though no one was around. I turned to see what I hit and jumped when I saw millions of colors shoot up from the ground. I looked around and watched the endless field disappear from view. I must’ve hit my head on the concrete. Yes, that made sense. A sudden panic of long-term injury caused me to reach up to touch my head. I didn’t feel any sign of injury, but that didn’t mean anything. Maybe I was hallucinating the lack of injury. My breath quickened as the colors around me grew bigger and more vibrant. I looked down at the ground and watched as the colors erased the grass. “Oh, shit!” The ground disappeared and I fell through a tunnel of millions of colors I never knew existed. Is this what it’s like to have more photoreceptors? Is this how shrimp see? I would’ve been in awe if I wasn't falling to my death. The air whipped around me—my braids disconnected where I’d tied them in the back, causing my looser hair to partially obstruct my vision. A bright light forced my eyes shut, the inside of my eyelids red. I felt warm and safe around it, but it was too bright for my taste.

Leg - from The Secret Portal Part One (Ash POV)

“Lexi relies too much on comfort. And once that comfort is broken, she will no longer be able to get comfortable again. And that scares her. Even her fear of touch. She’s afraid of not being comfortable.” I moved the ring back between my thumb and index finger. He was right. “Ash,” said Shelby. I glanced up. “I know you and Lexi are close, but you gotta remember that she’s not in charge of your friendships.” “I know she’s not!” I said harshly, accidentally dropping the ring on the floor. “Agh!” I grunted in frustration as I ducked below the table to get it. I sighed as I sat back, holding the ring in my lap. “Sorry. It’s just… Labor Day weekend… we usually spend it together.” “You still have tomorrow and Monday,” Mr. Jimenez pointed out as I stood to get back in my chair. “Yeah, but I think Lexi’s mad at me.” I pulled one leg up to the chair, leaning my elbow against my knee, gaze still on the ring.

Bottle - from The Secret Portal Part One (Lexi POV)

I collapsed into my seat in science class beside Jackson, who happened to be my stand partner in orchestra. “You good?” Jackson asked. “Yeah,” I muttered. “Gym. Thirteen laps.” Jackson winced. “Yeah, I hate it when Coach does that. Not all of us are athletes.” “My friend Gwen finished in no time, without losing her breath. Noelle and I meanwhile weren’t doing so hot.” I took a long swig from my water bottle. “Though Noelle’s waaay over a foot taller than me. So she finished earlier because her legs are so long.” Jackson bunched his brows. “I thought her name was Clarissa.” “It’s Carissa,” I corrected. Jackson’s face became more confused. “Long story,” I said as the bell rang. “Tell you later.”

Return - from The Secret Portal Part Two (Jedi POV)

Shuffling behind me caused me to turn to the kids again, who were all very slowly slinking out into the walkway, still huddled together, unsure of where to go, and not sure about what happened. Other passengers on the train became aware of the movement and became curious. The girl that made eye-contact with me by the restroom whispered something to another, then tentatively walked over to us. She stopped once she reached us, her shoulders turned inward, her hands clasped together. She shook where she stood, but managed to bow before she left to return with the others. Several minutes later, we reached the next stop. Xiang got their parents’ attention and they filed into the walkway. Xiang turned back to me. “Bye, Jedi.” “Bye, Xiang.” Xiang turned around to look at the Inutilia kids, still unsure at what to do. Xiang gestured for the kids to follow them. The kids looked back at the man, still unconscious, then back at Xiang. Slowly, the kids followed Xiang and their family off the train.

Last - from The Secret Portal Part One (Lexi POV)

“Do you know what Gwen, Rose, and Noelle’s last periods are?” Ash asked. “Gwen has science, Rose: art, and Noelle has… math,” I answered. “How do you know these things?” Ash asked as she rolled the sleeves up of her red flannel. “Like, you have everyone’s schedule memorized!” “Pfft, no I don’t.” I waved hello to Julian Austin as he ran by. “Really? What’s Julian’s fourth period?” Ash asked. I pushed open the door with my shoulder, pausing briefly to think. “Gym.” “See?” Ash pointed out. “What can I say? I’m observant,” I said as the exhaust from the buses caused my eyes to water.

Dream - from The Secret Portal Part Two (Maddie POV)

My alarm went off, causing me to jump and my head to pound. I squeezed the pillow around my ears, screaming at SORARA to turn it off. Once she did, I relaxed, releasing the pillow. In the sudden movement, I realized I’d dropped Wilfredo. I looked around for the amigurumi tiger and found him on the floor. I scooped him up and plopped back onto the pillow. That was a really weird dream I had last night. I was in an auditorium, and there was this guy dressed as Robin, as in “Batman and…,” but on his head was, like, a helmet of Steve’s face, as in, Steve from Minecraft. I went over to the guy and took the Steve head off of him, and he revealed himself to be Brycen Winslow. I wasn't super excited to see his face. We were friends in early elementary school, but then in fourth grade, he became a jerk. A bully, more like. Thankfully, he went to a different middle school, so I wouldn’t have to see his face again. Well, I did see his face again, in last night’s dream. That was annoying. In the dream, he smirked his stupid smirk and said, “Hello, Mads.” Mads. That stupid nickname. It was something only he called me, but now I hated it. Because of him. Ugh. Why did I have to see him last night?

Forgive - from The Secret Portal Part One (Lexi POV)

“Hey, Maddie.” We turned to Rose, who took a deep breath. “I’m sorry about earlier.” “What?” Maddie asked. “What did you do earlier?” “I yelled at you,” Rose said, not making eye contact. “And I pushed you. I shouldn’t have done that.” Maddie looked up at me for a second. I gave her a smile and a nod. She turned back to Rose. “I accept your apology,” she said. “And, um, I wanted you to know I didn’t mean to push you, either. I didn’t like how close you were to me, and I should’ve said you were too close and asked you to step away instead of pushing you. And I wasn't trying to argue when I said that you led us through a death portal. I was trying to make a joke, but I know I have poor timing with that. And I’m sorry for what I said. Especially when I said you didn’t care about Lexi. I dunno where that came from. Maybe it came from my shapeshifting powers.” “Or maybe you were just concerned for your sister,” Rose suggested. “Maybe,” said Maddie. “Oh, thanks,” I said, smiling. Maddie looked up and laughed when she saw my smile. “That’s not what I meant.” “I know.” “Oh!” Maddie turned to Rose. “And I’m sorry I pounced on you as a tiger. That entire thing actually.” “I forgive you,” Rose said, giving a small nod. I knew Rose well enough to know that she was smiling—it was clear in her eyes.

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generic-anime-boy-bracket · 18 days

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Round 2, Group B: Matchup 2

Kyon vs Makoto Naegi

Reasons for being generic + Propaganda below

Kyon

Reasons:

snarky high schooler with short brown hair and brown eyes. taken from the Haruhi wiki: “Kyon is the only member of the SOS Brigade who is "normal", having no special abilities at all.”

He’s a normal guy who’s in a club with god, an alien, an esper, and a time traveler. And he’s supposed to keep the peace. Also all the girls look completely different while he’s looking exactly like the only other guy in the club.

No propaganda for this character

Makoto Naegi

Plain appearance, only “normal” character, “talentless” (in DR, all characters are scored by talents, Makoto was scouted because he won a scholarship lottery), basic stock protagonist personality, somehow ends up as a beacon of hope and works to destroy despair (so stock anime protagonist arc)

In a cast full of crazy and unique characters this guy just kinda exists. Yes, he’s the protagonist but the other protagonists had more depth to them. He just kinda is there. Would’ve been murdered first if he wasn’t the main protagonist

#generic anime boy bracket #tumblr tournament #kyon #the melancholy of haruhi suzumiya #makoto naegi #danganronpa

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funky-demon2 · 8 months

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Alien/demon yuri let’s go baby’s

[there flirting dw]

#Dr esper #Dr Lilia #bio oc #yuri is real #lebsian #Green #alien #demon #oc art #spider #swirl #gays stay winning

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esper-union-lounge · 8 months

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Dislyte's Character Design Director, Ono Dizi: To Design a Well Recieved Character (2.2/3)

Original post:

A continuation of the character design process. Last time, we left off on the second step: How to build a character. Due to the length of the post, I had to cut the last step :Characterisation, out.

So, this part won't be a long read. There are more pictures in this one, due to the pic limit, I will be adding ones that are necessary for the text.

Part 2.1 here

((Note: I am not a professional translator.I will localise the essay a bit more in the future. ))

Characterisation

Secondary traits

Realistic reference

Secondary Traits- Traits to be seen in character’s behaviour.

In character writing, there are two types of traits, Primary trait and Secondary trait.

The general rule of law is: If a character’s Primary Trait (Prim.) is positive, the Secondary Trait (Sec.) must be the opposite. Vice versa. In the context of in-game characters, it boils down to maintaining the ratio between Prim. and Sec.

7:3 is the golden ratio; numbers can be scaled up or down depending on the character. It is best to keep the ratio imbalanced. This is to prevent the characterisation getting muddled and unclear.

This ‘Ratio Method’ has always been a tactic for writers like Marvel, in their characters. A few example of their writing model includes:

Iron Man = “Technological Genius” (Prim.) + “A Play Boy” (Sec.) Personality Ratio: 6 (Prim.) : 4 (Sec.)

Dr Strange= “Highly Skilled Super PhD.” (Prim.) + “Prideful & Sharp tongued”(Sec.) Personality Ratio: 7(Prim.) : 3 (Sec.)

Ancient One= “Humble & Courteous” (Prim.) + “Dark Powers” (Sec.) Personality Ratio: 8 (Prim.) : 2 (Sec.)

Thanos= “Merciless & Lusting for power” (Prim.) + “Undying Fatherly Love” (Sec.) Personality Ratio: 9 (Prim.) + 1 (Sec.)

Examples from Dislyte:

In Dislyte, the character Melanie is blessed by Medusa. According to Medusa’s myth, her appearance was of a monstrous female with a head full of snakes. Anyone who looks into her eyes will be petrified into stone.

In her myth, Medusa was beheaded by Perseus with the help of Athena and Hermes. Medusa’s head was served to Athena, and was inlaid onto her shield since.

Considering Melanie’s character, *I thought about Medusa’s life story. The moment it was turned upside down when she, a young gentle maiden, was turned into an strange, and an *omen of a monster.

Taking that exact moment of Medusa’s life; having her life changed so drastically, we have a character who retains a young maiden’s innocence, while also having mental breakdowns.

Thus, taking such mental state/ characterisation, and reflect it in Melanie’s character.

There are a lot of Espers who uses this ‘Ratio method’.

Triki’s design was set to be a Gambler (Prim.) as the Core Feeling in his brief. Yet, in his Expression sheet, we did not focus on his Prim., but focusing on the “Influential Street Hipster” as his Sec.

“Flamboyant Gambler” + “Street Hipster”= Triki (Loki)

Triki’s Personality Ratio: 9:1

Lin Xiao, her Core Feeling is: “Chinese martial boxer who, is also a reinforcer of justice.”

Whenever Lin Xiao performs Chinese boxing, she becomes highly focus on her craft. Being absolute and intricate in her form and movements, it clashes with her impatience and brashness in everyday life.

“Strong & Reliable martial artist” + “Impatient & Brash” = Lin Xiao (White Tiger)

Lin Xiao’s Personality Ratio: 6:4

Ashley, according to Norse mythology, Heimdall is the guardian of the Rainbow Bridge. Legend says he has golden teeth, and pure white skin. Hence, he is dubbed as the ‘White Aesir’; with keen senses.

For Ashley’s Sec., we decided to give her a more feminine touch, and a girlish heart. In contrast to her Prim, which is her cold and stern exterior, and unwavering sense of justice.

“Strict & Aloof” + “Gently girlish” = Ashley (Heimdall)

Ashley’s Personality Ratio: 8:2

And, many more…

Realistic Reference- Making solid characters

To writing a believable character, we must have extensive knowledge of the character’s background.

Character lore alone is not enough to solidify our characters. The believability lies within references from the real world. From, works of art, or in real life people.

An approach we took was to collect inspiration and references based on the characters’ drawn design, and look into the reference’s history and background. Be it from literature, movies, animation, or liberal studies, these sources reflects humanity and its raw sets of personalities.

An example:

Prim: Strong and tough, scary looking fellow.

Sec: Cute. Into cooking and nutrition.

For the character, Djoser, we referenced from Ma Dong-Seok.

According to Ancient Egyptian mythology, Atum was originally the sun god in the Heliopolis cult. In later times, when the worship of Ra became prominent, it subsequently replaced Atum’s original role, even merging the two gods to create a new god, Amun-Ra.

In Dislyte, the characters, Narmer and Djoser are in different syndicate camps. The Core Feeling for Narmer was along the lines of, “A young and refined Godfather.” While the latter is more aligned in the direction of Latin American Narcos.

We gave Djoser the characterisation of Ma Dong-Seok, scary-looking yet, delicate, because we don’t want to solely focus on the anger and resentment aspect of Atum’s lore. But, to show an optimistic side of the character as well.

Thus offering a contrast between Ra and Atum in the game.

Narmer’s character image.

Djoser’s character image.

We can propose samples of characterisation, and discuss them with our Copy Writers to see which real-life references are the closest to the proposed sample. Be it by matching life-experiences, or similar relationships.

It is important to note, for a game that has many characters, not all of them needs to have a detailed and complex characterisation. The level of depth is determined by resources, character rarity, and the role they play. Sometimes, less is more.

All and all, when designing a character:

Step 1.) Establish the Core Feeling for the character based on the setting.

Step 2.) Design the character; convey who, where, and what

Step 3.) Characterisation. Design a Secondary Trait and take reference from real life sources.

Step 4.) Through basic drawing skills and design experience, mass experimenting and producing character image until the design is satisfactory.

(To be continued…)

_____________________________________________

Translator’s note:

“I thought about Medusa’s life…” : Ono Dizi is responsible for designing Melanie.

“Omen” : The original word in the text means to describe something along the lines of ‘a bad mark/ symbol’. But, for lack of a better word, I used “omen” to suggest that the image of Medusa is a bad sign.

This part of the essay has to be the most I have did research into. There are a number of terms that I need to google them up to see what they are.

The concept of Primary and Secondary traits are hard to translate too. The original essay wasn’t very clear in explaining the concept. It took me a while to figure it out, and then interpret it into English. If anyone doesn’t understand, feel free to ask.

-Esper Union Lounge

#esper union lounge #dislyte #review report #translation #I worked so hard on this #y’all better nice

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regarding-stories · 2 months

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Inertia Itself: The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya

TL; DR: I'm gonna bash the series somewhat. (Sorry, folks.)

After it coming with a lot of praise and kept being recommended, the series itself didn't end up being what I expected, especially given the omission in Crunchyroll's synopsis blurb. I still watched it, and all the fan praise is... a bit over the top. (I'd say the movie deserves it, though.) Depending on your tastes and sensitivities, this can be a decent or good series. It has flaws - but it definitely is not just more of the same when compared to others.

This first part of the series aired in 2006, so you can expect spoilers.

The Setup

Initially we learn about a rather peculiar teenager named Haruhi who makes her entrance to high school by stating she's not interested in anyone who isn't an alien, a time traveler, or someone with PSI powers (also called ESPer after "extra-sensory perception").

Our actual protagonist-narrator, a regular guy we will soon know only by his nickname "Kyon," takes an interest in her and eventually befriends her. Little does he know that by doing so he unleashes a series of events that leads to Haruhi forming a club that does her bidding which she dubs the "SOS Brigade" which will look into the phenomena she's interested in.

The catch in the setup is that Haruhi is a being with god-like powers that is not aware of them. She can alter reality, but this happens unconsciously. It plays out mostly like a genie's wish: Whatever she wishes for has quite a bit of self-sabotage baked in. This is not apparent to her at all, and to some, I guess, the source of show's humor.

This leads to the following cast:

Haruhi Suzumiya: The universe centers around her, and she has the personality to match. She bosses others around to the point of bullying, becomes pouty and stubborn like a five-year-old when she doesn't get her way, and is often quite unreasonable. She's also a big tsundere which has a hidden crush on Kyon which she'd never admit, so she instead she treats him like a doormat. Her inner life is never revealed to us, except when others comment on how regular reality is after all, hinting that Haruhi's eccentricity is mostly on the surface. Beyond being a tsundere she's also a genki girl, being very lively, animated, and has endless motivation and stamina when it comes to put her plans to fruition. She's also kind to kids if not her friends.

Kyon: The everyman. Kyon is cynic and sarcastic, but almost never opposes Haruhi openly, instead playing an inner voice narrator commenting on everything. Most of the time he's a passive character, resenting being pushed around, but if put on the spot, he'd be forced to admit that he would never truly opt out. The show never makes it clear whether Kyon has some romantic attraction to Haruhi, even though at least Koizumi comments about it regularly. If he has, he's so put off by her antics that it never gets to surface throughout the run of the series.

Yuki Nagato: The resident alien, sent out by a near-omnipotent AI-like entity. As such, she's basically a robot, can conjure nano-machines, and whisper formulas that alter reality. Yuki is a "cold" character with no emotional response, and her supposed motivation is "to be an observer" because Haruhi seems to be an original factor that actually originates new things (which also suggests the universe would be kinda boring without her). Yuki is also the story's source of magic solutions to problems Haruhi causes and can be relied on to provide exposition when needed. And... she was recruited to the brigade to get Haruhi the former literature club's room.

Mikuru Asahina: A time traveler, and recruited to the brigade mostly to have a hot member. Investigates why no past exists before Haruhi entered middle school, but frankly, she really does nothing of her own through almost the entire series. Haruhi does whatever she wants to Mikuru, including dressing her in various embarrassing ways as the brigade's mascot, and in general Mikuru mostly sobs and goes along. Kyon also has a crush on her.

Itsuki Koizumi: This one is the PSI guy. He cannot do anything, however, except when a particular sort of crisis ensues: Apparently Haruhi's mood swings create destructive "closed spaces" in which giants start to destroy the world. The organization Koizumi is part of fears that if they are left to grow this would destroy the world, so he is the one pushing the most for keeping Haruhi in the dark about her own effect on the world and her powers, reiterating many times how he likes the world as is. Koizumi gets roped into the brigade because he's an exchange student and there must be something up with that, according to Haruhi, which she promptly forgets afterward. Koizumi's personality is rather manipulative and he can't drop it, and I can readily understand why Kyon is not especially keen on him.

But that's just the cast and their motivations, if any. What really matters is...

The Dynamic

What keeps the show going are the manifestations of Haruhi's powers based on her conscious and unconscious desires and the pushback from the other brigade members to keep those in check and preserve reality.

The roles in this are clear:

Koizumi will provide the rationale and some of the exposition, always arguing for preserving the status quo. (And also manipulate others.)

Mikuru will be comic relief and part of Kyon's motivation to get involved.

Nagato will provide solutions when the group cannot solve problems with regular means. She'll also at times provide information dumps, but mostly say very little.

Kyon will provide a reaction to it all, his narration provides an ironic take on the events, but his involvement will be crucial in driving the plot - where there is a non-magical solution, it will fall on Kyon to derive it and put it in place.

What I personally dislike about the show is this dynamic because it's focused on keeping things in place and preventing change. This is embodied especially in Koizumi, whose manipulations often leave a bitter aftertaste (and then he laughes them off).

But it's also present in Kyon's character. He will disagree internally with Haruhi but go along like a doormat. This then builds until a resolution of sorts or until one of the few instances where Kyon actually loses his shit after things have gone way too far and he's complicit in it for doing nothing and saying nothing. Most of Kyon's interactions with the world are internally, and whenever he's called to action, he often acts very late and when it's clear that nothing else will do.

Taken from another but similar angle, a lot of the story is about denying Haruhi satisfaction, and watching Kyon being basically an unhappy character who cannot enjoy things for what they are by constantly judging people around him. At least Haruhi tries to do things. Koizumi especially wants to prevent things, and Kyon mostly lacks impulses of his own.

Without Haruhi, Kyon would have fewer friends and lead a boring, ordinary life. With Haruhi, Kyon gripes about the hassle of having more than an ordinary life. What is his aspiration in life? Would he ever do anything?

Endless Eight

There's a special punishment hidden in this show, its absolute low point. A series of episodes titled "Endless Eight I - VIII". It reminds me of a quote by Douglas Adams: It is by eating sandwiches in pubs on Saturday lunchtimes that the British seek to atone for whatever their national sins have been. They're not altogether clear what those sins are, and don't want to know either. Sins are not the sort of things one wants to know about. But whatever their sins are they are amply atoned for by the sandwiches they make themselves eat. If there is anything worse than the sandwiches, it is the sausages which sit next to them. [...] The sausages are for the ones who know what their sins are and wish to atone for something specific.

(From "So Long, And Thanks For All The Fish".)

Leaving aside that the British should know what their national sins are, this encapsulates how I feel about having watched these eight episodes. It must have been some sort of atonement. Because they suck worse than the sausages.

"Endless Eight" itself is your garden variety time loop triggered by Haruhi's unconscious wish to have a never-ending summer break that she enjoys to her fullest. So they end up going through Haruhi's list of summer activities, only they end up doing it over and over again. The show suggests that the they do this more than 16,000 times and well over 300 years in total (repeating the same two weeks of August).

The characters react to this situation according to their dynamic:

Nagato actually knows but as an observer, she does nothing.

Mikuru notices the absence of a future beyond the end of August, but only falls apart, triggering a higher level of involvement by Kyon.

Koizumi drops exposition but does nothing to change the situation itself, except dragging Kyon into it and suggesting that if Kyon simply played the part of Haruhi's boyfriend, the situation would resolve (= he manipulates him).

Kyon does nothing with the information given to him and hesitates except for the one time he breaks the loop.

Frankly, seeing the group being dragged through this summer break makes me sorry for Haruhi for a change. She strives hard to make a fun summer in her bossy way, and everybody else looks like they've been run ragged. What would the summer have been like without her? Kyon on his couch, watching boring baseball games?

Endless Eight, ignoring the execution for now, itself exposes some depth in regards how it sees the situation. It plays with the concept of lucidity and a certain kind of probabilistic determinism. The characters will react to similar stimuli within a given range of variation, meaning the situation repeats almost entirely the same in the end. The only thing that can break such a situation is lucidity, and this lucidity is highlighted by slow motion moments in Kyon's awareness. In all other moments, everybody is sleepwalking through the same motions of their lives.

This view of human consciousness may be, depending how you see it, somewhat realistic and/or depressing, but there's nothing wrong with it - and it's one of the most compelling points the show puts forward in its run. However, the how is... horrible.

You see, the show repeats the same episode eight times with no real variation in plot - except for episode I and VIII. (Because August is the 8th month and an 8 laid flat is infinite and... pure lack of imagination.) Given the length of an anime episode this means you sit through about 160 minutes of repetition. The show does no montage of the events, it repeats the same key bits out. It basically makes you live, yourself, through part of the time loop in probably the least imaginative way - or at least the least narratively artful.

Now, while the story is roughly told identically beat by beat eight times, it is animated differently eight times. Camera perspectives change, meaning they each had to be animated individually. Same for the voice acting, lots of minor variation. (So they all did their job, I guess.) The eight realities subtly differ - what clothes everybody wears. Unimportant choices they make. Like what popsicle to get or what mask to buy on a Bon festival. Many people in the comments expressed their appreciation of the love of detail.

There's something wrong with these people. What they're saying is that they don't mind being served up the same story eight times if only the trappings change slightly. I guess this got us Episode VII of Star Wars...

To spoil it further: This run of episodes is a trap. There are no real hints to the resolution. You start seeing patterns where there are none. I even thought for a short while that the iterations might be counting backwards. They are not. And while this might get you to ask some questions, it's a really horrible, in-your-face, unskilled way of doing so. And in that it's the low point of the show.

The resolution is to make summer end by doing homework together. Does this somehow imprint the end of summer on Haruhi's brain? Does this mean she gets to spend more time with her friends on their instigation? Does it mean she was secretly hiding she didn't do her homework after all?

Whatever. The lame ending would have been excusable if they hadn't set the bar so high by walking us through an overlong movie version of this. This is the kind of stuff people walk out of a cinema for.

What makes up for it

Now, the way I describe Haruhi and Koizumi suggests I don't like them very much, but especially in case of Haruhi that's not true - not to the extent it might seem. She has definite character flaws, and they're probably quite intentional - but Haruhi, unlike other characters (looking at you, Koizumi) gets things going. And her inner motivation is relatable. Have we not all looked at the world at some point and thought "What if this place was less mundane and boring?" If not - why watch anime?

Nothing makes this more clear than the follow-up movie "The Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya"!

This movie does its characters and premise more justice than the series did. Kyon ends up in an alternate reality/timeline where Haruhi isn't in his class, there's no SOS Brigade, and his friends are not his friends. And he doesn't like it one bit!

In a late twist reminiscent of Data from "Star Trek: TNG" we see a reality where Yuki Nagato is not a near-ominiscient robot, but a shy and adorable girl. Kyon fights to get his reality back. Mikuru, even though it's her future self, actually does something effective. Koizumi still is dragging things down, but can be tolerated. And Haruhi isn't actually gone after all.

The story has heart, and it contains some cruel choices. It lets us also sit through some parallel world "nobody shares my memory" shenanigans, but not for so long that you inwardly opt out. It's well-paced, and it's focused on moving things forward - even if forward means "back to the future." But I can't help but feel that Kyon has changed inwardly in response, realizing at long last that what a world without Haruhi actually means.

And that's just brilliant. It has a bit of heartbreak, it has tension and suspense, it has making choices. By taking the dynamic of the original and inverting it in parts, I actually like it a lot. (I still doubt I would rewatch the series, though.)

To be fair, the anime makers may have drawn out the original material - a lot. The movie is essentially one volume of the series, and that works. But the original 24 episode series (plus bonus material) just encompasses 3 and a half volumes, and that seems awfully little. (The manga adaptation apparently sliced the salami quite differently.)

Anyway, you might find something for yourself in this series. It has had a certain staying power and a fanbase, and not many shows would manage to still be talked about ten years after their reissue. The art is... nothing to write home about, but the premise is unique enough to be worth your time once.

Just skip Endless Eight II to VII... Unless you have a yukata/swimsuit fetish.

#the melancholy of haruhi suzumiya #anime series #high school anime #the disappearance of haruhi suzumiya #endless eight

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