Ah, you’ll have to pardon me for that rather spectacular display of smoke and mirrors. You can probably guess all the tricks yourself.

But, after skimming through the AnimeSuki thread I felt like I had to try to scream louder than the most enraged voices there, just to be heard. And so I decided to do something extreme, like fake-destroying my Haruhi DVDs and then hiding the link to my real post right at the end.

Well, I guess, this is ‘curiosity’. Pushing the boundaries to see what would happen, to see whether people will see the face of this post or the last one. Certainly, ‘curiosity’ is something not unknown to Kadokawa or KyoAni.

Maybe it’s not known as ‘curiosity’. ‘Guts’, maybe. ‘Trolling’, for those quicker to spout meme-words. Probably the closest is ‘insanity’.

Not insane like writhing-around, nonsense-talking insane, but the good kind of insane. You know that grin on Lelouch or Light’s face whenever they hatch some master plan? That’s the kind of grin the people behind Haruhi have got right now.

And it’s certainly an expression that’s not unknown to me, for following the rise – and possibly fall – of the second season of Haruhi Suzumiya has been one of the most interesting anime-watching experiences I’ve had in a while.

Probably if I were to chart the hype, Haruhi has been rather bipolar; the momentum it had leading up to the start of the second season was massive. Naturally, right? It had been years since the last episode, and at every new chance for a new episode (whether it be the “Haruhi Returns” issue of Newtype or whatever) the fans jumped.

Some jumped off the ship, disgusted with how the series was being handled. But still, others jumped for joy, waiting for that one moment God would return to them.

And then the series aired, and the world exploded! A stealthy airing, almost without notice, unheard of in the anime industry, and it was Haruhi Suzumiya, no less! It was incredible. Morale was at an all-time high.

But that motivation slipped. The first few episodes, while fairly classic Haruhi, weren’t able to stir up the same emotion. Maybe the hype for Haruhi had outstripped the show. But at least among the otakusphere, reaction to Haruhi slipped.

It went from being mythical, God-like, to being something that was merely ordinary. One of the mortals. It was a good show to watch but it wasn’t the second coming.

It’s the kind of hope-crushing that is very reminiscent of long-distance love. After a first shot from Cupid, one builds up all these fantastic expectations, their perfect image of the person in question. The Second Season of Haruhi was mythified, fantasized about, so on so forth.

And then it aired, and the viewers and their goddess were reunited, and it seemed … well, ordinary. Certainly nothing could live up to those expectations. It became less and less to talk about – it was not horrid but it was not spectacular. Married life, maybe.

But then came Endless Eight, and Endless Eight, and Endless Eight, and Endless Eight, and now staring down the maw of a fifth iteration (still nothing compared to Nagato’s tribulations) the fandom has roared to life again … with rage.

It’s an intriguingly similar situation. Fans are waiting for new content. KyoAni and Kadokawa tempt them, but ultimately yank the bait away, leaving fans high and dry. As a result, fans get enraged. They threaten to leave the bandwagon. Some of them do.

Familiar, isn’t it? It’s almost back to square one for the second season.

But it makes one wonder what is KyoAni and Kadokawa’s goal in this seemingly excessive iteration of Endless Eight. Is it a test of will? A good-natured challenge from God (so to speak) to weed out all but Her most devoted followers, whose loyalty shall be rewarded by the bounty of blushing Nagato? It seems a bit too unrealistic.

Maybe the worst-case scenario is true. KyoAni and Kadokawa are just money whores. They want nothing more than to wring dollars out of the fanbase by producing moe-a-minute anime such as K-ON or the Key series, and they know they have to put no effort in to make Haruhi a hit. Again, a bit apocalpytic and extremist.

To some disillusioned people, possible; I don’t have the magic equations that will allow me to solve for the amount of people who leave the Haruhi train each episode, versus the amount of dollars profited per rehashed episode off of more fanatic followers. I doubt it’s a working business model though, or else we’d be on our 20th season of [insert popular cash-in anime here, whichever one you hate - that isn't the point here] by now.

But two conclusions grows ever more and more apparent, as a grin spreads across my face as I know I’m in for something big. It’s that same expression that you can picture Diethard making; a little bit crazy, a little bit fanatic, completely lost in the moment. It’s that expression that I know I’ll die as a result of one day – metaphorically, I must say – that insanity that will burn you out but will give one hell of a ride.

That ‘insanity’ is something that I hope KyoAni’s captured in their telling of the second season of Haruhi Suzumiya.

Just maybe, KyoAni is really trying to break us. To push us right to our limit. I title the post ‘Haruhi Requiem’ entirely intentionally.

You may recall my gushing praise for the final Zero Requiem arc of Code Geass; before those final episodes, there was little but a mess of narrative and increasingly convulsing plot twists, but afterwards, those final few straws that Lelouch placed on the camel’s back, seemed to only work genius. It was beautifully simple in the end.

What do you do when you’ve accumulated too much hate, or too much hype, for your own good? You take it all in, instead of trying to push it away, you draw it into yourself, faster and faster. You become the hatred, the symbol of all that is bad.

And then you sink that hatred with yourself, take the fall and bring down the darkness with you. It’s closing the curtain on the chapter and raising a bright future as a result. Phoenix from the ashes.

And just maybe, that’s KyoAni’s plan to defeat the hype.

After all, KyoAni knew – everyone knew – that it was near impossible to match Haruhi’s hype. No matter how much quality, how much animation they brought out – and maybe they didn’t bring their A-game at the start anyway – it wouldn’t be enough for many people, to match that image of Haruhi that shone since 2006.

For me, I was one of them. The first two episodes did not click at all.

And so, KyoAni flooded the Haruhi ship. They opened the gates and started pumping water on with Endless Eight after Endless Eight. Some fans will bail, others will flounder, trapped by the pull of the series. The situation gets worse and worse as the people get more and more discontent, until …

There’s that inner tube on a rope that KyoAni throws you. The last hope to save you from death and despair.

The Dissapearance of Haruhi Suzumiya.

It’s an easy theory, one that I’ve seen work before my very eyes one too many times. When prefaced with rubbish, even ordinary material shines. Where a childhood friend would struggle to match up in any harem show, drop her in a gambling anime like Kaiji and suddenly she’s a bombshell.

It’s the same with Code Geass above. After the Thought Elevator and all that nonsense, such a simple, straightforward concept as Zero Requiem almost brings me to tears.

I can’t count how many anime I’ve started and thought were absolute trash, but warmed up to in a matter of episodes. Some of these would go on to become some of my all-time favorites.

H2O ~footprints in the sand~. One of the most painful starts that I’ve seen in a harem game, with gratuitous fanservice, little to no plot, and Yui. But the twisted, perhaps traditional visual-novel plot that unfolded after, solid on its own if not full of holes … sheer genius by comparison. And so I have a good taste in my mouth whenever I think of H2O.

It’s all about lowered expectations.

Perhaps the other thing that Haruhi’s Endless Eight might share with H2O is that it’s been shown that KyoAni is at least not afraid to push the envelope, directing-wise. Or rather, maybe they’re pushing the envelope while they still can.

H2O pulled off some tricks that I’ve not seen the likes of since, with an epically broken harem lead near the end, some serious pathos, and the most crack-inducing dream episode I’ve seen … which still ended sweetly.

Similarly, Haruhi is showing it has the guts, the lack of sanity, to pile the same episode on five, six, maybe more times, with only minor changes. The content is mediocre but the concept is incredible. And in a timeloop situation, it’s hard to even call it cheap, as every time through, there’s that search for the key, that one change, the way out.

Maybe the Endless Eight saga, just by itself, is not the greatest thing to watch, but to consider the nerve of KyoAni to pull this off while the fandom (and perhaps the sponsors) anguish in the background, EXPERIENCING the emotion of watching Haruhi live is simply incredible.

Remember School Days, how watching it was one thing, but watching it while seeing people alternatively defend Makoto and beckon for his blood was another? That’s what we’re doing again. Except the people on the stake are KyoAni and Kadokawa.

The difference here is that, one cannot help but picture the two of them sitting in a leather armchair somewhere, stroking their white cat named Mr. Kittens and chuckling to themselves. I feel like I’m getting played, but in reality I want nothing more than to go along for the ride, to finally observe the workings of a studio almost as insane as I am, noting what might be another piece in the legendary, reality-breaking history of Haruhi Suzumiya.

-CCY