According to Sankaku Complex

Tatsuya Ishihara, director of Haruhi, has hinted that if a Haruhi movie were to be made the Endless Eight arc is a definite possibility.

“There are a lot of episodes from the novels which have not been animated. We’d love to hear which of those you would like to make into a movie.”

Ishihara: “Endless Eight… Can’t we do that again, adding some new extras, try some film tricks out? Or is it too much? ”

The interviews questions were, thankfully, completely hypothetical.

As one of the few people on the internet who isn’t in a blind rage at Kyoto Animation for running six “Endless Eight” episodes, episodes which bring the “time loop” science fiction trope to a new extreme, I can understand why there is such frustration since  I also want the story to move on as well and explore more of the Haruhi story. But I also think that the stretching out of Endless Eight  is a sign that we will have more Haruhi much sooner than distance between seasons 1 and 2.

Yamamoto-San admits to being part of the creation of the Endless Eight episodes but agrees that the arc should have been limited to two episodes. I think three would have been the sweet spot to hit… but I’m not a famous animation direction so what say to *I* have in the matter.

I have to give Yamamoto-San some credit for standing up and saying that the direction of the show is wrong but at the same time I’m a little reluctant to celebrate his bluntness because he no longer works for Kyoto Animation and has no impact on how Haruhi was produced. It feels like he is slapping Kyoto in the face by suggesting he could have done a better job.

Anyway, enjoy the video after the jump.

Source: Japanator

I think this trailer has been terribly miscast. Haruhi should be Neo. As a living God able to alter reality at will she is the only character in the anime that can be compared to Neo who is an “Admin” in the Matrix’s digital world. But other than that small complaint this fan trailer is very well made and syncs up well to the original 1999 movie trailer.

The second episode of Haruhi season 2 aired today and with it we get the new opening. The first new episode, Bambo Leaf Rhapsody, was aired without any opening but with the new closing credits. The song is preformed by Haruhi’s Seiyuu Aya Hirano and is called “Super Driver.” Enjoy!

Source: Anime Vice

Around the Internet I’ve been hearing a lot of backlash against the way Haruhi season 2 is being released. While I agree that it is a tease to force the very demanding, very loyal fan base to wait while the original episodes are being aired before they deliver the bulk of the new episodes I think it is better to look at this situation from the point of view of the writers and directors of the series. It’s not all about ratings or viral marketing and it’s easy for the audience to claim those factors for the prolonged roll out of the new season. But Kyoto Animations has the best interest of the content and the audience in mind.

As an anime fan it has been painful to watch good shows turn bad because the original source material doesn’t provide a good stopping place to wrap the series up. Fantastic shows like Claymore and Black Cat were ruined by an attempt to bring the series to a close due to time constraints. The new endings the writers of the anime came up with destroyed those series. Black Cat followed the manga, not exactly but fairly closely, up till about episode eighteen. After that point the writers needed a place to stop the series so a new arc was created in the style of Black Cat in order to give the show a satisfying climax. But it wasn’t satisfying. It was poorly written and felt like a step below the first half of the series in all respects. The plot felt rushed, the characters felt out of place, and it broke away from the themes and overarching story of the pervious eighteen episodes.

Claymore was even more extreme. The writers of the anime followed the Manga up to the very end. Then they inserted a final battle that did not resembled the previous fights in the show to give the anime one last big battle before the ending. The terrible endings of those shows inspired me to read the manga and I am enjoying both of them much more than what the adapted version offered because unlike the anime version they didn’t have to worry about the larger budget and bigger audience required to keep a television show running. Manga and novels aren’t limited to a set number of episodes in order to fill a season long block of time. The demands of television are not always good for creativity.

The other anime writing blunder I want to compare the new season of Haruhi to is the start of Season 2 of Code Geass. Looking forward to the anime I just wanted it to pick up at the cliffhanger it left off on. But that isn’t what happened. Season 1 ended, this is a minor spoiler, with the final battle as a loss for the black knights and Lalouch’s sister captured by an unknown woman. Season 2 opened with Lelouch back at school with a new younger brother. The reason for this stark difference is that they wanted to reboot the series for any potential new audience members who didn’t watch the first season. They had to reintroduce the premise, reintroduce the characters, and explain how the everything got to this point before they could resolve the hanging thread. Meanwhile, the audience who just wanted to see the story that stopped at season 1 were weighted down with unnecessary bloat. The series suffered because of this artificial need to rehash the premise.

I believe what Kyoto is trying to do is avoid pulling a blunder like Claymore, Black Cat and Code Geass. They are working the new episodes into the old ones and placing them in the proper chronological order. There is no rewriting to put them at the end of season one. There is no need to include footnotes with the second season DVD explaining to ignorant fans about the correct order the show needs to be watched. Replaying the original season after three years will allow a new audience to watch the show and enjoy it without sacrificing any time in the second season for reintroducing the characters, premise, or recapping the events that happened up to that point. In truth what they have done is, in a way, revolutionary. Haruhi is the first series that I know of which has put the content before the rules of television.

The original run of Haruhi also broke a few of these rules. The original run was fourteen episodes long. As a midseason show it should have conformed to the standard 12-13 episode limit. The show was played out of order with an extremely odd first episode that didn’t introduce any characters or the premise. In fact most people who stopped watching Haruhi stopped at the first episode. But even with all the risks that Kyoto took with Haruhi it was still successful. Proof that content will always triumph over form. It doesn’t matter how long or short a series is or how the story is presented. If the story is good the show will find an audience. If it remains good the audience will always come back.

So I beg you. I’m pleading with you Haruhi fans out there who are bitter with Kyoto Animation for how they are handling your precious show. It is in good hands. All they are asking for is a little patience.

Do we really need more excuses to look at pictures of the adorable girls from K-On!? How about K-On girls dressed as other cute anime heroines? Well I shall grant your wish! These entertaining pictures feature Yui Hirasawa, Mio Akiyama, and the new character Azusa Nakano dressed up as various famous cahracter from Anime. Click the jump for all the images. Enjoy!

Azusa Nakano as Alicia from Valkyria Chronicles

Yui Hirasawa as Haruhi Suzumiya

Yui Hirasawa as Nagato from Haruhi Suzumiya

Mio Akiyama as Yoko Littner from Gurren Lagann

Thanks to Sankaku Complex for the images. Source 1, Source 2, Source 3, Source 4

Sankaku Complex posted a great fan made mash up of the opening to The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya recreated with Lucky Star characters! The two shows have always had close ties including the classic Konata as Haruhi cosplay scene. The opening is a flawless match-up and the animation is very impressive for a fan made video.

The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya Season 2 has aired! I plan to post pictures later (not that every other blog on the net hasn’t beat me to it) from the new episode along with my first reactions. But for now enjoy the new non-Hare Hare Yukai ending.