The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya

They announced a new version of Haruhi Suzumiya in 2009. We had already known how it would turn out, i.e., that half of the anime series broadcast would be made up of the old episodes from 2006, with the rest being some new episodes inserted in between them. Despite that, there were still a fair number of reviewers in the Anime Crazy community who were shocked by that. They commented about the first episode in the vein of "I have already seen this before.". However, other fans, the die-hard aficionados, initially compared the episodes and gave credit that they found only some minor differences. The old episodes are not exactly the same as those broadcast on TV in 2006. They are episodes from the DVD edition with slightly modified visuals and occasionally edited dialogues. The DVD edition was an attraction the real Suzumiyans could not pass up. I did not really enjoy it that much; the first part just reinforced my opinion that I was right about everything when I watched the 2006 version, which was a bit jumbled up recently, and I found it all really entertaining. Then the Bamboo Leaf Rhapsody story came along, and everything started getting better. Even the more disgruntled viewers were suddenly excited that Haruhi Suzumiya was back; some came back to the show because they had simply skipped and ignored some of the original episodes (as many sites do nowadays, including IMDb). Many were saying that this version was what they had been waiting for. Only another minor rerun came into the mix, and finally, the Endless Eight dropped. There was another three-ring circus because many reviewers simply could not give a damn! They were upset that they had waited a whole week for the next episode, and it was "doing the same things over and over," and then they did the same a week later. The enthusiastic Suzumiyans were in their element again, listing all the differences and minimal changes that had occurred. Personally, I was royally entertained by it all. Endless Eight was again something new and amusing, and I found the reactions around it even funnier. However, I was captivated by the concept of it all. Things finally calmed down with the last new arc, which has won over the majority of the detractors. The biggest detractors pretended that Endless Eight had not actually happened, and the last of the old episodes disappeared decently again. In conclusion, it was an experience I do not think I have ever had before, and I still remember it to this day. The fact that I really did not mind the old episodes and I enjoyed the new ones, including the much-maligned "Endless Eight," also kept me entertained, and I maintain this complete Haruhi Suzumiya anime series holds a strong 8/10 today, well, and the final movie finally brought everything to complete satisfaction. (12/11/2021)