Riuva : Research Institute for Unicultural Visual Arts

On the 3rd of April, 2006, a pilot episode the likes of which have not been seen in anime in recent memory (nor was ever seen again since) aired for a new series debuting in the Fall 2006 season. Shot in a 4:3 ratio at a time when the 16:9 ratio has already become the standard, featuring suspiciously grainy footage and wonky camera direction that hardly seemed on first sight to be on par with the standards of most other anime series at the time, the episode content revolved around an equally dubious plotline about a battle waitress arriving from the future to attempt to save (and failing miserably every time) a boy with latent esper powers from the clutches of an evil alien witch. This very pilot episode was titled The Adventures of Mikuru Asahina Episode 00, and the utterly zany premise of what turned out to be a badly-edited student movie by the group of people we would soon come to know as the SOS Brigade was but the precursor to the insanely brilliant cult hit of 2006, The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya.

3 years onwards, the 2009 reairing brings us the third in a set of new story arcs after Bamboo Leaf Rhapsody and the Endless Eight arc. This third arc, following the events in the second novel The Sighs of Haruhi Suzumiya, details the process by which that zany amateur student movie was made. It’s been long enough, but now we’ll get to see the real story behind such mysteries in the movie, like Yuki’s epic ventriloquism, the highly destructive Mikuru Beam, and the unusually fancy special effects of Itsuki. This is the story behind the start of the craze.

Suzumiya Haruhi no Yuutsu (2009), Episode 20: Suzumiya Haruhi no Tameiki I.

This actually reminds me of….my own experiences as a student. Right down to the funeral atmosphere of the classroom, whenever the class had to plan an event of this sort. It’s kinda sad, really. Now excuse me while I go make myself taller.

Oh, hell no Haruhi, anything but that please. The last time you said anything like that….well, suffice to say that it was hardly only once….

I wonder if a dojikko meido can be found as part of the standard lineup of a maid cafe. And if not, would it be a good idea for maid cafes to include one in their retinue in the future?

And in typical Haruhi fashion, the SOS Brigade’s agenda for the cultural festival is decided in short order by an unanimous vote of 1; a movie to be produced and directed in-house by the Ultra-Director Suzumiya Haruhi! In a way, I kind of think someone like Haruhi might be good for the kind of lethargic, life-weary youth that are all too commonly found right here….wait, I just described me as well. orz

I wonder what kind of measures they have for treating Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder in the future Mikuru comes from. Is it anything like what we have now, or have they managed to make a pill that makes it go away just like that? In any case, poor Mikuru definitely needs whatever she can get.

Which girl promises the more lucrative friendship, Haruhi or Mugi-chan? On the one hand, Mugi-chan’s oujosama background pretty much guarantees any level of riches from rich desserts to Gibson Les Pauls, although they do not always come completely free. On the other hand, Haruhi seemingly doesn’t even need to deal with money as long as she’s got Mikuru-chan; that’s just how stratospheric her INT and CHA stat is. At this rate, even though what freebies she’s gotten so far aren’t all that expensive, there’s no telling how high Haruhi could shoot for if she put her mind to it…..hmmm, tough call, tough call.

Kyon’s information is a little outdated; with the troubles going on in today’s world, it might be true that dynamite would not be available in online retail these days if ever there was, but at the same time it’s probably not that hard to find a suitable substitute for her needs. Hell, she could probably work wonders with a bit of ammonium nitrate if she put her mind to it….and I probably should shut up now, lest she gets ideas.

In any case, this concludes the first part of the Sighs storyline, with more still to come. How is the shooting of the movie going to pan out, and what craziness will Haruhi cook up in the time between the Endless Summer and Live Alive?

Ascaloth, out.