Screencaps of the Condescension of Haruhi Suzumiya, miscelleanous notes (on Kyon’s bridge crew, i-go, CG ship designs) and the awesomeness of Yuki Nagato. The HQ raw was absolutely worth the wait.
I love this particular look from Haruhi.
Yessiree I do. Stop looking at me like that. -_-;
Common sense 4tw but you still lose to Rock, Kyon.
This was a great scene, especially the transition from the holo-comm screen to face-to-face. One of the most obvious cases of Haruhi seeming to read Kyon’s thoughts. Actually the explanation that I’m leaning towards currently is much more mundane - Kyon sometimes inadvertedly speaks his thoughts out loud. We’ve all done it sometimes. Mundane, boring explanation I know…
Megalomania 4TW!
No threesome with me and Mikuru for you tonight, Kyon.
Click to enlarge. Kyon’s bridge crew is shown and
it looks like it’s like Yuki’s i.e. clones of himself.
Memories of Hikaru no Go. I thought it was pretty strange how Kyon and Itsuki was fighting for the centre straight away as most games start with the corner. Is black (Itsuki) having the advantage - even after Kyon’s ko? I’m still unable to beat the igowin computer AI under two stones advantage though. T_T
Really interesting design that recalls revolvers. Though one thing that really spoke to me was how the textures and shape, especially of Haruhi’s flagship, reminds me a lot of Babylon 5 - the station itself and the textures of the Earth Alliance warships in the show.
On to the meat of this post - Yuki! First - has she gotten more lolicious in this episode?
I was hugely amused at how interested Yuki was in the game and that interest was communicated very subtly in contrast to the in-your-face ways of (loud) Haruhi or (whimpery) Mikuru.
LOL!
And to track Yuki’s gradual yet phenomonal improvement in typing speed:
Day One: Yuki One Finger Typing no jutsu.
Day Two: Yuki Two Finger Typing no jutsu.
Day Three: Yuki Two Finger Typing Slightly Faster no jutsu.
Day Four: Yuki Normal Typing no jutsu.
Day Five: Step aside, Revy! Yuki “Two Hand” Nagato no jutsu!
Before and after the Yuki effect.
My rating of Yuki has gone through the roof - huge bonus marks for dexterous fingers (and short nails). Also hilarous how she was vibrating in her seat from the force of her typing. I wonder how she’d compare against the hundred fingered bots from GITS?
Just once, I wanted to see myself reflected in your eyes.
You do indeed. Yuki is WIN. For great justice.
The Moélancholy of Yuki Nagato.
Another great episode for Yuki fans. It was so cute to see her actually interested in something else other than books. Also pretty amazing how she dutifully obeys Kyon’s instruction not to cheat and seeks his approval to implement her hack of the game as well as to visit the Computer Research Club. I think her reason would be that Kyon has been chosen by Haruhi and it is safer to interact with him rather than Haruhi whom she is only supposed to observe. What’s more difficult for me to explain is why Haruhi didn’t try to interfere or kick up a fuss as he is obviously usurping her authority (also for the Lone Island locked door incident). It seems that whenever Kyon seriously puts his foot down, Haruhi just rolls over and folds! To resolve this apparent lack of Godly arrogance in Haruhi, perhaps Itsuki is right that both of them have a strong faith in each other so it’s not a question of zero sum contest or power struggle but a cooperative relationship of trust.
http://hontouni.com/handofgory/images/haruhi/haruhi11_03a.jpg
Ah, so those are Kyon’s brigade crew that I didn’t see. Thx for showing the screenshot.
It seems that whenever Kyon seriously puts his foot down, Haruhi just rolls over and folds!
I suddenly get a really comical imagery of Haruhi rolling over like Tenma in School Rumble
That doesn’t look like Go to me. It’s most likely the 5-in-a-row game, which is played on Go boards most of the time.
Originally posted by Zyl:
“Memories of Hikaru no Go. I thought it was pretty strange how Kyon and Itsuki was fighting for the centre straight away as most games start with the corner. Is black (Itsuki) having the advantage - even after Kyon’s ko? I’m still unable to beat the igowin computer AI under two stones advantage though. T_T”
____ ____
Since it was not mentioned in the novel, it is up for speculation. Most of the general consensus on the AnimeSuki Forums is that they were not playing ‘Go’, but ‘Connect 5′ instead.
~~~~ ~~~~
As a Yuki fan since the very beginning, I heartily endorse this episode. :D Ehehehe, I watched the raw, read the translation, got more insights from episodic summaries and forums, and even though they might be speaking Zulu for all I know in the raw, I am still giddy from fanboyism.
This is more or less a faithful adaptation from the original novel, with some minor details left out; like how they only mentioned one of the two cheats that the CSociety were using, and a difference in how they eliminated the Leader Fleet.
In the novel, the CSociety were also using instant teleportation cheats( otherwise known as gating to Homeworld fans). This was why Kyon lost track of his target at one point in the anime. In the novel, Yuki modified their cheat so that the next time they used it, it would teleport the CSociety’s Leader Fleet and the entire SOS Fleet to the center of the map, while the rest of the CSociety’s fleet would be teleported to the four corners of the map, and then the cheat would be disabled, locked down by Yuki’s password( probably encrypted in a googol-bit key or something…).
That marked the ONLY time that Mikuru got to fire her weapons, because up till that point, she had been languishing helplessly lost in some godforsaken corner of the map. Even Kyon had no pity for her and he basically hoped that she would stay out of their way. :P
So basically… the anime made Yuki more awesome, by modifying the reason for their victory being due to Yuki’s tactics. Which I think is more appropriate, since Kyon did say that he did not want to cheat as well( the reason he gave in the novel being that he did not want to stoop to the CSociety’s level).
One thing I wish they shown more in the anime though, was Kyon’s observations of Yuki’s passion. :) In the novel, Kyon noted that Yuki was more… emotionally driven by the game than the rest of them, even though her facial expression did not change. He was even surprised by Yuki’s small( microscopic-small) retort that she did not cheat( when he accused her of doing so).
Cheers.
The thing that struck me was that this time the only reflection in Yuki-san’s eyes was Kyon, way back when when she revealed her Alien nature we distinctly saw a reflection of Haruhi in her glasses/eyes.
I can’t help but to love this episode an place it in high regard after pandering to the old lover of Space Battleship Yamato and LoGH fan in me.
This was THE Yuki episode.. and I’m glad to have seen it. Still… Haruhi’s, in some ways, a typical harem show - everyone goes to Kyon for approval of various things, or seeks his approval, or hangs about him and/or grabs him. Even in the Lone Island episode, there was some grabbing between him and Itsuki…
Mind you, I think the best part was watching Yuki just owning the whole game after figuring out what was happening, and seeking Kyon’s approval to initiate anything - especially after last week’s rescue and the whole ’staring up at Kyon’ thing, followed by acquiescing to his wishes for ‘no-megane’ Yuki.
1. Even my wife, who despises Haruhi series for fostering wrong message, said that this was a good episode. She also noted that there must be hundreds to thousands of males rolling around the floor screaming their affection for Yuki after they saw this episode.
2. Music was great. I loved that they used Debussy, Shostakovich, and Tchaikovsky’s music. ( In the first Legend of Galactic Heroes OVA, they used Carl Nielssen, Mahler, Tchaikovsky, Ravel, and other classical composers ) Now, Debussy and Shostakovich’s 7th symphony, titled ‘ Leningrad ‘, has been used often in various movies, but this is the first time they used the much under performed Tchaikovsky’s 4th symphony, although they chose the finale of the last movement instead of the beginning of 1st movement. If you have free time, go to amazon.com or something and listen to the first minute of the 1st movement: That passage is destined to be used in many epic dramas and animes. If you are serious about aquiring the music, I highly recommend ones done by Yevgeny Mravinsky and Leningrad Philharmonic Orchestra for the Russian composers. Debussy is done well by many so you need not be too picky there.
One more thing to add - is it just me, or does Yuki have the most depth to her eyes? I’m starting to think I could just watch those for hours, almost… :D
Garten, it would be hilarous if Haruhi also sported Tenma’s Mahoro-like mobile tiny ponytails.
cclragnarok, ah i c. That makes sense now as the centre offers better chances for connect 5 than the corners.
Skane, thanks for the novel comparisons. I agree that the anime’s changes made Yuki more awesome precisely because the hacks were less heavyhanded. Her role in providing intelligence and executing the coup de grace was just lovely - this type of scene was made to be animated (unlike say a certain CG Dragon…)
Crusader, about Haruhi’s reflection I was just thinking it was artistic license but I’m rather blasé about these things.
wontaek, I dunno but your wife might be taking Haruhi’s brattiness too seriously. Personally, I don’t know if I’ll be happy, sad or terrified to have a daughter like Haruhi. -_-;; I did, in fact, scream my affection for Yuki during this episode. No comment on the rolling on the floor part. ;) Thanks for the recommendation of the 1st min of Tchaikovsky’s 4th symphony’s 1st movement. Very grand and as you said perfect movie OST. Though for some reason I liked the tail end much more as it softened.
Haesslich, I think the whole harem really works because Kyon can ameliorate Haruhi’s worse excesses and that he takes quite good care of Mikuru and Yuki. Plus his sarcastic narration, I find Kyon to be a very likeable male lead unlike some others *coughVincent Law Shinn Asuka Shirou Emiyacough*
The name of that game is go moku or “5 in a row”. I’ve wondered whether the concept of the game derived from a pun. “Go” means “battle” and that’s the original game. But “go” also means “five”, and that may have inspired the development of go moku.
Zyl: I think part of the likeable part for Kyon comes from the fact that he has a backbone…. even if Haruhi runs rampant over even HIM sometimes. He can - and does - stand up to her on a regular basis (including here, when he suggests strongly that Yuki be allowed to choose her own fate, rather than be pimped out), and his VA doesn’t sound like a complete wimp or whiner. Heck, he played a similarly sarcastic character in the past before (Mayama from H&C), and he doesn’t sound like a young little boy trying too hard to act older than he really is.
Plus, of course, the fact that the harem’s universally cute… and he actually shows INTEREST in all of them, unlike some other harem leads I can name (*cough-KEITARO-ATHRUN ZALA-NEGI SPRINGFIELD-HARUO YOSHIKAWA-ahem*). He actually seems to genuinely like them all, rather than just putting up with them or taking care of them out of a sense of duty; the little comments he’s made to both, or things he’s done (copying Mikuru’s photos to a private directory after taking them off the website to keep them from humiliating Mikuru, admitting to Yuki that she looks better without the glasses - and commenting he’s not exactly a man with a fetish for them) regarding them. It’s not like Gundam SEED or something, where Kira shows interest in precisely one girl, if that…
Incidentally, anyone else besides me wonder what would’ve happened if - when Haruhi was leaning forward and invading Kyon’s personal space after he apparently verbalized that thought of his, if he’d just leaned forward himself and… surprised her with a ‘chuu’? :D
Just completed watching the fansubs. :) ‘Glee’ would be the word to describe my feelings. Especially loved this scene, now that I know what Kyon was saying,
“At least we can depend on Nagato.”
*sees Nagato air-waving mouse*
“I take that back.”
AHHHH! I want an animated .gif of Nagato air-waving that mouse! It is far too cute for words! Lost Yuki is KAWAII!
~~~~ ~~~~
Realised that they had artificial wind for that zoom-in shot of Nagato before her coup-de-grace shot. No really, if you watch it again, you will notice that somehow, her hair was being blown about in the bridge. :P Looks pretty, but bends the suspension of disbelief.
~~~~ ~~~~
They expanded on the weaponary in the anime. In the novel, there were only missiles and lasers. That’s it. Which kinda makes sense, when you consider that it was students who made it. KyoAni took this opportunity to squeeze in as many sci-fi weapon homages as they could. AnimeSuki Forums has the entire list.
Makes me wish there was a wiki-listing of all the parodies and homages in SHaruhi.
~~~~ ~~~~
It was written on the computer screens, but they left out the ship designing part from the novel. In the novel, you had 3 statistics. Speed, Armor, and Attack. The reason why Haruhi lost so horribly in those practices is because she set her’s to 50.0.50, which meant her armour was… as Kyon puts it, “Thin as an egg-shell”.
Hehe…
In the actual contest, Haruhi’s fleet had the statistics of 20.60.20 since she was the Fleet Leader and they need to keep her alive. The rest of the S.O.S. team were 33.34.33 since they did not know what was best( never having played the game before), so they went with averages.
~~~~ ~~~~
Haruhi was considerably less cruel to the CSociety’s Prez in the anime than in the novel, if you can bring yourself to believe that. :P Read the novels to find out what I mean. She’s mean… MEAN.
~~~~ ~~~~
It occured to me that there is a lot of money-saving scenes in SHaruhi. KyoAni has a habit of panning to some inanimate scene, or virtually inanimate scene, when there is some unimportant/extended dialogue/action going on.
They also have habit of covering up Kyon’s mouth, which serves two purposes. One, to befuddle the audience into wondering whether he is thinking, or is he talking? Two, to avoid animating his mouth.
Haruhi fighting with CSociety’s Prez? Pan to Yuki reading a book.
Itsuki talking to Kyon? Pan to manhole cover.
etc…
In short, KyoAni has cultivated a habit of animating only what they feel is worth animating, which saves them a lot on budget, I am willing to wager.
Cheers.
“This was a great scene, especially the transition from the holo-comm screen to face-to-face. One of the most obvious cases of Haruhi seeming to read Kyon’s thoughts. Actually the explanation that I’m leaning towards currently is much more mundane - Kyon sometimes inadvertedly speaks his thoughts out loud. We’ve all done it sometimes. Mundane, boring explanation I know…”
You may be right, but if you rewatch all the episodes and read all the volumes of the novel you will find out that this Kyon_inadvertedly_speaks_his_thoughts_out_loud thingy happens only with Haruhi. Only Haruhi responds to him in those situations.
Thus, I don’t think it’s that simple as Kyon_inadvertedly_speaks_his_thoughts_out_loud, IMHO
If Skane is right about KyoAni’s money saving tactics I dearly hope for their sake that any and all savings will be for a second season…
If AnimeSuki has no animated .gif of Yuki air-waving her mouse, then I guess I had to make my own. :P
Voila
Pardon the crappy quality. I had no HD-Raw to work with. If anybody wants a larger version, let me know the desired dimensions. Also, if anybody can point me to a HD-Raw, mucho appreciated.
~~~~ ~~~~
I forgot to add another point in my previous post. They left out Kyon’s constant references to Yuki being the MVP of their club.
Cheers.
I just watched the episode.
I liked the Macross 7 reference at the end of the ep 12 preview. Now that I thought about it a little, Haruhi is rather similar to Basara Nekki in a lot of ways.
So who’s going to sing in ep 12?
“You may be right, but if you rewatch all the episodes and read all the volumes of the novel you will find out that this Kyon_inadvertedly_speaks_his_thoughts_out_loud thingy happens only with Haruhi. Only Haruhi responds to him in those situations.”
Actually, in the fan translation of Day of Sagittarius Koizumi reacts to Kyon’s thoughts. It occurs when Kyon thinks he ought to be praised, and Koizumi offers to praise him. Interestingly, the anime episode seems to have them speaking this section, but without showing their mouths.
Personally, I think the simplest explanation is Kyon speaking (some of) his thoughts, but us only reading/hearing the internal monologue. If people (or Haruhi only) responded to Kyon’s thoughts that he never actually spoke, it would simply be too strange for no one in the story to question and comment upon it.
I’d like to know whether there’s an English or English-translated game that resembles The Day of Sagittarius III (the “real” version, not the holodeck simulated CG style thing). I had thought at first it might be something like EGA Trek but I looked that up on Wikipedia and it uses single ships rather than fleets.
It’s a parody of an actual game called, “Legend of the Galactic Heroes”.
Interesting bit of trivia from the AnimeSuki Forums.
Shoji Gatoh seduced/ensnared/entranced by KyoAni?
Hehe. Cheers. :)
well wontaek, i’m screaming for YUKIIIIIIIIIIIIII~ since episode one when i saw her in witch custome staring *at me* calmly beneath those breeze, blinking once in a while :P
btw, i have 2 things to say about the preview for episode 12.
1.
Bomber!
lol, the last part as mentioned by ragnarok, they were spoofing something from macross 7. Too bad, i believe its just a commercial strategy.
2.
I assume Haruhi Suzumiya novel was written recently.
The next episode entitled Live a live. This is actually the name of a SNES game by squaresoft. Its one of those great jap games that never made it to the US. At least some hardcore fangroups did a translation patch for the game.
Then about Live a live. You then play through 7 characters (u can check gamesfaq.com for the walkthru anyway). They are 7 characters are from different eras. They are the (writing off from what i remembered from years ago):
-caveman (lol, stoneage)
-ninja (early ages?)
-cowboy? (wild wild west?)
-martial artist (china? guy or girl depending on who you bestow the ‘chosen one’ token to)
-wrestler (modern day, seems like mixed martial artist)
-cyberpunk (futuristic, think of akira)
-alien (future, our yuki?)
Then, there’s a special chapter in the medieval ages about a knight…whose going to save a captured princess. Something happened.
Then, everyone from the different time zone meets and have a final battle against a boss.
No, i havent completed it yet bcos my laptop died halfway when i was playing it years ago..
Other than that….goooo yuki~, gooo haruhi, gooooo mikuru1 n mikuru2.
Well…sometimes the presence of a nasty chick can enhance the spotlight of the other chicks.
actually that game looked kinda sweet….is there actually some freeware game like that that allows multiplayer in starship wars too similar to that parody game too? :D
note, freeware games can be great in terms of plot. Take “cave story” for e.g. (can check it out on wikipedia). There’s another jap freeware games that simulate (many) robots fighting in space (realtime)…forgot the name..LA something?
yay for windows XP and command prompt