The ‘announcement’ made on Tanabata (7th of July) is actually an ingenious surveillance video depicting images of a school. You can probably guess who the characters are, but don’t expect to understand it unless you’ve read the novels (which are REALLY GOOD). This should also be one (or two) of the episodes to come in the second season of Haruhi, and I have to say this will be an extremely important episode, as it explains why everything started three years ago. Oops, did I say too much? Heh, but if you’re itching to know what the hell actually happens in this 20+ minute video…

Show Spoiler ▼

Well, it says here…I foresee some blog aggregator spammage coming up…if this is real. But whatever I think I’ve gotten over haruhi for the meantime and won’t get back into it until it actually starts. As for now I’m desperately awaiting Shana season 2 xD

Edit: Will be announced on the official site on Tanabata (07/07/07)

Impressions:

I didn’t really know what to expect from the last episode as I knew it would be the 6th episode chronologically, but after I watched it, it made much more sense. This event apparently strengthens Kyon’s and Haruhi’s relationship with each other, which can be seen in the later episodes chronologically. It was a satisfying end to the season (hopefully there’s more). Suzumiya Haruhi was supposedly cut short due to the Kanon remake, but I can’t remember where I got that information from. At first I was pretty pissed but now that I’ve seen Kanon I have realised it is an equally good show (as of episode one at least lol). Nevertheless, the last episode satisfied mainly because of the high amounts of destruction and a lot of Haruhi × Kyon bonding. The kiss near the end sealed the deal, though I wish it was made more romantic as described in the novels. There wasn’t even a good, clean close-up! Ah well, now it just means KyoAni HAS to do a follow up. Well, they don’t have to, but I’m sure all those Haruhiists out there were left wanting more after the last episode.

Well, that’s it for Haruhi. If you didn’t know, I wrote the summaries when I watched the episodes as they came out, which was some time ago, so the writing still might be different. I really just re-watched the episodes to get the screenshots and to refresh my memory to write this. So, let me talk about Suzumiya Haruhi as a whole series now. Firstly, if I were to give a biased rating (ie a rating based on how much I like the show) it would be 10/10. However, if I were to give an unbiased rating (ie combined ratings of quality, sound, character, story etc) it would be 10/10. The reason? I can’t find anything wrong with the show. The story was unique and of course interesting. The characters had strong personalities, each adding more enjoyment to the show. The music was catchy and could have been better, but that’s not enough to reduce a 10 to a 9. Also, the two songs in episode 12 makes up for the music. The character designs were excellent and the overall art very realistic (as they were drawn according to real places). The quality was superb too.

My favourite character has to be Haruhi (yes, our almighty god Haruhi-sama) because of her constantly being hyper and energetic. She is the type of person who goes for her dreams all the way to the end. Her eccentricity when inspired and displeasure when let down are very contrasted, which provides a ranging personality and very enjoyable scenes. Apart from Haruhi, Tsuruya is also an awesome character. She is obviously famous for her use of the adjective ‘mega’ and also, in 4coma, ‘nyoro~n’. Her hair is abnormally long and an unnatural colour, but hey, it’s anime! Her attitude towards life and everything is really cool, almost like Haruhi, though her refreshing points are her carefree-ness and necessity. As for Kyon’s ideal partner, it is Haruhi no questions asked. No, it is not Mikuru! Yes, Mikuru has big oppai and is very kawaii, but she is too girly and afraid of everything. She also seems to be Kyon’s relative somehow, so her closeness to Kyon is probably more like sibling love than romantic love. Kyon likes Haruhi. He just does. Accept it as a fact! He has no interest in Mikuru; he thinks she’s hot and wouldn’t mind getting together with her, but deep down he knows Haruhi is the one for him. Anyway, it’s getting late so ja mata ne!

Summary:

Still tired, probably from his experience in closed-space, Kyon finds himself unable to get out of bed by himself and lets his little sister drag him out. As he is cycling through his morning routine, he thinks about the three other SOS Brigade members apart from Haruhi and himself. Nagato Yuki, the artificial human made by aliens; Asahina Mikuru, the time traveller; and finally, Koizumi Itsuki, the ESP user. (For those of you who don’t know what ESP is, it stands for Effective Sensory Projection, or Extra-Sensory Perception. ESP can stand for many other things, but in this case, it refers to the ability to obtain information by means other than the known senses.) Kyon is still clueless about why he was dragged into this mess. The alien, time traveller and esper have gathered together because Haruhi had wished for it, but why was Kyon?

As he nears the school, his friend Taniguchi catches up to him. Kyon asks him if he’s a normal high school student. After a moment of thought, Taniguchi says he isn’t too sure, as a normal high school student wouldn’t push down a girl in an empty classroom (referring to episode where Asakura had tried to kill him, when Taniguchi had walked into the classroom at the worst moment, seeing Kyon holding Nagato in his arms.) Kyon makes up reason to why he had been with Nagato; how she had fainted with chronic anaemia, which Taniguchi immediately rejects. Taniguchi states another reason as to why Kyon wouldn’t be normal; he is one of Haruhi’s ‘people’. Kyon then asks Taniguchi whether he can use ESP. Taniguchi comes to the conclusion that Kyon has been infected by Haruhi’s poison, and that he doesn’t want to catch the disease.

After P.E., Kyon sees Haruhi in the classroom, still in her sport uniform. She says that it’s too hot and she’ll have to change again when she gets to the clubroom anyway. She also has cleaning duty later, so it’ll be easier to move in her sport clothes. She asks Kyon what she should make Asahina dress up as next, in a bored tone so unlike Haruhi. Kyon seems t be irritated at first by the suggestion to dress their sempai, but when Haruhi comes up with the suggestions of kitty ears, nurse or queen, Kyon begins to think about it. Haruhi knows that Kyon is probably visualising Asahina in the various outfits, and says he has a dumb face. First sign of jealousy, perhaps?

Later in the clubroom, Kyon is on the computer as Asahina is making tea (and Nagato doing what she always does: reading). Kyon enables the option of revealing all hidden folders and opens up a folder of the pictures of Asahina he had saved. He zooms in on a picture and sees a mole on Asahina’s left breast (the idea incited by the visit of the future Asahina). Asahina brings Kyon his cup of tea as Kyon quickly exits the image viewer. However, he is unable to properly conceal his collection of pictures and Asahina sees the folder which has her name on it. She asks Kyon what’s inside and why her name is on it. As Kyon obviously refuses to show her, she begins grappling for the mouse when Haruhi walks him, catching the two in an awkward position (Nagato also has her eye on them.) Haruhi asks Kyon if he thinks maids are moe, but Kyon replies with a “What are you talking about?” Haruhi informs him that she is going to get changed, but since Haruhi had never cared who she exposed herself to in the passed and changed even if there were guys around, Kyon assumes that she wouldn’t mind him staying in the room. Haruhi gets pissed and kicks him out of the room, surprising him and making him wonder about why the sudden change. When Kyon returns, Haruhi is in her bunny costume, complaining that although her arms are cool, the suit doesn’t allow much ventilation. Koizumi arrives and jokingly asks whether the SOS Brigade is having a costume party. Haruhi tells Asahina to sit and begins to braid her hair with a scolding look on her face (Asahina looks terrified the entire time). As Kyon plays a board game with Koizumi, he reflects back upon the days events and recalls nothing out of the ordinary, feeling slightly dissatisfied. He also thinks back a few days to when Asakura had tried to kill him and the other extraordinary experience, and decides that he wants everything to stay this way. But there’s one person who doesn’t share his view: Suzumiya Haruhi.

When Kyon gets into bed that night, he begins to explain why people dream. Sleep rotates between cycles of REM and non-REM stages (REM being the acronym for ‘rapid eye movement’). When the body is resting but the brain is still active, the person is in REM sleep and dreams, even though people don’t remember most of their dreams. Kyon begins hearing Haruhi’s voice, telling him to get up. His eyes snap open and he sees Haruhi leaning over him, still in her school uniform. Kyon rises and finds himself in a grey, empty world, which he easily recognises as closed-space. Haruhi is still clueless though, not knowing that she was the one who created such a world. Kyon asks if she had seen Koizumi, as he is an esper, but Haruhi says that she hasn’t. Kyon suggests they escape from the school, but encounter an invisible barrier around the school. As they head back into the school, Haruhi clutches Kyon’s sleeve, which provokes him to say that if she’s scared, she should cling to his arm instead, just to create a better atmosphere. Haruhi quickly replies with a ‘baka!’ The two make it to the clubroom and Haruhi runs up to the window, peering at the dark expanse before her, and says that it gives her the creeps. Kyon decides to make some tea and wait for Koizumi while Haruhi leaves the room to explore the building. Before she runs off, she tells Kyon to stay in the room, probably because she’s afraid she’ll lose him if he leaves.

As Kyon settles into a chair and takes a few sips of his tea, he spots a red orb floating outside the window. As he opens the window, the orb morphs into a glowing human form resembling Koizumi. The figure confirms that he is Koizumi and explains that the situation is abnormal. Koizumi can usually enter closed space easily, but this time, it has taken the power of all his colleagues just to appear in his incomplete form. The amount of time he can stay in the realm is also very limited. Kyon asks why only he and Haruhi are in the closed space. Koizumi continues with his explanation of the events, not answering Kyon’s questions, and tells him that what his Agency feared has already begun. Haruhi has finally given up on the current world and decided to create a new one. As he says this, we see Haruhi marching through the hallways bearing an excited smile. Koizumi comments on how no one knows what will happen when a world loses its god. It is possible for the current world not to end, if Haruhi wishes for it. He explains that both Kyon and Haruhi have completely disappeared from the normal world, and are now in the new world that Haruhi has created. Kyon asks again why he is in this place, astounding Koizumi with his lack of knowledge. Koizumi is surprised he isn’t aware of the reason, and so tells him that it is because Kyon was chosen by Haruhi. By saying ‘chosen’, he means that Haruhi has fallen for Kyon. He is the only person that Haruhi wants to stay with, and so she has brought him her into the new world. As Koizumi begins to shrink, indicating that his time is almost up, Kyon asks if he really has to stay in the world all alone with Haruhi. Koizumi makes a joke about Adam and Eve, saying that Kyon and Haruhi can repopulate the world by themselves. Before he disappears, Koizumi informs Kyon of the messages left by Asahina and Nagato. “I’m sorry, it’s all my fault,” being Asahina’s, and “Turn on the computer,” being Nagato’s.

Kyon tries to turn on the computer in the clubroom, but finds that the screen stays black. He then notices the cursor in the top-left corner. Suddenly, a message appears from Nagato, asking if Kyon can see it. He replies saying that he can. Nagato explains that the connection between the ‘timespaces’ has not been completely severed, but it is only a matter of time before it does. That will be the end. Kyon asks about what he should do, and Nagato says that there is nothing he can do. The Data Integration Though Entity is in despair and the possibility for evolution has been lost. She explains that Haruhi has the ability to create data from nothing, something that the Though Entity cannot. If they could analyse this ability (‘they’ as in Nagato and the rest of the aliens), then they could find a clue regarding auto-evolution, or so they thought. (Still exploring, Haruhi notices a brilliant light streaming in from the outside). Nagato tells Kyon that he is betting on him. They wish for him to return to the old world as Haruhi is a vital observation subject. Nagato also individually feels she wants him to return, as she would like to visit the library with him again. The text quickly begins to disappear, and before the connection is severed completely, Nagato is able to send one last message: “Sleeping Beauty.”

It is now that Kyon also notices the light outside. The thing that is lurking outside is the same type of light beast from his first experience in closed space, called a ’shinjin’. Haruhi bursts into the room, ecstatically pointing out the beast outside. She thinks that it might be an alien or a resurrected super weapon left by an ancient race. Kyon simply grabs Haruhi’s hand and runs out of the building. Haruhi is truly excited for the first time in the year, but Kyon asks if she wants to go back to the normal word, and that they can’t stay in this place for the rest of their lives. Haruhi says he thinks it’ll work itself out. Kyon continues to dissuade her and asks her about the SOS Brigade. Haruhi doesn’t care about it anymore as the new world is far more interesting. Kyon says he wants to go back, which causes Haruhi to lose her elated expression. (Meanwhile, the shinjin is wreaking havoc in the school.) Kyon says he misses everyone in the old world. Haruhi is sure that theyl’l see them again as the world won’t be covered in darkness forever and the sun will rise tomorrow. Kyon says that he wants to see his friends back in the old world, not the new one. Confused, Haruhi lets go of his hand and stops running. Talking as if she had just been dumped by the only person in the world she truly cares about, she informs Kyon that she was under the impression he was fed up with the old world (is this what made Haruhi like him). Kyon says that he did want something more interesting to happen (places his hands on Haruhi’s shoulders), but he’s already had some amazing experiences the last few days. He tells Haruhi that the world revolves around her and that it’s definitely moving in an interesting direction. Haruhi thinks about this for a moment in silence, but is distracted by the shinjin appearing near them. This allows Kyon to think about what she thinks of Haruhi. Nagato thinks of her as the potential for evolution; Asahina calls Haruhi a time warp; and Koizumi proclaims her a god. But what does Kyon think? As more shinjins appear and start to surround them, Kyon thinks back to when the future Asahina had asked him about Snow White, then to when Nagato had said ‘Sleeping Beauty’. He finally realises the connection between the two fairytales and the situation he is currently in. As Haruhi is transfixed on the approaching masses of light, Kyon turns her to face him. He says that he thinks ponytails are moe, and the times she had done her as such looked so good it was criminal. As Haruhi is thinking ‘WTF???’ Kyon leans in without hesitation and kisses her.

The shinjins and the new world dematerialise, and the two are transported back to the normal world. Kyon finds himself back in his bed (which he falls out of) and thinks that everything had been a dream.

The next day as Kyon is walking to school, he tries to determine whether it had truly been a dream, or the current world he’s in is the new world that Haruhi created. He walks into his classroom and sees Haruhi with a ponytail. He asks her how she’s feeling and she replies saying that she had a nightmare last night, resulting in her not being able to get much sleep. So it seems that Haruhi is not aware that what happened was real. Kyon leans closer and says “Looks good on you,”‘ referring to her ponytail. Haruhi doesn’t respond. Throughout the day, he is thanked by Koizumi, Nagato and Asahina. Koizumi says he is privileged to have the chance to meet Kyon and Haruhi again. In the clubroom, Kyon asks Nagato about the number of aliens like her on the planet. Nagato says there are many, so Kyon asks if any will attack him like Asakura. Nagato responds saying that she won’t let anything like that happen. Asahina comes in and, upon seeing Kyon, rushes up to him and embraces him, tears welling up in her eyes, before quickly pushing herself off of him, saying that they can’t otherwise it might happen again. Kyon doesn’t realise that she is talking about how Haruhi had created that new world was because she became jealous of her. Kyon then tells her that she has a star shaped mole on her chest. Asahina checks and sees that there is a mole there, and begins hitting him to get him to tell her how he found out. Haruhi walks in, but this time she has a smile on her face as she has a new nurse costume for Mikuru to wear.

A few days later, Kyon has finally finished the paperwork for chartering the SOS Brigade into the student council. ‘Haruhi Suzumiya’s save the world by overloading it with fun Brigade’ turned out to be an inappropriate name, so Kyon had secretly changed it to the ‘Student Service Brigade’. It is time for the second city patrol, but this time, Nagato, Asahina and Koizumi all couldn’t go, so Kyon is waiting for Haruhi alone. He had arrived an hour early, because the last person to arrive will get fined. He sees Haruhi approaching and wonders if the scowl on her face is due to her being the last to come, or because of the absence of the other members. I’m pretty sure she’s happy though, as she finally gets to explore the city with Kyon this time, as she never got the chance last time. Kyon has a number of things he would like to talk to Haruhi about, but he decides first to talk about aliens, time travellers and espers…

Impressions:

Two excellent episodes: 12 with the awesome performance by Haruhi/Hirano Aya, and 13 with heaps of mayhem as well as Koizumi finally showing off his powers as an esper (ESP user). I also tend to like episodes when Koizumi has a large part, as he usually finds a way to make everything so wordy and increase the length of a conversation from 2 or 3 to a dozen, and his lines are always interesting. So are Kyon’s of course with his hilarious sarcasm. But still, the last episode is the best, even though technically it’s not the last one and only the 6th. Oh well.

I’m sure many people know the two songs from episode 12: “God Knows” and “Lost My Music”. Two pretty good songs in my opinion, though they’re not that good. Nevertheless, both are pretty famous as well as the episode which featured them. Some even say episode 12 was the best episode because of these two pieces. I can understand that. I was quite shocked too when Haruhi started performing like a pro, but after thinking about it for a while, it was pretty reasonable, as she’s the type of person who involves herself in everything. The episode was high quality as well – I’ve seen other Animes which attempt to throw in a band scene and screw it completely; the drummer looks like a robot, every guitarist does the same hand movement at the same time, none of the performers are moving except their arms etc. KyoAni sure did a good job with the band scene, and that’s probably one of the reasons why everyone loved it so much.

The next episode, 13, was good in another way. First, there was quite a bit of destruction, which I always enjoy. Koizumi’s esper demonstration was cool too, but I thought being an esper just meant being able to read minds and stuff. And of course, Kyon spending time with Haruhi is good too (yes, I’m a Haruhi fan, not a Mikuru one). Well anyway, holidays are over for me so there’ll be less updates now (damn, fall series are starting!!)

Episode 12:

It is the day of the cultural festival. Kyon is wandering through the various displays around the school; Haruhi is handing out flyers advertising ‘The Adventures of Mikuru Asahina’ in a bunny costume; Nagato is meant to be telling fortunes but is giving accurate predictions of the future; and Kiozumi is acting in a play. Kyon visits them all and decides to go see Mikuru at her fried soba café. He meets up with his friends Taniguchi and Kunikida and they all head to the café together. They meet Tsuruya at the reception, who informs them that they are serving badly made soba and tap water. Half an hour later, they manage to get a seat. Mikuru serves them and in 5 minutes, they finish and are ushered out.

Kyon wanders around with nothing do and winds up in the performance hall. He falls asleep as the many bands play, until he sees something shocking. Haruhi and Nagato walk onto the stage, along with two other girls. Kyon does not think that Haruhi has any singing ability (and neither did I), but the performance is actually good. Nagato, the lead guitarist, had learned how to play (and be good) the electric guitar in a second after she read the sheets of music. Haruhi, the singer and rhythm guitarist, looks unsure of herself for the first time as she performs. The first song she sings is sung way too low for Haruhi’s voice, though the second one is more believable. She is ecstatic after performing, happy about something other than finding something mysterious.

The next day, Haruhi seems less energetic than usual. She tells Kyon how she winded up performing. When she was heading back to the classroom yesterday, she saw a North High Festival executive committee member arguing with the band going on stage. The lead singer was hospitalised due to tonsillitis a few days ago, and the guitarist had injured her wrist so she couldn’t play. Haruhi offered to step in with Nagato and the band had accepted the offer. Haruhi actually doesn’t sound hyper as she explains this to Kyon, which is a nice change.

The real members come asking to see Haruhi. She’s not used to this kind of attention and drags Kyon with him. The band members express their gratitude and invite them to the next performance. After lunch, Kyon wanders outside and sees Haruhi lying on the ground staring at the skies. She is still thinking about the performance, unable to calm down, as she is not used to being appreciated by people. Suddenly, Haruhi’s signature grin returns and she asks Kyon if he can play an instrument. He says no but she doesn’t listen and begins planning out the year, deciding to make a band of her own and performing at the next cultural festival. Looks like she’s back to normal…

Episode 13:

This episode continues from episode 10, when Asukura Ryoko made an unsuccessful attempt to kill Kyon, who was saved by Nagato. Haruhi finds it strange that someone would suddenly transfer schools without informing anyone first (as Nagato had manipulated data and made every think Asakura had moved) and decides to investigate the matter. She heads to Asakura’s apartment with a reluctant Kyon and finds the door locked. Not giving up, Haruhi asks the manager about Asakura’s sudden move. She is informed that no movers had come when Asakura left. She is also told that Asakura began living in the apartment 3 years ago (a familiar number!) Not finding anything useful, Haruhi decides to leave. The manager tells Kyon to let Haruhi go (but Kyon is obviously not interested…or is he?)

As the two leave the building, they encounter Nagato returning home after doing some shopping. Haruhi asks her about Asakura, but Nagato says (or rather, simply nods) she doesn’t know anything. When she is asked what happened to her glasses, she glances at Kyon, probably thinking back to when Kyon had she looked cuter without them. As they part, Nagato tells Kyon to be careful, but of what to be careful of, she doesn’t say.

Haruhi begins walking in random directions with no particular destination in mind. They stop near a railway crossing, and Haruhi suddenly asks Kyon if he has realised how insignificant his existence is. Apparently she has, and after informing Kyon of this, she begins to tell him of how it happened. Three years ago, she had gone with her family to see a baseball match. She was shocked at the number of people in the stands. After asking how many people were in the stadium and doing some calculations, she realised that the people in the stadium only made up a very small fraction of the population of Japan. Two use Haruhi’s metaphor, ‘not only was she one little person in that sea of people in that stadium, but that sea of people was merely a drop in the ocean.’ Haruhi had thought she was special before that realisation, being in a class which she thought had the most interesting people in the world. But the baseball match made her realise that the same kinds of people were in every school in Japan, and that she wasn’t special at all. After coming to this conclusion, she felt that everything around her became boring, and began her campaign to find interesting things in junior high. But in the end, nothing interesting had happened.

After a moment of silence, Haruhi decides to go home and Kyon doesn’t follow. When he arrives at his own home, he finds Koizumi waiting for him. Koizumi hails a taxi, and while they are driving, he tells Kyon that an opportunity to prove he’s an esper has arrived. As they travel, Koizumi explains to Kyon about the anthropic principal, a theory that his agency believes in. ‘If something must be true for us, as humans to exist, then it is true because we exist’. Sound confusing? Basically what he means is that, if existing as humans is true, then it is true because they exist.

Koizumi then gives an example: ‘Humans, the intelligent life forms of this planet discovered the laws of physics and other physical constants, and through those discoveries, became aware for the first time of the existence of a universe bound by those observations. Therefore, if the humans on Earth who observed this universe had not evolved to the current level, there would be no one to make those observations, and consequently, the existence of the universe would remain unknown. In other words, it wouldn’t matter if the universe existed or not. The existence of humans permits the existence of the universe.’ (Sheesh! How wordy can this get?)

However, this speculation brings about some interesting facts that should be noted. Why did the universe happen to be created to accommodate human life? (Isn’t it the other way around? Humans evolved to survive in this particular type of environment.) Koizumi continues, saying that if there had been the slightest difference in the universe, the Earth wouldn’t have been created (and some other form of life would evolve to survive whatever environment sooner or later.)

Anyway, after some more confusing metaphors, Koizumi finally explains the reason he brought the anthropic principal up: to create a comparison with Suzumiya Haruhi. Koizumi had said that Haruhi had created the world. She has the ability realise her own wishes. She wished for aliens, espers and time travellers to exist, and that is why Nagato, Koizumi and Mikuru are here. Kyon asks him how he knows this, and Koizumi says that it was three years ago when he (and all the other espers in the agency) suddenly received their powers and knowledge. I guess it must’ve been something like enlightenment.

Koizumi says the fact that Haruhi can create the world also means she can destroy it, and create a new world from scratch. The world that Kyon and Koizumi are currently in could even be the ‘latest in a string of reincarnations’, to quote Koizumi. So why doesn’t he just reveal his identity to Haruhi so she stops being bored? Because if Haruhi believes the existence of espers to be common, the whole world would end up that way. The laws of physics would crumble and the world would end up in turmoil. Kyon then asks why Haruhi hasn’t noticed yet, and Koizumi explains that it’s because of her common sense. She has enough of it to know it’s impossible for espers and such to exist. Haruhi had calmed down during her middle school years, but when she started high school, she became eccentric again, her level of energy soaring. This was Kyon’s fault as he had given Haruhi the idea to form the SOS Brigade. Kyon claims this as a false charge.

Anyway, the two finally arrive at their destination, somewhere in another part of the city. Koizumi asks Kyon to close his eyes and takes his hand, dragging him into a dimension known as closed space. Closed space occurs in concurrence with Haruhi’s mood. Whenever she is mentally unstable, and depending on how unstable she is, closed space develops. Koizumi can detect closed space, gain entry and destroy it. Destroying closed space requires the elimination of the beast inside. In this instance of closed space, it is a giant of light who is wrecking havoc in the city. Kyon, who had been perfectly calm until now, finally shows some emotion: shock. The reason the monsters destroy their surroundings is to ease Haruhi’s raging emotions. Koizumi says he must join his colleagues, referring to red lights encircling the giant. Koizumi creates a red orb around himself and flies off toward the giant at and incredible speed. The red lights around the giant accelerate and slice the giant to pieces, destroying it quite efficiently. I wonder why Koizumi didn’t do this during the encounter with the giant cricket. After destroying the beast, Koizumi returns just as closed space crumbles and they are transported back to the real world.

As Koizumi and Kyon are returning home, Koizumi explains that his agency calls the monsters Celestials, which are linked to Haruhi’s mental state. Espers are also linked to Haruhi. Only when they are in closed space can they use their powers. They also can’t let the Celestials wreak things as they wish, for the more destruction they cause, they large the closed space becomes. If they did nothing, closed space would envelope the Earth, taking the place of the real world. When they arrive at Kyon’s house, Koizumi asks him to tae notes of Haruhi’s mental condition. She has been stable for a while, but this has changed recently. The closed space that had been destroyed that day was one of the first in a long time. Kyon asks how would monitoring Haruhi’s behaviour and Koizumi replies with a ‘You never know.’

Impressions:

Being able to watch a series again without getting bored at all just proves to me that this series IS one of my favourites, even though I don’t really need confirmation of that. Episode 9 was disliked by quite a few people because nothing really happened (there was a full 3 minutes of Nagato reading with voices in the background!), but I for one actually liked it quite a bit. That episode shows how close Kyon and Haruhi have become, which is quite touching. Tsuruya’s appearance in that episode was awesome too, even if it was extremely brief. Episode 10 was definitely one of the most exciting episodes in the whole series, but I almost cried when Asakura ‘died’. I had been wondering why she was never in the previous episodes, which are actually later in chronological order. She was such a good character too…Anyway, the part from episode 11 which I remember most clearly is when Kyon is about to put his faith in Nagato to win the competition, when he sees her trying to move her mouse in the air…LMAO that was hilarious.

Episode 9

As always, without Haruhi, the SOS Brigade waste time in the clubroom, this time playing a card game. Nagato is reading like every other day and Mikuru is knitting in her maid costume. All is quiet until…

Haruhi comes.

She bears great news once again, and Kyon fears for what it is. Thankfully, Haruhi announces that she’s made arrangements for there to be heating in the room (it is winter by the way). The manager of the electronics store who sponsored their movie (the first episode) decided to give away an unsold heater. Haruhi tells Kyon to go get it and he does.

When Kyon leaves, Haruhi decides to take some pictures of Mikuru for the cover jacket of the DVD of their movie. Mikuru looks to Koizumi for help, but he just shrugs (obviously not daring to defy Haruhi). Haruhi changes Mikuru for her (several times), the view of each scene blocked by Nagato and her books.

~Sigh~

When everyone except Nagato leave the clubroom, there is a full 3 and a half minutes of random chatter. A time filler, or something that’s actually important and vital to the plot of the show? Who knows…

Mikuru, Koizumi and Haruhi are taking photos in another room, so when Kyon gets back, there is only Nagato in the room, who might as well be a stuffed animal.

Haruhi records embarrassing moments of Mikuru in the gym.

As Kyon waits, he sets up the heater and falls asleep. When he wakes up, Haruhi is hovering over him trying to get her cardigan (which is on Kyon’s back as a blanket). It’s raining outside and Haruhi offers hers (but Kyon notices that it isn’t hers, but the school’s). The two walk together under one umbrella before Haruhi takes it and runs ahead playfully. Kyon runs after her.

Episode 10

When Kyon arrives at school in the morning, Haruhi has her head buried in her arms feeling sick. Ryoko Asakura is trying to help her, and upon seeing Kyon, tells him to take care of her.

Earlier in the day, Kyon had found a note in his shoe locker, telling him to meet in room 1-5 after school when everyone’s gone. Kyon ponders about this, eliminating Nagato as the one who had given him the note, as the handwriting did not look like hers. Kyon considers Mikuru, but doubts it. Haruhi? No way.

As he is thinking about this, he notices Haruhi browsing the explicit pictures of Mikuru on the club’s home page. As Haruhi is talking to herself about the publicity it’ll bring, Kyon begins to delete the files. Kyon explains to Haruhi about the reasons NOT to do such a thing, and surprisingly, she listens. She allows Kyon to delete them, but he secretly puts them in another folder for… personal use.

When everyone is leaving at the end of the day, Kyon decides to go to the meeting place and see who had given him the note. It turns out to be Asakura, with a somewhat… creepy smile. The fact that she is standing in the room alone, waiting for Kyon’s presence is also somewhat eerie.

Asakura begins to question Kyon about Haruhi. She also asks him if in a bad situation where leaving things be would only worsen it, but nobody knew the best course of action, what would he do? This question is actually leading to Asakura’s resolve to kill Kyon. That’s right, kill Kyon. The question refers to Haruhi. Asakura wants to kill Kyon to see what Haruhi would do. She then begins striking at Kyon with a knife. Kyon tries to escape but Asakura informs him that the room is under her data jurisdiction (another Nagato…) Asakura freezes Kyon’s body and prepares for a final lunge, but is stopped by Nagato (Asakura is meant to be Nagato’s backup).

Now begins the battle of the aliens!

Anyways, Nagato manages to terminate Asakura’s connection to organic life, even though she is speared through the chest multiple times. Reminds me of Terminator! Afterwards, Nagato repairs herself and the space around.

The next day, Kyon finds another letter in his shoe locker. However, this time it has Mikuru’s name on it. He arrives at the meeting place at lunch (the club room) and the person who is waiting for him is indeed Asahina Mikuru. And yet it’s not Mikuru…

The woman is taller and has a deeper voice. Kyon mistakes her for Mikuru’s sister, but she is actually Mikuru from the future. With the incident regarding Asakuru yesterday, Kyon is ready to believe anything. Mikuru asks him if he knows what Snow White is. She then tells him that if he finds himself in a distressing situation to remember those words. The event should happen with Haruhi, but she shouldn’t notice anything wrong with the situation. The last thing she tells Kyon before she runs off is to not get too close to her.

Kyon meets Nagato as soon as Mikuru leaves. He asks her if she can travel through time. Nagato says she can’t but it isn’t very hard. BAHAHAH!

Episode 11

“Your Excellency, Suzumiya…” What does this first line indicate? Well apparently, Haruhi is the commander of a massive fleet of space ships and is about to engage battle with the enemy. Each of the members of the SOS Brigade has their own fleet. Haruhi is prepared to attack, but Kyon tells her to stay back as she is the ‘king’.

A week earlier… The computer club challenges the SOS Brigade to a competition, a game of ‘The Day of Sagittarius III’, designed by the computer club. As the presideny is repeatedly saying the word ‘contest’, Haruhi comes and kicks him in the head, sending him a few metres down the hallway. Haruhi agrees after she hears the president’s proposal. The match will be a 5 on 5 team battle. The rules are if the SOS Brigade loses, they will return the computer that they took. If they win, the computer club must give the SOS Brigade 4 laptops.

As they walk home, Kyon says that they will not cheat because he wants to play fairly. Koizumi objects as Haruhi will get pissed and something bad might happen.

The game is a simplified type of RTS, except that you can’t build anything. Each player starts with 15000 ships that appear as a single triangle. The objective is to kill the enemy fleet or the enemy boss. For the next week, the SOS Brigade plays the game, practicing against AI (Haruhi charging wildly at the enemy and losing each time). Kyon knows that they will lose if they leave everything to Haruhi. He believes he can rely on Nagato, but when he sees that she doesn’t even know to move the cursor, he immediately takes it back. He also observes that Nagato is actually having fun.

The battle starts and before long the SOS Brigade are already losing. They are fired on, but the enemy quickly retreats. Meanwhile, Nagato is busily typing into computer. Haruhi then sends out her Gun*** (the ‘***’ were bleeped, I wonder what it could be… hehe). Mikuru is lost, far from anyone else. Haruhi, Kyon and Koizumi move their fleets close together but are fired on. Kyon believes they have lost until a large part of the map is revealed by Nagato. It seems that she is using Micromanagement, splitting the fleet into 20 groups and controlling them individually. It is humanly impossible to control them all, but not for Nagato.

Kyon tells Nagato not to cheat, but she says she isn’t because she isn’t manipulating data in anyway. It’s actually the computer club who is cheating, as their fog of war is off. Nagato is busily rewriting the entire game code during the game! Kyon says it’s okay and Nagato turns the enemy’s fog of war on. The tides turn and the SOS Brigade win the match (Haruhi obviously thinking that she did all the work).

The computer club president admits defeat and asks Nagato to go over to his club every now and then. Haruhi objects but Kyon, who thinks that Nagato actually had fun playing the game, says she can do whatever she wants. Nagato says she will go every once in a while.

Impressions:

Ah yes, episode 8; my favourite. It was the most interesting and exciting of them all. I was convinced that guy was dead until the last moment when it seemed like Kyon had killed Koizumi. At that moment, I knew it couldn’t have been for real. Such a shame … it would have been good if the series was darker, but that’s about as dark as it gets. I really hope for a sequel, but for now, Kyoto should be busy with Kanon so I’ll watch that for now. Still, Suzumiya Haruhi is awesome and the withdrawal from it that I’ve been suffering from compounded with no bleach last week – sigh … And who was that girl at the start of episode 6? The one tearing up the paper and such. Mysterious…

Episode 6: (episode 9)

The SOS Brigade is sailing on the sea, headed for a remote island for a three-night stay planned by Koizumi. The purpose? To look for any unusual things (like always).

One day earlier… Haruhi announces the first overnight trip of the summer vacation for the SOS Brigade. Koizumi’s rich relatives had bought a small island and built a villa there. Haruhi promotes Koizumi for his help, assigning him the name of Deputy Chief.

Back to the present… Koizumi is talking with Kyon, comparing fictional detectives in novels to Haruhi. The works of literature will place the detectives in one mystery after another, to create a story. He explains that Haruhi actually wants to be thrown into such a world. Koizumi says that in reality, mysterious things don’t just appear like that. However, he also says that the island that they are going to is a perfect place for a murder to occur… (What a giveaway!)

When they arrive, Koizumi greets his friend, who replies with, “It’s been quite some time.�? This statement is very important! The butler, Arakawa, and the maid, Sonou Mori, are the ones who greet them. They then take another half-hour boat ride to the villa.

When they reach the villa, they are greeted by the master of the manor, Keiichi Tamura. Haruhi asks if anything unusual has happened to the villa, but as it is only a few days old, nothing has. The group spend the day on the beach (Nagato spends the whole time reading) and finally return at dusk. After dinner, they return outside and light fireworks. And after that, they went bushwalking.

It is raining heavily the next day – not a very good sign. During breakfast, Kyon notices that Tamura is absent. The butler explains that he is not a morning person and has a hard time waking up. Haruhi complains about the typhoon, which reminds Kyon that there had been no forecast of it, and thinks it’s probably because Haruhi self-consciously wished for it to happen.

The next day, it is still raining. Haruhi want to have a pillow fight, but the butler shows up with a troubled look on his face. Yutaka is missing and his bed looks undisturbed. Keiichi is also troubling him. Arakawa had tried contacting him through the intercom but he hadn’t replied. Koizumi suggests they check Keiichi’s room, but it is locked and only the master has the key.

Haruhi runs upstairs to where the master’s room would be, but there are multiple doors and she doesn’t know which one is it. Koizumi runs past, heading straight for the master’s room. This is another important piece of information. Koizumi tries to open the door, but he cannot. He then suggests that they break it down. When they do break it open, they find the master lying on the floor on his back, a knife stuck in his chest.

Episode 7: (episode

During the exam period, Haruhi comes up with a club emblem (that looks horrible). Haruhi actually looks very sad (and angry) when Kyon cannot recognise what it is. She decides to put the emblem on their site’s front page after she had given up on attracting visitors by erotic pictures of Mikuru.

Later on, Haruhi is expecting visitors because Kyon had put up a poster a while ago, saying that the SOS Brigade is a counselling group. Aside from that, Haruhi notices that their site’s homepage and logo are completely screwed up, and asks Kyon for help. Kyon tries to repair the files on the server, but the problem persists. Haruhi thinks it’s a hacker while Kyon thinks it’s some sort of network error.

Kyon tries fixing the problem for hours, but nothing works. Mikuru arrives after finishing her exams, bringing along visitor, Kimidori Emiri. She wants the SOS Brigade to search for her missing boyfriend. The girl had not seen her boyfriend for days, even went to his house but found no one there. It turns out that the missing boyfriend is the president of the computer club.

The SOS Brigade goes to the president’s apartment but the door is locked and no one is answering. They plan to ask the landlord for a spare key when Nagato places her hand on the door and stares into Kyon’s eyes, as if asking for permission, before opening the now unlocked door. The student is not inside.

Suddenly, both Nagato and Koizumi tell Kyon that they should leave at once, while Haruhi is jumping around playfully. Koizumi has a strange sensation of closed space. Nagato says that a dimensional rift exists and that phase conversion is occurring.

As the group is departing, Haruhi runs off. The rest of the group pretend to leave, but quickly regroup. Kyon tells Mikuru that the reason is because Nagato and Koizumi are concerned about the room they were in.

More Nagato gibberish… ‘A limited-area amalgamated (complex/combined) alternate timespace with non-corrosive tendencies is independently is occurring in restricted mode within this room.�? Koizumi asks Nagato if the president’s disappearance is a result of this occurrence and Nagato replies with a ‘yes’. She raises her hand, makes some quick mouth-movements and suddenly the group is in the middle of a vast desert. Nagato explains that the closed space they are currently in overlaps the space outside.

Suddenly, (and I mean SUDDENLY) a gigantic monster of sorts appears behind them and the sky turns dark. It happens so suddenly that it’s funny. The monster turns out to be an enormous cave cricket, the creator of the abnormal space. Koizumi explains that his strength is only a tenth of what it should be in closed space. Koizumi forms a ball of fire in his fist. Nagato says that the president is inside the huge bug. Koizumi tosses his ball of fire into the air then whacks it at the bug while muttering ‘Fumoffu’ (from FMP). It doesn’t work very well and the insect lunges at Nagato. She creates a repulsion field and repels the bug. Koizumi attacks again, yelling ‘Second Raid’ (from FMP again). The bug disintegrates, leaving the president on the ground.

Now to the website problem. It seems that a life form that arrived on earth 280 millennia ago and went into a state of hibernation. When computers were invented, it reached a half-awakened state. Then, an enormous amount of data which was transferred from a parallel world caused it to awaken. This parallel world was the club emblem that Haruhi drew, which is about 436 petabytes in size.

After more explanations, the computer club president claims that he doesn’t have a girlfriend. Strange…

Episode 8: (episode 10)

This ep starts where episode 6 left off – the SOS Brigade finding the master of the manor with a knife in his chest. Haruhi is sweating (it’s nice to see someone as confident and naive as her to be panicky), as she goes to feel the man’s pulse. The butler tells her not to (the reason for this is important) and feels his pulse for himself. He says that the Keiichi is dead.

Several observations are made. One, the small fruit knife has penetrated a notebook before reaching Keiichi’s flesh, which means that the murderer must have incredible strength, which also means that it must be a male. Also, the fact that Yutaka is missing makes this situation even more one-sided.

The second observation: this happened in a locked room with the windows locked as well. How could someone commit this crime in a locked room, escape then lock the room again from the outside? It is also pouring outside, making escape a pretty hard thing to do.

The group sit in silence back in their room. Mikuru is still in bed from shock and Kyon’s little sister is asking questions. Haruhi asks Kyon to go outside with her, and tells Nagato to lock the door and to not open it for anyone. Haruhi moans about how something like this could happen, and Kyon says that she had wanted someone to die. Haruhi counters by saying that the only reason for that was because she wasn’t expecting anything to happen. How truthful! Kyon wonders if Yutaka did it as he would be the main suspect, which reminds Haruhi of yesterday, when Mikuru had noticed Yutaka and Keiichi arguing. Haruhi also mentions that last night she had overheard Yutaka calling to prepare a passport and traveller’s checks, possibly arranging his escape.

Haruhi urges Kyon to take another look, but they are stopped by the butler. He had called the police, who had asked him not to allow anyone in the room. Kyon asks him if Yutaka and Keiichi didn’t get along. The butler says that he wouldn’t know as he has only been working here for a week. HOWEVER, if you remember when the SOS Brigade first arrived on the island, Koizumi had greeted him with, “It’s been quite some time.�? Obviously this piece of information is false.

Haruhi decides to go outside and see if the boat is still there. Mori, the maid, tells them that Yutaka had been in a hurry last night, heading for the entranceway. This had happened at 1 o’clock AM.

Kyon and Haruhi still decide to go outside though, and due to the strong winds, they hold hands (how cute!). When they reach the cliff and look down at the pier, they see that the boat is indeed gone. Haruhi suddenly sees someone down near the pier. Haruhi drags Kyon down a ridge, and what happens? They fall. Actually Haruhi falls and drags Kyon down with her. When Haruhi wakes up, she finds herself on top of an unconscious Kyon. She desperately tries to wake him up, and when he does, gives him a sweet, “daijoubu?�? This is the reason I really like this episode; all the moments of bonding between Haruhi and Kyon, and also a chance to see Suzumiya’s soft and caring side.

The two manage to get inside a cave and dry their clothes. Haruhi begins to doubt that it was Yutaka who killed Keiichi, as Mori had said that he left at 1 am, but when Haruhi had felt the dead body, it was still warm. She also doubts that Keiichi had died later on as well, as everyone had been moving around the house before they found the body. Finally, she comes to a conclusion (which is wrong by the way.)

Haruhi: “There’s no doubt that Yutaka stabbed Keiichi. Or else, you said he would have no reason to run away (talking to Kyon.) I don’t know his reasons, but Yutaka stabbed Keiichi. I doubt it was a premeditated (planned) murder. It was probably something like they got into an argument, and he picked up a nearby fruit knife and ended up using it. But the knife didn’t reach his heart. The knife was obstructed by the notebook and didn’t cause a fatal wound. However, this is when it got complicated. Keiichi fainted from the shock. Upon seeing that, Yutaka believed that he had killed him. The problem is what happened next. Keiichi, who had merely fainted, remained unconscious until morning. Once Keiichi came to, he stood up in a dazed state, and remembered that his brother had tried to kill him. Unable to think clearly, he locked the door. That’s when tragedy struck. Keiichi tripped over himself and fell on his face. As a result, the knife was driven into his heart, and Keiichi met his demise. This is the truth.”

Kyon does not buy this, and says that the body was found face up. THEN… Haruhi finally realises the real truth. Kyon asks her what she had just realised, and Haruhi says it was nothing. That is when Koizumi finds them.

Kyon is thinking about the murder when he sees his little sister searching for food in the kitchen. He notices that there is a plate of food already eaten, with a knife and fork resting on it AND some carrots leftover. Mori says that it had been eaten by the butler, but Kyon is not too sure.

Kyon arrives back at his room to find Haruhi and Koizumi stuck outside. Nagato was refusing to open the door because she was instructed not to open it for anybody. Haruhi tries to reason with her, but as Nagato is a super-intelligent alien, Haruhi fails. Kyon then steps up and says that he will override Haruhi’s orders. Nagato obediently opens the door.

Koizumi asks Haruhi if they should continue to investigate, but she tells him to forget it. How unlike her. Kyon then tells Koizumi about the discussion he had with Haruhi in the cave. Koizumi then explains what Haruhi had realised in the cave and why she didn’t want to continue investigating.

Koizumi: “Suzumiya’s deduction was partially correct, but the last part was wrong. Keiichi was stabbed by Yutaka, but he didn’t die. Yutaka made the wrong assumption and escaped. That much is all correct. Keiichi was awakened by our voices, and just as we were about to open the door, he locked it in his dazes state. That was when… That was when the knife was driven into Keiichi’s body.”

Kyon: “Which means the perpetrator…”

Koizumi: “Would be the ones who broke the door down. In other words, myself. You. And Arakawa. Suzumiya probably realised this. That’s why she didn’t say anything. In order to protect us. Hiding the truth within her own heart.�?

Kyon: “Your story makes sense…but it’s unfortunate that you learned the truth. (Kyon looks scary…) If I seal your lips… nobody will ever know of this. (Kyon advances on Koizumi) That would be the logical course of action.”

Kyon’s little sister runs to the butler, yelling that Koizumi is dead. The butler is truly shocked, as there isn’t meant to be anyone dead. Haruhi and Kyon enter Keiichi’s room. They say that they will stab the body a few more times and upon hearing this, Keiichi immediately gets up.

At the dining table, Haruhi explains everything that had happened – about the act that was put on by the master, brother, maid, butler and Koizumi, Kyon pretending to kill Koizumi and how his little sister distracted the butler.

After all the explanations, the group return home.

Impressions:

Well, er … nothing much to say since the Anime’s finished already. Episode 4 is when my favourite character is introduced – Tsuruya! If only she had more air time … Oh and episode shuffling starts episode 4 (not including the first episode). When I first watched the fourth episode, I honestly did not notice anything wrong with the order of events. I couldn’t remember what episode 3 was about so I thought I just missed Koizumi’s intro. Although Kyon and Haruhi seemed a bit closer at the end of that episode than how they left off of episode 3. It was only until the start of episode 5 did I realise. I’d say for this series, the episode shuffling is a positive thing – otherwise the last episode would’ve been that episode about Kyon getting the heater. Absolutely nothing happened in that episode!

Episode 3 (Episode 2):

Not long after the SOS Brigade is formed, Haruhi decides she wants to recruit a mysterious student, someone who transfers just 2 months after the start of the school year. But will such a thing happen? (Yes it will.)

Well, before it does, Haruhi decides to get a computer to make a web page for her club. Haruhi then barges into the computer club’s room and asks for a computer. Of course the leader refuses, but Haruhi gets her way – as usual. This next scene is both cruel and hilarious. Haruhi takes the computer club leader’s hand and forces it onto Mikuru’s chest. Before he can remove his hand, Haruhi takes several pictures of the act. She then kicks him onto Mikuru and takes more photos to use as blackmail. In the end, she gets her new computer.

Kyon tries to comfort Mikuru, is sulking on the floor. Mikuru then mumbles something weird, the first hint that she is not normal (did I say too much)? Anyway Kyon (under Haruhi’s orders) works on the club’s website. While he does this, Nagato asks him to read a book. Kyon agrees to take it home.

Later on when all the members are in the club room, Haruhi locks the door and reveals two sets of bunny costumes… sigh. Haruhi then begins to force Mikuru out of her clothes before Kyon can leave the room. After a while, Haruhi and Mikuru finish changing and Haruhi drags Mikuru out of the room, to distribute flyers outside the school. Mikuru pleads for Kyon to help her, but Kyon apologisers as he just can’t get enough of the outfit. Haruhi and Mikuru try to distribute the flyers but teachers forbid them to do so in their outfit. Before they all leave, Nagato reminds Kyon to read the book when he gets home.

Later at night, as Kyon is flipping through the book, he finds a note telling him meet somewhere. He rides his bike to the set location and finds Nagato sitting on the bench. She then leads him to her apartment, where she stays by herself. Nagato then explains about why she is here and about Haruhi. She claims that Haruhi and herself aren’t normal humans. Nagato is actually an organic life contact-purpose humanoid interface created by the Data Integration Thought Entity which supervises the galaxy, which means she is an alien.

Episode 4 (Episode 7):

All is peaceful and quiet in the SOS Brigade clubroom until Haruhi arrives proclaiming that they have entered the baseball tournament. By the way, the time interval between this episode and the last is quite substantial, where there are new characters that would have been introduced in this interval. There is a new member, Koizumi Itsuki, and Kyon has also accepted Nagato as an alien. Mikuru has also been revealed as not from this timeline (though the audience wouldn’t have known that yet). Kyon also knows that Koizumi is actually an esper.

Haruhi then forces the baseball team to let the SOS Brigade practice. Haruhi plays against the baseball team and is (not surprisingly) very good. By the time she decides to call it a day, all the baseball team members are on the verge of collapsing. Kyon asks Nagato to make it rain on the day of the match. Nagato says that if she does, the alteration in the ecosystem would affect the life on earth. These effects would show up from several centuries to ten millennia in the future, so Kyon decides to scrap that idea.

On the day of the game, Mikuru’s friend, Tsuruya, is introduced. Haruhi still thinks they will crush the other team, even though Kyon’s 11-year-old sister is playing as well. They then find out that their opponent is a college team who are expected to win. Haruhi has no chance of winning right?

Haruhi fares pretty well and is able to get on second base. Mikuru doesn’t even attempt to hit the ball and gets a strike-out. The same thing happens with Nagato. Kyon actually tries to hit it but also gets a strike-out. Then they switch. Haruhi manages to get the first batter out with a solid but straight pitch. The first batter warns the second and he easily manages to hit the ball. The next inning Haruhi’s team gets no runs again. Haruhi then forces Mikuru into a cheerleader uniform, which motivates her next batsman (Kyon’s friend). However, he gets a strike-out as well. Haruhi gets to third base on her first hit. It is Miuru’s turn, and Haruhi tries to give her a sign. Mikuru stands wondering about this and does not even notice that she has been bowled out.

Suddenly, closed space has appeared due to Haruhi’s foul mood. They must stop this or the closed space will continue to expand, unleashing monsters into the world. The baseball match has suddenly turned into a battle to save the world. Nagato then ‘enchants’ the bat to hit the ball by itself. Nagato hits a home run with the bat. So does Kyon, Kyon’s sister, Koizumi, Tsuruya and everyone else on the team. So the tides have turned!

Haruhi then changes her pitching position with Kyon. Nagato becomes the backstop. Each time Kyon pitches the ball, Nagato alters its data to make it fall into her glove. Everyone gets bowled out and they win the game. Thankfully for the other team, they forfeit and allow the college team to progress to the next round.

The next day, Haruhi barges into the clubroom with two flyers, asking whether the club wanted to play soccer or rugby.

Episode 5 (Episode 3):

This episode begins where episode 3 left off – Nagato telling Kyon that she is an alien. She now informs him that she is here to observe Haruhi and report all obtained data to the Integration Thought Entity. Apparently Nagato was born (or created) three years ago for this particular task. For those three years, nothing much had happened until Haruhi met Kyon. She explains about a whole lot of other things that I can’t be bothered writing down. All you need to know is that Haruhi was the centre of a massive explosion of data and that she is no ordinary human. She is able to manipulate data around her to coincide with her own desires. Nagato then goes to say that Kyon has been ‘chosen’ by Haruhi, without explaining what this really means.

Of course, Kyon does not believe a word Nagato says, and thinks she is crazy.

Nagato continues her speech, saying that she is not the only interface placed on earth (in fact, another person in Kyon’s class is one).

The next day, the mysterious transfer student arrives just as Haruhi had wished for it. After school as Kyon, Mikuru and Nagato are waiting for Haruhi, Nagagto begins to play a board game with Mikuru. Mikuru is very uneasy about this (as she knows Nagato is an alien). However, before anything else can happen, Haruhi arrives to destroy the tranquillity, dragging along the transfer student, Koizumi Itsuki.

After school the next day, Kyon walks in on Haruhi stripping Mikuru. Kyon runs back out. It turns out that Haruhi had gotten Mikuru a maid costume. After Koizumi joins them, Haruhi gives a not-so inspirational speech, and so the SOS Brigade go out in search of mysterious happenings around the neighbourhood.

The club splits into two groups. Kyon is paired up with Mikuru, and the other three are grouped as a three. After this decision is made, Haruhi constantly reminds Kyon that he is not on a date, even though he thinks it is.

As Kyon and Mikuru walk around, she decides to inform him about her true identity and that she is from the future. The conversation is extremely long as Mikuru tries to explain about time which is incomprehensible to normal humans. She then tells him that three years ago, a large timequake was detected and people from her time came to investigate. They were shocked to find that they weren’t able to travel further back in time. The conclusion was a large time-fault was created during the timequake. And the reason for this timequake? Haruhi of course. Like Nagato, Mikuru also claims that Kyon was chosen by Haruhi. The details are classified so she cannot explain further.

The SOS Brigade regroup, have lunch then split up again. Kyon is paired with Nagato. Haruhi is not happy as she obviously wants to be with Kyon, but the groups stay as they are. Instead of searching for mysterious things, Kyon takes Nagato to the library to kill time. Kyon falls asleep and is woken by his mobile. After yielding no results, Haruhi calls it a day and everyone goes home. The next week, Kyon confronts Koizumi, expecting him to be out of the ordinary as well. And it turns out he is. Koizumi is an esper and like the other two times he begins to explain about himself and the agency he is from, which was created three years ago. He describes the world as a dream, and for the person having this dream, manipulating it is easy. And who exactly is having this dream? Suzumiya Haruhi. Koizumi describes her as a god.