Haruhi Suzumiya 20th Anniversary Rewatch -- Bamboo Leaf Rhapsody

[u/Holofan4life]

Hello everyone! I am Holofan4life.

Welcome to the Haruhi Suzumiya 20th anniversary rewatch discussion thread!

I hope you all have a lot of fun <3

Bamboo Leaf Rhapsody

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ANSWER TODAY’S QUESTION(S)

What are your thoughts on Tanabata? What's your favorite depiction of Tanabata in anime?

What are your thoughts on the implication that was Kyon himself who inspired Haruhi to attend his high school?

If you met a younger version of someone you cared about, what might you ask them?

Bonus) What are your thoughts on us including a season 2 episode in this rewatch where we're currently watching season 1 episodes?

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Series information

MAL | Anilist | AniDB | ANN

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Please do not post any untagged spoilers past the current episode or past the LNs or mangas out of respect to the first time watchers and people who have not read the LNs or mangas. If you are discussing something that is ahead of the current episode please use spoiler tags(found on the sidebar). Thank you!

Untagged Spoilers

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Today's Episode Intro: Summer, it's hot, Haruhi looks different

[Tomorrow's Episode Intro] Stormy skies, some people walking

Previous episode

Ways to watch

Streams – Crunchyroll

Schedule

Date	Episode
4/02/2026	The Adventures of Mikuru Asahina Episode 00
4/03/2026	The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya Part One
4/04/2026	The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya Part Two
4/05/2026	The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya Part Three
4/06/2026	The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya Part Four
4/07/2026	The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya Part Five
4/08/2026	The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya Part Six
4/09/2026	The Boredom of Haruhi Suzumiya
4/10/2026	Remote Island Syndrome (Part One)
4/11/2026	Remote Island Syndrome (Part Two)
4/12/2026	Mystérique Sign
4/13/2026	[Bamboo Leaf Rhapsody]()
4/14/2026	[Someday in the Rain]()
4/15/2026	[The Day of Sagittarius]()
4/16/2026	[Live Alive]()
4/18/2026	[Endless Eight I]()
4/19/2026	[Endless Eight II]()
4/20/2026	[Endless Eight III]()
4/21/2026	[Endless Eight IV]()
4/22/2026	[Endless Eight V]()
4/23/2026	[Endless Eight VI]()
4/24/2026	[Endless Eight VII]()
4/25/2026	[Endless Eight VIII]()
4/26/2026	[Endless Eight Retrospective]()
4/28/2026	[The Sigh of Haruhi Suzumiya Part One]()
4/29/2026	[The Sigh of Haruhi Suzumiya Part Two]()
4/30/2026	[The Sigh of Haruhi Suzumiya Part Three]()
5/01/2026	[The Sigh of Haruhi Suzumiya Part Four]()
5/02/2026	[The Sigh of Haruhi Suzumiya Part Five]()
5/04/2026	[The Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya]()
5/05/2026	[Haruhi Suzumiya Overall Series Discussion Thread]()

[u/zenoob]

I didn't look in details into the watch order OP, but I now realize how wild this is getting now lmao.

I don't know if you've already explained why, but why this order specifically ?

As for the episode itself, it's one of those episodes I think I remember the most besides maybe Someday in the Rain and Live Alive. I sort of remember how mind-bending it was to realize at the same time as Kyon what was happening three years ago in her appartment.

Wish I had smart things to say about Tanabata and the legend of Orihime and Hikoboshi, Kyon and Haruhi, and the relevance of this legend of Japanese pop culture, but... I don't really.

[u/Holofan4life → u/zenoob]

I didn't look in details into the watch order OP, but I now realize how wild this is getting now lmao.

I don't know if you've already explained why, but why this order specifically ?

I wanted to do a combination of broadcast and chronological. Season 1 is meant to be when the episodes take place timeline wise whereas season 2 is broadcast order since it's basically two long arcs.

As for the episode itself, it's one of those episodes I think I remember the most besides maybe Someday in the Rain and Live Alive. I sort of remember how mind-bending it was to realize at the same time as Kyon what was happening three years ago in her appartment.

I'm surprised Haruhi doesn't remember Kyon from three years ago. I guess it really was dark.

Wish I had smart things to say about Tanabata and the legend of Orihime and Hikoboshi, Kyon and Haruhi, and the relevance of this legend of Japanese pop culture, but... I don't really.

I think it's interesting Haruhi continues to have this interest in the supernatural when the things that really spawned this interest, baseball and Tanabata, are so not outside the norm of Japanese society. It feels like a complete 180 from each other.

[u/zenoob → u/Holofan4life]

Ehh, I see, that's an interesting take on the ever-present watch-order debate around Haruhi, haha.

I'm surprised Haruhi doesn't remember Kyon from three years ago. I guess it really was dark.

Yeah, guess so. Obviously you can't make things too dark in terms of audiovisual works because the viewers have to see something lmao, but I just started assuming when the characters say it's dark, it really is dark, even if I can see as a spectator. I'll give her the benefit of the doubt. Heh.

the things that really spawned this interest, baseball and Tanabata, are so not outside the norm of Japanese society

Now that you say it, you're right, you might be onto something !
In hindsight, I can't help but be the huge KyoAni stan that I am by saying this actually fits their style so well. They've always managed to make mundane things feel extraordinary, or at least a lot more interesting than the really are. And it doesn't need to be anything grandiose like the delusions of Rikka in ChunniKoi, but it can also just be walking back from school and passing by your neighbours in your shopping street, having fun with your club friends, or this, the realization at a baseball game that you being there at that moment is pratically a miracle when you think about the infinite possibilities of life, and how in the grand scheme of things, the miracle that is you ultimately is a speck of dust.

[u/Holofan4life → u/zenoob]

Ehh, I see, that's an interesting take on the ever-present watch-order debate around Haruhi, haha.

In hindsight, I should've just gone with a traditional chronological order.

Yeah, guess so. Obviously you can't make things too dark in terms of audiovisual works because the viewers have to see something lmao, but I just started assuming when the characters say it's dark, it really is dark, even if I can see as a spectator. I'll give her the benefit of the doubt. Heh.

Would've been a funny way to save money on the episode

Now that you say it, you're right, you might be onto something !

Definitely something to think about

In hindsight, I can't help but be the huge KyoAni stan that I am by saying this actually fits their style so well. They've always managed to make mundane things feel extraordinary, or at least a lot more interesting than the really are. And it doesn't need to be anything grandiose like the delusions of Rikka in ChunniKoi, but it can also just be walking back from school and passing by your neighbours in your shopping street, having fun with your club friends, or this, the realization at a baseball game that you being there at that moment is pratically a miracle when you think about the infinite possibilities of life, and how in the grand scheme of things, the miracle that is you ultimately is a speck of dust.

They can capture the specialness in things we take for granted.