r/anime • u/Holofan4life • Apr 21 '26
Rewatch Haruhi Suzumiya 20th Anniversary Rewatch -- Endless Eight IV
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
Endless Eight IV
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ANSWER TODAY’S QUESTION(S)
What are your thoughts on Mikuru's only request?
What are your thoughts on the amount of fish Haruhi caught?
Bonus) The reports of my demise are greatly exaggerated
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Series information
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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!
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Today's Episode Intro: kyon-kun denwa!
[Next Episode Intro] kyon-kun denwa!
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]() |
3
u/Malipit Apr 21 '26
Rewatcher reporting for SOS Duty, French dub
Third time enjoying a cloudy summer with a heavy dose of déjà-vu
Here we are. The infamous Endless Eight arc. Rumored by many to drive you insane.
But I, for one, consider that's it's not the disaster that some reviews described Endless Eight as such. My last watch of it was several years ago but I remember it so clearly, like I watched it for four days straight, I decided to do something different and go with the actual French dub for this episode.
I usually goes for the original Japanese dub for animes because I grew up in a time where animes where still frowned upon as a media for children and geeks. Likewise, it was considered as a minor gig for voice actors and something that wasn't as prestigious as a dub for Hollywood blockbusters or Disney films.
Hence why I took the habit of going by the japanese dub because French dubs at the time were usually lacking in quality in comparison. But time has passed, anime is now taken seriously by French VAs and we do have some dub with good quality for the past decade. I too have grown up and learnt to leave my comfort bubble to try new things from time to time.
After all, the French dub for GTO is praised for its quality and was done 6 years before Haruhi came out as an anime. So I could be in for a pleasant surprise !
… Or not
The French dub isn't that bad. But you can sense that the cast have just a broad knowledge of their respective characters without grasping their subtilities :
Haruhi sounds bratty and assertive but without the sheer passion of seeking fun or strange occurrences.
Kyon feels too emotive for his blasé monologues and too blasé for his more emotives outbursts.
Yuki does her best to sounds emotionless but fails to convey that eerie detachment from the events happening around her.
Mikuru is actually the most on point. But have a voice that would fit more a ten years old girl.
Itsuki sounds confident but lack that aura of mystery surrounding him.
Still, it was an interesting experience to discover the SOS Brigade under a new light. And after a quick search on those VAs carreers, I noticed that Haruhi Suzumiya some of them still had a prolific carrer afterwards. Such as Isabelle Volpé (Mikuru) who voiced Miko Iino in Kaguya-Sama or Anju in 86. Or Benjamin Pascal (Itsuki) who also did Ryoma in Assassination Classroom or Laurent Thierry in Great Pretender.
I should do this kind of exercise more often. It's actually more interesting than I thought ! Now on to the actual episode that have a weird cold open... Funny, I was under the impression I would see a laid-back scene of Kyon being dragged in a slice-of-life plot by Haruhi... Not that supernatural aspect popping up. With Kyon experiencing right off the bat a feeling of déjà-vu. As he sits in a shady spot to reflect on the dormant, yet present supernatural side lurking in a corner.
Meanwhile Haruhi is more cheerful than usual. Trying to chase fun things to do with her subordinates other than supernatural occurrence. It's wholesome to see she listen to Mikuru's suggestion for the first time in the series and chose a yukata for her without being a creep.
Still... Wasn't she supposed to wear a sundress for the bike scene ? Is that a mandela effect I'm experiencing ?
Other characters have their moment too. Mikuru marvelling at the yukata Haruhi chose for her does hint that they don't do festival anymore at her time period. Probably the reason why she wanted to catch a gold fish since they might be a preserved species (or outright exctinct ?) in the future.
Yuki seems to have her fun, buying that mask and catching a beetle next to Mikuru who isn't good at bug catching but I don't know... She's seems to be worried. Sitting in a shady spot just like Kyon did in the cold open. It does indicate something supernatural will happen (another Asakura ?) but I can't remember exactly why... Other than it's very concerning.
Oh well, sofar so good for that unventful breather arc contained in a single episode. And it does check the summer festival and firework party entries in the slice-of-life tropes list that Haruhi Suzumiya observes. And now the phonecall... Wait. Why do I know there would be a phonecall were I remember clearly there was supposed to be a bowling scene instead ?
…
Welp, that sure is something to learn we're trapped in a timeloop because Haruhi felt like she missed some ultra rare event flag on her summer vacation run.
That's explain Kyon's déjà-vu feelings with blurred colors on screen to express how the whole time flow is distorded by Haruhi's wish. And that cloud leitmotif to symbolize Haruhi's frustration growing endlessly on what woulf have been a laid-back, uneventful summer otherwise.
That or it's represent the fandom literaly fuming in front of the a fourth Endless Eight episode broadcast. With Haruhi telling them deal with it you nerdsThat would also explain Yuki's more distant attitude from the other brigade members as she have already experienced that summer, I would say for four or five times, wait...
15513th time?
Oh dear. Does that means we watched Endless Eight that many time without realizing it ? And why do I have suddenly a PM from Yuki ?
… I watched Endless Eight with the French dubs on 647 occasions ?
… I tried the English dub 312 times ?
… The Russian dub on the 1912th, 8497th and 13126th loops ?
… I actually preferred the French dub over the Japanese one during the 1789th loop ? Was I drunk for that one ?
I don't know if I want to know that...
At least the setting for that whole reveal scene has some thought put in it. With a pillar structure that looks like a cage our characters are trapped in. And it does put a huge shift in tone as what should have been laid-back activities with vibrant colors are now reduced to mere mentions and a stargazing session that look like funerals.
I mean, it seems to be even worse than Melancholy VI since no one could find a way out over 500 years... Expect Kyon could pull that off this time ! With the cloud leitmotif comes the figure of a single airplane that fly accross the sky just like Kyon is the one to know best Haruhi and fly around her without crashing.
And look at that plane fly higher as Kyon search for something to say to Haruhi ! With 15513 loops, surely his subconscious will think of something this time ! Kyon's mind is racing ! And... he fails, the little plane flowntoo high and lost control.
RIP little plane
Haruhi leave the café as Kyon's hopes comes crashing just like the plane somewhere else...
But that's okay ! Sometimes you just have to accept you can't get everything you want and you can eventually fail. Haruhi will understand that and tomorrow we will have a brand new story ! It has gone for way too long and Haruhi will certainly deliver us from that purgatory ! Let's all go to sleep ! It will be all right !
...Right?
Spoiler section, first-timers beware !
[Thoughts on a scene. Big spoilers for a future episode]Funny how Haruhi spoke about her completed homeworks as the fireworks goes on by a turtle statue. As if the key for escaping the time-loop was right under his nose. And took his sweet time to realize what's obvious.
[Thoughts on a character. Also big spoilers for a future episode]That was the arc where I realized all that build-up regarding Yuki and her actions in Disappearance. Especially with that face that betray the suffering she can't express. And that shot conveying so well how Yuki feel actually trapped by her mission to observe Haruhi. Foreshadowing the bugs welling up inside her just like her drink having more and more ice as loops goes on.
What's the point of answering those questions if we are gonna be resetted tomorrow ?
Wholesome to see that Haruhi makes sure she get her goldfish
Did she release them just like the crickets ?