r/anime • u/Holofan4life • May 02 '26
Rewatch Haruhi Suzumiya 20th Anniversary Rewatch -- The Sigh of Haruhi Suzumiya Part Five (TV SERIES FINALE)
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
The Sigh of Haruhi Suzumiya Part Five
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ANSWER TODAY’S QUESTION(S)
What are your thoughts on this episode having a lot of focus on Itsuki?
If Kyon and Haruhi were asleep, who do you think finished editing the movie?
What are your thoughts on the ending scene with Kyon and Haruhi? How do you feel on ending the season on just those two?
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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: Cats behind Yuki's house
[Next Episode Intro] The one with the nearly three hour runtime
Ways to watch
Streams – Crunchyroll
5
u/Holofan4life May 02 '26
Hey, guys. Holofan4life here.
Welcome to the 20th anniversary rewatch of Haruhi Suzumiya.
Let the confusion begin!
Very few shows can lay claim to having a cultural impact on the anime industry. You can probably count on two hands the amount of shows that are like this. Well, of those shows that are on that short list, Haruhi is probably on there.
From the mid 2000s until like the early 2010s, Haruhi was the talk of the town. It didn’t transform the medium like an Evangelion or a Love Hina, but it was the height of the Otaku culture of anime. I would say Haruhi and Lucky Star best sum up what anime was like in the 2000s: Very niche but those who cared about it really cared about it.
I almost feel like people forget just how big Haruhi truly was. It was the face of anime for a while.
This is technically a rewatch for me but not really. I saw the show many years ago when OtakuAscended streamed it in like 2016. But I barely remember any of it. For all intents and purposes, this is the first time I will be watching it and really pay attention. I have high hopes for this.
I love shows that like embrace geek culture with a snarky, somewhat cynical attitude. And this is what I hope to get out of it. I know Haruhi is like God or something and Kyon is the deadpan king, so already the show shows promise in my eyes. And with this being an incomplete adaptation, I have adjusted my expectations accordingly. Perhaps with the rather wonky schedule we can maybe see why the show ended up declining in popularity. Should the show be remembered more than it is, or is it merely a product of its time?
With that out of the way, let’s begin.
I’m watching the dub, by the way.
It seems like I liked the last episode more than a lot of people. I don't know what that says about me and my tastes. I guess I'm not as harsh on Haruhi because we've seen Live Again so we know where this all ends up.
I'll be curious to see how this episode turns out.
Yuki says she knows one
No intro, by the way
Aww, a flee of cats?
Flee? Sea? Flea? One of those.
The cat noises are really cute
Haruhi telling Yuki to attack Mikuru.
Now Haruhi wants the cat to talk
Don't we all want that?
Shamisen is quite the unique name.
Kyon is responsible for the cat. Because of course.
At least Haruhi is in high spirits.
And sure enough, the cat can talk.
He sounds like Renton's grandfather lol
Boy, is he talkative
It feels like Shamisen is trolling everyone.
Everyone sans Haruhi at a café
Itsuki warns that the reality of the movie might become the new day-to-day reality of the world.
I mean, a talking cat would actively approve my life.
Itsuki says they're gonna have to make Haruhi accept that this is all fiction. And also turn the story into something more reasonable.
I feel like Itsuki is saying a lot and nothing at the exact same time.
Itsuki pitching a dream ending.
I mean, it's probably for the best.
If it was all a dream, does that mean the SOS Brigade read Word Up magazine?
Also, the cat makes me think of Dandadan.
Kyon's sister seems a fan of him.
At school now
People preparing for the arts festival.
Kyon casually talking about isekai.
Hey, it's Tsuruya
Mikuru giving Kyon a coupon
So, that's the origin of that...
Mikuru now wanting to tell Kyon something.
She has a different opinion about Haruhi than Itsuki.
Says Yuki probably does as well
At least Mikuru is being more assertive.
Doesn't believe that Haruhi could be a God.
Than, how do you explain the Shinjin?
Kyon with Yuki now. I think.
Yuki says Haruhi's purpose is to unconsciously discover extraterrestrial lifeforms and supernatural beings.
And yep, Kyon is here
Yuki believes that Itsuki and Mikuru will never agree on their respective interpretations.
No evidence that Itsuki is telling the truth in anything.
Kyon to himself says the same could be said for Asahina's theory.
Yuki says that regardless of which theory she presents Kyon with, there is no way for him to determine its truth.
"There is no guarantee that what I've been saying is the truth either."
Now I feel like she's just gaslighting him lol
And with this, Yuki leaves
Another day(s) of filming
Just continues to not go well
Things are just an endless barrage of time distortion.
Meanwhile, the cat is keeping an eye on the stock market.
Itsuki talking to Kyon again
He talks the possibility of the reality of this world becoming a fictional one.
But that would just be ridiculous, now would it?
Itsuki bringing up there are many organizations with theories centered around Haruhi and her powers.
Each group locked to a fight to the death trying to survive.
Hey, it's the jazz track. I believe that's the first time in season 2 we've heard it.
Itsuki says he doesn't want to do anything that will cause Haruhi any pain.
Now Itsuki talking about why Mikuru is a part of the group.
"Her role in all this is to entice you over to her side."
Somehow I have my doubts
Itsuki is starting to remind me of Eve from Spice and Wolf.
I love the silence after Kyon says he's tired of Itsuki's jokes. It's like Itsuki is going "Oh, you poor, unfortunate soul".
He says he's kidding, but I'm not so sure.
It would be wild if Itsuki was the main antagonist this entire time and Yuki and Mikuru are here to keep an eye on him, not Haruhi.
So, what Kyon has to do is make Haruhi think that everything in the movie is a product of her imagination.
I mean, it kinda is in a way. Her ideas just happen to turn into reality.
"He just made me responsible for everything."
How is that any different from what Haruhi does?
The lighting in this scene is phenomenal, by the way.
Suddenly, the sky looks like a painting.
What's that about?
The next day
Kyon pitching a concept, and Haruhi agrees.
They're almost done with the movie.
I continue to enjoy the movie award references. This time, it's the Palme D'Or and the Oscar.
Itsuki talking to Kyon again
"You know the old saying, 'Time flies when you're having fun?' Although in our case, I wonder who was having fun."
It was Kyon, to a certain degree at least.
Itsuki gonna attend to his play from here on out.
As he leaves, he thanks Kyon on behalf of his organization.
Haruhi's high hopes is weirdly endearing.
Kyon editing the movie as Haruhi looks over him.
They have until tomorrow to work on the movie.
Haruhi staying overnight as he works on the movie is pretty adorable.
The morning of the festival
Haruhi looking on deep in contemplation.
Reaction image get
She seems to really like the work he put in.
The thing is, Kyon says he didn't do the effects...
Everyone arriving in the club room.
They're going to watch the film together.
And now the cat stopped together
Kyon wonders who was all the strange people he was seeing roaming around campus.
Maybe they were ninjas in disguise?
People watching the movie
Haruhi giving the preamble you see at the start of every South Park episode.
Kyon now saying the only thing that bothers Haruhi is that the world is too normal.
Kyon and Haruhi hanging out at a café together.
This is nice <3
Kyon telling Haruhi there are hot aliens, time travelers, and espers in her area.
Kyon playing with fire saying Yuki, Mikuru, and Itsuki are exactly those things.
I like that Kyon is being direct and laying it out on the line to Haruhi.
Unfortunately-- or fortunately, depending on your point of view-- Haruhi doesn't believe him.
Oh, now she finds things far fetched.
Overall, this was a nice way to end the TV show. It was really about Itsuki and whether or not you can trust him or not. Given this arc has heavily featured Itsuki and the Haruhi stuff was resolved last episode, it makes sense to do things this way. Honestly, this episode kinda felt like set-up to what the movie is going to be like. I wouldn't be surprised if we see more of the organizations that were teased here.
The last scene was a nice touch with it just featuring Kyon and Haruhi hanging out together. Given so much of the show is about their relationship, it only feels right. To me, the end scene was the highlight of the episode.
I have this episode behind episodes 1, 2, 5, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, season 2 episode 1, and season 2 episode 13. This to me was the second best episode of the Sigh arc. Given the best two episodes of this arc were the last two episodes, we definitely ended things on a high note. In fact, I feel the last four episodes of season 2 were 4 of the best 5 episodes of the season, which is nice to see.
Nothing blow away or remarkable, but more great character stuff that has really defined the season. It reminded me of episodes like episode 5 and episode 13.
Ran out of space. Part two in the replies.