I don't really look into the backgrounds of shows when I decide to watch them in the first place, usually it's just a quick glance at the OP or I get a recommendation from a friend. The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya is no different, I played the Will Stetson cover of Super Driver in Osu! and thought I'd give the show a whirl; however, there was one thing I had heard about before going in, The Endless Eight.

Before we talk about that, however, we need to talk about the rest of the show. Overall, it's not bad. The first arc is an enjoyable supernatural slice of life/romance, similar to that of Monogatari or Bunny Girl Senpai. I honestly wished that they had kept going in the romance direction though, because after the first six episodes, the show starts to feel aimless. It's obvious that this is not Monogatari, it never was in competition to be, but I'm disappointed that it could have been a better predecessor.

The show progresses at what I would consider a normal slice of life pacing, we get introduced to our main characters and mosey along based on whatever they are doing at the time or find interesting. It's cute and quaint, but after the first six episodes I kept feeling like something was missing. There were little things that developed the characters, and the show felt like that was where it was trying to go, but it just didn't. The plot kept forcing characters to stay in their boxes, when they so clearly wanted to develop and grow.

After the Endless Eight, and trust me, we'll talk about it soon enough, we get to the movie arc. It felt like a breath of fresh air to see the plot move forward again and I was glad that we were back to the characters doing something, but something about this was just worse. The fact that Suzumiya was able to alter reality with greater ease, but Kyon getting (rightfully) pissed at her didn't set off closed space really irked me. The arc wrapped up peacefully in a similar way to that of Haganai Next's movie arc, but from a "professional" standpoint, I just felt disappointed. It felt like the show should have gone somewhere, but it didn't. Looking at it this way, The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya is a dissapointing slice of life that could have been way better had it given itself the chance. What if we looked at it in a different light?

Let's talk about the Endless Eight, remember how I said that The Endless Eight was the only thing I had heard about before going in? It was solely because of Youtube comments making jokes about "surviving" the arc. I, however, got the wrong impression. I had assumed it was a depressing or at the very least, very interesting arc to the show. The Endless Eight, obviously, is not that. It's essentially eight episodes of filler. From a purely critical standpoint, The Endless Eight is the worst anime arc of all time. It is literally the same episode eight times in a row, with a half-assed conclusion tacked on. That's exactly why I love it.

When I watched the Endless Eight, I was furious with how it ended, "how could Homework be the solution?" "They set up a vague romance the whole time why didn't they follow through" were my questions, and that's when it clicked. If you are planning on watching The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya for the story, watch the first six episodes then quit. It doesn't get any better. If you're watching Haruhi Suzumiya as a slice of life with some interesting plot elements? You'll get a solid kick. The realization has to be made that this isn't a predecessor to Monogatari, it's Haganai with some supernatural elements tacked onto the beginning to hook people in. Looking at it from this perspective, it almost immediately became one of my favorite time wasters. The plot was relatively interesting, even if it was dumb, and the characters were funny, even if they were wasted potential. The Endless Eight having a dumb cop-out finale is exactly what makes this show good, because there was no way it could have a strong emotional climax without coming off cheesy, so they went all in.