NOTE: This post is a part of an effort on my end to bring my Reddit content to Lemmy.
Original Posting Date: 15/8/2022
Post:
Yes. It's me. The guy who previously posted about how much I hate Haruhi as a character. And how much I loved the movie on first watch. Here's my previous post in case you wanted to catch up on my opinions about the show and movie. Or don't. I can't force you.
Alright. So... This movie is quite a treat. I noticed some stuff I didn't realise previously.
SPOILERS AHEAD
That scene where Kyon asks New Yuki whether the books are hers, she says no. And then she tells him that the book she's reading was borrowed. From the public library.
At first, I was giggling because I thought this was a joke of sorts in that Old Yuki never had such conversations. So New Yuki was a distinct person.
But now that I've seen it a second time, I've realised that she points out that she borrowed it from the public library because Kyon helped her get the library card. He doesn't remember, and she's trying to subtly nudge his memory.
It's a cute little moment that's so absolutely realistic because I've done similar stuff in a setting where I'm trying to remind someone who's clearly forgotten something.!<
That's all for new realisations.
But regarding new appreciation, I'm appreciating the overall theme of the movie more.
There's two major things that matter in this movie. Kyon's perspective and Yuki's perspective.
Kyon's Perspective
He's a kid who's never cared much for anything. But over time, no matter how much he finds Haruhi's behaviour irritating or annoying, he enjoys the overall excitement and unpredictability of the old world. He even says this in his inner monologue before he shoots Yuki. But I keep realising how big a decision it is for him.
Keep a broken and extremely unpredictable world that you've grown to like, or embrace the new fully fixed, normal world with absolutely no problems.
And I agree with Kyon. As much as I love Yuki's transformation and the normalness of the New World, I personally would have opted for the Old Chaotic world a hundred times over.
Yuki's Perspective
Yuki has developed emotions. She's become more organic and less Android over time. This makes her realise how much she's missing out on a normal life and how much Haruhi's behaviour is costing her and everyone else. She knows that this is not Haruhi's doing. It's not on purpose. She has no idea she can will all of this into existence. But consider the almost 15000 times Yuki had to sit through the summer vacation. Or the times she stopped Asahina from shooting lasers from her eyes. Or the fucking talking cat. Like, I can completely understand. I'd be exhausted too if I had the power to literally rewrite the world and here I am stuck doing damage control for the unconscious creations of a teenagers whims and fantasies. And talking about power, imagine if Haruhi finds out she has this power. It's basically Yuki, but even more reckless.
This movie, above all else, has made me realise that this show in general has a pretty cool concept, and that the way they're approaching the storytelling in the series is a bit offputting to someone like me. I'm not a fan of the overly light tone of the show. I don't like how Haruhi's character is allowed to continue to act as she pleases. I know she has ultimate power and they all know that, that's why it goes on. But she needs a good bonk.
But the movie humanizes Haruhi. That last scene shows that no matter how fuckin idiotic and reckless and plain assholey she is, she's not entirely a bad person.
I'm waiting to read the novels and hope they redeem Haruhi's character for me.
But as of now, Yuki is best girl. She is the quiet, shy girl I've dreamed of from back in school. Yuki reminds me of my childhood crushes.
And yes, I still fuckin hate Haruhi for all the reasons I've stated in the previous posts. But this movie definitely made me rethink my opinion.
For better or for worse, Haruhi has the ultimate power in the universe, and the SOS Brigade is stuck making her and the world adapt to each other.
Update: u/Lower_Saxony (a user who commented on my old reddit post) has dropped some seriously wise stuff in the comments...
... the fact that she doesn't know that the others would never refuse to do whatever she says, even though she acts like she's a military leader, she has shown to take in consideration's kyon's objections in the past, and I think that if the others had the guts to tell her no, she would be a better person, I think any kid would become an ass if nobody ever told them no, and she still is a kid. I actually feel bad for her because all of her friends, except for Kyon, are afraid of her, it's something that if she would ever find out it would probably destroy her.
And they go on to say the best thing anyone has said to me on this sub:
In the end, what unites us as Haruhi fans is the fact that we would all pick Haruhi's world instead of Yuki's normal world, even kyon himself says so, and I think it's beautyful.