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woahseph 's review for:
The Boredom of Haruhi Suzumiya
by Nagaru Tanigawa
The third entry in the Haruhi Suzumiya series is a mixed bag quite literally, it is the first novel by Tanigawa that is composed of short stories stitched together for the purpose of publishing. Each story has it's own values and reasosn for existing, the first one for example is a simple narrative about the SOS Brigade getting involved in a baseball tournament, and whilst there is some further observances into the main conflict of the series, that is, Haruhi's effect on the world, it exists soley as a way to further develop these characters and have them interact with each other in some not-so-critical situations. I can't say I totally approve of the way this is done, in most novels that kind of characterization is spread out in small scenes between the main events, this is a different way of doing it, but I don't think it pays off, reading page after page about the characters playing baseball is (ironically) boring.
Luckily the rest of the stories more than make up for the weak beginning, the 'Bamboo Leaf Rhaspody' is the first storyline in the Suzumiya series where Kyon really affects the flow of events in a serious way, because I like to write spoiler-free reviews I won't say what happens, but I will say that it's storylines like this that make Haruhi stand out in the genre of light novels.
Funnily enough I didn't really enjoy 'Remote Island Syndrome' on this read through, I remember absolutely loving it the first time I read the series, but this time it just felt overdrawn. I think the problem with it is that it has no substance, when you're reading it the first time you think that the events are really substantial and are going to change things, but that isn't true, and once you know it isn't true you realize how disposable this story really is. Rereading Bamboo was enjoyable because it did have substance, and I felt like I was rediscovering the intrigue of those events. That being said, the Island storyline is great fun for new readers, it has a genuinely satisfying twist, and it feels fresh and new, it definitely stands out substantially from the rest of the Haruhi series, even now.
There was also a short story (the name escapes me right now) about the SOS Brigade's logo. It sounds boring, but throw in some 'data manipulation' and 'alien immaterial lifeforms' and it's actually really interesting. And besides, any focus on Yuki Nagato is fine by me, now onto Disappearance...
Luckily the rest of the stories more than make up for the weak beginning, the 'Bamboo Leaf Rhaspody' is the first storyline in the Suzumiya series where Kyon really affects the flow of events in a serious way, because I like to write spoiler-free reviews I won't say what happens, but I will say that it's storylines like this that make Haruhi stand out in the genre of light novels.
Funnily enough I didn't really enjoy 'Remote Island Syndrome' on this read through, I remember absolutely loving it the first time I read the series, but this time it just felt overdrawn. I think the problem with it is that it has no substance, when you're reading it the first time you think that the events are really substantial and are going to change things, but that isn't true, and once you know it isn't true you realize how disposable this story really is. Rereading Bamboo was enjoyable because it did have substance, and I felt like I was rediscovering the intrigue of those events. That being said, the Island storyline is great fun for new readers, it has a genuinely satisfying twist, and it feels fresh and new, it definitely stands out substantially from the rest of the Haruhi series, even now.
There was also a short story (the name escapes me right now) about the SOS Brigade's logo. It sounds boring, but throw in some 'data manipulation' and 'alien immaterial lifeforms' and it's actually really interesting. And besides, any focus on Yuki Nagato is fine by me, now onto Disappearance...