The Count Down Begins?

[Kaisos Erranon]

Who confirmed only 24 episodes?

If it didn't come from a reliable source, it might simply be wrong info.

Wikipedia. They got it from the DVD release schedule.

ANN has 24 episodes as the scheduled length too.

[Rectifier]

According to most people who've played the game, it cannot be done in 24 episodes. It can't. It's much, much too big. We're like only half done the story, and there is no possible way to pack the entire After Story as well as Nagisa's arc into 6 episodes.

If they hadn't shown the girl and the robot, as well as the other hints to After Story in the opening, I'd be sure there wouldn't be a second season, but...

It's not like I want to delay Haruhi for this, but Clannad is good and I want to see it done justice.

Maybe its going to like SHnY and will have the second season be "delayed" until Haruhi second season is done, at least, thats what I'm hoping will happen.

[TUNAFISHISGOOD]

Anyways, Haruhi Season 2 better be longer than the first one.. the first one was too short. Although it covered much of the first volume.

[TheGiftedMonkey]

Do you mean Ep wise or content wise? I'm assuming they'll do the same thing with 6 towards the focus book and 6 other side stories.

[Kaisos Erranon]

Do you mean Ep wise or content wise? I'm assuming they'll do the same thing with 6 towards the focus book and 6 other side stories.

Personally, I hope it's at least 24 episodes. One of the major reasons the first was that short, I think, was because Kyoto didn't think they could do a series that long. Now, they can.

(Also, Vol.4 is worth like 5 episodes anyway, it's shorter than most of the longer books.)

But that's just me.

[quigonkenny]

Well, as this appears to be turning into a S2 spec thread, I thought I might speculate on what we might see in a new season (or two) of Haruhi, but then I remembered I've already done that, just not here. So I figured I might as well dust off my old AnimeSuki post about what books/chapters might appear in (a speculative) two seasons worth, and repost it here. Then we can laugh at what I thought then would be a good idea (it was written before V8 was completely translated), and maybe salvage a few nuggets of wisdom for a rewrite. The original post is here, should anyone be curious about checking out any of the other prevalent theories back then... ^_^

I think it would be a good idea to split up the remainder of the currently released novels (or at least as much is as feasible) into two more seasons, with Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya (4) and Intrigues of Haruhi Suzumiya (7) being the cornerstone arcs of the seasons, much like Melancholy (1) was for the first season. This is because, except for the aforementioned Intrigues prologue, the stories have little to do with each other, and are each easily as self-contained a story as Melancholy (although Intrigues does lean as heavily on Disappearance as every other chronologically later story). That leaves Sighs of Haruhi Suzumiya (2), Bamboo Leaf Rhapsody (from 3), Endless Eight and Snow Mountain Syndrome (both from 5), Charmed at First Sight LOVER, Where Did the Cat Go?, and Melancholy of Mikuru Asahina (all from 6), and finally Editor in Chief★Straight Ahead! and Wandering Shadow, the two stories in Indignation (8). I'm leaving 9 out, as I have no idea what it is about.

Well, we obviously know what Volume 9 is about now, and can speculate on 10, but I stand by leaving them out of discussion for now, as we still have a solid 24-26 episodes worth of goodness without them, and they'd probably make a good 12-ep season or OVA by themselves anyway...

Here is how I feel it should break down, and estimated episode counts, as well as my reasons. I have tried to remain vague about things, and only allude to things already mentioned in this thread, but if I missed something, and anyone sees any of what I am about to write as spoiler-worthy, please respond as such, and I will edit it with spoiler tags.

LOL. I was so conscientious back then. Now it's all "We'll it's been out and discussed for the last 8 months, so if they don't know it by now, screw 'em." I can't remember the last time I saw a spoiler tag on this forum (much less used one) for anything other than saving space...

(As anyone who has read as much as I have will see, S2 will be very much centered on Yuki, and to a lesser degree, S3 will be Mikuru-centric. That is intentional, as each season's core storyline spotlights one of the two characters.)

I had completely forgotten about that part of my post, but it's an idea that's reflected in the source choices (to some degree) in each of the two seasons, as well as the "or..." secondary titles for each season. The latter is actually an idea I'd still get behind today, although I think it's quite unlikely to happen.

Season 2, The Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya
or...The Melancholy of Yuki Nagato
Bamboo Leaf Rhapsody (1) Premier
The Sighs of Haruhi Suzumiya (4)
Endless Eight (1)
Charmed at First Sight LOVER (1)
The Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya (6) End

Bamboo Leaf Rhapsody is heavily tied to Disappearance, so they should be in the same season. They are also more heavily tied into the Haruhi Suzumiya mythos than any of the other stories before or since, and the events in Disappearance in particular weigh especially heavy on later storyline, so Bamboo Leaf Rhapsody is the logical (and chronological) starting point for the next season and everything after. Endless Eight and Charmed at First Sight LOVER are both stand-alones, but are Yuki stories, so they should also go in this season. Sighs is a wild card, as it focuses largely on Yuki, but also obviously spotlights Mikuru. Most likely, I see it being inserted randomly wherever it ends up, broken up much like Melancholy was. However, what could be interesting is to split it up over the two seasons, as it is very much its own separate story, except toward the end, where it thematically ties in to Intrigues. In that case, one of the shorter stories from S3 (maybe Where Did the Cat Go? or Wandering Shadow) could be moved over to S2, although that would involve some sizable time skipping.

Hah, nothing too embarrassing, although the idea of splitting Sighs up over the two seasons was a stinker. It might work if we get one big 24-26 ep season, withe the first part focusing on Disappearance and the second Intrigues, but I think it most likely that they will stick to internal chronology for the remainder of what they broadcast (save for maybe allowing for something that takes place during S2 to start S3, or vice versa). Looking back, I would probably go with:

Bamboo Leaf Rhapsody (premier ep)
Endless Eight (1?)
Sighs (4-5?)
Disappearance (5-6?)
Charmed at First Sight LOVER (1)
Intrigues Prologue (season finale)

That gives us around 13-14 episodes, and LOVER could be moved to S3 if it goes over that.

Season 3, The Intrigues of Haruhi Suzumiya
or...The Melancholy of Mikuru Asahina
Melancholy of Mikuru Asahina (1) Premier
Snow Mountain Syndrome (2)
Editor in Chief★Straight Ahead! (2)
Where Did the Cat Go? (1)
Wandering Shadow (1)
The Intrigues of Haruhi Suzumiya (incl Prologue) (6) End

Intrigues relies heavily on story from Snow Mountain Syndrome and Melancholy of Asahina Mikuru, so they should all be in the third season. Where Did the Cat Go? occurs more or less during Snow Mountain Syndrome, so it should also be here, but is also a stand-alone story in the same vein as Remote Island Syndrome, so it could be moved to season two should the two Indignations stories or the main Intrigues arc run long, or if Sighs is split up over the two seasons, or just to shake things up. The Intrigues Prologue, although it does by-and-large resolve Disappearance, occurs immediately after Snow Mountain Syndrome, and there are a number of events between Disappearance and that "resolution"—enough that a single Disappearance Epilogue/Intrigues Prologue episode would be fairly clumsy even if done well. Besides, keeping it this way will give each season a direct nod back to the season previous, with S2's Sighs, and S3's Intrigues Prologue.

I still agree with the reasoning behind the last part here, but believe it would be better to end S2 with the end of that season's arc. That way, we don't leave any big threads hanging, but we do fray a few more to keep the audience wanting more... ^_^ I would also stick Where Did the Cat Go? after Snow Mountain Syndrome, where it belongs chronologically, as the .jp DVD releases have shown how well the achronicity of the first season went over across the Pacific. That said, though, Melancholy of Mikuru Asahina is still the best idea for a premier ep, as it sets up the whole of Intrigues, yet stands alone well:

Melancholy of Mikuru Asahina (premier ep)
Snow Mountain Syndrome (2?)
Where Did the Cat Go? (1)
Intrigues (minus Prologue) (5)
Editor in Chief★Straight Ahead! (2-3?)
Wandering Shadow (1-2?)
Disassociation Prologue (season finale)

That ends us up in about the right place, and if S2 runs a little long and has to jettison LOVER, it can go right after the S3 premier, and we can tack a little of the Disassociation prologue onto the end of Wandering Shadow instead of going with a full episode for it, to end the season right. Best thing about it is if we get a full 24-26 ep season, we can just stick the Intrigues Prologue and MoMA right before Intrigues, and everything else still fits.

Truthfully, Editor in Chief★Straight Ahead! and Wandering Shadow are just tacked on to S3 at this point, as I haven't finished either one and thus don't know exactly where they might tie in (although they both look stand-alone so far, and are chronologically better suited for S3). Also, their lengths are questionable. Editor in Chief will take at least two episodes to get right, maybe three, and Wandering Shadow looks a bit on the longish side, too, so it may be two episodes worth. I might edit this once Baka-Tsuki finishes translating them.

Still, there's definitely enough left for two full half-seasons worth, and that's not even counting possible KyoAni original episodes.

Yeah, that first bit is a little dated... Editor in Chief is pretty stand-alone, but Wandering Shadow could end up tying in to Disassociation. Also, knowing KyoAni, they could easily stretch Editor in Chief to 3 episodes, and they'll probably want another anime-original episode or two out of Tanagawa, or maybe they'll put Haruhi Theater out there...but there's speculation, and then there's wild guessing, so I'm just going to just go with the meat of the story.

Thoughts? Heckling?

[Kaisos Erranon]

Isn't the Dissociation prologue like a third of the whole novel?

I honestly don't know where you're getting the idea about Sighs being "Yuki-centric" from. I felt that it started to explore the relationships between the other three as opposed to Haruhi and Kyon. Oh, and the cat. The cat is awesome.

However, due to the fact that we've already seen a large portion of its content, as well as KyoAni's preferences in avoiding long Koizumi monologues, I can only see like 3 episodes out of it.

Endless Eight isn't necessarily Yuki-centric... no more than most of the post-Disappearance stories are. (orz)

One of the main reasons I don't think it should be two shorter seasons rather than one (aside from my own NEED) is the fan backlash, particularly Jason... He'll write up an 8000-word complaint about it.

And I also think the "or" titles are a really bad idea... Haruhi, regardless, is still the central character... Speaking of titles, does anyone know if a.f.k. will still be doing the subs for Season 2? Because the title translations on Strato's site are... interesting. "Evanescence"... orz again.

Anyway, here's how I think Season Two will go.

Sighs Prologue + Bamboo Leaf Rhapsody: 1 Episode, and the Sighs prologue just to start off where Melancholy ended.
Endless Eight: 1 Episode. They were already planning to animate this one in the first season anyway but decided not to. Mmm, swimsuits...
Sighs: 3 episodes. One to the first appearance of the Mikuru beam, one to Kyon's outburst, and one to the end. (I have no idea how they're going to do the outburst without Drunk Mikuru though... curse Japanese network censors!)
Vanishment: 5 episodes. No more anachronistic order, please.
Charmed at First Sight Lover: 1 episode.
Snow Mountain Syndrome: 1 episode.
Where did the Cat Go: I have no idea if they're going to even do this one. It's so irrelevant. Then again, so was Someday in the Rain... 1 episode.
(Nice transition here. Hit us with a bit of slow slice-of-life halfway then go for the fun times again.)
Intrigues Prologue: This one kinda has to be done BEFORE the next one, to preserve chronological order. 1 episode.
The Melancholy of Mikuru Asahina: 1 episode.
Intrigues: 6 episodes. It's one doozy of a volume, but KyoAni can pull it off.
(And that leaves us at 21, with 3 episodes left.)
Editor-in-Chief: 2 episodes will do it justice.
ANIME-ORIGINAL ENDING OTL: They kinda have to do this regardless... another slice-of-life thing? It's difficult to end a seasonal series like this without a giant useless cliffhanger. 1 episode.

So that leaves Vol's 8, 9, and 10 (and whatever others the author might write in the meantime) for a third season.

And I am never typing this much again. orz orz orz. orz.

[fiendmaw]

Aren't the S2 episodes already set in stone?

[Kaisos Erranon]

Aren't the S2 episodes already set in stone?

Um, S2 doesn't even have a release date yet. We know nothing.

[TUNAFISHISGOOD]

Based on those Deductions, we can fairly guess what vol 10+ would be, it would be centered around Koizumi, as we are seeing more and more of his 'Organization' EX, Mori-san looked scary according to Kyon. Although introduction of the new characters might put some twist into this.

[Beware the talking cat]

Oh, and the cat. The cat is awesome.

Thank you, thank you. No applause please.

[Rectifier]

Oh, and the cat. The cat is awesome.

Thank you, thank you. No applause please.

*claps*

Haruhi better end with either an exceptionally long volume 10 or normal sized volume 10 and 11, or else fans might revolt against the whole franchise. On a semi-related note, Haruhi should only last 2-3 seasons more, especially considering how quickly popularity and the creative process go downhill after the first one or two seasons.

[fiendmaw]

Thank you, thank you. No applause please.

*claps*

Haruhi better end with either an exceptionally long volume 10 or normal sized volume 10 and 11, or else fans might revolt against the whole franchise. On a semi-related note, Haruhi should only last 2-3 seasons more, especially considering how quickly popularity and the creative process go downhill after the first one or two seasons.

I hope they don't go three seasons...nothing good will come of it...and since season two will offer more plot details,maybe people will actually start reading the novels,which are better than any SHnY anime series.
And as for season two,I just want to see v4 Yuki,that's all,and maybe small Haruhi

[Kaisos Erranon]

Based on those Deductions, we can fairly guess what vol 10+ would be, it would be centered around Koizumi, as we are seeing more and more of his 'Organization' EX, Mori-san looked scary according to Kyon. Although introduction of the new characters might put some twist into this.

No, no we really aren't. There's no more to do with Koizumi than any other volume. Due to the whole parallel universe thing, I see sliders involved.

Oh, and the cat. The cat is awesome.

Thank you, thank you. No applause please.

I didn't mean you, but whatever.

Haruhi better end with either an exceptionally long volume 10 or normal sized volume 10 and 11, or else fans might revolt against the whole franchise.

Why would there be revolts? As long as the series continues to be good, the fans will continue to lap it up, no matter how long it goes on for.

I still fail to see how you people think it can end now without being Deathly Hallows-level contrived. I personally don't see any real lead-up to any resolution in the near future of the novels.

I've said before like 5 billion times: The cliffhanger ending was not intended to last this long. It's Kadokawa's fault.

On a semi-related note, Haruhi should only last 2-3 seasons more, especially considering how quickly popularity and the creative process go downhill after the first one or two seasons.

This is Kyoto Animation we're talking about. As long as they adapt the novels faithfully, creative process still works. And you might note that Naruto and Bleach, despite sucking and having over 200 episodes, are still extremely popular. Haruhi, with only 14 episodes to its name, is at least or more popular than either of them.

I hope they don't go three seasons...nothing good will come of it...and since season two will offer more plot details,maybe people will actually start reading the novels,which are better than any SHnY anime series.

Novel-canon and anime-canon are starting to blur... Tanigawa mentions the indoor shoe colors in Vol.9, something that the anime introduced. I don't doubt that he's started to write with an anime adaptation in mind.

And are you kidding? Haruhi is a franchise now... there's no way there won't be a third season or more.

[TUNAFISHISGOOD]

Based on those Deductions, we can fairly guess what vol 10+ would be, it would be centered around Koizumi, as we are seeing more and more of his 'Organization' EX, Mori-san looked scary according to Kyon. Although introduction of the new characters might put some twist into this.

No, no we really aren't. There's no more to do with Koizumi than any other volume. Due to the whole parallel universe thing, I see sliders involved.

Yes, there are chances that Sliders were near them the whole time, they just hid themselves so well that other factions, Alien,TT, ESP couldn't detect them.

Or they just appear out of nowhere, Because Haruhi wishes so... anyways, I can't wait.