Slider? Like the old Fox tv series? I watched the first episode again and didn't see any mention of slider in that proclamation of Haruhi's, maybe it was in the book or a later episode?
I came across this series when mentioned in some guys Gnostic/esoteric list of anime's that had some features (
http://www.examiner.com/gnosticism-heretic...-japanese-anime ), so I checked it out. I'm not young enough for most of this stuff, but some of these are really good, if not using the standard elements found in so much scifi from Star Trek to Matrix etc.
I wasn't going to get this one, but found this series online and watched it, and found it rather
. The dialogue of the narrator's/Kyon is rather funny, especially in the first season, but you do have to say it is the author speaking here as that guy isn't in High School, but rather late 20's to early 40's, same as the author of these books. One problem with that is the lack of communication, which might seem typical of guys in general, but under the circumstances, I would think these people would talk out loud to each other a whole lot more to better understand what's going on, especially Kyon, who seems to be the only one not really aware of what's going on, same as Haruhi only he isn't the go-getter she is. She seems like a 3-5 year old so full of energy and enthusiasm for life in general.. In other words, no burn-out yet. There's something to look forward to, but then Kyon seems to have enough for everyone, though Yuki sure shows it all the time as well, only without the emotional baggage until her classic "Ghost in the Machine" effect kicks in like Data in Star Trek Generations of whatever that more family friendly version was called, which didn't have the gusto of the first one from the 60's... same as Haruhi it seems.
There are so many comparisons in this series that can be found in so m any scifi literature/tv/film etc., but then given the 'wave' approach, that is to be expected and should only increase by said arrival in 2.5 years or so. The humor is refreshing from the darker, intospective Lain type material, which I liked, but again it seems the author is only using useful gnostic or esoteric elements that they really don't understand, but then that is usually the case. Those that go on the 'Grail Quest' aren't usually working in the business on the front lines.
One point I would suggest that stayed in my mind watching the Disappearance film was that it wouldn't have had the same effect, if I didn't watch (almost all) of those time loop episodes. I was watching all of this in the last couple of days, so I could fast forward through scenes that repeated, and not just the titles. I would agree with most here in saying the creators of this series could have done a much better job with keeping the repetition 'fresh' in ways to push the intent of the author, which I have to guess from as I haven't read them (Seems all are out there, but not here in the States till next year? Which is complete WACKO in terms of business sense) Not that I would buy them, but I would like to know if any other gnostic/esoteric stuff is in the rest of the series, as you never know what you can learn from, nor where you will find it, such as this teen anime. Obviously I'm not one, though some of the whole 'fan service' is completely insane, but in a good way. Just CRAZY! Very Funny!
I would agree that 2nd season sales will no doubt suffer due to the what 8 episodes? That was crazy!!! 3 or 4 would have sufficed if done right, I thought like someone else here, that it could have been contractual infighting, messed up business sense of something like that, but at least I could fast forward through it. I kept looking for some addition to the storyline such as Kyon's approaching Yuki, but never. They could have had the scenes done from her perspective for a shift in the storytelling... Oh well, and it was just the predictable homework thing like others mentioned... with or without the group or Haruhi. Why didn't any one of them attempt to change things? Talk about it, change the schedule, ANYTHING!
I agree on the squeeky girl, Mikuru... good thing she finally grew up, but then parents are probably always saying that about their kids.
These animes remind me of Disney stuff in that they are all too good looking usually, one or two is ok, real even, but it seems that the almost the entire population of that city is either a model or an actor with some major work done 'under the knife'.
So if anyone has read the rest of the books, could you give us a longer summation that Wikipedia? I'm really just looking for visualization of the gnostic/esoteric/4d aspects, as is said: "Visualizations clarify and unite images." It's way cool to see some of this stuff in a visual medium. It isn't the same reading about them, 'pictures speak a thousand words." Same with Harry Potter, but then Jo was a classics major in college, so the whole Grail Quest for her hero, Harry, is a given as well as the entirety of mythic traditions etc she uses. Matrix has come the closest it seems, at least the first one, and that old tv series 'Sliders' came very close at times with their 'reptilian' enemies instead of computer programs.
So any detailed summations of the rest of this series? Hopefully, the author follows Jo Rowling's example as has the kids grow up, like another poster mentioned, otherwise it just gets ridiculously the same retelling of the same stories over and over again, but then life is that way in reality isn't it, and the truth has to keep sneaking out from the closet as well.
