The Sigh of Haruhi Suzumiya (涼宮ハルヒの溜息) is the second volume in the Haruhi light novel series. It was written by Tanigawa Nagaru with illustrations by Ito Noizi. This second volume was originally released in Japan in 2003 and in English in 2009.
Click here to read the synopsis of the first volume, The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya. This series is 20 years old at this point, but spoilers follow.
Six months have passed since Kyon was able to convince Haruhi to keep the world intact. He's still not sure what is really happening but is more open to the idea of supernatural things existing in proximity to him. After of summer filled with antics and instability at the hands of the brigades leader, Kyon tries to settle into a boring second semester. Unfortunately for the members of the SOS Brigade, Haruhi suddenly wants to make a movie for the clubs submission to the upcoming school culture festival. There are a few problems with her plan; the student council has not officially recognized the existence of their club, wishing to let sleeping dogs lie instead of outright rejecting Haruhi. No one has any experience with making a movie nor access to the needed equipment. The biggest hurdle though, is Haruhi herself, who is moving forward purely on a fleeting idea and self righteousness. As usual, she charges head first into the task, assigning Asahina as the lead, Yuki as the antagonist and Koizumi as the love interest. Haruhi brands herself the director, producer and writer. Kyon is tasked with everything else, camera operation, editing, general errand boy and lackey.
Haruhi doesn't let anything get in her way and starts off by convincing local businesses to supply her with the needed items for free, in exchange for advertising plugs in the film, featuring Asahina as the spokesperson. Once the camera and a few props are gathered she makes the group set off on a series of random filming sessions, with Asahina clad in an embarrassing waitress uniform. Kyon continues to pry the plot from Haruhi but she waves him off with her enthusiasm. Claiming Asahina is a time traveling waitress from the future who is sent back to fight Yuki's character who happens to be a magic user from space and is saved by a boy she falls in love with, an ESPer portrayed by Koizumi. The only person concerned with how close her movies synopsis is to the real thing is Kyon, with the others showing little concern for how much of reality Haruhi truly understands. Their biggest concern is when Haruhi's latent abilities begin to manifest themselves over the course of filming, causing issues with how reality operates. Not wanting to incur her wrath, the three supernatural observers do everything they feel is needed to ensure the film is finished and reality doesn't deviate from the norm. A fickle god is a hard thing to please after all. Kyon is not convinced and struggles with allowing themselves to so obediently be dragged along by her fantasies.
The second volume is covered in the anime by episode 11 of season 1 and episode's 11 through 14 of season 2. The story is pretty straightforward and filled mostly with Kyon's internal dialogue. Koizumi continues to stress Kyon's importance to Haruhi, even if he denies she has any special feelings for him. He doesn't want to be responsible for her stability and restraint, instead strongly desiring Asahina to be the object of his affection. Asahina, well aware of the dangers of Haruhis' jealousy, does everything she can to prevent misunderstandings and appease the fickle god. Kyon struggles with the abuse that she lays upon Asahina's shoulders, internally protecting her, while sitting by and letting it happen. The continuation of Kyon willing to let Haruhi abuse Asahina purely so he can see her in revealing outfits and situations does a lot to paint him as a terrible person. He would rather sit around and put minimal effort into things, wishing to not be involved in anything troubling. I've always enjoyed Kyon as a character but the light novels put him in a different perspective. It's not that he doesn't change his behavior between versions but his motivations and behavior are more apparent in the books. He's actually a rather despicable character and the way he uses Asahina is deplorable. Haruhi continues as she has the entire time, self centered and head strong.
This part and another upcoming shorter segment are parts of the overall story I am rather bored of, so it was a bit of a chore to get through this novel. However, it's done and that much closer to brand new stories that didn't get animated. Next though, the randomness of the summer prior to this segment in the Fall...and the story arc I absolutely despise. Can you guess what arc that is which brings me such displeasure?
Next up, volume 3, The Boredom of Haruhi Suzumiya.
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