The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya

The Standardization of Japanese Schools

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Ma Dugong introduced in an issue that schools are standardized to improve the minimum standards of schools. At least, the food in the school cafeteria is not easily criticized. This reminds gledos that the schools in Japanese works have a very high degree of similarity, which shows that Japanese primary and secondary schools are unexpectedly standardized?

In The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya, Haruhi Suzumiya tried to draw a ground painting to contact aliens on the school playground when she was a child. The tool she used was called a line car (ラインカー), which can use calcium carbonate powder to draw runways. Because Japanese primary and secondary schools are paved with soil or fine sand on the playground, such equipment is needed.

In works involving enrollment, there will be a white sign with “Entrance Ceremony” written on it at the school gate. At graduation, the graduation certificate will be rolled up and placed in a dark tube. These entrance and graduation activities are basically held in the indoor gymnasium.

According to Article 10 of the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology’s 『小学校設置基準』, elementary schools should have (indoor) gymnasiums, unless local conditions or other factors limit the establishment of gymnasiums. Of course, there is also the infirmary that was introduced before, and the school swimming pool that often appears in the works, which together form the Japanese campus familiar to ACG fans.

As of 2021, 87% of elementary schools and 65% of junior high schools in Japan have outdoor swimming pools, which is a very high proportion. However, this is not a facility stipulated in the 『小学校設置基準』, but in the 『学習指導要領』, the curriculum requires teaching swimming and other sports.

Such standardized school facilities and some of the same culture make Japanese schools more equal. Specifically, financially relying on transfer payments and other means to make the financial distribution of schools in rural and urban areas in Japan more balanced. And the teacher rotation system makes the level of teachers equal. And the standardization of infrastructure mentioned above makes the infrastructure of schools not lack or too bad, which makes Japanese primary and secondary schools realize equalization of basic education.

The Order of Viewing

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In discussions about series released in a non-chronological order, there are always arrangements presented in chronological order. For example, the Monogatari series’ 《伤物语》 Kizumonogatari, 《猫物语（黑）》 Nekomonogatari (Black), 《化物语》 Bakemonogatari… , the Star Wars series’ 《星球大战前传1&2》 Star Wars: Episode I & II, 《星球大战：克隆战争》 Star Wars: The Clone Wars, 《星球大战前传3》 Star Wars: Episode III… , and the Garden of Sinners’ 《杀人考察》(前) Murder Speculation Part 1, 《伽蓝之洞》 Garandou no Ana, 《痛觉残留》 Remaining Sense of Pain…

Such an order is indeed chronological, but the audience experience is actually worse, because the author designs the viewing order based on the release time. So, watching in chronological order will instead miss some puzzles and make the experience more confusing. It’s like the Fate/Stay Night game using story locks, where you can only unlock the Unlimited Blade Works route after clearing Saber’s Fate route.

Then, after clearing Rin’s UBW route, you unlock Sakura’s Heaven’s Feel route. Because the developers believe that players playing the HF route have already played the Fate and UBW routes, many parts about the Holy Grail War, Saber, and Archer are no longer mentioned repeatedly. If a player downloads a save and directly plays the HF route, the experience will most likely be poor. The theatrical version adapted from it, 《天之杯》 Heaven’s Feel, is also the same.

Therefore, for many series released in a non-chronological order, it is best to watch them in the order of release. But there is still a troublesome order issue, which is the anime 《弹丸论破3 -The End of 希望之峰学园-》 Danganronpa 3: The End of Hope’s Peak High School‘s 《未来篇》 Future Arc, 《绝望篇》 Despair Arc, and 《希望篇》 Hope Arc.

The viewing order is a bit complicated, because the broadcast order at the time was: 《未来篇》 Future Arc EP.1 on Monday, July 11, 2016, then 《绝望篇》 Despair Arc EP.1 on Thursday, July 14, then 《未来篇》 Future Arc EP.2 on Monday, July 18… alternating like this, and finally broadcasting 《希望篇》 Hope Arc. So, to catch up on this anime now, you also need to watch it in this order.

And perhaps the most special work is the 2006 TV anime 《凉宫春日的忧郁》 The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya, where all the episodes are jumbled up. To appreciate this work, you need to research the correct timeline yourself, or copy someone else’s homework. Fortunately, the 2009 version of 《凉宫春日的忧郁》 The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya was broadcast in chronological order, making it much easier to watch.

The Protagonist With No Name

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In ordinary life, being called by your full name may be rare (maybe less than once a day). In the right environment, a name may not be mentioned for months. So in fictional works, it is easy to create an environment where the protagonist’s name does not need to be mentioned.

“The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya” and “Humanity Has Declined” are such works. The protagonists are called Kyon (nickname) and Miss Humanity (called by fairies), respectively. In addition, the protagonist of “The Tatami Galaxy” has no name, not even a way to address them…

Perhaps like RPG games, having no name can increase the viewer’s sense of immersion. Or the author thinks this design would be interesting. In fact, the popularity and ratings of the above works are very high. The protagonists are already impressive. Not having a name not only has no obvious negative impact, but may also increase discussion.

In addition, in “Kino’s Journey” and “Darker than Black”, the protagonist did not show their real name due to plot reasons. The protagonist’s name in “Kino’s Journey” belongs to narrative trickery. The protagonist of “Darker than Black” is a killer, so they probably discarded their real name long ago. Only the code name Hei, number BK-201, and the pseudonym Li Shun Sheng are known.