When the dramatic solution to being trapped in an alternate reality rests on solving a math problem, I’d rather stay trapped in the alter-dimension.
Creative Staff
Original Story: Nagaru Tanigawa
Art: Gaku Tsugano
Original character designs: Noizi Ito
What They Say
Trapped on the snowy mountain by both a storm and the supernatural forces that have cut off Yuki from the Data Overmind, Kyon is roused from sleep by Asahina slowly unbuttoning her nightshirt as she climbs into his bed! Kyon realizes it cannot possibly be the real Asahina (darn!), and though he doesn’t mind the house’s tricks (who would?), he and the Brigade have to crack the code and escape fast before Yuki’s fever (and Haruhi’s restlessness) gets out of control!
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
Sex!
Now that I have you attention, that’s exactly how this volume opens. Except it’s not sex, it’s fanservice, and it’s totally overindulgent because the scene is actually a flashback just so the volume can start on some cleavage. I’m sure the artist thought this necessary, because most of the action in this volume involves solving math problems or fake murder mysteries. It’s also a rehash of the tired gag of ‘this is my friend but not my friend throwing themselves at me!’ Usually that friend is drunk, but this time it’s a body double Asahina throwing herself at Kyon.
When the last volume left off, the SOS Brigade was caught in an abandoned resort in a snow storm. Koizumi comes to the random conclusion that it must be a simulation of some sort, constructed by a being of some sort, to trap them for unknown reasons. The jumps in logic in this series are astounding. To make matters worse, the only escape is a math equation that must be solved.
Kyon is horrified, as am I, math was not my strong suit. I guess Kyon really is an avatar for the reader to project themselves on, because I found myself identifying with him more times than not throughout the volume.
Koizumi takes the lead through most of the volume, figuring out the answer to the math equation which leads to the gang’s escape from the resort and setting up the fake murder mystery. The solutions to most of the problems are overly complex, and many times the dialog totally lost me. This isn’t a good book to read while tired.
That leads to my largest complaint about the last two story arcs, they’re boring. Fake murder mysteries are great fun to play when you’re actually involved in them, but just sitting by and watching when there’s no real emotional investment is mind numbingly boring. Granted, the author could have written the equally overused scenario of a staged mystery turning real, but that doesn’t happen here. In fact, the actual event is completely devoid of any supernatural phenomena.
Strange events make a brief return for the final chapter, when the group is back out on the slopes and come across a shrine in the middle of the mountain and a injured wolf cub. The diversion doesn’t seem to have any long term effects on the plot, and is more of a nod to previous happenings in the story involving out-of-place animals.
Problems with the art persist, and it’s very apparent any time the artist attempts to draw an animal of some kind. Shamisen is a pretty awkward looking cat, but the wolves in the final chapter barely resemble the creature they’re supposed to be. Unless the artists goal was to make it look like the poorly taxidermied specimens of the Japanese wolves found in museums. The rest of the art fares somewhat better than the last volume, but not by much. At least in this volume I wasn’t confusing Koizumi and Kyon for each other.
There’s a small two page tease for the next volume, but no other extras. As is usual for most Yen Press releases, the first few pages are in color.
In Summary
This volume of Haruhi sheds the needless narrative jumps of the last in exchange for long philosophical discussions on the nature of reality under winter skies. There’s a surprising lack of tension to what could be very serious events, and it’s a struggle to push through the long meandering discussions on math. The ‘murderer’ in the much lauded fake mystery can easily be guessed by the reader without the needlessly long explanation. In short, this book is boring. The final chapter is the most interesting of the lot, and even that is marred by hilariously bad art. Only the most hardcore Haruhi fans should bother with this.
Content Grade: C
Art Grade: C –
Packaging Grade: B +
Text/Translation Grade: A –
Age Rating: 16+
Released By: Yen Press
Release Date: February 28th, 2012
MSRP: $11.99
