Suzumiya Haruhi no Yuuutsu: Episode 4 (#7)

Nothing like a little bouncing around to make things confusing!
Just a reminder that because I am watching chronological order, the title contains the episode number as well as the post number – making this my seventh Haruhi post so far.

Speaking of which, you can find all of my Haruhi posts here.

The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya – Let’s Play Ball! Edition

Very Brief Synopsis

Haruhi is bored, so she signs the SOS Brigade up for a baseball tournament. The club manages to scrape together 9 players for the tournament and go to play. Their first matchup is against a college level baseball team, the favourite to win the tournament. The SOS Brigade ends up giving up 9 runs, in the first few innings, and can’t afford to give another one up or else they lose the game (10 run rule in this tournament).

Almost at once, Yuki, Mikuru, and Itsuki all find out that another “space” is going to form if they lose the game. And so, they cheat. Yuki rigs their baseball bat so that it will always hit a home run, no matter the pitch. They proceed to hit 11 home runs in a row to come back. Kyon then takes over pitching, and Yuki catching. Yuki proceeds to rig the pitches so they can’t be hit, and they get out of the final inning, winning the game.

They then forfeit the tournament, as people were getting tired and Haruhi had enough fun for the day.

Forgotten Moments

More Mikuru Outfits

Mikuru debuted both a nurse outfit and a cheerleader outfit in this episode. I had forgotten about both! Bunny girl, maid, and now nurse and cheerleader as well. Are there more outfits to come? I honestly don’t remember. In this episode, Haruhi used Mikuru’s nurse outfit to convince the baseball team to let the SOS Brigade use the field in order to practice for the tournament. As for the cheerleader outfit, well Haruhi and Mikuru put one on to try and boost morale, but it didn’t have much of an effect.

The “Mysterious Ball”

“Mysterious Ball” is the nickname Kyon gives to the rigged pitches he throws in the final inning. Pitches that dart around in an impossible manner. It’s pretty funny how even the umpire is hesitating to call strikes because the pitches are so unbelievable.

Favourite Moments

Kyon’s Little Sister

Once again, Kyon’s little sister gets a spot in my favourite moments. It’s just so funny how we see the team assembled for the tournament, and then the anime just reveals all of the sudden that Kyon had brought his 10 year old sister to play as well. It’s pretty cute watching how much fun she ends up having throughout the episode as well. She even hits a home run! Thanks to Yuki’s rigged bat.

I also love this quote from when Haruhi pulls Kyon aside to ask him why he brought his little sister along:

“She’s so honest that it’s hard to believe she’s your sister.”
– Haruhi

Just something that made me laugh. Also sheds a little light on what Haruhi thinks about Kyon (and she’s right).

Rigged

My favourite aspect of the episode is just watching the team sail through to a victory by completely cheating using Yuki’s powers. 11 straight solo home runs and then some impossibly good pitching. Just a funny few scenes to watch. Especially because most of the team doesn’t realize they are cheating. Like after the game how Kyon’s friend says “I didn’t realize I was so good at baseball!”.

Just a funny scene to have this ragtag team including a 10 year old win against a college baseball team.

In Conclusion…

Honestly, it was great to get a more “slice of life” episode after a few heavier episodes. And episodes like this are what Haruhi is all about I think – slice of life with a supernatural twist. Just a great episode to relax and watch. I can also see why they placed this earlier in the broadcast order, because it’s just a great episode to give people a “slice of life” taste of Haruhi.

That’s it for this episode.

Until next time,
Thanks for reading!

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