Ask John: Will Haruhi Suzumiya Season Two Reach American DVD?

Question:
The 2nd season of Haruhi Suzumiya. Any idea of when it might make its way to the US?

Answer:
An official American release of the 2006 Suzumiya Haruhi anime series was a question of when rather than if. The same certainty may not apply to the series “second season.” The domestic license for the Suzumiya Haruhi anime series is presently held by Bandai Entertainment. Bandai has faced distribution and acquisition obstacles lately, including seemingly every scheduled release being delayed by weeks, delayed indefinitely, or outright canceled, and a noted lack of new title acquisitions. Considering the tenuous position Bandai appears to be in, there’s little certainty that the distributor will aggressively acquire additional Suzumiya Haruhi episodes for domestic release.

The possibility of a different licensor acquiring the “second season” is uncertain because of the nature of the “second season.” What’s frequently referred to as the Suzumiya Haruhi “second season” is actually episodes 8, and 12 to 24 of the 28 episode 2009 rebroadcast. If these select episodes are officially deemed a second season, they may be available for license to a domestic distributor. However, if these episodes are officially considered part of the singular Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya anime television series, they may fall under Bandai Entertainment’s already existing license, or Bandai Entertainment may have an exclusive first option on these additional episodes. In Japan, the “second season” episodes are not being released separately. They’re being released to DVD within a larger re-release of the entire 28 episode series. The first “second season” episode appears on the fourth volume of the current Japanese DVD release. More importantly, the question may be whether anyone in America really wants the second season episodes.

In a certain sense, the “second season” of Suzumiya Haruhi anime consists of only three distinct episodes. Episode 8 is unique. The eight “Endless Eight” episodes are strikingly similar to each other. Likewise, the five “Sigh of Suzumiya Haruhi” episodes are more similar to each other than different. The “Endless Eight” story arc – literally two straight months of the same episode with cosmetic differences – may have inflicted mortal damage to anime’s marketability. The current Japanese DVD release is reportedly under performing, but isn’t an abject failure. Speculation theorizes that completist Japanese otaku are continuing to purchase Suzumiya Haruhi DVDs despite their distaste for the content of the DVDs. America doesn’t have that sort of fanatical devotion. There’s absolutely no certainty that an attempted American DVD release of the “second season” episodes wouldn’t be a failure, or would meet with outspoken scorn from American fans and consumers. With so much risk at stake, and seemingly so little potential gain, I can easily envision domestic distributors considering the Suzumiya Haruhi “second season” a hot potato not worth touching.

Especially with a feature film coming up next year in Japan and the original novels and manga now beginning to hit America, it can’t be said that interest in the franchise has totally evaporated. Despite the seeming mis-step of the “second season,” the Suzumiya Haruhi franchise is still a headline title. A domestic acquisition and release of the second season may be particularly viable if it’s released in the sort of inexpensive, multi-disc format that characterizes much of contemporary American anime distribution. However, Bandai hasn’t heavily adopted that release format yet. Based on gut instinct, I can’t say that the Suzumiya Haruhi “second season” won’t reach American DVD. However, I don’t imagine that it’s going to be an especially high priority for Bandai Entertainment or any other domestic licensor.

Article revised on October 21, 2009