It’s been longer than I care to remember since I read the novels (or watched the first season)… so I’ll do what I usually do and judge this by its own merit.
Overall, it’s probably not the “Season 2″ that usually comes to mind, but more a ‘continuation’ of the first season. Not that there aren’t any differences – both the art style and the voice actors’ performances feel slightly different. It’s too early to tell if it’s an improvement, but for my part, I barely noticed it.
As for the actual aesthetics, it’s the usual high standard that Kyoto Animation sets. The soundtrack seems to have been completely ported over from Season 1, which is unfortunate – whatever works, I guess. The new ending theme, “Tomare!” is nothing special, though the animation sequence is solid. Assuming the rerun continues with no changes, the new opening will rear its head somewhere around June, along with ‘Endless Eight’.
My opinion of Haruhi didn’t really change with this – it’s interesting and worth the time, but has nothing going for it past that initial interest. Hopefully, the thickening of the plot will liven things up.
