>>34 (not the guy you were replying to) Haruhi was very important, I'd call it a full on cultural phenomenon both in japan and the west. However, it would be more accurate to characterize it as an inflection point where multiple currents that had been brewing in the underground broke through to the mainstream. I would say that haruhi's success was in taking aspects that had been popular from both light novels and galge and being in the right place at the right time. In no aspect was haruhi the first to do it. It wasn't the first anime centered around a group of highschoolers and cute girls. It wasn't the first popular light novel series (boogiepop dates back to 1998). It wasn't even the first popular light novel anime adaptation by kyoto animations (full metal panic fumoffu came out 3 years earlier). The time loop plotline is a direct consequence of the sorts of stories visual novels are driven towards by their format. Haruhi's powers are pretty clearly inspired by Sakura's route in Da Capo. The hare hare yukai and it's dance is just the sort of thing idols had been doing for decades. I could go on, but the special thing wasn't anything it did being new, it was putting everything into a well produced package and coming out at the right time.
(not the guy you were replying to) Haruhi was very important, I'd call it a full on cultural phenomenon both in japan and the west. However, it would be more accurate to characterize it as an inflection point where multiple currents that had been brewing in the underground broke through to the mainstream. I would say that haruhi's success was in taking aspects that had been popular from both light novels and galge and being in the right place at the right time. In no aspect was haruhi the first to do it. It wasn't the first anime centered around a group of highschoolers and cute girls. It wasn't the first popular light novel series (boogiepop dates back to 1998). It wasn't even the first popular light novel anime adaptation by kyoto animations (full metal panic fumoffu came out 3 years earlier). The time loop plotline is a direct consequence of the sorts of stories visual novels are driven towards by their format. Haruhi's powers are pretty clearly inspired by Sakura's route in Da Capo. The hare hare yukai and it's dance is just the sort of thing idols had been doing for decades. I could go on, but the special thing wasn't anything it did being new, it was putting everything into a well produced package and coming out at the right time.