The Day of Sagittarius

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"The Day of Sagittarius" (射手座の日, Iteza no Hi?) is an episode in The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya. It is the eleventh episode aired in the series. It is the thirteenth episode in the series timeline. The episode's original airdate is June 11, 2006.

Contents

[edit] Overview

The Computer Research Society challenges the SOS Brigade to a game of The Day of Sagittarius III, a real-time strategy PC game that the Society personally coded.

[edit] Episode details

At the start of the episode, the members of the SOS brigade are all aboard individual ships reporting enemy location and weapons status to Haruhi. After locating the enemy fleet, Haruhi orders all ships to battle stations in order to wipe out the enemy. Kyon reminds Haruhi that she should stay back, using the example of rushing your king forward in chess to convince her. Haruhi somewhat grudgingly accepts, but orders him to blast the enemy into "riddled, smoldering smithereens."

A few days after the cultural festival, all the members of the SOS brigade (minus Haruhi) are sitting and relaxing in the clubroom. The Computer Society comes knocking, looking for Haruhi. He hands Kyon a copy of "The Day of Sagittarius III," telling him it is a game that they developed. The Computer Society President proceeds to challenge the SOS brigade to a "duel" using the game.

Appearing out of nowhere, Haruhi leaps up and kicks the Computer Society President in the face, immediately accepting the challenge, although she doesn't recognize the President or the members and refers to them as a secret organization trying or whatever trying to interfere with the SOS Brigade. After a brief lecture to Kyon about how contests begin at the moment of challenge, she realizes that it is merely the Computer Society and not an evil organization.

The Computer Society President demands that they return the computer if they win the contest. If the SOS Brigade wins, then each member of the Brigade receives a new laptop computer. Haruhi also throws Yuki into the mix, by allowing the Computer Society take her if they win. Despite the Computer Society and Kyon's objections (and Haruhi offering to wager Mikuru instead), the Computer Society president refuses to take any people as part of the bet, and additionally refused to take Haruhi when she volunteers herself (with Kyon's suggestion.)

For the next week, the SOS Brigade practices playing "Day of Sagittarius III" and upon Kyon's advice, restrains all supernatural, alien, or ESP related help. Koizumi then explains that Kyon and Haruhi are linked together by an incredible bond of trust, because he believes that even if they lose, Haruhi will not do anything and Haruhi believes that Kyon will help them win.

After a week of totally unsuccessful practice, the day of the contest arrives. Haruhi, utterly confident in victory, begins explaining to her fleets (the SOS Brigade) how their victory is very important and will rocket them into universal popularity, ignoring the fact that it is just a game. Kyon on the other hand, is not confident at all and asks for two milligrams of confidence from Haruhi. She merely stares at him as a means of "transferring energy."

As soon as the game starts, the SOS Brigade is already at a disadvantage. Haruhi and Mikuru and incapable of helping and the enemy fleet attacks with frightening accuracy and speed. Haruhi becomes irate and sends her fleet forward, ignoring Kyon's warning from before. It ends up that Koizumi's, Kyon's and Haruhi's fleets are collide and Mikuru is completely lost (in all senses of the word.) Yuki is the only one who is playing well, by using a technique in the game called "micromanagment" that allows her to divide her fleet into 20 groups. While it does give the player an advantage, it is beyond a normal humans ability to use effectivly.

In order to further encourage victory, Haruhi starts shouting out punishment for "advocates of defeat." These include running laps around the school grounds naked while screaming "Green Martians are chasing me."

Kyon walks over to Yuki and reminds her not to cheat. She responds that it is not her, but the Computer Society who is cheating, as they have "Fog of War" turned off, which allows them to see the entire map, something the SOS Brigade can not do. With Kyon's permission, Yuki "levels the playing field."

The Computer Society goes into shock and frantically attempts to regroup after Nagato's adjustments. The SOS Brigade launches a full attack and obliterates the Computer Society's fleet.

The Computer Society President admits defeat. He is in shock that someone could rewrite code during a match. He walks over to Yuki and offers her the option of working with the Computer Society in her free time. Despite Haruhi's objections, Kyon asks Yuki what she wants. He swears she was having fun during the match, which surprised him due to her usual monotone. Yuki accepts the President's proposal.

The episode ends with Haruhi forcing the Computer Society to pledge fealty to her.

[edit] Differences in the novel

The episode is based on the chapters "Prologue - Autumn" and "The Day of Sagittarius" in the novel The Rampage of Suzumiya Haruhi. These comparisons are made using the Baka-Tsuki-translation, which may not be 100% accurate.

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.
  • Haruhi drags the Computer Research Society president into the club room, and his members are banging on the door trying to get in to free him.
  • The president's demands are declared with a note.
  • Yuki is accepted, after some hesitation, as a part of the betting stake.
  • Yuki brings home the laptop on the day they receive the game CD, so she would have mastered the usage of the laptop and the game at home before the next few days of practising with the brigade.
  • The Computer Resarch Society is cheating with a teleporter in addition to the fog of war being turned off.
  • The president's ship is beamed directly to Haruhi's ship as a countermeasure from Yuki.
  • As a part of the SOS Brigade's victory accord, the Computer Research Society must stand as a unified voice with the SOS Brigade in front of the Student Council, if they come after the SOS Brigade.
Spoilers end here.

[edit] Trivia

Edit this trivia
  • This is actually episode 13, chronologically.
  • The game which can be seen after opening is NOT igo but gomoku narabe.
  • The script of this episode was done by the novelist Shouji Gatou, author of the Full Metal Panic! series.
  • Yuki's alternative program code for the computer game is written in C. And compiled with the Borland C compiler for 32-bit systems. She ends the last file with ^C (control character for abort) instead of ^Z (control character for end of file), which implies that she changed her mind on alternating the current section of code in the game. The source code shown in this scene can be seen here. This program can actually intervene in running processes if it's completed.
  • A possible plot hole is brought up in this episode with Nagato's computer skills. At the beginning of the episode, it is implied that she has little skill in using a computer (she's trying to use the mouse by waving it in the air). However, during the events of "Mysterique Sign", she is shown able to use a computer without trouble. Though her difficulties are not mentioned in the original novel, this apparent ignorance may actually be a result of events in episode fourteen, where Kyon tries to keep the mouse away from Mikuru by holding it in the air away from her. Nagato is shown watching this and though she has probably seen the mouse being used many times, it is also possible that this was another one of her attempts at a joke, similar to the events of "Remote Island Syndrome".
  • During the episode, Haruhi calls out, "Send out the Gundam!" with the word "Gundam" censored out. The video showing the Gundam (from Mobile Suit Gundam, though the depicted scene appears to be redrawn) has also been blurred. Those Gundam references are favorites of Shouji Gatou. Additionally, when the Computer Society's defeat and in-game destruction is imminent, the president cries "Honor to the Computer Society!" while his boss ship is destroyed as reference to a high-ranking Zeon commander's defeat in the original Gundam series. Also, Daisuke Ono, Koizumi's seiyuu, voiced the main character Sven Cal Bayan of the recent Gundam OVA Mobile Suit Gundam SEED C.E.73 Stargazer.
  • The various displays the pop up in mid-air in front of the characters are almost certainly a reference to those in Nadesico.
  • In the introduction to the episode 12, a reference is made to the anime series Macross 7. Haruhi says "Listen to my song!", followed by Kyon replying "Bomber!", a direct reference to the character Nekki Basara.
  • The music in the prelude scene is Ravel's Daphnis et Chloé, Suite no. 2. 1. Lever du jour (Daybreak).
  • The music in the battle scene (in both the computer game and the chiptune style music playing in the room) is Shostakovich's Symphony No. 7 "Leningrad" I–Allegretto (Invasion), performed by Mariinsky (Kirov) Theater Orchestra and Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by Valery Gergiev, a live performance in September of 2001 in Rotterdam.
  • The music for the final battle scene is Tchaikovsky's Symphony No. 4, Movement No. 4 (Finale) Allegro con fuoco, performed by Leningrad Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by Evgeny Mravinsky, recorded in the autumn of 1960 while they were on tour in London.
  • The character on the Day of Sagittarius III game cover is a young Captain Okita of the Yamato from Space Battleship Yamato, or Starblazers. The computer club president's alter-ego's blue skin is also a reference to the main enemy of Yamato, Lord Desler. Nagato's final attack scene is also a reference to the ultra powerful canon mounted by the Space Battleship Yamato.
  • Nagato's typing skill progresses day by day during drill days.
  • Day of Sagittarius may be a reference to the 4x space game Master of Orion.
  • Other notable items and references in episode 11:
  • (Factual error) Nagato is reading a hardcover book which looks like the North American edition of Starplex by Robert J. Sawyer. However the true North American edition is paperback.

Current state of the "SOS Brigade" Dan hompage" No links, except for the fan club and etc..; The Profiles of all of the characters have been removed, the main signia is SOS, and only the agenda link is still there. -This is most likely due to season 2 airing very recently. In otherwords certain occurences have yet to taken place in the most recently aired episode of the anime.

Episode Guide Previous Episode Next Episode
By airdate: The Melancholy of Suzumiya Haruhi IV Live Alive
Chronologically: Live Alive Someday in the Rain
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