This is the first episode of the second season of the Suzumiya Haruhi anime, but it’s also episode 8 chronologically, so ideally you should watch this after watching “The Boredom of Haruhi Suzumiya” which was the fourth episode in the first season. Confused yet? Well join the club.

It is Tanabata (a Japanese star festival) but Haruhi seems quieter than usual. Mikuru asks Kyon to meet her later in the evening, but never would Kyon have imagined she and Mikuru would travel back in time on a mission to the Tanabata of three years before. The future Mikuru puts her younger self to sleep and tells Kyon to help a certain person. Carrying the sleeping Mikuru, Kyon finds a young Haruhi sneaking into East Junior High. After helping her draw strange symbols on the school athletics grounds, Haruhi questions him on the existence of strange beings; Kyon suggests that they might exist because he knows someone like her at his school (referring to her future self). After Haruhi leaves, Kyon wakes up Mikuru and finds that she does not have her time traveling device, or TPDD. They go to see Yuki, who helps them return to their proper time. Kyon wonders if he was the one who inspired Haruhi to attend North High and start searching for strange beings.