The Day of Sagittarius


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Key Events

 * The Computer Research Society challenges the SOS Brigade to an original game called ''"The Day of Sagittarius III".
 * The Computer Research Society wagers four laptops as for the SOS Brigade, they must return the computer they took.
 * Yuki realizes that the Computer geeks were cheating, so she hacked in and stopped them, helping the SOS Brigade win.

Summary
Anxious to get their computer back from Haruhi, the Computer Study Group challenges Haruhi to a 5v5 game on the new video game developed by the Study Group: "The Day of Sagittarius III", putting four laptop computers on the line. Kyon persuades Itsuki and Yuki to play the game honestly without using any supernatural powers, however Haruhi may react. However, when the day of the game arrives, Kyon finds it extremely difficult to fight at all, and when he talks with Yuki, he discovers that the Computer Study Group has cheated: the Study Group has a special feature enabled so that they can see the whole map while the SOS Brigade can only see a limited area, and the Study Group also has a teleport function that the Brigade does not. Kyon allows Yuki to turn the tables provided that she stay limited to Earth technology, which she agrees to. Yuki forces the Study Group to have a limited map and changes the teleport function so that everyone is forced into an equal position, and with her superhuman abilities Yuki ensures the SOS Brigade wins. Awestruck by Yuki's hacking abilities, the president of the Computer Study Group asks Yuki to come in occasionally to help, and although Haruhi objects at first, Kyon realizes that Yuki enjoys playing with computers, and tells her to go visit the Computer Study Group when she feels like it.

Characters

 * Haruhi Suzumiya
 * Kyon
 * Mikuru Asahina
 * Yuki Nagato
 * Itsuki Koizumi
 * Computer Research Society President

Trivia

 * This episode was broadcasted as episode 11 of Season 1, and as episode 27 of Season 2
 * The president of the Computer Society pretends to be Leader Desslok (Desslar) from Star Blazers (Space Battleship Yamato).
 * On the cover of the “Day of Sagittarius III” game CD is picture of a young Captain Avatar (Captain Okita) from Star Blazers (Space Battleship Yamato).
 * The President's ship is also destroyed by a weapon similar to the Wave Motion Gun, another reference to Space Battleship Yamato.
 * The book Yuki is reading at the end is 2001: A Space Odyssey by Arthur C. Clarke.
 * One of the Nekoman (cat people) in Mikuru's spaceship (specifically the muscular one in front) is a homage to the character Kinnikuman. The distinctive characteristic is the symbol on its forehead.
 * The Computer Club President screams “Glory to the Computer Club!” as he is being shot down by Yuki. This is homage to the original Mobile Suit Gundam, as many Zeon officers from said anime would shout “Glory to the Principality of Zeon!” as they would be shot down. Those officers also tended to be battleship captains.
 * When the SOS Brigade having a tough time in their battle against the Computer Club, Haruhi orders Kyon to launch in the ******, to which Kyon replies “I’m launching!”. This is a tribute to Mobile Suit Gundam, where the censored word is the main robot, Gundam (the word Gundam is trademarked), while “I’m launching!” is one of the most famous quotes from the show, said by main character Amuro. There is also a heavily censored picture of the Gundam shown.
 * During the opening episode Nagato mentions that "all ECM and ECCM activated". ECM generally stands for "Electronic Counter Measures" and ECCM counters those. This is also a reference to Zettai Karen Children where espers are fairly commonplace. ECM's are an acronym for ESP Counter Measures which are devices that jam psychic powers. ECCM's are an acronym for ESP Counter Counter Measures which are devices that jam the effects of ECM's.
 * Haruhi says “Shining light on darkness and vanquishing evil is the duty of warrior of justice”. This is a reference to the anime Sailor Moon.
 * The background music that accompanied their battle was adapted from the first movement of the 7th symphony of Shostakovich in the beginning; and changed to the finale of the last movement of the 4th symphony of Tchaikovsky near the end. The symphony of Shostakovich was composed in 1941 and was dedicated to the Leningrad during its defense in World War II. This use of noted classical pieces during space fleet battles is meant as an homage to the long running OVA series Legend of the Galactic Heroes.
 * The entire crew of Koizumi's fleet's all have the henohenomohe(ji) face (a face usually drawn by Japanese school children using hiragana).
 * The design of the four laptops used and finally won by the SOS Brigade is apparently based on the Epson Endeavor NT350 White Edition, albeit labeled as "ESPON" in the episode, each with a Elecom Mobile Wireless Mouse M-D6URSV. They also used a Buffalo LSW-TX-8NP 10/100M 8port Switch Hub to connect the computers to the network (even though said laptop model actually has a built-in wireless option).

El Día de Sagitario