In what order should one watch BOTH series???

The new season practically forces you to watch every episode chronologically, which is not only anticlimactic, but also seems to admit the original first season order was a mistake. I've watched the first season in both orders, and the truth is the original order is actually well thought out despite being a complete mishmash. The first episode makes little sense where it is unfortunately, and can be skipped without missing much and saving confusion. However, the season ends strong, with four of the best episodes right in a row.

The chronological order makes more sense, but ends with the boring Someday In The Rain, which was a complete filler episode with absolutely nothing to do with the novels and in which absolutely nothing happens. A lot of people apparently like it despite this, but I don't hold out much for them in the way of intelligence. However, there's no question that dramatically it doesn't hold up against the sixth Melancholy episode, in which the fate of the entire world hangs in the balance.

I found that the overall feel to watching both orders is entirely different. The original airing order feels more Haruhi-centric, as the final episodes deal with Kyon and Haruhi quite closely. However, the chronological order is slightly more Yuki-centric, with Mysterique Sign, Day Of Sagittarius, and partially Someday In The Rain occurring after the Melancholy arc, while the original order had all of them before.

The second season complicates things, and the chronological order reairing attempts to correct that by showing exactly where each episode should go. Of course, the second season is problematic in itself. Bamboo Leaf Rhapsody was very good, and a worthy addition to the first season. But, the terrible Endless Eight arc wasted half the season, and stops any momentum dead with endless repeats of the exact same episode over and over. I recommend any viewing of the series skip the middle six of the eight episodes, as all six are entirely unnecessary and a waste of time. Not to mention that the original version from the light novel is only the eighth episode, meaning that the seven before it were essentially filler.

The Sighs finishes things off, but is somewhat dull through the first half or so. We've already seen the terrible movie by this point, so watching it being filmed doesn't add much to what we already know. Of course, when the story turns much darker at the end, things finally start to get interesting. And then it's all over. 14 episodes, three stories.

The choices then are either to watch the whole thing chronologically, as it was presented in Japan last year, or to watch the first season airing order followed by the second. If you're new to the series, you have little choice but to watch things chronologically. Although the difference between the Melancholy arc and the Endless Eight arc is stunning (and they're rather close together chronologically), it's probably too confusing to do anything else. Again, skipping at least six of the Endless Eight episodes will help immensely, and Someday In The Rain can be viewed ad libitum. It's possible to do each season separately, but each episode's placement may make little sense to a new viewer, and you may find yourself turning it off before the sputtering second season ends. And with the new episodes, you get an anticlimactic ending either way.

In short, I have little choice but to recommend the chronological order of the reairing, despite the huge lulls in the middle (best skipped) and the anticlimactic ending.