The Animate chain of character goods stores announced that some of its stores will open at midnight on May 25 to sell Nagaru Tanigawa's next Haruhi Suzumiya light novel, Suzumiya Haruhi no Kyōgaku (The Surprise of Haruhi Suzumiya), as soon as possible. May 25 is the official date that the 513,000 limited-edition sets of the two-volume novel go on sale.

Japanese shops, particularly those in Tokyo's Akihabara (Akiba) otaku shopping district, have opened early for the launch of the latest operating system update, the newest console, or a much anticipated game. However, it is still relatively rare for a Japanese light novel to launch at midnight.

Some Animate stores will also display reproductions of the original artwork from the franchise in the days leading up to the novel's release. As a way of counting down to launch, these stores will rotate the artwork on display every day between May 15 and May 25. In addition, the novel will "hijack" the signs at Animate's Akihabara branch so customers will feel like they entered the "world of Haruhi Suzumiya."