This was a series I'd been looking forward to seeing for years, and I didn't
finally manage to watch it until very early this year (very early as in
January/February/something like that) at which point...well, I revelled in
watching it if only because I'd been waiting so long.
I've watched both
seasons, but I'm going to stick with the first one here.
When Kyon enters high school, he begins talking to one Haruhi Suzumiya and
before he knows it he is entangled in all of her craziness.
Haruhi is interested in only one thing: the supernatural, as she makes
abundantly clear on their first day when she says that if you aren't an
alien, time traveller or esper, she isn't interested in talking to you. She wants to find a club for these things, but it turns out (how shocking)
that there isn't one.
So she takes the obvious Haruhi action (which Kyon accidentally gave her the
idea for) and makes one of her own. She commandeers the book club's room, and even commandeers some members.
Kyon is forced to join, as is Yuki Nagato (the one member of the actual book
club), Mikuru Asahina (for the sexy/cute mascot quality) and Itsuki Koizumi,
the “mysterious transfer student”. Not that Itsuki ever complains. She calls her club the S.O.S. Brigade, and their purpose is to seek out the
supernatural.
The series revolves around their (read: Haruhi's) exploits.
The Characters: The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya
The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya is interesting in that, as the title
character, Haruhi is indeed the main character, but she isn't the viewpoint
character Kyon is.
He's not only the most normal person in the series, but also the one who
seriously will not put up with Haruhi's crap, and when he feels she's taken
something too far, he makes that perfectly clear to her (not that she ever
really gets it).
One of the things which adds to the funny of the series is that although
Haruhi is on the lookout for the supernatural, she never realises she's
surrounded by it.
Yuki is an alien, while Mikuru is from the future and Itsuki is an esper.
All three of them are there to watch Haruhi herself. What sets them apart, however, is their personalities.
Yuki is a quiet
bookworm (her first time at a library is a sight to behold), Mikuru is shy
and cries a lot, and Itsuki...Itsuki is just ever-smiling.
They're great, especially under direction from Haruhi, who expects a lot
more than they're capable of.
The Episode Order: The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya
There are two ways to watch The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya. One, you can watch it in the basic series order, from episode one to
fourteen, but that's definitely the less fun way.
When the series first
aired, they showed the episodes out of order. Episode eleven aired first, followed by episode one, and it kept up with
randomness from there.
There was even two-parter by the name of Remote
Island Syndrome which was separated when it aired.
Watching it in that order is so much more fun, and for me, it expresses what
the anime is really about.
Haruhi lives for excitement and the unusual and as such, watching it in the
crazy order really suggests Haruhi's personality. It's such an improvement
that way.
Conclusion?
This series consists of mostly win and nothing more. The characters (The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya Characters) are highly entertaining, the events are amusing, and it's
always great for a laugh.
In fact the humour is its strongest aspect, in my opinion.
Granted, there were some moments that didn't lead to laughter (which led to
quite the opposite, actually) but the ones which were funny were hilarious.
And occasionally inappropriate.
Still, for an upbeat happy-time series, Haruhi is the right anime to watch,
I guarantee it.
My rating: 8/10
I dunno. It isn't one of my favourites. Yes, it's awesome, but it kept me
feeling like there was something missing.
Even watching the second season didn't help with the missing feeling, so I
can't give Haruhi any higher than an 8, no matter how much I love Itsuki.
Fan Art: The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya
The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya | |
| Episodes | 14 |
|---|---|
| Genre | Comedy, Mystery, Parody, School, Sci-Fi, Slice of Life |
| Aired | April 3, 2006 to July 3, 2006 |
| Directed by | Tatsuya Ishihara |
| Producers | Kyoto Animation, Lantis |
| Opening Theme | Bouken Desho Desho ? by Aya Hirano |
| Closing Theme | Hare Hare Yukai by Aya Hirano |
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