Review of The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya

*THIS REVIEW COVERS BOTH SEASONS INCLUDING THE MOVIE, BUT WITH NO SPOILERS* The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya is a series that, understandably, gets a lot of hype. It did things different than other series at the time of it's time. Some people don't understand why the series got so much hype. Some people call this series a masterpiece. This series is more than just a moe Slice-of-life about a eccentric, bossy teenage girl. Story: 9 The story for this anime is, obviously, one of the aspects that draws you in. At surface level, it looks like a typical high school slice-of-life with supernatural things thrown in hereand there. Suzumiya Haruhi is a fun series. It has many moments that will make you smile, it has moments that get you thinking and it definitely has moments where you think "Well, shit just got serious". As much as there is more to this anime than slice-of-life and it does sort of have a plot, it still is considered to technically be a SoL for a reason. Honestly, many people would agree with me when I say that sitting through both seasons is worth it for the movie, because the movie is THAT good. There's also quite a bit of foreshadowing to be appreciated.

Part of the story, particularly in season 2, follows an arc called "Endless Eight". where it is essentially the same episode repeated 8 times with minor differences. This arc tends to be hated although is canon and is quite important to the story for this series. I won't say anything more than please do not skip this arc, at least watch the first, second, and last episodes of the Endless Eight arc. It is important.

Art: 9

Obviously, since this IS a Kyoto Animation series we're talking about, the art is great. Even the first intro alone still looks amazing although being nearly 15 years old (As of 2020, the first season is 14 years old).

Although I will say, as much as it is beautiful animation and nice art, it still has that typical 2000s "anime" art style, so if you're not a fan of that, you may get bothered by this.

Sound: 8

Nothing about the sound necessarily stood out to me. Great voice acting, clear and easy to follow, isn't low-quality or muffled. Scoring and occasional background music was relatively good. Good intros and outros.

Character: 10

The characters in this series are absolutely great, and they are characters that are extremely essential to this series as a whole. Haruhi Suzumiya is eccentric, bossy, and a bit of a tsundere. Mikuru Asahina is clumsy, adorable, shy, but more intelligent than she appears. Yuki Nagato is quiet, reserved, and intelligent. Itsuki Koizumi is charmingly sweet, handsome, and nice, but slightly eerie and creepy. And, of course, Kyon, who the story is told by, is a mostly average but likable high school student, who is kind of done with everyone's bullshit.

This is the kind of anime that if you dislike the characters, you very likely won't like the anime at all.

Enjoyment: 8

I actually quite enjoyed this series but I started to absolutely LOVE it after watching the Disappearance movie. That movie makes you gain a whole new appreciation for the rest of the anime. This anime isn't heavy emotionally although it does have it's "Wow." moments. It does have it's much darker moments although it generally has a more positive tone which made me like it.

Overall:

Overall, this anime is great and definitely one of my favourite series and franchises. It is loved by many and I think that it is worth checking out.

ANOTHER IMPORTANT NOTE: This anime was aired out of order, so it has two watch orders: "Broadcast" and "Chronological". Chronological order is how the story plays out chronologically and Broadcast makes it more of a "puzzle" of sorts but mixes up events. With broadcast, you watch how you normally would. Season 1, then 2, then the movie. With Chronological, it requires switching the order the episodes here and there. Watching in broadcast has made people dislike the anime, although watching Episode 00/25 as the first episode does have it's "wtf" Both orders have been posted online. Chronological is recommended on a first watch.