Review of The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya

So, you heard The Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya is pretty damn good, but you're questioning whether the first two seasons are worth watching for the sake of the movie. Well, I'm here to answer, yeah, they are. Look, as my rating will suggest, I can't in good conscience say that The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya is particularly good. The characters are cliche (to the point this is made fun of by the show itself, multiple times), no plot development matters (to the point where people will literally tell you the order in which you watch these episodes just does not matter), and hell, that's like 70%of the stuff that makes me watch anime! What this show does do pretty damn well is pure dumb fun, and ridiculously good set-up. Now, while the pay-off to that set-up rarely makes it worth it, the set-up itself is still a thing to behold and as such I'm really glad I watched this anime.

People have very conflicting views on the watch order for Haruhi Suzumiya, and, honestly, I just ignored them all and decided to watch in the release order. I was mostly not disappointed, meaning you can safely ignore the first and second paragraphs, please read the third. If I were to watch this show again, this is the watch order I'd go for (I'll try to explain why you should follow it afterwards).

Prologue & Stuff (S1E1 - S1E6) -> No Spoilers (S1E8) -> Endless Eight (S1E12, S1E13, S2E5) -> The Adventures of Mikuru (S2E6 - S2E10) - The Adventures of Mikuru, Filler (S2E11 - S2E12) -> SOS Brigade Does Dumb Shit To Pass The Time (everything else in release order) -> Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya.

Now, why I think this watch order is best. Another reviewer stated, and I think rightfully so, that S1E6 ends on such a high note that it conditions you into expecting more plot development. However, everything that follows afterwards in S1 is mostly filler and falls into the "SOS Brigade does dumb shit" category. As such, I'd highly recommend watching the Adventures of Mikuru arc in S2 first because it mixes "dumb shit" and "actually cool, intriguing plot development". Squeeze in S1E8 and the Endless Eight in-between because it's important. The two filler episodes afterwards are completely optional. I highly recommend S2E11 because it's just a good time, and S2E12 has a banger soundtrack but is otherwise pretty bad.

Endless Eight is one of the most controversial arcs in anime. I talk as someone who actually gave it the benefit of the doubt and watched the whole thing. What it boils down to is that you, a new viewer, can watch S1E12, S1E13, and S2E5 and you'll get as much out of it (if not more) than I did by watching the entire arc. The time and effort this arc requires is simply not worth it, because there is no return on investment. If you would like to torture yourself a bit more, you can watch any episode in the range of S2E1 - S2E4, but there is genuinely no need for it. Then, go for the filler stuff because it makes the movie sweeter and make more sense. Finally, end things with the movie.

I don't see the point of dividing Haruhi Suzumiya into seasons or movies, it's all the same to me. So, here, I'll just review it altogether. This show baits you so goddamn hard with how good they tease plot developments. The problem is they never actually let these plot developments matter. The first time they actually tried whatsoever to make a plot development AND have it be connected to the rest of the show was the movie, and, would you look at that, it's just universally loved. Otherwise, it genuinely doesn't matter. You'd think the characters might grow on you - maybe Mikuru becomes something else but an oversized plush toy, or Koizumi finally does something, or Kyon stands up to Haruhi, or Haruhi actually does something morally grey / shows a different character than being annoying, or Nagato becomes something more than an emotionless robot. But no, even when these characters and their change is the literal center of an arc, it will never do anything interesting with them. And, as much as this annoys me and as much as this sucks, the show as a whole is still extremely enjoyable, and these shallow, caricature characters are still extremely enjoyable to watch. As such, I wholeheartedly recommend this anime.