Review of The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya

I was very skeptical going into the The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya especially after watching Gigguk's review on the series but I still watched it even with all the skepticism. Therefore I'm glad to say that I was pleasantly surprised. The Story-6 To be honest there is not a whole load of story within this series due to its rather episodic nature. However having said that there are certain arcs that were very interesting and fun to watch such as the first arc. Even then there are individual episodes that are very good such as the gaming episode, the baseball episode and the concert episodes but theseare far and few in between. Also the pacing of the episodes and series in general is very strange and can be off putting as it moves from being very slow to very fast at a drop of the hat similar to the titular character.

The Art-8

As per usual with Kyoto Animation the quality of the animation is very high for most of the series. The character movements are fluid and crisp and the overall art style of the anime is pleasant on the eye. However there are certain parts of the anime where the quality drops and the detail of the facial feature and the faces themselves do drop at certain points.

Sound-7

The sound was nothing to boast about but at the same time not bad. Throughout the anime the music is appropriate for the setting and the mood but not very memorable. The only two tracks worth of any mention are the OP and the ED which are very catch, fits the anime to a T and brilliantly choreographed. As I've only watched the dub I can't comment on the quality of the original voice acting but as for the English Dub I can say that the show is stolen (yet again) by Crispin Freeman who voices Kyon portrays his laid back attitude perfectly.

Character-6.5

Now this is the section of this anime which comes under the most flak as people see the characters as just certain stereotypes and I can see where they are coming from. This is because all the characters do fit into stereotypes but they way in which they are portrayed is unique, especially Kyon, the narrator and the main character within the anime. His personality is laid back, skeptical and sarcastic which make him a likeable character amongst a hyperactive girl, an emotionless doll, a cutesy moe fan-service girl and a goody-two-shoes. However none of the characters really develop through the series which is a gripe that I have with but on the whole the characters are enjoyable to watch but nothing spectacular.

Enjoyment-9.5

Now this is the pleasant surprise that I mentioned at the start, that is if you made it this far, is that I really enjoyed the show and I felt guilty for doing so. I don't understand why but this show brought a smile to my face and kept it there for almost the entirety of the show and even with its many flaws.

Overall the show is 7.4 out of 10 and I would recommend this to anyone who can turn off their perceptive sense and just smile throughout most of its entirety. Also the first episode can be off putting but trust me watch till the end of the episode and you should be fine.

I hope you enjoyed the review or found it helpful. This is my first review so any feedback would be much appreciated =D