Review of The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya

Summary: Kyoto Animation’s masterpiece transcends mere excellence to become a model for the potential of anime. Story- 7 Haruhi is what I would call a “half episodic” anime. Approximately half of the episodes are tied to the central plot and the other half are episodic, creating a weird hybrid, made even stranger by the fact that the episodes are not in chronological order. Typically I don’t like episodic shows, but most of the episodes in Haruhi are just sensational, with some unfortunate exceptions (I’m looking at you, lone island syndrome). The central plot is very good though. Unfortunately, the plot is confused by broadcastingthe show in weird, non-chronological order, which gets irritating. While I understand why KyoAni made that choice, at times it detracts from watching the show.

As I mentioned before, I strongly recommend watching the show in chronological order AFTER watching it in broadcast order. Watch the broadcast order first.

As for what the plot is about—well, it’s a pretty crazy highschool romance/comedy/slice of life/ scifi/action/drama/harem/pseudo-philosophical ramble. There’s something for everyone, and it’s fun and fresh.

Animation- 9
When the show came out in 2006, it had sensational art for its time, incorporating lots of CG effects, along with sophisticated character designs and backgrounds taken from real locations in Japan. Now, two years later, large use of CG effects has become much more widespread, and subsequent Kyoto Animation works (such as Clannad) have used them even more heavily, so Haruhi does not stand Nevertheless, the art still looks terrific. Characters dress in a variety of clothing (one of my pet peeves is when characters only seem to have one set of clothes in their wardrobe), but where the art of Haruhi really excels is in its rendering of the characters faces. Characters’ subtle expressions are conveyed beautifully (Nagato and Koizumi especially) and the characters even blink, which only adds more realism. The cg effects are used effectively, and are generally fairly unobtrusive. For certain scenes, such as the concert scene is episode 12, live alive, KyoAni ratchets up the animation even further, boosting the frame rate and adding even more detail. Details in general abound throughout the show, as comical (and occasionally somewhat important) interactions often can be seen in the background while central characters are in the foreground of a shot.

My only quibble with the animation is that at times it can “loop”—ie characters in the background perform the same action over and over again. This was most egregious in the concert scene of live alive, when members of the audience made the same cheering motion again and again. Nevertheless, that’s a minor complaint, and the artwork of The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya looks flat out terrific.

Sound- 10
Most of the Soundtrack for Haruhi is solid, but hardly spectacular, and none of the background tracks really stands out. However, Haruhi augments its standard soundtrack with excerpts from pieces of classical music at particularly important points in the show. These add a whole new level of epicness, and work extremely well. Additionally, Haruhi boasts original songs in the unforgettable concert scene (wow, this is now the third time I’ve mentioned it), which actually sound really really good. This supplementary music turns a good soundtrack into a great one.

Voice acting is also terrific. Aya Hirano is sensational as Haruhi, a role that may well be the defining one of her career. The other 4 voice actors for the central characters give strong performances as well (I’m especially a fan of the job that Minori Chihara did withYuki), and even some secondary characters such as Tsurya-san sound great. Most of the secondary characters sound very average, which isn’t really a bad thing.

Finally, I think I’m one of the few people out there who wasn’t a big fan of the OP or ED. They sounded okay, but I don’t see how the Hare Hare Yukai set off a goofy dance craze. Nevertheless, a very strong soundtrack coupled with terrific voice acting gets a ten from me.

Character- 10
This was a really easy 10 to give. Haruhi manages to take stale character archetypes -the tsundere, the silent girl, the moeblob, etc- and make them seem new and fresh (well, not so much with the moeblob, but most of them seem fresh). What makes the show really work is the interactions between the characters. Often, characters will interact in really subtle ways, showing emotion silently through facial expression. However, it is difficult to find yourself not liking these characters- they are all somewhat more complex than they appear (yes, even Mikuru).

The character which large numbers of people seem to dislike is of course the title character, Haruhi Suzumiya. Yes, she is totally obnoxious to Kyon initially. But she also has many redeeming qualities, and develops very well as a character as the show progresses. Haruhi’s determination and manic energy colliding with Kyon’s hilariously cynical nihilism is what makes the show tick.

Finally, I recommend that this show be watched twice- First in broadcast order, then in chronological order. The second viewing really helps clarify and enhance character development, making the whole series more enjoyable.

Basically, the characters in this show are awesome. Even minor side characters are really enjoyable to watch.

And Yuki is love <3 <3 <3

Enjoyment- ? What does this mean? Isn’t this the same as my overall score? K…

Conclusion:

I chose Haruhi for my first review because I doubt I will ever give out this many tens again, so I figured this anime was the best one to begin with.

Haruhi is often accused of being “overrated”, and Haruhi nuts can be annoying, but frankly it deserves the glowing reviews because it genuinely is a masterpiece, and I am sure that it is going to become a classic. Honestly, there is no reason for one not to watch this show. Romance? Check. Fanservice? Check. Space battles? Check. Homoerotic males? Check. And it’s freaking hilarious.

Now if only season 2 would come sooner…