Review of The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya

This is my first attempt at a review and as such i apologize for any terrible mistakes or grave offenses to an established form. Also, english is not my native language so you are really in for a ride. The honor to this pilot project goes to the first season of "The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya.", a series i really enjoyed. Though it's not my all-time favourite, i actually picked at random. I will stick to the categories that the form provides, because that should be simple and i'll try to avoid spoilers? I will include some of them at the end. Maybe i won't,it's late, okay?

Story: So lets take about the story, the meat of a series. I gave it a 10, simply because i enjoy story-telling, that is kept ominous. And the story of this show is basically the embodiment of "show, not tell." There are so many things that are hidden in the background and only reveal themselves if you rewatch the show. It can be confusing, with all these different watch orders and the jumping around if you follow the broadcast-order. The creators never really tell you whats happening behind the scenes, since we only get to know what our main character knows. I like it, hell i love it, but thats something that could be really offputting for some. It also throws around the genres like its nobodys business, one second you find yourself in a slice of life-series the next time you could watch a shounen-anime or a detective-story.

Art: This gets a 9, everything looks gorgeous. The few fight scenes are well done, the character-design is simple, since they all wear the schooluniform most of the time, but its interesting enough. The art is of a high quality and the animation brings the comedy over to the viewer, i don't really know what else to say

Sound: That's an 8 for me. Anything done by Aya Hirano in this show i absolutely love, be it the opening and the legendary ending or the lovely culture festival(which might actually be my favourite episode of the first season). The background-music does its job, sometimes it stands out(i think about the theme for the very first scene for example.) It's good music, the rest of the sounds are nice as well. Does this include voice acting? Cause thats also great.

Characters: That's my favourite section, i think i am really into anime for the interesting characters. So for this show, it's a 10 out of 10, i love the characters, since the plot is so mysterious, they have to be great to carry the series. So lets talk briefly about the five main characters.
Haruhi Suzumiya might be the title character, but she is not actually our protagonist. A bossy, egoistical maniac, some people worship her as a goddess, others hate her guts. I personally like her, especially since she is relatable in a way, her motivation is to me at least.
Kyon: Best character of the show, hands down.He never gets an actual name, only his nickname is know and yet he is the most relatable of them all. Which ain't hard, considering the nature of his brigade-members.His inner monologues made a big part of the series and without them, we would loose a lot of the comedy. He even gets development! Which main character actually gets development? I am just kidding.
Itsuki Koizumi: He is a funny guy at times, creepy at other times, but i always enjoy when he is on screen. Also the most mysterious i'd say, sometimes you could even question his good intentions. Always smiling, how disturbing.
Mikuru Asahina: The cutie, the mascot of the group fell a little flat for me (how ironic). There is more to her than meets the eye and i get that she is a deliberate cliche, but still, i like her the least of the brigade, which is still a lot.
Yuki Nagato: So.much.hidden.depth! Does she actually have any emotions? You never really know. And just how powerful is Nagato? Basically, the whole planet seems to be like an ant-farm for her and her boss. Well, if one of the ants suddenly developed mind-altering abilities.
Honorable mentions go to Asakura and Tsuruya, they are fun.

Enjoyment: Well that's a complicating section. I did enjoy myself at all times during the first season. It's genuinely funny, suspenseful and heartwarming and i can't think of a single episode that bored me.

Overall (here be spoilers!): It's a 9, almost perfect in my eyes. I can't even say what's missing, without contadicting myself, cause in the end, i'd like to have some more plot. I want to learn more about Koizumis organisation, about the specifics of Asahina's future and how Haruhi actually acquired her god-like power. At least, after multiple rewatches i do, i was very content with everything when i first watched it. So, to sum it up, i think it's a classic, despite not being that old. It has no precedent and many shows tried to copy elements of it, but at the same it's confusing and there will always be something missing. If you don't adore the characters, you probably won't enjoy the series. It is an adventure, right?! Yes, it is, one that deserves a watch in any case.