Review of The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya

I was really expecting a lot coming in to this show. It was one of the most hyped shows around '04 - '05. There was even people building a religion around the main character Haruhi Suzumiya. However, as I got into it, the whole thing was a mess. STORY: As for the story it's really pretty horrible, not confusing, but not something that make you think either. Pretty much the only thing that it makes you think of is whether they mislabeled the episode numbers. I'm not sure why they made the episodes jumbled and not linear because it wasn't cleverat all, it was confusing and a real turn off for anyone watching it.

The story is also pretty slow paced, for the amount of actual development in story, the 14 episodes they had could've been shortened to a short 3 episode OAV, or 4 if they want to include the first episode which is unrelated to the story at all.

This type of format I believe also introduced the world to the moeblob show.

ART:

The animation was alright, it was average at times, and horrible sometimes. It wasn't nearly as fluid as high budget disney shows and the character designs are not that great either, but it can do the trick. I really hate the computer ink that they use now as it really gives the colors a dull look, but they created one of the most iconic color combination in animes.

Also the dancing in the opening also fathered those types of dance routines in the pening.

SOUND:

The only thing I really enjoyed in this series is the sound. It launched the career of the big forheaded Aya Hirano. They had a pretty catchy song, op, ed and the song God Knows is pretty badass. The only thing I hated regarding the sound was the super high, forced, tryin to hard to be cute voice of Mikuru. Seriously, stop straining yourself.

CHARACTER:

Not really very much to say here as there is little to no character growth at all in the supporting cast. The only growth we see is between the two main characters which is hindered by the non-linear storyline. It also created the archetype characters for moe blob shows.

ENJOYMENT:

I liked the sound, but not so much everything else. My enjoyment is also hindered by the fact someone messed up the episode labeling on the studio side.

OVERALL:

Overall haruhi was a precursor to the shows we are getting now. The moe blob shows in my opinion really has it's roots to the haruhi series. It launched the career of Aya Hirano, this was the show that really got her out there. I have to give credit for all haruhi has done for Aya hirano and moe lovers but it was also the killer of the anime industry. Why are we getting shows like
K-ON and Mayoi Neko? blame Haruhi.

~PZ