Review of The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya

This anime was interesting in several ways. It has some great successes but also great failures which ultimately taints its score. The premise is unique and entertaining, however the plot fails to go anywhere interesting. I take issue with how some of the characters are written. In several episodes, Haruhi goes from being quirky and aloof to being a straight up obnoxious and self-centered sociopath. I would not have an issue with this if it didn't feel so out of place, the writers really dropped the ball when it came to her character. In several episodes she is just a horrible human being, and Kyun is justa doormat that allows her to get away with it all. The other characters have excuses, Kyun is just spineless. Towards the end of the movie arc, he loses his cool and tries to discipline Haruhi but is held back. Once again, she gets away with being incredibly rude and self-centered. It's kind of a common theme with this anime.

The series also commits one of the cardinal sins of anime: it wastes the viewer's time. There are 5 (maybe 6) episodes as a part of the time loop arc in which nothing happens. You could outright skip some of them and not miss out on anything. It's frustrating because they could have used these episodes to really delve into Haruhi's character more. There's obviously some unrequited love on her mind yet they barely scratch the surface. Even more insulting is how it's resolved: Kyun finally loses his cool and demands that everyone... do homework with him? What a letdown.

Several questions the viewer will inevitably have about the plot never really get explored. Why is Haruhi godlike? What makes her special? Why does the future version of Mikuru ever visit Kyun? And why does she tell Kyun to avoid her? So many unresolved loose ends always bother me and leaving so much of this anime's interesting universe unexplored does it a disservice.

My distaste for several of the episodes is tempered by the fact that there are others that are actually pretty good. The writers manage to hit both polar ends of the spectrum when it comes to quality. There are some episodes where there's plenty of humor and interesting happenings that keep the viewer interested.

I disliked the art, mainly because I think that animes that draw the women with their eyes spaced way too far apart look goofy. It's even more jarring in this anime because the male characters have normally spaced eyes. It has the effect of making all the women look like they have a genetic disorder. It's like the anime version of the uncanny valley. Some people might like this but I found it to be tacky and inconsistent.

Music and sound quality is fine.

Overall, this anime is full of contrast. There are several episodes where the character writing and plot are quite enjoyable, but there are also episodes that waste the viewer's time or have unpalatable writing. I give it a strong 6.