Review of The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya

**SPOILER FREE REVIEW OF SEASON ONE ONLY** While I consider myself a person with a very broad taste in anime who can watch and enjoy most genres of the medium, there is one genre that I've simply never been able to get into: the "slice of life" genre. It simply has never been able to hold my attention for more then a few episodes. Most entries are simply a collection of repetitive humor with a generic and uninteresting plot topped off with archetypical characters that I've seen a thousand times before. It was only after dozens of people assured me that "The Melancholy ofHaruhi Suzumiya" would change my stance on the genre that I finally caved in and decided to watch it, and wow am I happy that I did.

Watching the three installments of the Haruhi series (season 1, season 2, and "The Disappearance of Harui Suzumiya" movie) can only be described as a journey; an emotional roller-coaster complete with the highest of highs and the lowest of lows. But I'm getting ahead of myself; this review will focus only on the first season of the show which is, for the most part, a high.

Plot: 8/10
Where do I even begin describing the plot of Haruhi? The show is about Kyon, a snarky/sarcastic high school student, who is cynical to the point that he refuses to believe in anything supernatural. But then, he meets a very, VERY eccentric girl named Haruhi Suzumiya, and the supernatural is the only thing that she IS interested in—aliens, time travelers, and espers among other things. When Haruhi laments about the lack of intriguing clubs around school, Kyon inspires Haruhi to form her own club. As a result, the SOS Brigade (Spreading excitement all Over the world with Haruhi Suzumiya Brigade) is formed; a club which specializes in all that is supernatural, and Kyon is dragged (literally) right into the middle of it.

Based on that description, it's hard to see what's so special about Haruhi. What makes this anime's plot so different isn't just the content, it's how the content is presented. You see, there are two orders in which you can watch the episodes of this anime in: one is in the order that the show was aired in and the other is in chronological order. This, of course, means that watching this anime the way it was intended to be watched, broadcast order, is not chronological. The downside of watching Haruhi in this order is that you will likely get very confused. In fact, if you start from the VERY beginning, at episode 0, you will likely think that this anime is complete and utter garbage. There will be several references to episodes you haven't seen yet and certain plot events won't make sense. However, watching it in this order is better in my opinion because the character development and plot events are structured much, much more appropriately. The climax of the series actually comes at the end of the show, for one.

Watching the series in chronological order means that the events of the show will make a lot more sense to you; you are less likely to be confused and you will always understand what is happening for the most part. The downside is that the plot structure will make no sense what-so-ever. The climax of the show will happen in the middle of the series and the character development will be sporadic.

I would recommend watching the episodes in broadcast order, but it's entirely a matter of preference. You get more of a unique flair from the show if you watch it out of order and as it was intended to be watched; it's more fun.

Now that the confusing format of the episodes is out of the way, let's talk about why Haruhi has such a unique plot. While it may not be apparent at first, season 1 lays the ground work for what eventually develops into a masterfully written plot that is fun, emotionally investing, and unlike anything you've seen before by the end of "The Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya" movie, which concludes the series. While the plot eventually becomes something much more significant and meaningful, season 1 is something with a much lighter tone; it's just plain fun. The antics of the SOS Brigade hilarious, over the top, and just downright amusing at all times. I can't elaborate without spoilers, but Haruhi is a groundbreaking installment into the slice of life genre because it demonstrated that you don't have rely entirely on stereotypes and tropes; it's okay to come up with your own unique plot, it's okay to air your episodes out of order, it's okay to write characters that don't adhere to any stereotypes, but it's also okay to use characters that do adhere to stereotypes. I won't go into much detail about what is so different about Haruhi's plot for the sake of spoilers, but let's just say that it's impossible to not have fun with it.

Art: 9/10
Haruhi's first season was released almost a decade ago and it STILL looks like it could be airing today. Enough said.

Sound: 9/10
I'm an enormous fan of the choice of music throughout the Haruhi series. It's largely indescribable, but all you have to do is watch the first episode (as in part 1, not episode 0) to see what I mean. I creates an energetic, outstanding, and unparalleled tone that no other series has. And lets not forget the ED which became a cultural sensation and remains one to this very day. It was so popular that countless other anime have tried to copy it, but to no avail. A simply amazing overall use of sound.

Characters:7/10
While the characters in Haruhi eventually become extremely strongly developed and distinctive by the end of the series, we really don't get to see much of that in season 1, hence the 7/10 rating. What we do get, however, is a heavy dose of a legendary and one-of-a-kind character; Haruhi Suzumiya.

What can I say about Haruhi Suzumiya that hasn't already been said? I absolutely fell in love with her after about the first 10 minutes of episode 1(again, not episode 0), and that love only got stronger as the show went on! Haruhi is eccentric, but she is more then just that. She doesn't let anyone or anything stop her from having fun and enjoying her life. She couldn't care less what other people think of her, which is an admirable trait. But perhaps most enticingly, Haruhi is a very caring person on the inside. Again, we don't get to see much of this in season 1, but you will. Some people say that Haruhi can come across as annoying or arrogant, but I couldn't disagree more. She is just a bright, uplifting, and downright lovable character who really makes the entire show.

Haruhi is not the only awesome character in the show though, because now I have to talk about the protagonist: Kyon. Kyon is incredibly sarcastic and cynical throughout the anime and his hilarious narrations add quite a bit of flavor to the show. His snarkiness and sense of humor make him a very unique and likeable character, and he only gets more likeable as the series goes on.

The rest of the SOS Brigade are intentionally designed to be stereotypes. Yuki Nagata is the quiet bookworm, Mikuru Asahina is the moe fanservice girl, and Itsuki Koisumi is just an average highschooler. At the risk of sounding like a broken record: all of these characters become extremely well developed later on, but we don't get to see that in season 1. For now, they are just cogs in the Haruhi Suzumiya machine. Of course, all of them are still comedic and fun to watch, but they are largely undeveloped at this point.

Overall: 8/10
The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya is a revolutionary milestone that changed what a slice of life comedy could be, but that doesn't explain why you should watch it. You should watch it because

a.) You will never see another show that is similar to it
b.) You should get the chance to view Haruhi Suzumiya in all her glory
c.) You will need to see it in order watch "The Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya"; one of the greatest anime films of all time

So, what are you waiting for? Watch it! Even if you don't like it, you will probably like the movie that follows it seeing as the series begins to go in a very different direction.