Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya...
Recently, I picked up Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya...
The story, at first glance, appears to be a fairly typical "slice of life" drama. But, once Yuki invites Kyon to her apartment for a "chat", things start to get weird, but, in a good way. Then, there's poor abused and mistreated Mikuru. Her antics really spice up what would otherwise be a quite bland series. Although the weirdness happens quite early in the series, the characters spend a lot of time talking and just being more or less average teenagers. Granted, they're facing somewhat unusual circumstances, but, they all still live fairly mundane lives. In fact, aside from some surprising revelations from the members of the club, and some rather eccentric behaviour on the part of Haruhi, almost nothing happens in the first volume. Even so, the series managed to capture my attention and hold my interest. My favorite quote is from Mikuru after she's been abducted, forced to join Haruhi's club, stuffed into a bunny-girl suit and publicly humiliated...
In the second volume, things start to get a bit more interesting. Kyon is still holding out hope that his classmates' wild assertions and antics are just the result of their insanity or perhaps that he's been the victim of a bad joke. But, all that comes to an end when Ryoko invites Kyon to meet with her after school for a "chat". Things start to go downhill pretty fast for Kyon after his meeting with Ryoko.
There's quite a bit of fan service and more groping than I've seen in a while. But, it's all good clean fun. Although there aren't any naughty bits, the fan service may not be really suitable for the younger anime fans among us. There's very limited violence and blood shed and no gore to speak of.
The animation quality is superb. The series has a nice, bright, fresh and highly polished look and feel. Even so, there's not much in the way of eye candy. In fact, fan service and comedic elements aside, the series is an entirely character-driven drama. The characters and story really provide the momentum in this series rather than action scenes or dramatic animation sequences.
I chose the Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya pretty much at random. I hadn't heard about the series before and I thought I would toss a volume on the heap of unwatched anime just for kicks. The story on the back of the box seemed vaguely intriguing, but, the packaging didn't capture the magic that lay within. It was only much later, that I began to hear vague indications that this series was something that I should keep an eye on. I had been making fairly good progress on the heap of unwatched anime and I thought I might watch the series sooner rather than later.
Without giving too much away, there are shades of the second UY Movie - Beautiful Dreamer, in the Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya. Overall, I'm very pleased that I took the chance to invest time in a title that didn't really speak to me. I believe the Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya will very likely be a title that I'll visit again and again. I would give Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya a 5 out of 5.
I've had a chance to look at Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya. The story centers around Haruhi, an energetic and rather eccentric teenage girl who wishes that aliens, people from the future and ESPers really existed. The story is told from the point of view of Kyon, a classmate of Haruhi, who has the misfortune of being seated in front of Haruhi. Kyon's attitude throughout the series is one of quiet determination and resolve.I thought that when I entered high school, my days of believing in aliens, time travelers and ESPers were over. That was, until she introduced herself. Claiming to be interested in only aliens, time travelers, and ESPers, Haruhi Suzumiya was the strangest girl I'd met in a long time... Before I knew what was going on, I'd been dragged into her weird club, and it looks like I'm not the only one who has been drafted into this 'SOS Brigade' of hers, because there are three other students here who don't seem to be so ordinary themselves. Either way, we've all found ourselves caught up in Haruhi's quest to search for all things extraordinary.
The story, at first glance, appears to be a fairly typical "slice of life" drama. But, once Yuki invites Kyon to her apartment for a "chat", things start to get weird, but, in a good way. Then, there's poor abused and mistreated Mikuru. Her antics really spice up what would otherwise be a quite bland series. Although the weirdness happens quite early in the series, the characters spend a lot of time talking and just being more or less average teenagers. Granted, they're facing somewhat unusual circumstances, but, they all still live fairly mundane lives. In fact, aside from some surprising revelations from the members of the club, and some rather eccentric behaviour on the part of Haruhi, almost nothing happens in the first volume. Even so, the series managed to capture my attention and hold my interest. My favorite quote is from Mikuru after she's been abducted, forced to join Haruhi's club, stuffed into a bunny-girl suit and publicly humiliated...
Kyon, if I am no longer able to be a bride, will you marry me?
In the second volume, things start to get a bit more interesting. Kyon is still holding out hope that his classmates' wild assertions and antics are just the result of their insanity or perhaps that he's been the victim of a bad joke. But, all that comes to an end when Ryoko invites Kyon to meet with her after school for a "chat". Things start to go downhill pretty fast for Kyon after his meeting with Ryoko.
There's quite a bit of fan service and more groping than I've seen in a while. But, it's all good clean fun. Although there aren't any naughty bits, the fan service may not be really suitable for the younger anime fans among us. There's very limited violence and blood shed and no gore to speak of.
The animation quality is superb. The series has a nice, bright, fresh and highly polished look and feel. Even so, there's not much in the way of eye candy. In fact, fan service and comedic elements aside, the series is an entirely character-driven drama. The characters and story really provide the momentum in this series rather than action scenes or dramatic animation sequences.
I chose the Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya pretty much at random. I hadn't heard about the series before and I thought I would toss a volume on the heap of unwatched anime just for kicks. The story on the back of the box seemed vaguely intriguing, but, the packaging didn't capture the magic that lay within. It was only much later, that I began to hear vague indications that this series was something that I should keep an eye on. I had been making fairly good progress on the heap of unwatched anime and I thought I might watch the series sooner rather than later.
Without giving too much away, there are shades of the second UY Movie - Beautiful Dreamer, in the Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya. Overall, I'm very pleased that I took the chance to invest time in a title that didn't really speak to me. I believe the Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya will very likely be a title that I'll visit again and again. I would give Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya a 5 out of 5.
