Suzumiya Haruhi no Yuuutsu

Warning: This review contains some SPOILERS

I've read many reviews of this show, and they're varied - some people love it, some hate it. Personally, I love this show, and am almost surprised that some people don't. But then again, if you don't like the sheer randomness and wackiness that the show builds on, the anime won't appeal to you.

The setting is as following – a girl (Haruhi Suzumiya) has the power to change reality – a sort of God, in other words. She is unaware of this ability herself. Her wish of meeting espers, aliens and time travelers, combined with the aforementioned power, ends ... up in her making a club where said types of beings come together (she’s unaware of them being any more than normal humans, though) – along with a perfectly normal guy named Kyon; the first normal human to get along with her. Her club is called the SOS Brigade (Save the world by Overloading it with fun Suzumiya Haruhi’s Bridage), and we follow them as they partake in various – and humorous – activities.


Story-wise, you can say the anime is episodic in that there's a new event every episode, but there's still ties between the individual episodes, which makes a true chronological order present. However, they were originally aired in a non-chronologic order, to make things even more confusing and random. Personally, I prefer the chronological order over the broadcast order, but I've heard people say otherwise. I'll try to list ups and down as good as possible:

Broadcast order:
+ You'll get some good character development
+ The end of the series actually come at the end
- References to episodes that you haven't watched yet
- First episode might scare you off (watch it till the end!)

Chronological order:
+ Linear story
- The ending is kinda in the middle of the series
- Character development may feel a bit reset after episodes

Decide for yourself =)

To me, the story was really great, and so was the setting. Each episode contained so much - you may feel that you've watched more than one episode's length at the end of an episode. This is partially due to the pacing - it varies from the slow, standard slice-of-life pacing to hyperactive and fast pacing which fits with Haruhi's character.


The animation style of the show is excellent. Kyoto Animation definitely lives up to their reputation - most of the series they've worked on has an excellent animation quality (note: excellent, not necessarily perfect). The characters move so fluidly, the coloring is great, and other details are good too. Haruhi's various hair styles are a plus too. Lighting effects are good too..Their faces lost detail too often, which drags it down.


The soundtrack is so-so. It's not the best, but it's good nevertheless. The OP/ED themes are catchy and good stand-alone songs, and the BGM is decent for this type of show. Voice acting is really good too; they manage to portray Haruhi's hyperactiveness and Kyon's laid-back, sarcastic character very well.


When it comes to the characters, many people drag the score down because of the near-absence of character development. But, hey, guess what folks? It's a 14-episode slice of life/comedy anime. You don't watch these if you want character development. Sometimes you've got to think about what you're rating before you rate it. I don't let low amounts of character development drag down the score for this kind of anime. Though, watching it in broadcast order presents you with some good character development towards the end.

Okay, the characters may be a little unoriginal - the laid-back guy and the hyperactive girl pair is definitely not something unseen. A quiet and shy girl and a moe/loli girl aren't unusual either. But what made the characters in TMoHS as good as they were was the unique way in which they were presented - it kinda made me forget that they're based on character types seen many times before in the world of anime.

The story is told from Kyon's point of view, and he tells the story in a style that just made me burst out in laughter from time to time. Haruhi's hyperactiveness and, as Nagato said, "absence of universally accepted personality traits", makes her really fun to watch, and she gives me a good laugh more than once per episode. What people may find repulsive about her behavior is her constant sexual harassments of poor Mikuru. But I've seen people who hate the show based on only that, which I find stupid. Anyway, you've got to be prepared for a little fanservice from Haruhi's and Mikuru's interactions, if that's the correct term.


All in all, TMoHS is a series which, to me, lived up to most of the hype. Good way of telling a 14-episode story, good animation, decent soundtrack, characters who were portrayed in a way that made them original, and of course, a unique setting. And not to mention, it's highly rewatchable, both for getting to watch it in both orders and because it's just pure fun to watch over and over again.

To 'Not Helpful' voters (and you 'Helpful' voters too): Feedback greatly appreciated =)

2 things before you read this review:

1) I (unfortunately) watched the series twice, both in airing and chronological order, so I can compare them.
2) This is not a praise Haruhi review, but rather a review from someone who truly dislikes and despises the show. I tried to include all reasons behind this; so even if you are a Haruhi fanatic, please try to understand why I rated it so low.

Now onto the review.
MAL is the place where I usually decide the new anime series I want to watch. Unfortunately, this sometimes proves to be disastrous - like the case of The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya. ... Reading the synopsis, seeing the nice graphics and all the hype around it, I really expected something great, intelligent and unusual. Instead, I got a really big disappointment - manifested by a boredom and annoyance overdose.

From what I've seen, there are usually two approaches of the show that Haruhi fans support. First is the parody one - TMoHS is supposed to be a light comedy not meant to be taken seriously, destined purely for laughter. Second states that TMoHS is a deep, subtle and intelligent show that has a lot of hidden meanings. I honestly disagree with both. TMoHS is nothing more than a series that delivers to fans what fans want - exaggerated, cliche characters, lots of fanservice, predictability and little to none plot and character development.

Story

You can't talk about the story without mentioning the really unusual way in which the episodes are aired - and that is, not chronological. I admit, this is an extremely intelligent, even brilliant idea - to hide the fact that the plot of TMoHS is basically zero. Nopes. Nothing ever happens; it's just a bunch of high school and spare time events that some teenagers go through randomly thrown in. That's why, it really doesn't matter in which order you watch the show, since you won't miss anything.

Now, the whole 'God is amongst us' concept could have been really interestingly developed - if it wasn't for the characters.

Characters

In my opinion, characters truly represent the poorest aspect of the show. Leaving aside the fact that there is no development in their personalities at all, they are so poorly made, that it's almost as if they were created to be mocked at. In an elegant way, you could say that they are one-dimensional sketches or exaggerated caricatures. In a non sophisticated, yet same true way, you could just call them crappy. Either way, they cut off all the enjoyment the story could have brought. Because they are so simplistic, the viewer is basically able to predict anything that's about to happen in the following 5 minutes with an accuracy of 95% - unless he's an idiot.

So let's move onto each one of them.

Haruhi:
Haruhi is what every teenage girl would want to be - she's beautiful, she's smart, she's talented and athletic. She could be called either a Mary Sue character or a tsundere - I don't care. Because of all her qualities, her life was probably pretty easy, thus leading her to believe she's special. However, she doesn't want to be special only for herself - she wants the world to know how great of a person she is. So far, so good. Then why is she so unlikeable? Well, Haruhi's way of proving she's something else is definitely WRONG.
If there was one adjective I had to pick to describe Haruhi, then I'd probably choose aggressive. Haruhi is aggressive in everything. Her speech is aggressive, her ideas are aggressive, her way of waving her hands is aggressive, but most important of all - her relationships towards other people is aggressive. She has no value of human morals whatsoever, considering everybody her pawns. Therefore, Haruhi thinks she is allowed to do everything just because she's able to. I honestly waited throughout the whole series for someone to slap her, disagree with her or at least spark the tiniest bit sense of reality into her. Unfortunately, there was no positive development at all. Haruhi started out as a perfect, bossy bitch and ended up as an even more bitchy one, receiving several ego boosts as the series advanced due to her talented, almighty nature.

Yuki:
Yuki could as very well be replaced by a broken alarm clock that rings when it shouldn't or by an old, rusted door and there would hardly be any differences. 90% of Yuki's actions are static - she's just, well, there, reading a book. (The climax of Yuki's passiveness is reached during episode 14, when the viewer is shown 5 minutes in which basically all she does is change the page while voices full of references echo on the school corridor. That's 5 freaking minutes of NOTHING. Yet I, as a viewer, should find this utterly amusing.) The rest 10% of Yuki's actions make absolutely no sense. She's just programming computers or fighting cute aliens while being equally cute, silent and moe.

Mikuru:
Mikuru's only purpose in this show is to bring fanservice. Lots and lots, if possible. Mikuru has this high-pitched, squeaky scream and this shy personality which enables her to make all fanboys fall for her. She's like a sickening cute, fluffy hamster that starts squealing every time she's touched (and she sure gets touched a lot, mind you.) Every once in a while, she might give you the unpleasant surprise that she's not actually a commercial item and she can exit her tormented animal state too and be human - by speaking.

Koizumi:
I haven't read the original novels so I can't tell for sure what role Koizumi plays in them - but to me, it seems as the creator of TMoHS had, at some point, reached a pinch. He had to create a new character. Therefore, his line of reasoning was probably something like this: "Hey, I already have 3 extremely moe and likable female characters. I should make a guy too, so the female audience would be pleased. Yeah, yeah, I should make a guy - as elegant and charming as possible." Thus Koizumi was born.
Basically, unless you're a crazy fangirl or something similar, you'd barely be able to notice Koizumi - I, for once, kept forgetting his name all the time. To be honest, the only time I acknowledged his existence was when he kept staring at Kyon's hair in the middle of a mole fluttering in the ocean breeze. I thought it was the most irrelevant and repulsing thing TMoHS had brought so far.
Koizumi serves as the voice through which the strange events occurring around Haruhi are explained. Translation: his speeches are long, boring and put you to sleep. When he talks, he talks. When he doesn't talk, he still talks.

Kyon:
Kyon is a sword with two edges. On one hand, he's really sarcastic, being quite innovative to the ordinary guy genre - thus proving to be the only aspect that might seem slightly interesting during the series. On the other one, he's extremely unlikable due to the fact that he doesn't take any action at all - unless forced by Haruhi. Kyon was the viewer's last hope of Haruhi redemption - yet he fails miserably, by making her even worse than how she actually started off.

Art and Sound

Art and sound are probably the only positive aspects of the show. TMoHS manages to create a pretty good atmosphere - the movements are flowing easily, the colors are bright and clean, the background music fits in - even though it doesn't stand out as more than ordinary. The OP and ED are either really addictive or annoying to the core - I'm more inclined to the latter. Voices are OK, the actors managing to catch each character's personality - which only adds up to how you, as a viewer, perceive them. Overall, no major problem.

Enjoyment

Zero. Zero enjoyment. I can't quite comprehend how a normal, rational person can watch a show where the characters are horrible and the story is predictable - and, at the same time, enjoy it. Haruhi is a mediocre anime for the masses. It was meant to be liked by all those who want to stand out but have no means of doing so. I honestly expect much more from my anime when I watch it. I want to be hooked or at least slightly entertained. Leave aside the fact that I constantly kept staring elsewhere asking myself 'when will this crap be over?'; I couldn't even grin ONCE throughout the series. That's how uninteresting it was.

Overall

When rating, I usually consider two aspects. One is enjoyment; the other is the effort that I feel the creators put into the certain anime. Animation-wise, KyoAni really overdid itself. Plot-wise, it was a total wreck.

Therefore, I really cannot rate TMoHS more than 4 out of 10.

It's not easy writing a review for such a well known and extremely successful anime. I'll do my best though.

The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya is, I feel I can safely say, a milestone in Anime history. Much like Evangelion, Suzumiya brings new light and brilliance to something we didn't know could exist. It brings pure genius comedy and an excellent array of characters to keep you hooked.

What's so good about it you ask? Why's this anime good enough to be deemed a milestone. It's simple. Haruhiism. It's a religion named after Haruhi herself. Her character posses such a strong charisma that you can't help ... but feel attracted and entertained by her. Her comments throughout the show are comparable with no other characters in any series that I can think of. Kyon along side her completes the two so incredibly well that its near impossible to not want to watch the next episode to see how the two will interact.

Enough rambling, the story is awesome. It's presented to you out of chronological order. That means episode 4 comes after episode 6, and episode 8 comes before 5 (not the actual order of the show). Don't worry though, the episodes are out of order with purpose and intention, and it makes the anime all the more interesting.

The Animation is top notch. There's one episode where a particular character is singing and they have the lyrics/drummer/guitarist sinked perfectly. Beautiful fight scenes (though these are short and infrequent) too.

The sound/music is pretty decent, with the opening and ending pretty catchy. Nothing amazing though.

I only gave the characters a 9/10 because there isn't enough information given about everyone to really get to know the character. Sure each definitely has their own personality, but we don't "know" them by the time the show ends.

10/10 for enjoyment, without a doubt.

If you haven't picked this series up, do it now. It's one of those "must sees" and you will not regret it.

Haruhi plays off of everybody\'s favorite comedic cliche, where a straight-shooting, somewhat-dull, and mostly-normal lead character is paired up with an energetic free spirit thanks to a convenient set of circumstances. These personalities play off of each other, resulting in wild adventures with both disastrous and hilarious consequences. Are there wild adventures? Yes. Are the results sometimes disastrous and/or hilarious? Yes. Is this an excellent series that is well worth your time? No. Haruhi is nothing more than a mediocre series with illusions of grandeur.

Many of the show\'s aspects, such as the supernatural characters and the irregular airing order (oh how avant garde!), may appear ... groundbreaking on the surface, but there is nothing especially extraordinary about Haruhi as a whole. Despite their strange origins, most of the cast is comprised of tired, one-dimensional caricatures; Haruhi is certainly not the first anime to feature a well-endowed ditz, a withdrawn bookworm, and a domineering foil to a reserved protagonist. The situations that these characters are placed in are somewhat unique, but their behavior during each episode is painfully predictable. The story wraps up nicely and some depth is added to each character when all is said and done, but the whole ride through is rather bland and at times downright boring.

Haruhi is not terrible. The plot is decent through and through. It is not, however, an artistic breakthrough in the genre of anime (as some would have you believe). It is for that reason that I give it a harsh \"4\" rating.

---The review contains spoilers---


Story: Very original concept. We have this so called god that gathers together an alien, time traveler, esper, and a "normal human" to form a club. But this "god" doesn't know that she has gathered all these strange people. And ironically enough, the purpose of the club is to find aliens, time travelers, and espers and have fun with them. The purpose of the club members is to keep this god entertained so that she won't destroy the world. What I like about this concept is that not only is it unique, it allow many possibilities in how the story is ... told. The author makes full use of everyones special abilities.

Animation: All credit goes to Kyoto Animation for really using this concept to its potential. What so great about the animation is all the detail it has. Each story is uniquely portrayed and really shows what the author had intended. KyoAni also cleverly implanted all these subtle actions that reflects the actions in other episodes so when you rewatch this you will be like "oh I see why she had this reaction" in case you missed it the first time.

Sound: Two words: Hirano Aya. She sings the opening, ending, the two insert song, and is the heroine in the anime. Each song is very catchy and fun to listen to. You wouldn't believe all these songs were sang by the same person, but Hirano Aya has a huge vocal range. Voice acting is also really well done. Each voice really fits their character.

Character: Probably the best thing about this show the very unique cast of characters. It is really very rare for me to be able to like all the characters (even Itsuki). Each character appeals to you in its own way. But the biggest factor is the subtle change and growth of the characters. I had a great time evaluating the characters at the beginning of the series with them at the end. KyoAni really know how to do their stuff.

Replay Value: Moderately High. With such details, you would need to watch it over to catch all the details. Furthermore, the way KyoAni set up the episode order, at least one more watch is in order.

Overall: This was a great experience. It rare these days for a show to really overwhelm you. I have never enjoyed an anime this much and I look forward to the second season.

I watched this about two years ago.Maybe I was still young and couldn't understand the "greatness" of it.Thinking back to that time even if I re-watched it I doubt it'd make any difference.So I guess I'm just one of those people who didn't like it.So I gathered up all my courage and decided to write a review about it despite all the fans that might get offended by this.

So here I go.

Story 3/10

Never made me excited.Maybe the order I watched the episodes is to be blame,although I highly doubt that's the reason.After all the order they were released was wrong they wouldn't hae done so,so ... I believe it was surving the purpose of making the anime look more interesting and kind of confusing.The whole God thing wasn't really my thing.Actually the story didn't progress at all till the last episode.Except for the info that was shared with the viewers,nothing else really happened.Just daily activities and Haruhi being unaware of her "abilities"(if that's the right word to use)

Art 8/10
I must admit though,despite the story that was offered to us,the art was pretty nice and still is.The characters were beautifully designed,nothing too original but still.Of course let's not forget the animation.I personally was pleased with it.

Sound 7/10
I think I'm being generous at the moment.The Op/ED wasn't all that special.Not to mention that most times I found my time skipping the OP,but meh it wasn't all that bad.It was good but not exceptional just a regular anime OP song.The rest of the sound was ok in the anime.The voice actors did a pretty good job and I think Haruhi had being voiced pretty well,just like the rest of the characters.

Character 2/10
I couldn't get connected with any characters,AT ALL.Maybe with Mikuru at first but it ws futile hoping something would happen during the anime(like she protecting herself from Haruhi,O.o) but no,instead the characters lack depth.Most of the times they seem repetetive and are there just for the so called "story" to progress.In my opinion the anime just focuses on three,Haruhi,Kyon and Mikuru(fanservie) characters and the others are just there for decoration or when they need to get some screentime.
Let's start off with Mikuru,the stereotype of the shy,cutie big-breasted girl,who can be taken advantege of(in this case Haruhi) and serves for fanservice reasons.Doesn't change during all of the episodes.Meaning no development.
Kyon,well to most Haruhi haters,he's the most likeable person.To me he just isn't there.Most of the times I'd ignore him cause to me he looks like he is so tired of living that he just sits there doing nothing.Can't understand what purpose this one serves though.
Last but not least,Haruhi.Yay!!!Or no?
From the first time she appeared I hated her.She's so aggresive and bitchy.How can people like her?I don't understand at all.All she does is take advantage of people in any way she can.She does whatever is possible for her own gain yet you feel like hit by Cupid every time you see this character?Honestly I doubt you would be really like that if she were a real person and it was you who she was treating that way.But she's not,that's why the fans find her to be perfect.She has everything(according to them).She's beautiful,smart and has a weird personality but also dynamic(maybe that's her main attraction).I'm trying to convince myself that I've misunderstood this character,but everytime I see her in the anime she just pisses me off.Really,I never have hated a character this much.Sorry if you got offended by this but it'strue!

Enjoyment 4/10
I should have given this a 1 but there must have been some kind of enjoyment out of it,right?It's not possible to hate every episode.Yes I did enjoy around 2-3 episodes,but that's about it.I was literally pushing my self to bear with it.It only had 13 episodes so sooner or later it'd would end and I really had to watch of all them to understand how "magnificent" this really is and what's the reason why all people have gone crazy over it.

Overall 5/10
I gave it a 5,cause this anime will make you either an extreme fan or an extreme hater in most cases.So me being kind of an extreme hater didn't want to affect my rating.It's not either too good,not too bad.But I personally have weird tastes so if I didn't have those then I believe I might have rated it higher.I wouldn't recommend this to anyone looking for good characters or story but if you just want to relax and sit back just go ahead and watch it.The only thing I'm gonna is don't expect a lot cause you'll be disappointed and won't enjoy it.(my case here)

This is my first review,hope I did well on writing it but more will be coming.I am glad to have shared my opinion/review with you all.Let me know what you thought of it and what I could possibly improve to make better ones in the future.

CAUTION: Review contains spoilers of both seasons of Melancholy of Suzumiya Haruhi. Read at your own risk.

The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya really only falls flat on the character that bitches her way to success and continuously cleans her superiority complexion. Allow me to elaborate.

I mean, normally those kinds of characters are just a means for comedy and we just see them scoffed off for fun. But, actually seeing one have their way was a bit strange and made the anime feel awkward since she was literally a god and had to be pleased or else she could destroy the world she lived in; unintentionally that ... is.

Just Haruhi alone is almost worse than the Endless Eight was; only because she started out good and then progressively became worse. It had a fun story, sure, but the story felt a bit plain in the long run; no thanks to the aforesaid arc and Haruhi. For what it is worth, I do remember it having pretty good visuals.

Actually, you know what, once you see an arc where the episodes begin to repeat themselves, just skip to the end of it. There are eight episodes in it and the eighth episode resolves the whole ordeal. Besides that, the rest are vital spoilers; but feel free to skip this arc when you come across it.

But if you are a fan of character development, this anime falls flat after the beginning. Mikuru gets tortured constantly, up to the point where she inadvertently drank a spiked beverage and was told to kiss Itsuki just so that Haruhi would be satisfied with her film; makes sense to have a love scene and all, but she was drunk and had no say in the matter.

Oh, and she probably had the most grief caused throughout that whole movie arc than anyone else, up to the point where Kyon almost punched Haruhi in the face to knock some sense into her until damn Itsuki had to stop him; she was about to finally have some justice served to her. At one point, Haruhi gives Kyon an arbitrary task just so that she could be alone with Mikuru for more torture. In the long run, character development just suffered thanks to Haruhi.

Well, except for Kyon and Mikuru that is. And I admired how the way Kyon was thinking in the anime is a reminder that even the nicest guys can still be perverts, but that does not mean they are bad people on the inside; simply means they are normal and healthy as they have urges like all men do. It sure stays true to a quote that Family Matters brought up once: "If you think it, that is just your imagination. If you do it, then you will suffer dearly" which can be applied to lots of things, such as this.

If I have to be completely honest, though. Well, actually I was being honest. It was thanks to how arrogant Haruhi was that the anime fell flat. After sharing her tale to Kyon about the vastness of the world and how it changed the way she viewed things, I imagined that she would have simply been rude on the outside, but showed a soft side to him whenever they were alone; which I believe was a recurring instance during the first season. But, after the next season, Haruhi became an indefinite tsundere and it ruined the nice nature of the previous season.

Though if you enjoy characters that torture other characters and do not mind that the bitchy character finally has her way, then this anime might be alright. But, in all fairness, outside Haruhi, the story is alright and pretty imaginative. But, nothing out of the ordinary that I would call incredible and unforgettable; besides how Haruhi got away with how mean she was to people. But, in all honesty, when she is not being rude, she is actually one of the more attractive anime characters that I have seen; I give them points on giving her a design that stands out from other female leads.

Should you watch it? Only if you are in a hiatus and have been unable to find anymore good anime in the past while. Otherwise, I would skip this one completely if you are on a roll and have been watching lots of good ones before this.

As far as anime go, this is one of the most overhyped titles that I've ever seen. I've never been someone that has followed any hypes or paid my attention to them, but the hype around Haruhi was so excessive that I just had to find out what it was, and to be honest, for the life of me, I couldn't discover the reason for the hype.

A couple of people that I call friends recommended this anime to me telling me how great the story is and how fantastic the characters are. When I watched Haruhi the first episode was a real shocker, it was ... so bad that I immediately wanted to turn it off and throw the DVD away and watch something else, but not wanting to disappoint them I kept on watching, so I put the first episode in fast forward, although that didn't really change the fact that it looked terrible and was maybe written by a 3 year old.

But anyway, enough ragging on the introduction, let's take a look at the scores.

Story: 3
The story of Haruhi is shown in a non-chronological order, it consists of 6 story episodes randomly thrown between 8 filler episodes. Those 8 filler episodes don't actually matter to the overall anime and show no character development or help the story advance in any way. In chronological order those 8 episodes happen after the 6 story episodes and the only reason I can see for their inclusion in the anime is to stretch the length of the anime, since the 6 story episodes can easily be fit into the time frame of a single movie.
The 6 story episodes show a decent although more or less generic story. It has it's moments and I can certainly enjoy those 6 episodes, however the inclusion of the meaningless filler episodes and the terrible opening episode (the one where they are making that movie) detract from the story and make the viewing a much less pleasurable thing for me.
All of this leads me to conclude that the anime has a rather poor story, since 8 of the 14 episodes don't have any meaning to the anime and what remains is an atleast competent athough generic story. So, a score of 3 on the story part.

Art: 8
The art is of a high standard and the anime certainly looks good, however the visual design of a lot of things in the anime (like the characters) is rather generic and I feel that the makers could have done a lot more then what is shown.

Sound: 7
The sound is well executed and the songs are nice. In terms of sound effects they could have done a lot more, since they could also have done more with the visuals (they usually match).

Characters: 2
The character design in the anime is rather pathetic. They used basic character templates that are as overused as can be. Heck, they use character templates that actually seem to be imported from a generic "H-Game turned Anime" like say Green Green or Fate/stay Night.
Those basic templates are: Spineless Male Main character (Kyon), Easy Achievement Girl (A girl in a H-Game that you can't go wrong with and has the most direct part to the H scenes, obviously I mean Haruhi with this), Emotionally Distant, intellectual girl with glasses (Yuki), Bigbreasted airhead (Mikuru), the little sister (Kyon's sister obviously) and the possibly gay supporting male character and main character's best friend (Itsuki).

Besides the generic overused character templates the anime shows little character development, with which I mean that the character development is limited to less then half the episodes in the anime. In the story episodes there is a good amount of character development, I would even go as far as saying that those 6 episodes have too much of it, and story. I feel that they rushed those 6 episodes and jammed too much into it.
With all of this I can only say that they produced rather dreadful characters, badly designed and straight from an H-Game with rather inconsistent amounts of character development. A dreadful score here.

Enjoyment: 3
An anime consisting for more then half of the episodes out of filler (heck, even Naruto and Dragonball Z had a smaller percentage of filler), with generic characters, the most horrible opening episode ever seen in an anime and basically everything I mentioned above this, you can guess that I certainly didn't enjoy it very much. A 3 is all it can get.

Overall: 5
All of this amounts to a rather mediocre anime in my opinion. If they removed those 8 filler episodes and worked out the story a bit more it would have been a much better anime, even with the substandard character design.

After this huge rant I still cannot imagine the reason behind the hype surrounding this anime. But then again, something as generic and stretched beyond comprehension as Dragonball Z also still has a huge following.
I guess this will be one mystery that I won't be able to solve...

If you didn't think my review was helpful, please leave a message on my profile and explain why you thought my review wasn't helpful. That way I can improve my reviews to make them better in the future.
Thank you in advance.

Great, I've come to the most overrated anime that ever existed.

The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya is a good show. It is by no means great. And it certainly isn't one of the best anime ever created, I don't even KNOW how it managed to grab that title a while back.

The story IS unique, I will give it that. When have we ever seen something like the SOS Brigade? Save the world by overloading it with fun? I must say, it was an interesting premise that drew me in, but then I realise that the story was pretty much centred on this group of ... people who have no intention of doing that. What a waste--I thought I was going to see an anime about philanthropy.

The art is so mediocre--character design is flat, their eyes are huge, and it doesn't look like a lot of money went into making this anime. The sound is...bleh. I didn't notice it. I liked the ED though, but who doesn't like the ending or the stupid dance??

The characters were good. They were like spins on stereotypes. Kyon is the 'boring unexceptional brown-haired guy', Mikuru is the walking pile of moe, Yuki is the aloof meganekko, that other guy whose name escapes me is the sort of 'Whee~ Happy Everyday!' sort of guy, and then there's Haruhi. She's so original that I cannot even place her in a set category. I do know she's a self-centred bitchy girl though. Oops!

This anime is great fun, but it is by no means great.

It's a lot better than some other unfabulous school comedies out there, anyway.

Let me say that The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya is one of the best and most popular series of 2006. It's a strange, eccentric, funny, and sometimes touching show that seems to be a mix of comedy, sci-fi, mystery, and a fourth genre that doesn't seem to fit into any previously existing categories. Perhaps we should call it Haruhism? Though I guess you could say it's main focus is comedy, the randomness of the story proves that it exceeds at various other genres as well. It is deeply philosophical and yet silly in concept, with story telling that reeks of slice-of-life and yet doesn't quite ... fit into that mold. In fact, it's difficult to fit Haruhi Suzumiya into any mold at all since while it seems to fulfill the attributes required for a comedy or sci-fi/mystery series, it doesn't really fit any of those. Rather it is something else entirely. Perhaps this is the reason why the show can be so enjoyable and yet so incomprehensible at the same time.

Story: It’s difficult to discuss the plot in Haruhi Suzumiya since the way the plot is presented and the story told differs depending on which version is being watched. In the original television airing, the episodes were presented out of order, and hence it developed its own unique form of plot development in which the pieces of the “main storyline” were scattered across the 14 total episodes in a non-linear fashion. Therefore, it became kind of a puzzle for the viewer to take those pieces and reconstruct them into a coherent whole. As the series was released on DVD, the original episode order was used as opposed to the original broadcast order. As a result, the story is more coherent, as the “main storyline” was presented in a linear and more or less comprehensible manner. And yet, the plot is still quite difficult to follow, especially if you’re not one to pay close attention to small details. Basically, the story revolves around an eccentric high school freshman named Haruhi Suzumiya and her club, the SOS brigade. Most of the story occurs with the consistent background narratives of Kyon, Haruhi’s lazy and cynical classmate who happens to be the only one who manages to engage her in meaningful conversation. Unwillingly dragged along for the ride, the story is actually told from Kyon’s perspective as his narratives often show his view of the situation as well as showing his personal insight into the story and the characters.

Characters: Haruhi’s other recruits include Mikuru Asahina, a pretty, well-endowed sophomore who also happens to be a time traveler from the future, Itsuki Koizumi, a male transfer student who is an esper that possess supernatural abilities, and Yuki Nagato, an organic life contact-purpose humanoid interface created by an alien existence called the Data Integration Thought Entity. Of course, none of this is known to Haruhi as the reason why the three of these extraordinary characters are gathered in one place was because Haruhi herself isn’t exactly human, and her influence in the world around her was greater than she could ever imagine. Without spoiling anything, it’s safe to say that there is more to Haruhi than meets the eye. If you’re already lost or confused, don’t worry, as it would seem that confusion and incredulity was exactly the intention. In fact, we’re almost expected to view these incredible events, and like Kyon, be completely bewildered by, and yet completely accepting of them. This is one of the many eccentricities of Haruhi that are almost impossible to explain with words. Of course, I should probably mention the various comedic situations, including some very moe ones involving our favorite cosplayer Mikuru-chan, the short-lived but exciting sci-fi action sequences, and finally the few genuinely touching scenes involving our drama queen Haruhi and her trusty companion Kyon. There is even a pair of episodes that play out like a classic western murder mystery. Haruhi Suzumiya is truly a mish-mash of genres: pop-culture-inspired, sci-fi otaku, mystery-romantic comedy . . . but without the romance.

Art & Animation: It also helps that the Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya is a very impressive visual experience. Produced by the now highly-acclaimed Kyoto Animation, who is known for other works such as Air and Full Metal Panic! The Second Raid, the animation is bright and colorful, smooth and crisp. The use of CGI in a few places is a little questionable but well-conceived and not overdone. Though the action sequences aren’t entirely commonplace and often short-lived they are beautifully directed and animated with impressive fluidity and fidelity. Then of course there’s the mind-blowing Haruhi dance, the little number that Haruhi and her four SOS Brigade club members engage in during the ending sequence.

Sound: The voice acting is superb, with Kyon’s voice being especially suited for his character. Newcomer Aya Hirano also proves her talent through her expressive voicing of Haruhi, which by all means is a difficult character to voice. The English dub is also top-notch with big names like Wendee Lee (voicing Haruhi) and Crispin Freeman (voicing Kyon). Johnny Bosch also does a great job voicing Koizumi. While not quite at the level of a de-facto standard like Cowboy Bebop, the English voice cast is better than most and given the difficulty of the material, they do a splendid job. As such, a second viewing with the dub is definitely recommended since it also has the secondary effect of making the show a little easier to understand. The music, while mostly forgettable compared to the rest of the show, is nevertheless well done, especially the opening and ending themes sung by Aya Hirano.

Enjoyment: At this point, it’s pretty easy to gather that I wasn’t really all that impressed with any of the specific elements of the show in particular. The puns can be funny sure, but some work really well, and some just fall flat. Even Mikuru’s moe moments, which seem to be a no-brainer success, don’t always work out particularly well—if anything, she’s trying a little too hard. The storyline is confusing, and even when watching it in the proper order, one still isn’t sure what exactly is happening. The techno jargon in particular may get a little annoying for those who aren’t too into the sci-fi aspect of the show. And while we get a fair amount of character development for Kyon and Haruhi, the remaining characters seem a little flat. Moreover, while the mixing of the episodes created a different storytelling experience, it added little to the show other than increased confusion. But alas, the above are just minor kinks when compared to the main problem with the show: it just didn’t resonate with me even though I had wholeheartedly wanted it to. Yes, I laughed at the jokes, yes I chuckled at and felt sorry for Mikuru’s misfortunes, and yes I enjoyed Haruhi’s capricious obsessions. Yet, as hard as I wanted it to, the show just didn’t draw me into it nearly as well as it could have. If there is any gaping problem with Haruhi, that problem is a lack of charm. If those were fixed/added, this series would have gotten a ten from me.

Overall: Nevertheless, Haruhi is one of those shows in which the whole is definitely not equal to the sum of its parts. Overall, the Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya is an impressive accomplishment. It’s entertaining, fun, and sometimes thought-provoking. Not often do we see a show that so obviously caters to the fans and yet still manages to provide an interesting, albeit overly complex storyline. And while it’s missing a certain endearing quality, it certainly has its moments of brilliance—definitely not a show to be missed.

The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya is an anime that needs no introduction. If you’re the least bit familiar with the anime medium, chances are you’ve heard of this series. Though it may be a bit late to write a review for this anime, I’ve yet to see someone who shares my stance on it and has expressed it in a comprehensive and coherent manner, so I thought I’d throw in my own two cents. This review may contain some minor spoilers, though I have tried to keep them to a minimum.

This is a controversial series to say the least. Just from a cursory glance at ... the reviews, one can see that the community is rather divided on this one; there are those who think it’s the best thing since sliced bread, and those who think it’s somewhere between okay and the worst anime ever made. Though I don’t think it’s perfect, I did thoroughly enjoy this anime, but probably not for exactly the same reasons as the former group.

When I was first going into this series last year—​slowpoke, I know—​judging from what I had heard, I was expecting a generic high school slice of life anime with some comedy and moe elements and maybe some fan service (primarily the reason why I had been putting it off for so long). What I got instead was a clever, quirky, self-aware mystery-parody fusion with some light sci-fi elements weaved in and one of the most relatable protagonists ever.

The series follows Kyon, a high school freshman who discarded his belief in the supernatural long ago. That is, until he meets an eccentric girl in his class named Haruhi Suzumiya, who’s all about the supernatural. She drags him into creating the SOS Brigade with her, a club which is dedicated to everything supernatural. Soon they recruit Yuki Nagato, Mikuru Asahina, and Itsuki Koizumi into the club. Unbeknownst to Haruhi, these new members are actually an android from an alien world, a time traveler, and an esper, respectively, all sent for different reasons to observe Haruhi, who herself unwittingly possesses god-like powers which allow these supernatural beings to exist by her will alone. The other members must keep Haruhi’s powers in check by preventing her from getting bored, while at the same time making sure she doesn’t find out about their little secret because the ensuing consequences would be unpredictable but almost definitely catastrophic. This creates an unusual and interesting atmosphere of fun and peaceful slice of life mixed with impending doom.

The first thing that surprised me about this series was how plot-heavy it was. The main arc takes up 6 of the 14 episodes, and is an adaptation of the first volume of the novels titled The Meloncholy of Haruhi Suzumiya. To my knowledge as someone who has not yet read the novels, the other episodes are adapted from scattered chapters in the later volumes of the novels, and though more of the main storyline could not be adapted due to time constraints, I feel each episode still adds to the experience in its own way. There’s a mostly serious but self-contained murder-mystery arc that consists of two episodes (Remote Island Syndrome Part One and Two), and other episodes serve to develop or provide more insight on the characters (The Day of Sagittarius, Live Alive) while some are just plain funny (The Adventures of Mikuru Asahina Episode 00). All things considered, I don’t think there was a single episode wasted.

The characters are probably the most divisive part of the show. Kyon is the cynical, level-headed protagonist and narrator of the series. His narration keeps the show moving along at a brisk pace, and his inner monologues provide more insight on the other characters and his true feelings for them. He’s the voice of reason in the cast, and is constantly questioning the other characters’ actions and the often shaky logic behind them—​and sometimes the show itself. For the non-critical types out there, this may make him come off as whiny, but for viewers like me whose minds are never at rest when watching, he becomes one of the most relatable characters in anime—​or any fiction for that matter—​as his inner thoughts mirrored my own when watching so closely it was almost scary at times (plus, it’s not exactly whining if it’s all in his head, is it?). It feels like Kyon is somewhat of a self-insert of the author, and his observations are based on things that the author has observed in other media and his own while writing it, and he wanted to make a character that called attention to these things for once in an attempt to reach out to like-minded viewers. Kyon is far from perfect, but that’s part of what makes him so relatable for me. He’s knowledgeable but not beyond his years, he’s grounded in his morals but mostly only when others are watching, he’s observant but still oblivious when it comes to such things as a certain someone’s feelings towards him (and the fact that he himself might be more than just a regular high school student).

But enough about Kyon. How do the other characters hold up? The titular character, Haruhi Suzumiya, is the self-proclaimed leader of the SOS Brigade and the cause behind most of the conflicts in the series. Her eccentricity and constant energy make her very unpredictable. Some would call her annoying, but I think that’s a rather shallow way of looking at it. For me, she was a very unique character whose unpredictability kept me interested and constantly guessing what she was going to do next. Though she is admittedly self-centered, she also has a compassionate side which comes through in certain key scenes throughout the series. The way she and Kyon played off each other's personalities was also very entertaining.

The other characters are somewhat generic and archetypical, but this can be forgiven because the author is fully aware of this and provides a very good reason for why this is so. Haruhi wants her life to be filled with characters similar to those present in the fiction she enjoys (possibly anime and manga), hence why the rest of the main cast is made up of archetypes that can be seen in other series. On top of this, each character has their own reason for being the way they are, and their outward actions may not necessarily reflect how they feel on the inside. This seems like the author’s way of criticizing other anime and manga for using these archetypes without giving a proper justification for why the characters act the way they do, when in fact it is very different from the way people normally act in real life.

That said, the characters’ back-stories and motivations are, for the most part, not really expanded upon or explored more deeply after they are initially mentioned. Some are never explicitly stated and left completely up to subtext. This is likely something that was lost in translation from the novels to the anime, but I personally kind of like how it reflects the overall theme of the supernatural elements being in the background and very much hidden under the guise of a regular high school life. It’s also somewhat refreshing to see a show that leaves it up to the viewer to think about its themes instead of doing so for them. Of course, there will be people who don’t think about it at all, but that’s their loss.

As expected of Kyoto Animation, the production values are very high for this anime. A lot of attention to detail was put into the animation, which looks smooth and consistent throughout with few hiccups, though the CGI is iffy at times. Truth be told, the art style itself is nothing particularly outstanding, but each character’s individual personalities come through in the character designs, as well as through the way they move.

The opening and ending sequences are especially well-done; it’s obvious a lot of time and effort (and money) went into making them. The songs themselves are also quite good, as is the rest of the soundtrack. The background music is varied to fit the many different moods of the series, ranging from the happy and upbeat to the dark and mysterious. Some of the tracks are actually very catchy and memorable. The voice talent is good as well; Sugita Tomokazu’s voice fits Kyon’s character to a tee and makes his inner monologues very pleasant to listen to. The other characters do a fine job of playing their characters’ roles, especially Aya Hirano as Haruhi, who also performed the opening and ending songs, plus some insert songs.

I have watched this series twice—​the first season that is, I refuse to sit through the Endless Eight more than once—​in both chronological and broadcast order, and I can say that both have their pros and cons. On the one hand, chronological order has a more coherent plot, but most of the plot-centric episodes are clumped together at the beginning, and the last episode is somewhat anti-climactic. On the other hand, broadcast order has the main arc spaced between the other episodes with the climax at the end, but the mixed-up episode order leaves some glaring continuity issues and forces the viewers to put the pieces together themselves. Either way though, there’s not much progress made from one episode to the next once all the characters are introduced, which was one of my biggest gripes with the series. There are some seemingly major plot points that actually have little to no lasting effect on the overall storyline. Granted, it still does more to make progress than your average slice of life, but it seemed like not enough in this case since the show tried to focus more on the plot. Though I suppose that’s another thing that can be chalked up to time constraints, at least in part.

If anything, the episodes have a lot of variety. Some would say that the show can’t decide what it wants to be, but I don’t mind at all because it actually does a good job at what it attempts, whether it be comedy, drama, action or mystery. Given the context of the story, it also makes sense for the anime to extend into many different genres, since Haruhi wants her life to resemble the media she consumes, which probably contains quite a bit of variety. This may sound like an excuse for the author to attempt a number of different styles without having to build a new world for each of them, which is likely true, but if so then it's a very clever excuse at that.

The series has its own unique brand of humour, which is extremely quirky and often quite subtle in its delivery, and as such, some jokes might go right over some people's heads without them ever realizing that a joke was even there. This is where Haruhi differs from most anime; it isn't afraid to leave some people out on the joke, which allows it to derive humour from places other anime can't. There are plenty of references and in-jokes strewn about, including some brief shout-outs to other anime (Gundam, Full Metal Panic, The Girl Who Leapt Through Time) as well as some lengthier scenes which reference other material. Among these, I particularly appreciated a scene dedicated to parodying Ace Attorney, and an episode that was essentially one extended reference to Legend of the Galactic Heroes. In addition, Kyon's commentary is full of dry wit, and I personally enjoyed it thoroughly, but again it's a type of humour that not everyone can relate to.

All in all, this is a show that is certainly a lot more than it appears to be on the surface. Rather than trying to appeal to the lowest common denominator, it runs the risk of having some of its humour and intricacies of its plot lost on some viewers, which is unfortunate for those who are left out, but all the more rewarding for those of us who can appreciate it. It deliberately presents itself as a generic slice of life anime despite being more of an elaborate parody of one, and this is very reflective of the way that Haruhi thinks she lives a regular high school life but is actually living in an intricate construct made to keep her from suspecting otherwise. So I find it funny, if not just a tad bit sad, that so many people have written it off as “just another slice-of-life anime” without looking any deeper into it.

The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya demonstrates what can be done within the limits of a slice of life anime in a high school setting, and shows how something can use familiar archetypes and still be unique. It’s certainly not perfect and it does have its flaws, though I have downplayed them here because rather than filling my already long-winded review with complaints that others have already mentioned, I wanted to focus on the reasons why I like this anime which haven’t been explored in other reviews.

The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya is more than just another slice of life anime. I wish people would give it a chance before writing it off as such.

It's hard to describe exactly what The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya is about.

Perhaps that may be due to the fact that the entire plot of the series centers around a girl searching for meaning to her life, seeking the abnormal and the supernatural, thus lending to the relatively aimless nature of the plot. Nonetheless, The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya is a crazy ride from the crazy misleadingly horrible beginning to the epic "end". The best way to sum it up in one sentence is Haruhi Suzumiya's own self-introduction: "I'm not interested in ordinary humans. If there are any aliens, time travelers, or espers here then ... I ask you to join me."

Beware, the first episode is extremely misleading. Many believe that this first episode is probably one of the greatest episodes in anime history, but to the unprepared viewer, the intent of it may not be completely apparent at first, so it would be wise to at least stick to the end of it for a brief showing of what the series is really about. I'll just say that it's probably not your crappy fansubs.

There are many layers to this anime. In addition to that described above, most if not every episode can be seen as a parody, from sports to mecha to even Phoenix Wright. These parodies, however, work together very well to produce a coherent storyline...when the episodes are placed in the correct order of course. Prior experience with a plethora of genres will greatly enhance enjoyment of this series.

Major praise to Kyoto Animation for placing an insane amount of detail into production, with the world-class animation, sound, and eye-candy it's well known for. Often there is something interesting occuring in the background that either reveals something for interesting, or is simply a good laugh. It is nearly impossible to notice all the countless references the first time going through, and the whole non-chronological order of the episodes begs for a full rewatch.

Clearly, one of the greatest things about this show is that it is clearly written by an intelligent staff, but the best thing is that even if one is too lazy to notice all the references, interpret the various parodies and overlying themes, and watch it over and over again, this show is still enjoyable on it's own. Each one of the main characters is so likable it's hard to pick a favorite, and even minor supporting characters are alive with hilarious personalities - many supporting characters could probably star in their own series. One of them, Tsuruya-san, has spawned her own 4chan meme as well as a numerous 4koma doujins.

There's too much to say about this anime, but this review needs to have limits. A huge explosion of information regarding Suzumiya Haruhi no Yuutsu has already occurred on the internet, much like the information explosion that occurs in the series itself. Anyway, needless to say this anime is a milestone, and could very well bring many a jaded anime fan back. The most significant since Evangelion? Many would definitely agree. Watch. and watch again.

Ah... the Melancholoy of Haruhi Suzumiya. Love by much, hated by much. Where does it sit with me? Read on, readers, read on...

Story: 3

Ok, if you are looking for a deep story driven based anime... do NOT watch this anime. The story is VERY scattered, a lot of the stuff that happens is very confusing and some of it even happens for no reason whatsoever.

Art/Animation: 9

The art style in this anime is actually quite nice, very nice animations, fluid dance animations in the opening and closing themes. A very redeeming quality. The special fx in some of the scenes are also quite nice to ... look at and not TOO over the top.

Sound: 8

The music in this anime is very nice. While I don't really approve of the dances that came with it, Hare Hare Yukai is a guily pleasure at times. A lot of the songs in between, performed by Hirano Aya, really added an extra dimension.

Character: 3

Ok... no. The character development in this series is EXTREMELY poor. Haruhi is a bitch, Yuki is a windbag at times and doesn't seem to show much personality.. is there a reason that so many people choose Yuki as their favorite character? Mikuru is extremely whiny, I've come EXTREMELY close to turning this anime off because of this character. Kyon is, to me, the only character worth watching the anime for. He is very blunt about a lot of issues that I am, and he is just the easiest to bond with as an anime character.

Enjoyment: 6

The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya provided me with laughs, WTFs and screw offs. The humor was one of the very few high points in this anime.

Overall: 5

Overall. TMoHS definitely did NOT live up to the hype preceding it. There needs to be a lot of work done by the time season 2 rolls around.

Story
So, what the hell is the plot?! Well, to describe it here would be a huge spoiler, so instead, think of it like this: it's much like the human race trying to keep God entertained with interesting events. It makes you think either stupid or brilliant, you decide because I'm still trying to.

Is the plot really something original and grand, or is it just a random pebble in a random pond sitting in a random hole in the ground? I can't even begin to understand which. The whole show had me watching, somehow and someway, but I didn't actually like anything I watched until the ... last episode. It also doesn't help that the episodes are shown out of order to confuse matters, and if there wasn't enough confusion already with data, closed space, and bunny-waitresses! Was the propose of the show to make me ponder in delightful wonder or was it to make me pound my head into my desk until my brain’s oozed out?!

Character(s) & Their Development
Actually, this one is a lot harder to place for this series. The cause of this is because the episodes are out of the order, so that means the development is as well. When you watch, the people you see seem to remain as they are, somehow growing in front of you without the audience even taking notice. It's as if a sneak attack tries to occur while you're sitting there listening to the attackers get in position.

Anyway, enough comparisons. First off, the characters are weird. You won't find many of them at your school besides a group of Kyons'. Everyone else is meant to be funny, hyper-active, and completely anti-typical. This isn't a bad thing because it fits the shows wacky style; regardless, it takes away any realism that they are attempting to display. Or so I thought…

The real secret here is that, by placing the episodes in a jumbled mix, we are treated with getting to know the characters. Thus, making us ready for the supposed ending (aka episode six instead of fourteen). This makes us much more comfortable with the change witnessed. I'm sure you could watch the show in order, but it might appear rushed in some form or manner. The characters do grow, and this is painstakingly apparent once you get use to their mannerisms.

What overall surprised me, but fit just right in the puzzle that is this series, was the bonds the characters make. I didn't really notice how close they all turned out to be until truly thinking about it. The real gold to this though is if the center of it all is Haruhi or Kyon? On first thought, you might think it would indeed be Haruhi because that is the reason everyone is there; however, the one everyone tells everything to is Kyon. So which is the center of this drizzled mess? That's another theory that only really the audience can decide.

Animation
This was the bombshell for me. Usually, I don't pay much attention to the looks of a show; regardless, The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya had such a fluid and lifelike style that it couldn't be denied even with eyes closed. I was truly surprised to find simple movements exaggerated for the viewers pleasure. Not many shows out there could get away with this without being called overly cute, but this one does with flying colors.

How odd it seemed in the beginning, but turned into one of it's strongest points. Then again, everything about this show is odd. Very odd. Anyway, it's colorful and has a cheerful display of complex movements in one bundle. If you're all into how good a show looks, then watch Haruhi for that. However, I wouldn't recommend doing that with any show, but whatever you enjoy best.

Music
Once again, another subject I don't pay much attention to; however, as soon as I can I'm planning on finding the soundtrack to this anime. It is, very bluntly, funky fresh. The opening is poppy, entertaining, and worldly (along with a psychedelic, colorful, banza during the opening theme). The ending has the same feel along with dance moves from your favorite characters to make you listen and watch. Not only that, I was a bit surprised to find interesting music inside the show as well. The battle scenes really shine with their techno twists.

Dubbing/Subbing
There was truly nothing special with the subbing in my opinion. The translations, I thought, were pretty nice, and some of my favorite parts of the show have an added oomph. Yet, besides that, the subtitles were… nice. I never really saw anything particular that stood out.

Overall
This was all around interest. Was it enjoyable? I think. Was it bad? I'm not sure. I was left with a lot of questions on how I felt about the show. It's popularity told me to stay clear, but because of that same popularity I opted to watch it anyway. I recall though, in the first episode, I shouted WTF seventeen times in a twenty-three minute timeframe. I assume since the beginning was nothing of what I expected, no plot of any kind introduced, I decided to stick with the rest to see what would become of bunny-girl-waitress-time-traveler-something-or-another.

The next few episodes actually bored me. In all reality, only the last two or three episodes got me entertained again. The ride to the end wasn't enjoyable for me, it was a trek I didn't feel up to taking unless it was to force myself. Maybe it's because I couldn't immerse myself into the strange rules this show threw at me. I might have been thinking far too much to actually sit and have fun with what was being shown to me. If that's the case, then my judgment was misplaced. Or maybe I just truly couldn't get into it. Maybe it just didn't interest me as much as others.

The plot seemed random, shuffled, and tacky to me. There were times I laughed quite a bit, but mostly it was nothing I could truly sink my teeth into. I can't say I know who to recommend this type of show to. I'm also not really sure why it's so ungodly popular (then again, I'm still asking that question about Neon Genesis Evangelion). So, if you like sci-fi you might like this anime. If you like bunny-girls with big boobs, well, this might be right up your alley, too. This show is a mixture of a lot of unsure things that will either make you scream out, "WHAT WAS THAT?!" or "Master-piece, I loved it!"

It's been a while since I've seen this series, so I believe this is the right time to write a review. A lot of people sit down and rave about this show after having just seen it, but if you give yourself some time, you can write with a clear head.

On with the show. And please, people, let's try to be as unbiased as possible. Just because you thought this show may have been epic win, don't allow that thought to distract you from the facts. Let's read on shall we?

Story: 7

The story is original, I'll give it that. It's a neat idea, but far ... from epic as some fans make it out to be. When it's not focusing on the main plot, this show is more or less like any other set in this time, place, and atmosphere. A typical high school slice of life, with a pinch of something new. However, it could be improved upon, and is not air-tight. It's good at best, but again, far from epic.

Art: 7

The art is well done. It's not the best I've ever seen, and it's not eye-catching to the degree that some other anime out there are, but it's obviously got a decent budget backing it, and the artists put good work into what they do. At some points there is the odd "short-cut" that can be caught, but not often, and this is typical of many other series, so it's nothing to really complain about. The show never did air in Hi-Vision, but I suppose I can't knock it for that because of when it aired. I'd say the art in this show is on par with most of the other well animated anime out there, and maybe goes a bit farther. But like a lot of things, it could have been better.

Sound: 8

The sound and music in this show was very good, I quite enjoyed it. I think just about anyone will find themselves tapping their toes to some of the tracks and humming along here and there, and it's pleasant to listen to when the background music gets going and not much is happening (when the characters are in-between action scenes or are lazing about like they sometimes are on occasion). Not epic, but very good and enjoyable.

Character: 6

This is where I have to give this show a bit of a shake. Although the character development was fair for a show of this length and an aim to be more original by sort of just throwing you in (which worked out in this case), I disliked Haruhi as a main character quite frankly. I know that a lot of fans out there will think "How could you? She is everything a main character should be!", but I'm afraid I have to disagree. In one word, she is annoying. In another, bitchy, and yet another, completely predictable. I'm sorry to say it fans, but I just don't like her one bit. I gave her a chance, I did all I could to find something I liked about her, but I just can't follow the flock on this one. Otherwise, the other characters are alright, and much more likable.

Enjoyment: 6

At times I enjoyed the show, and at times, I was falling asleep.. I was probably falling asleep more than anything else. I can't really say why, most of the time it was just.. Uninteresting? You get a rather long stretch of nothing much happening in this show (or just something you don't care about much), then you're hit with something spectacular and unexpected. Unfortunately, it just doesn't happen often enough, or you can see it coming all too soon. For the rare occasions where this show caught me off guard and made me go "wow", I kept its head above the water of a 5. But for the rest, a 6. Fair.

Overall: 6

The show is fair. It has it's faults, and really good things about it as well, but after watching it quite a while ago and writing this with a clear head, it wasn't anything special. It had some neat ideas which were incorporated quite well, but it just didn't have enough kick to it to keep it at the top of my list of shows I really, really enjoyed. It fell down in there with a lot of the rest of them: It was alright.

After so many hips for this show and seeing some cool videos, I thought that I would see something aweasome with a lot of humour and great characters!

But what I got in the end, was definetly not what I expected.
The only reason whyI have finished this series and didn't drop them is because I hoped for a miracle to happen.

That was probably the MOST boring show I have ever watched!

Story... what story? We have a main character Haruhi who has no respect for anyone and who tries to create a group of weird people. Group is meant to search for something unusal such as ... alliens and stuff. Among people that she had gathered happened to be time travelers, alliens and etc.

You would think that it would be interesting but sadly not in this series. The characters are simply PLAIN with no personality.

Mikaru - is a dumb, squeeling girl. Her only role in the show was to get molested by Haruhi and present fanservice. The only time when she looked seriouse and worthy for something was when she was telling about her true indentity and when her future self came.

Yuki - same thing as if she never was there to start with. She simply sits and reads books. Though she did help Kyon and is inteligent and had showed interest in games. So I guess out of all friend she is the most decent one.

Itsuki - just buy a scientific encyclopedia and read it, the effect will be the same. His speeches are damn long and boring. All he has are looks.

Kyon - probably the only normal character who actually has personality and who tried to teach Haruhi morals instead of spoiling her even more as others did.

Haruhi - someone who deserves a beating of a life time. She has no respect for anyone and cares only about herself. How could someone possibly like her is beyond me.

Instead ofactually finding something interesting, we have a long, dragged episodes of them chatting about scientific topics that can be found in encyclopedia or they are talking some nonsence.

Humor... there was humor? I definetly didn't see it there. If Haruhi being mean and molesting Mikaru is funny, then sure, there is a lot of humor.

The only thing that was interesting, were the episodes of them at the island where a crime had happened. Now that was interesting, everything else is a bunch of garbage.
What made those two episodes special is that Haruhi was not that mean and actually did something decent, it did have a worthy humor, speaches were not that boring, had some twists and of course some detective scenarie which was worth the time.

Animation was good though, sad that budget was wasted on something like this.

Why did I give this such a low score? To be honest, I'm getting really sick of this show, It's complete and utter garbage, I have had it with the dancing Hare Hare Yukai BS and non-stop talking about this series. I do not know why this show has been so popular, Really it is almost beyond me why a show like this is considered to be amazing, this is a comedy, but it isn't clever. I rarely laughed at all in this series, I personally hate the main character with a passion, because she is not someone at all anyone should like, she ... is conniving, manipulative, scheming and in my opinion a complete airhead. I just I don't know what but seriously. I'm really tired of hearing this dance non-stop. It's aggravating.

*Note: I watched the episodes in chronological order.

Haruhi Suzumiya was definitely an interesting series, but it wasted much of its potential.

The storyline is like a drunkard who forgot where he lives and can't find his way home. The first half is strong and interesting, and seems to set up great things for the second half. (The man has a few drinks, maybe finds a lovely lady and begins to chat with her). However, when we get there, it seems like what was built up to that point is forgotten in favor of a more slice-of-life tone. (The man's efforts flirting ... with the lady are wasted as she leaves without anything significant having happened. He tries to go home, but can't remember where his own house is.)

Don't get me wrong: I have nothing against slice of life. It's actually the setting of the first half anyway (in which more interesting things occur). But when you build up something that's intriguing/interesting/mysterious/makes me want to find out what happens, shifting the focus to slice-of-life alone makes me feel like the time spent setting up something much bigger is wasted. It's like the writers forgot what they had even written about to begin with.

In short: I got trolled. Haruhi is made out to be something of a god, but it's never explained in any way. Yuki, Itsuki, and Mikuru all have origins/characterization worth exploring, but aren't. They allude to the possiblity of a romance between Kyon and any of the three heroines manifesting, but none does.

Haruhi herself is easily the most interesting and unique character in the series--in fact, one of the more unique characters I've ever seen. However, I couldn't find her likable in any way. She's pushy, always used to getting her way, and doesn't care about the opinions of others as long as their view is inconvenient to her in any way. Her distinct personality is a breeding ground for many possible aesops to be had: you can't always get what you want, the opinions of others are important too, you shouldn't treat other people like objects, etc. But no: None of these opportunities are taken advantage of. All we get is Kyon's commentary/observation about her unpleasant personality traits.

Also, these characters had lots of room to grow and develop into something better, but didn't. Kyon could've made good on his promise early on to protect Mikuru from Haruhi's eccentricity and stopped being a huge pushover--Haruhi's slave--but he doesn't. Haruhi could've learned lessons like what I said above, but didn't. Yuki could've developed more human emotions, but didn't.

AND, the last episode spent 95% of its time doing... not much of anything.

*Big sigh*

However, in spite all these gripes, it's not all bad. There's lots of laughs to be had. The animation is beautiful (as you can expect from Kyoto Animation). The English VAs (especially Kyon's and, to a lesser extent, Haruhi's) are great.

The show just had potential to be so much more.

PS: Trolls rage-clicking the "not helpful" button: Comment on my profile as to why. (Or try to tell me how I'm wrong.)

The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya Review :

Haruhi Suzumiya is one of the most well known faces in the anime community. Until recently, I had absolutely no idea why the show was so popular, and to be perfectly honest, I still don't. Your going to see this word a lot in my upcoming Angel Beats review: potential. The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya had unbelievable potential. While it didn't quite live up to it in the show, it was still very fun to watch and a very good show.

Story 7/10:
The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya is about a freshman called Kyon who is quite the cynic and is ... skeptical about all things supernatural. On the first day of school during role call the girl sitting behind him announces to the class that all aliens, time travelers, and espers come see her immediately. Intrigued by this girl, Kyon begins talking to her and learns her name is Haruhi Suzumiya. They become friends and establish a club called the SOS Brigade where lo and behold an alien named Yuki Nagato, a time traveler named Mikuru Asahina, and an esper named Itsuki Koizumi are forced to join. As time goes by, Kyon learns from the other brigade members that Haruhi is actually able to change the world around her almost like a god. Haruhi is unaware of her powers and of her friends being supernatural beings. Thus the story revolves around preventing Haruhi from getting bored and destroying the world through her subconscious. Now, I watched the show in chronological order (there are 3 ways to watch the show) , and found that the first 6 episode arc was brilliant and absolutely loved it. Unfortunately the episodes to follow were a different story. They were fun yes, but they felt like filler episodes to me, and because the entire series after the first 6 episodes was actually fillers, the ending was abrupt, providing no closure whatsoever. The "second season" episodes also felt like filler episodes and the endless eight felt lazy because they could have just shortened it to 3 episodes. I feel like if the series was better paced and had a larger main plot, the show could have been something really special. Thankfully, my desires were met in the movie The Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya, which is now one of my favorite movies of all time. In short, the story started off with a bang, then fizzed away.

Art 9/10:
It really is amazing that this show came out back in 2006 because the art is fantastic. This is probably one of the main reasons why people have been so attracted to this show. The character designs are all great and they aren't bound to the same set of clothes every day. The wide array of settings are well done and this is just overall a very well produced anime.

Sound 6/10:
I do not understand where some people are coming from. I watched the dub and the sub version of this show, and in neither did I find the "superb" voice acting that everyone was raving about. Don't get me wrong, it's not bad, it's actually pretty good, but it's definitely not anything special in MY opinion. Don't hate on me for my OPINION of the voice acting. Many people find the voice acting superb especially for the 2 main characters, unfortunately I did not. I did like how the story was presented with Kyon thoughts however. The real reason I gave this section a 6 (enjoyable) instead of a 7 (good) was because the music really wasn't anything better than a 5 (average), I found no songs to be catchy, and the mood setting songs (particularly the dramatic ones) often found themselves misplaced in scenes. Overall the sound aspects of the show was above average due to the good voice acting, but not anything really noteworthy.

Characters 7/10:
The characters in this show were quite good. Haruhi is a sporadic bundle of craziness, Kyon is the cynical voice of reason, and the other 3 leads were over the top stereotypes. Although these 3 were stereotypes, they were so intentionally. Because haruhi basically wished for these 3 stereotypical characters to be there, they arrived on q. It's satisfying to have an explanation to why the 3 characters are so one dimensional instead of just throwing them at us and expecting us to relate to them. And even though they were stereotypes, they were very well done and a joy to watch. And if the show didn't provide enough for you, the movie really brings them out of their shells and provides much deeper insight on them, particularly with Yuki. Obviously the strongest characters were Haruhi and Kyon due to their yin and yang type presence in the show. However, there were drawbacks to the characters. My qualms were that Kyon really did complain A LOT, and Haruhi can sometimes come off as a real bitch when she bosses people around. My main issue is just that the characters had almost no development throughout the story. I mean Haruhi developed a lot in the first 6 episodes. But after that there was almost nothing. However, once again the movie answered my prayers on this issue too (see a trend here?). The characters were great, but lack of development really prevented them from being more relatable and and interesting, so in the end I rate them as good, but not anything more.

Enjoyment 8/10:
I have no idea why but I REALLY enjoyed watching this show. If there was more closure at the end of the season I most likely would have given this show an 8 (which is a very rare score from me). The tasks that the cast had to do to entertain Haruhi were fun to watch and the first 6 episodes were pretty intense. Maybe it was the characters, or maybe being able to hear all of Kyons thoughts. I really don't know why I enjoyed this show so much. Ultimately with better pacing and a thicker plot, I would have fallen completely in love with this show.

Overall 7.5/10:
The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya was a show that I thoroughly enjoyed watching. I can see why some people absolutely love this show, but unfortunately for me it had too many flaws particularly in the pacing and lack of plot after the first 6 episodes to make this truly great. However, if you enjoyed the show like I did, you HAVE to watch the movie: The Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya, because it is exactly what I was hoping for from the series. I may or may not write a review for it, but just know that it is everything you could ask for in a movie and has become only the 4th anime to ever get a 9/10 or higher from me.

The Verdict:
Very good show that is very fun to watch, gleaming with potential but unfortunately falls short of what it could be.

Pros:
+Great Characters
+Fantastic first 6 episodes
+Amazing art especially for the time
+Addicting to watch

Cons:
-Plot dies after 6th episode and climax in the middle of the season
-Lack of a memorable soundtrack
-Almost no character development

If you liked the Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya, watch...
Lucky Star:
Eccentric main female lead, plenty of humor, and many references to Haruhi.
My Teen Romantic Comedy SNAFU:
Cynical main male lead and also filled with comedy.

7.5/10 - Very Good

This is a hilarious anime with a very confusing and original concept. It will keep you guessing right through to the end, which happens to be somewhere in the middle of the series. ^_^

This anime may seem like any typical high school comedy, but that is far from it. The story is anything but straight forward because what makes this so original is the jumbled up story. It's noticeable from the beginning as the series starts chronologically on episode 11 and from there the messed up story will confuse you like it did the main character Kyon.

Even though Haruhi is the titular character Kyon ... is sort of the lead character and even if he seems like the usual dull and boring male lead, he is surprisingly funny. As he narrates the entire story he constantly comes out with some hilarious witty and sarcastic remarks, which can make any situation funny, like Haruhi's amateur film in the first episode. Haruhi is the titular character of this anime where everything revolves around her. It's pretty difficult to describe her but it's best to describe her personality as hyper-active and outrageously weird. There's a lot of confusing things to find out about her throughout the series, which is what makes her so great and a female character you can't help but love.

Just what you'd expect from "Kyoto Animation", the animation quality for this anime is unbelievably great and is probably the best for a non-action anime. It is unbelievable to see the amount of detail is put into it from the rich colour palette to the realistically fluid character movements. For the animation alone, I would give it a perfect 10/10.

The music isn't anything special, just the usual stuff you should expect to hear from a school-life comedy. It's the catchy opening and ending themes songs that are what put it above the rest; however there's one episode to look out for when it comes to music, eps. 12 "Live Alive".

Overall this anime has to be one extraordinary sci-fi comedy that has something some anime lack, replay-value. This is a show that you'll have to watch over and over in the wrong and right order to fully enjoy it. There's plenty of comedy to enjoy nevertheless there is also some spectacular action sequences. The only problem with this anime is that it can sometimes be hard to follow, especially when Nagato and Koizumi go into their in-depth explanations yet apart from that this is one superb anime.

Watching this anime is an experience any anime fan should enjoy, so I recommend this to anyone who needs a laugh, whilst being intrigued.

^_^