Sep 11, 2022
The Melancholy Of Haruhi Suzumiya is a weird show. There’s nothing else I’ve seen that’s quite like it. In fact, even after finishing all the episodes (as of this review I have not yet seen the OVAs) I still am trying to process this show and what it even means. But that being said, I appreciate it for what it was, and I’ll try to explain why.
If there’s one way I could try and describe Melancholy, it’s “casually unhinged”. Let me try to give an example. When I was first watching through this series, the idea of high schoolers dealing with weird
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supernatural elements and solving said element in the same arc reminded me very much of Rascal does Not Dream of Bunny Girl Senpai, an anime I quite enjoyed. However, unlike BGS, I feel Melancholy is not nearly as serious and dark about the subject matters at hand. Whenever any of these crazy things happen, Kyon always gives a “welp, I guess we are dealing with this now” energy, and generally the show is laid back, which I admire! Combine that with a good amount of sol moments and it’s a fun watch.
The cast of characters is pretty great! While there aren’t many notable figures outside of the main five (heck, Kyon’s sister literally doesn’t have a name), I’d say that their dynamics are fun. Kyon is a normal guy so he bounces off of the rest of the SOS Brigade’s archetypes in an engaging way. Haruhi is obviously the focus of the show, and she’s such a strange character who constantly makes you guess what she’s gonna do next. Mikuru is a… weird case, for the most part she’s fine but the voices she has in both dub and sub kind of get irritating at moments. Yuki has such a calm energy that I really like (although I do wish later on she’d feel a bit more human-like but oh well), and her interactions with practically everything can be really funny. Itsuki might’ve been my favorite of the bunch, I find his calm but strange demeanor interesting. So for the most part it’s an entertaining group, and I think Haruhi’s pure unhinged energy has cemented her as an iconic light novel/anime character for a reason.
The vibes of this show are quite immaculate. I’ve always been a sucker for 90’s-2000’s anime visuals and this one delivers, the streets and buildings being displayed are quite simple but they are kind of calming. In a sense you could say that the “plainness” being depicted reflects Haruhi’s view of the world and why she wants to see the supernatural. Many moments are dedicated to simply having ambience, almost like the anime wants you to take a breather and let everything soak in, it’s very nice.
If I had to give some criticism I REALLY have to knock the Haruhi and Mikuru dynamic, it reminded me of that teacher from K-on but absolutely awful and a poor excuse for fanservice. Everytime this “”joke”” was used I just felt uncomfortable, it’s absurd and overdone. There’s also the fact that the second season isn’t particularly great. Of course, you’d think this is where I rip apart the Endless Eight arc, but… somehow no? Yes it’s very long and the middle portion is essentially the same thing, but I was really engaged just due to how scary the concept of an infinite unknowing time loop is. No, I think my main issue of the season was the Sigh arc, it’s FULL of that Mikuru nonsense I mentioned and is also mostly boring. I will say that the follow up episode where you get to watch their movie was pretty funny though, it really shows how much of a trainwreck the thing was and Kyon’s narration is priceless.
All in all, I really like this show, and I think if you’re into kinda weird anime you should check it out. This is my first time writing a review about anime, and I hope this convinced you to give this a watch. Melancholy is flawed, but it’s really damn special, that’s for sure.
Reviewer’s Rating: 8
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