The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya is perhaps the most intimidating anime I have ever watched. It has a somewhat harsh divide between fans and haters, and everyone that considers it thinks, “How exactly do I go about watching this?” The second season has a less than stellar score of 7.28 in the MAL community, and the first season’s score is only 8.07. With all of these things considered, is The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya really worth all of the trouble it is to watch it?
Well, first of all, watching it really isn’t too much trouble. Secondly, MAL’s scores can be misleading. And lastly, hell yes it's worth the watch!
I think the first thing I should address in this review is also the most irrelevant thing. That is, how you should watch The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya. Just in case you’re not in the know, the order of the episodes that aired do not exactly follow the order of the events that occur in the anime’s timeline. For example, the events in the fifth episode occur before the events in the fourth episode according to the timeline of the anime. That’s when everyone asks: “Should I watch the episodes in airing order or chronological order?”
I personally watched the anime in its chronological order. That order would be:
1. The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya Parts 1-6
2. The Boredom of Haruhi Suzumiya
3. Bamboo Leaf Rhapsody (2009)
4. Mysterique Sign
5. Remote Island Syndrome Parts 1-2
6. Endless Eight Parts 1-8 (2009, and yes, I watched the whole thing)
7. The Sigh of Haruhi Suzumiya Parts 1-5 (2009)
8. Live Alive
9. The Day of Sagittarius
10. Someday in the Rain
11. The Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya, of which I have not seen at the time of writing this.
Even though I have watched both seasons simultaneously, I won’t consider the 2009 episodes as I write this review.
Regarding which route is better for the first watch…I’m not entirely sure. I mean, both paths have their downside. The downside to the airing order is that you will hear the characters discuss events in the story that haven’t actually happened yet, which is certainly annoying. The downside to the chronological order is a bit less simple. You see, in my opinion, the best episodes in the series (not just the first season, but the whole series) are The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya Parts 1-6. And by best, I mean 20/10 awesome episodes! But if you watch the anime in chronological order, by episode 6 out of 28, you’ve already hit the pinnacle of the whole series. And while all of the other episodes are certainly good (except for Endless Eight), you finish the series off with Someday in the Rain, which is the most boring episode of season 1. My suggestion? If you don’t have friends that have seen it to recommend a route to you, I suggest you watch the whole series in chronological order once, and then become an airing order purist whenever you re-watch it.
With all of that out of the way, it’s time to answer the big question: What is The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya actually about? Well, it is about a girl named Haruhi Suzumiya, and it would be no understatement to say the world pretty much revolves around her. She is beautiful, flamboyant, eccentric, and she wants nothing to do with the mundane and the routine. And the best thing is that when she wants something, she gets it! Yes, the desires of this young woman have the power to unravel the rules of the universe and change them according to her will.
Part of her will includes meeting some strange and unique people and living life to the fullest. Three of these people include the shy and beautiful Mikuru Asahina, the quiet and distant Yuki Nagato, and the witty and mysterious Itsuki Koizumi. All three of them have something very special about them for our main male protagonist to discover. That man is none other than Kyon!
Kyon, who for some reason has no last name, is either the luckiest or most unlucky person in the world. Unlike Haruhi and the other main characters, Kyon is just a normal guy. A big trophy for him is that he’s the first normal person that Haruhi has ever let speak to her. Once this happens, the you-know-what hits the fan, and living a normal life will no longer be possible for Kyon. He usually acts as a voice of reason among the group, and he is also quite funny and charming in his own way. One of my favorite things about The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya is that he consistently acts as a narrator for the series, and is quite effective at doing so.
Cast-wise, The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya does a great job at deviating from typical character tropes. I guess Haruhi is a tsundere, seeing how she shows up on MAL’s list of best tsunderes in anime, but I didn’t really see her that way. Yuki is a flat out kuudere, but I think her backstory and development make for realistic explanation for her behavior. Kind of like Rei Ayanami from Evangelion, she’s a kuudere because she’s not just another regular person. Now, Mikuru is just so wonderfully adorkable. She’s not airheaded or anything. She’s just a beautiful girl whose really shy, which makes it easy for Haruhi to take advantage of Mikuru’s beauty. There’s also a special twist to Mikuru’s character that allows for some extra dynamics that aren’t seen in the rest of the cast. Lastly is Itsuki. While I think he is a good character, he didn’t strike me in the same way as the rest of the characters. Still, his role was very much needed to balance the cast out.
More about the story, it is mostly comprised of school antics rather than having an over-arching conflict. Episodic content is one of its strengths. The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya is in fact a school anime, as everything interesting always happens at school. Haruhi is dissatisfied with the monotony of the school and starts a new club, which becomes filled with the main cast. The club’s goal is anyone’s guess. It may just be a club for satisfying Haruhi’s boredom. Regardless, the setting is perfect for a romantic comedy. Notice that I said “romantic” comedy. And, if you look at the show’s page on MAL, it has the romance genre tagged onto it. In all truth…I don’t see it as romantic. While Kyon does “like” Haruhi, I never saw him as being attracted to her in the romantic sense. Now, he certainly is fond of Mikuru, but that’s a different story.
The technicalities of The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya are certainly up to KyotoAni-standards. Also, the show definitely has its moments visually. I never pay too much attention to a soundtrack unless it’s the focal point, but sound was never an issue. In fact, I enjoyed a lot of the show’s tracks.
The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya has a lot going for it, including fun episodic content, a unique cast that transcends norms, as well as an undeniably effective sense of humor. It is not perfection however, as the multiple watching routes present confusion to a new viewer. A couple episodes fail to live up to the standard it sets for itself, and the lack of conflict may turn people off. While I wouldn’t label it a masterpiece, it has certainly raised my standard for what a masterpiece is, and the legacy it leaves is one to be respected. Please consider watching it, as it is among the best of the comedic genre, and I’m sure you will agree.
Aug 27, 2016
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