(l to r, clockwise) The SOS Brigade: Kyon, Koizumi, Mikuru, Yuki, Haruhi (center)
Title: The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya
Novel, Manga, Radio Dramas/Drama CD, Anime: The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya (henceforth refered to as TMoHS) began as a light novel series in Japan, where it is known by the title Suzumiya Haruhi no Yuutsu. The novels are authored by Nagaru Tanigawa, and illustrated by Noizi Ito. The first volume was released on June 6th, 2003, and is serialized in the novel magazine The Sneaker, by Kadokawa Shonen, and is currently ongoing, with nine volumes released to date, and a tenth volume due out on June 1st, 2007. The TMoHS novels have also been released in Taiwan and Hong Kong by Kadokawa Media, and in South Korea by Daiwon CI. The first novel in the TMoHS series was awarded the grand prize in the 8th annual Sneaker Awards, a prize only awarded two other times.
TMoHS also has two manga incarnations, based off of the novels. The first manga adaptation ran from May to December of 2004, and was illustrated by Mizuno Makoto. This adaptation was canceled and its existence was denied after the first volume, mainly because it diverged wildly from the source material (the novel), the original author had very little input in it, and it was found that the illustrator was producing an H-rated doujinshi related to the material, which unsettled Kadokawa Shonen, the publisher. The second manga adaptation, illustrated by Gaku Tsugano, and aimed at a younger audience, began running in November of 2005, and is ongoing, with three volumes released to date, and a fourth volume planned for release on June 10th, 2007. Both adaptations have run in Shounen Ace.
Three radio dramas based on the anime have also been released by Lantis, with the latest volume released on December 21st, 2006. A drama CD was also released on January 24th, 2007.
The anime adaptation of TMoHS was done by Kyoto Animation, (famous for the Full Metal Panic companion series Full Metal Panic?: Fumoffu and Full Metal Panic!: The Second Raid, along with the 2006 remake of Kanon) and directed by Tatsuya Ishihara (famous for directing Air and Fushigi Yuugi). TMoHS ran from April 2nd, 2006 to July 2nd, 2006, and consisted of fourteen episodes. TMoHS has been licensed Stateside by Kadokawa Pictures USA, and sublicensed production and distribution to Bandai Entertainment. The first volume is due out May 29th, 2007.
Story: TMoHS focuses around the title character of Haruhi Suzumiya, an oddball who stands up and declares on the first day of high school that if you're not an alien, time traveler, or esper, don't waste her time, and if you are, come join her. Among other odd quirks of hers, she checked out every club in the school, but never joined any of them, and this is finally what gets her and Kyon (our snarky narrator and the character from whose pov we view most of the series' events from) talking. From these conversations, she gets the idea to start the Save our world by Overloading it with fun Suzumiya Haruhi Brigade (or SOS Brigade for short), and Kyon is roped into helping her, whether he really wants to or not. Besides her and Kyon, Haruhi ropes in Yuki (a quiet female member of the now-defunct Literary Club who doesn't care what they do so long as she can read), and Mikuru (a small, timid second-year girl with a cute face and big breasts (Haruhi even encourages Kyon to grope them! o.O; ), and, as described by Haruhi, "a lolita"), and Koizumi (a mysterious transfer student).
I want to say more, but doing so would spoil a good part of the series for you. You'll just have to watch and find out what happens. ^^
Story Critique: TMoHS' story rawqs my socks. Kyon's snarky narration makes each episode priceless. The mix of normal school life and paranormal makes for quite the episodes, especially given our quirky characters. The series does have a sci-fi twist to it, but, given our title character, this doesn't seem out of the ordinary at all, and the surreal situations that are found in this series simply become par for the course.
An oddity about this series is that it wasn't broadcast in chronological order. If you do like your stories told in chronological order, the order to watch the episodes in is: 2, 3, 5, 10, 13, 14, 4, 7, 6, 8, 1, 12, 11, 9.
Given the choice between the two ways to watch the series, I would stick with the way I watched it: broadcast order. Yes, watching it in broadcast order does mean that there will be frequent jumps in the episodes that will leave you confused and wondering just what the hell is going on. But that's part of the fun of this series. And, comparing the two episodes that the series can end on, given these orders, I find the broadcast order gives you the more satisfying ending.
Art: Kyoto Animation is known for their dedication to quality in animation, and it really shows here. The characters have several different outfits that they can be seen in, so there's plenty of variety, and the designs for characters and backgrounds themselves are amazingly detailed. The anime tends to use very rich colors, which gives that series that much more of a paranormal or normal feel, depending on the situation.
Music: I couldn't care less about the OP for this series. But the ED rawqs my socks, and then some. I am actually going out of my way to learn the dance it showcases. And the background music for the series is the first that I've actively noticed and liked for quite some time. And the insert songs for the twelfth episode... God.
If anyone knows where I can find the soundtrack for the series, link me up NOW.
Seiyuu: I don't have any issues with the seiyuu, as normal. Every voice choice matches their character perfectly.
Dub: N/A
Length: This is the only area where TMoHS has issues.
At first, I was perfectly fine with fourteen episodes. Though I wanted more, I was thoroughly satisfied with the end to the series. And then I found out that the source material is ongoing. Like Kino no Tabi, the anime itself only covered a fraction of the original story, and it's insanely popular, so they don't have too much of an excuse for not continuing it. There are rumors of a second season, however.
The other issue that I have is that there's a single episode that takes up half the series.
Overall: An excellent series, with quirky characters, beautiful art, addictive music that deserves the second season that's been rumored.
Story: 8/10
Art: 9/10
Music: 7/10
Seiyuu: 8/10
Length: 8/10
Overall: 40/50; 80% (B)
The SOS Brigade (from the ED), The SOS Brigade's symbol
