THE MELANCHOLY OF HARUHI SUZUMIYA
Paging Dr. Anno, please, paging Dr. Anno...
Review by: M.H. "Ruler of his own little world" Torringjan
Length: 14 episodes
Genre: School, comedy, Sci-fi
Watched: 14 episodes, subbed
Characters: Much of the time, the humor of this series is based on the over-the-top characterizations, but there are less-often-observed subtleties that make the characters even more interesting and less one-dimensional. Kyon is a normal, skeptical high school student who becomes interested in the introverted Haruhi one day and decides to talk to her for no adequately explored reason. He really doesn't care about much, but he does like him some women! He often gets pressured into taking part in Haruhi's crazy plans for reasons that quickly become clear, no matter how much he would like to be completely uninvolved. Haruhi is an eccentric girl who spends her time searching for mysterious happenings or beings, specifically time travelers, aliens, and espers. While she is the most aloof (well, almost the most aloof) girl in the school, she's also the most sought after, because she can do everything that she tries perfectly. She has a brusque manner about her that can only be broken in the instance that she finds something that amuses her. Strange happenings follow her around all the time, but she usually doesn't notice that they're all that odd. Mikuru is the moe character of the series, a shy and cute chick with large breasts who likes to cosplay as a maid. She spends most episodes being sexually harassed and forced to do unpleasant things by Haruhi (which usually results in a series of pleas for mercy that would melt most hearts). She also spends her time trying not to become attracted to Kyon and failing miserably. Itsuki is an unassuming generic high school guy who goes to great lengths to keep Haruhi happy, and is familiar with the cause of the strange events surrounding Haruhi. Kyon goes to him for advice and information, which he is all too willing to give. Yuki is the Rei-clone of the series, a reticent, distant girl who follows all orders she's given. She is the only member of the Literature Club whose room the SOS Brigade takes over, and agrees to let them use the room as long as she is able to read. The odd collection of characters converges to form the entirety of Haruhi's club, and the characters all serve well to complement each other.
Artwork: The artwork of this series is remarkably well done for what would seem like a normal school series. The character designs are well-done, the artwork is sharp and uses a nice range of colors. The opening sequence is notably well animated, and could possibly be one of the most entertaining opening sequences I've seen (as well as the choreographed closing sequence). The backgrounds are well-made and look very realistic, which adds to the quality of the artwork. The best part of the art, however, is the fluidity of animation that goes with the frenetic feeling of the show. With the quality of the animation that this one's sporting, at least five Japanese families have to have fallen apart. That's a lot of late nights!
I thought that when I first watched Boogiepop Phantom, I'd never see a series with a more non-linear story-telling style. That was before this series came along and had me confused within the first five minutes. Mind you, this wasn't the painful BURNING confusion that I had gotten from watching End of Eva or the "comatose brain" confusion that I had gotten from watching Kogepan, but the good "what's going to happen next" confusion. After watching this series, there's only a little bit that they did make clear, but one of those things was that there was more story to tell.
Plot: As I mentioned earlier, this series is about the most nonlinear show that you'll ever see on television/computer. The episodes are shown completely out of order, with no seeming logic behind the order that they are shown in. Above that, the narration is an internal monologue by Kyon, telling about his times with Haruhi. The writing is crisp, funny, and clever, with the dry wit of Kyon serving as a perfect counterbalance for Haruhi's narcissism. While the plot does go in a nonlinear manner, more details are revealed as time goes on, and this does help with viewer retention, as the viewer is left wondering what the hell they're talking about and why we should care. Also, the subject matter is just right for getting the viewer to think about what's going on in the series and draw conclusions about characters and situations that haven't been showed yet.
Overall: The title of the series is one of the most unusual and memorable in a long time, which serves to match the series perfectly. The high production values, great writing, and memorable characters all make this one of the best series of the year so far. The only complaints that I have about the series are (1) the obvious that they didn't make enough when they definitely had more story to tell and (2) while the nonlinear story might intrigue the viewer, it might also disorient them and lead to undue confusion (although this always happens with nonlinear stories). With the series as long as it is, it's certainly worth downloading and watching for fans of any genre.
Music: While many tracks are generic fluff and pop, there is a very nice mix of orchestral tracks, rock tracks, and j-pop that fits the plot and the mood perfectly. While the variety is, as always, lacking, the quality of the good tracks outweighs the bad tracks. The opening and closing tracks are both keepers, upbeat j-pop sung by the VA's. The opening track is accompanied by a hallucinogenic romp through Haruhi's imagination, and the closing track by a choreographed dance number by the entire cast. Also, don't miss the opening track of the first episode, sung by Mikuru. It's a throwback to badly-made home videos, but she still sounds *so damn cute*!
CHICKS!! And you thought that I wasn't going to have one of these! How could I not for the series that has one of the cutest girls I've seen in at least the last week? I'm speaking, of course, of Mikuru, the "cute" member of the brigade. Haruhi picked her up for her cuteness and her big breasts, and she succeeded admirably! Not only is she small and has a cute face and breasts just the right size, but her meek voice, her shyness, and her breasts all make her a fantastic chick for pretty much anyone who isn't dead or a eunuch. She's obviously a time-traveler, because if we were together, time would stand still! (And now, excuse me while I try to stop Yahoo from taking away my site for that one). Another plus is that she doesn't mind cosplaying! Over the course of 14 episodes we see her as a bunny girl, a maid, a catgirl, a waitress, and in normal clothes! It really does not get much better than Bunny Girl Mikuru, I don't care what your type is! Yuki is perfect for everyone who loved Rei Ayanami from NGE, because she *is* Rei Ayanami (except her breasts are much more believable for a 14 year-old). She loves to read, is great with computers, and most certainly could cook a good meal whenever you're feeling tired. So, if you want someone who can do all that and will do whatever you tell her to, then she's your woman! Finally (but certainly not least), Haruhi is a girl in the Naru vein who hides her tender side underneath an unpleasant exterior. Although she's spoiled where Naru was violent, which could make for conflict unless you're good at taking orders. And although I'm not going to be the first in line to find out, it wouldn't surprise me if she was a dominant personality even in the bedroom. So, if you're good about becoming completely whipped for an extremely attractive girl, then she's the one for you!
In a nutshell:
+ Great artwork
+ Fantastic writing
+ Bunny girl Mikuru
+ Interesting, original plot
+/- Nonlinear storytelling
- Stopped too early
Final score: 9/10
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