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[The melancholy of Haruhi Suzumyia]
All rise for the ultra director
What can i say? Reception in Japan for Haruhi suzumyia has been resoundingly positive winning plenty of awards. Her rise to fame has been nothing short of meteoric having become incredibly popular among Manga and anime fans all over the world. To put things into perspective, there have been Music Albums with songs sung by the voice actors of the show, video games, audio dramas and countless youtube videos paying homage to the show (probably because of this ) are just a few examples. Intrigued I decided to see for myself what made The melancholy of Haruhi Suzumyia so brilliant.
Comprised of 14 episodes , the story revolves around the eccentric and domineering school girl Haruhi Suzumyia who Kyon meets on the first day of high school by making the mistake of talking to her. He later makes an even bigger mistake of suggesting to Haruhi to form her own after-school club when the current ones don't please her. The SOS brigade is formed, comprised of seemingly random people she just found on the school grounds. The aim of the SOS brigade: to search and find strange phenomenon.
After being forced to join, things then take a stranger turn for Kyon when the other members announce their strange true identities. The introverted and quiet Yuki Nagato (who came with the club room) is in fact an alien, Mikuru Asahina (chosen for her "MOE" appearance) is a time traveller and the mysterious transfer student Koizumi that Haruhi wanted is actually an Esper . They all make the same startling announcement: Haruhi unbeknownst to her, has the power to subconsciously manipulate time and reality to the point that some people believe she is in fact god. They point out that It isn't a surprise that an alien, Esper and a time traveller are in the same room as this was what she desired. Only her rational side prevents her from realising. Ironically, Kyon is the only "normal" member of the group and no one knows the role that he fulfils in haruhi's desire. But soon he becomes ever more instrumental in keeping Haruhi in check, fulfilling her ever demanding wishes and keeping her happy less he wants to see the universe destroyed, which in more than one occasion nearly happens.
TMoHS somehow amazingly manages to makes seemingly mundane ideas or events into very interesting and hilarious scenarios for the series. With much of the humour coming from Haruhi or the suffering of the SOS Brigade as they tirelessly attempting to keep Haruhi happy or fix reality. It's here that you realise how well each character is designed as they have such a strong presence and are full of character yet never out staging other characters. A crucial point when a strong Ensemble Cast is desired. The voice actors are well casted for their respective character with Crispin Freeman is a personal favourite. He does a fantastic job of voicing Kyon, capturing his sarcastic and cynical personality as he narrates the story from his perspective adding even more humour to something that I found already quite amusing.
One particular issue that baffles me is why the series wasn't shown in chronological order and there's simply no logical reason for this. Its therefore recommended that you watch the DVD or go online and find someone who's done the work of linking the series together in the right order. A bigger concern (not to mention gamble) some viewers to begin the show of watching Haruhi from episode 00 which is the showing of the film the SOS brigade made for the arts/culture fest. Needlessly to say the movie was utter crap and it may deceive viewers into thinking that the rest of TMoHS was like that. Only the massive amounts of bloopers and how craptacular that movie was reveals that there's more to it then it shows. Sceptics might turn away taking things for face value believing that the rest of the series was that bad. Rest assured it isn't and it doesn't really make much sense at the start, so ignore it and watch episode 00 before or after episode 12.
Still, these are minor gripes to what is a decent series. The amount of work gone into making it work is apparent, the ideas neat and brilliant. I thoroughly enjoyed watching the series and i would recommend it to other anime fans to at least have a look at it. Hell, I liked it so much that my online dukebox is filled with songs from the series, the desktop wallpaper is Haruhi and the SOS brigade and its left me wanting more.
Now that's lame in most people's eyes.
8/10
you can watch the series here:
Episode 00
(NOTE: SHOULD be in chronological order. Also make sure to click on the english dubbed tab to actually watch it in dubb)
(If you want to See the first episode (not the SOS brigades movie first, use this link and watch episode 2. Again make sure to press the english tab:)
Episode 1
All rise for the ultra director
What can i say? Reception in Japan for Haruhi suzumyia has been resoundingly positive winning plenty of awards. Her rise to fame has been nothing short of meteoric having become incredibly popular among Manga and anime fans all over the world. To put things into perspective, there have been Music Albums with songs sung by the voice actors of the show, video games, audio dramas and countless youtube videos paying homage to the show (probably because of this ) are just a few examples. Intrigued I decided to see for myself what made The melancholy of Haruhi Suzumyia so brilliant.
Comprised of 14 episodes , the story revolves around the eccentric and domineering school girl Haruhi Suzumyia who Kyon meets on the first day of high school by making the mistake of talking to her. He later makes an even bigger mistake of suggesting to Haruhi to form her own after-school club when the current ones don't please her. The SOS brigade is formed, comprised of seemingly random people she just found on the school grounds. The aim of the SOS brigade: to search and find strange phenomenon.
After being forced to join, things then take a stranger turn for Kyon when the other members announce their strange true identities. The introverted and quiet Yuki Nagato (who came with the club room) is in fact an alien, Mikuru Asahina (chosen for her "MOE" appearance) is a time traveller and the mysterious transfer student Koizumi that Haruhi wanted is actually an Esper . They all make the same startling announcement: Haruhi unbeknownst to her, has the power to subconsciously manipulate time and reality to the point that some people believe she is in fact god. They point out that It isn't a surprise that an alien, Esper and a time traveller are in the same room as this was what she desired. Only her rational side prevents her from realising. Ironically, Kyon is the only "normal" member of the group and no one knows the role that he fulfils in haruhi's desire. But soon he becomes ever more instrumental in keeping Haruhi in check, fulfilling her ever demanding wishes and keeping her happy less he wants to see the universe destroyed, which in more than one occasion nearly happens.
TMoHS somehow amazingly manages to makes seemingly mundane ideas or events into very interesting and hilarious scenarios for the series. With much of the humour coming from Haruhi or the suffering of the SOS Brigade as they tirelessly attempting to keep Haruhi happy or fix reality. It's here that you realise how well each character is designed as they have such a strong presence and are full of character yet never out staging other characters. A crucial point when a strong Ensemble Cast is desired. The voice actors are well casted for their respective character with Crispin Freeman is a personal favourite. He does a fantastic job of voicing Kyon, capturing his sarcastic and cynical personality as he narrates the story from his perspective adding even more humour to something that I found already quite amusing.
One particular issue that baffles me is why the series wasn't shown in chronological order and there's simply no logical reason for this. Its therefore recommended that you watch the DVD or go online and find someone who's done the work of linking the series together in the right order. A bigger concern (not to mention gamble) some viewers to begin the show of watching Haruhi from episode 00 which is the showing of the film the SOS brigade made for the arts/culture fest. Needlessly to say the movie was utter crap and it may deceive viewers into thinking that the rest of TMoHS was like that. Only the massive amounts of bloopers and how craptacular that movie was reveals that there's more to it then it shows. Sceptics might turn away taking things for face value believing that the rest of the series was that bad. Rest assured it isn't and it doesn't really make much sense at the start, so ignore it and watch episode 00 before or after episode 12.
Still, these are minor gripes to what is a decent series. The amount of work gone into making it work is apparent, the ideas neat and brilliant. I thoroughly enjoyed watching the series and i would recommend it to other anime fans to at least have a look at it. Hell, I liked it so much that my online dukebox is filled with songs from the series, the desktop wallpaper is Haruhi and the SOS brigade and its left me wanting more.
Now that's lame in most people's eyes.
8/10
you can watch the series here:
Episode 00
(NOTE: SHOULD be in chronological order. Also make sure to click on the english dubbed tab to actually watch it in dubb)
(If you want to See the first episode (not the SOS brigades movie first, use this link and watch episode 2. Again make sure to press the english tab:)
Episode 1
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[The melancholy of Haruhi Suzumyia]
All rise for the ultra director
What can i say? Reception in Japan for Haruhi suzumyia has been resoundingly positive winning plenty of awards. Her rise to fame has been nothing short of meteoric having become incredibly popular among Manga and anime fans all over the world. To put things into perspective, there have been Music Albums with songs sung by the voice actors of the show, video games, audio dramas and countless youtube videos paying homage to the show (probably because of this ) are just a few examples. Intrigued I decided to see for myself what made The melancholy of Haruhi Suzumyia so brilliant.
Comprised of 14 episodes , the story revolves around the eccentric and domineering school girl Haruhi Suzumyia who Kyon meets on the first day of high school by making the mistake of talking to her. He later makes an even bigger mistake of suggesting to Haruhi to form her own after-school club when the current ones don't please her. The SOS brigade is formed, comprised of seemingly random people she just found on the school grounds. The aim of the SOS brigade: to search and find strange phenomenon.
After being forced to join, things then take a stranger turn for Kyon when the other members announce their strange true identities. The introverted and quiet Yuki Nagato (who came with the club room) is in fact an alien, Mikuru Asahina (chosen for her "MOE" appearance) is a time traveller and the mysterious transfer student Koizumi that Haruhi wanted is actually an Esper . They all make the same startling announcement: Haruhi unbeknownst to her, has the power to subconsciously manipulate time and reality to the point that some people believe she is in fact god. They point out that It isn't a surprise that an alien, Esper and a time traveller are in the same room as this was what she desired. Only her rational side prevents her from realising. Ironically, Kyon is the only "normal" member of the group and no one knows the role that he fulfils in haruhi's desire. But soon he becomes ever more instrumental in keeping Haruhi in check, fulfilling her ever demanding wishes and keeping her happy less he wants to see the universe destroyed, which in more than one occasion nearly happens.
TMoHS somehow amazingly manages to makes seemingly mundane ideas or events into very interesting and hilarious scenarios for the series. With much of the humour coming from Haruhi or the suffering of the SOS Brigade as they tirelessly attempting to keep Haruhi happy or fix reality. It's here that you realise how well each character is designed as they have such a strong presence and are full of character yet never out staging other characters. A crucial point when a strong Ensemble Cast is desired. The voice actors are well casted for their respective character with Crispin Freeman is a personal favourite. He does a fantastic job of voicing Kyon, capturing his sarcastic and cynical personality as he narrates the story from his perspective adding even more humour to something that I found already quite amusing.
One particular issue that baffles me is why the series wasn't shown in chronological order and there's simply no logical reason for this. Its therefore recommended that you watch the DVD or go online and find someone who's done the work of linking the series together in the right order. A bigger concern (not to mention gamble) some viewers to begin the show of watching Haruhi from episode 00 which is the showing of the film the SOS brigade made for the arts/culture fest. Needlessly to say the movie was utter crap and it may deceive viewers into thinking that the rest of TMoHS was like that. Only the massive amounts of bloopers and how craptacular that movie was reveals that there's more to it then it shows. Sceptics might turn away taking things for face value believing that the rest of the series was that bad. Rest assured it isn't and it doesn't really make much sense at the start, so ignore it and watch episode 00 before or after episode 12.
Still, these are minor gripes to what is a decent series. The amount of work gone into making it work is apparent, the ideas neat and brilliant. I thoroughly enjoyed watching the series and i would recommend it to other anime fans to at least have a look at it. Hell, I liked it so much that my online dukebox is filled with songs from the series, the desktop wallpaper is Haruhi and the SOS brigade and its left me wanting more.
Now that's lame in most people's eyes.
8/10
you can watch the series here:
Episode 00
(NOTE: SHOULD be in chronological order. Also make sure to click on the english dubbed tab to actually watch it in dubb)
(If you want to See the first episode (not the SOS brigades movie first, use this link and watch episode 2. Again make sure to press the english tab:)
Episode 1
All rise for the ultra director
What can i say? Reception in Japan for Haruhi suzumyia has been resoundingly positive winning plenty of awards. Her rise to fame has been nothing short of meteoric having become incredibly popular among Manga and anime fans all over the world. To put things into perspective, there have been Music Albums with songs sung by the voice actors of the show, video games, audio dramas and countless youtube videos paying homage to the show (probably because of this ) are just a few examples. Intrigued I decided to see for myself what made The melancholy of Haruhi Suzumyia so brilliant.
Comprised of 14 episodes , the story revolves around the eccentric and domineering school girl Haruhi Suzumyia who Kyon meets on the first day of high school by making the mistake of talking to her. He later makes an even bigger mistake of suggesting to Haruhi to form her own after-school club when the current ones don't please her. The SOS brigade is formed, comprised of seemingly random people she just found on the school grounds. The aim of the SOS brigade: to search and find strange phenomenon.
After being forced to join, things then take a stranger turn for Kyon when the other members announce their strange true identities. The introverted and quiet Yuki Nagato (who came with the club room) is in fact an alien, Mikuru Asahina (chosen for her "MOE" appearance) is a time traveller and the mysterious transfer student Koizumi that Haruhi wanted is actually an Esper . They all make the same startling announcement: Haruhi unbeknownst to her, has the power to subconsciously manipulate time and reality to the point that some people believe she is in fact god. They point out that It isn't a surprise that an alien, Esper and a time traveller are in the same room as this was what she desired. Only her rational side prevents her from realising. Ironically, Kyon is the only "normal" member of the group and no one knows the role that he fulfils in haruhi's desire. But soon he becomes ever more instrumental in keeping Haruhi in check, fulfilling her ever demanding wishes and keeping her happy less he wants to see the universe destroyed, which in more than one occasion nearly happens.
TMoHS somehow amazingly manages to makes seemingly mundane ideas or events into very interesting and hilarious scenarios for the series. With much of the humour coming from Haruhi or the suffering of the SOS Brigade as they tirelessly attempting to keep Haruhi happy or fix reality. It's here that you realise how well each character is designed as they have such a strong presence and are full of character yet never out staging other characters. A crucial point when a strong Ensemble Cast is desired. The voice actors are well casted for their respective character with Crispin Freeman is a personal favourite. He does a fantastic job of voicing Kyon, capturing his sarcastic and cynical personality as he narrates the story from his perspective adding even more humour to something that I found already quite amusing.
One particular issue that baffles me is why the series wasn't shown in chronological order and there's simply no logical reason for this. Its therefore recommended that you watch the DVD or go online and find someone who's done the work of linking the series together in the right order. A bigger concern (not to mention gamble) some viewers to begin the show of watching Haruhi from episode 00 which is the showing of the film the SOS brigade made for the arts/culture fest. Needlessly to say the movie was utter crap and it may deceive viewers into thinking that the rest of TMoHS was like that. Only the massive amounts of bloopers and how craptacular that movie was reveals that there's more to it then it shows. Sceptics might turn away taking things for face value believing that the rest of the series was that bad. Rest assured it isn't and it doesn't really make much sense at the start, so ignore it and watch episode 00 before or after episode 12.
Still, these are minor gripes to what is a decent series. The amount of work gone into making it work is apparent, the ideas neat and brilliant. I thoroughly enjoyed watching the series and i would recommend it to other anime fans to at least have a look at it. Hell, I liked it so much that my online dukebox is filled with songs from the series, the desktop wallpaper is Haruhi and the SOS brigade and its left me wanting more.
Now that's lame in most people's eyes.
8/10
you can watch the series here:
Episode 00
(NOTE: SHOULD be in chronological order. Also make sure to click on the english dubbed tab to actually watch it in dubb)
(If you want to See the first episode (not the SOS brigades movie first, use this link and watch episode 2. Again make sure to press the english tab:)
Episode 1