So recently it seems like a certain area of the internet has been taken over with enthusiasm for one of this season's new Japanese animations: Suzumiya Haruhi no Yuuutsu, The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya. It's adapted from a popular set of light novels, and has been turning heads thanks to it's lively leading lady, excellent narration, and some very interesting directorial choices, notably airing a movie created by the cast in place of a pilot episode.

I for one like this a lot, since it uses an excellent cast to great effect. Haruhi is extremely entertaining to watch (in many anime people who aren't talking don't do a great deal of standing still to save animation budget; Haruhi almost never stands still.), while her subordinate Kyon wins through his sarcastic narration of the series, and the way he claims to hate the madness while secretly he totally digs it.

Has anybody else seen this one yet?

Suzumiya Haruhi is fast becoming one of my favorite Spring shows, too. (And speaking of another Haruhi, Ouran High School Host Club is also pretty good.) It really did generate sudden Internet buzz, such as the ED dance parodies. At first I was a bit wary about the out of order sequence to the episodes, but it actually works. Still, out of curiosity I had to read up on some spoilers to make sense of the mysterious details since I've never read the light novels. (But it looks like someone has set up translations of those up now.) I hope the series as a whole doesn't flounder - it's only going to be a 14 episode run.

I think Kyon definitely likes Haruhi, and probably vice versa. Haruhi's crazy, but I love that about her. I made an avatar with her early hair variations.

Definitely my favorite anime this year so far and I can't wait for the eventual US release and attempted-dub of it. I have a feeling Ganeon will make a run for it.

I've seen it, a great anime, after you get used to the episode order. It accutly works pretty good to, its sort of showing you the results then showing you how they got there.

My 2 cents on the whole thing, I think the reason Haruhi broke out of her routine, was there was accutly someone in the school who tried to talk to her about a topic that she was intrested in. I think its also the reason she has feelings for him.

I'm also surprized at how much Kyon has been though and yet, he hasn't gone mad, or hasn't really lost his 'cool' over events. He has been more annoyed at people more than events.

Kadokawa Pictures USA licensed the show in December, but it will be distributed by Bandai Entertainment. The Volume 1 DVD will be released on May 29.

Bandai licensing the series may mean a west coast dub of the show all the same as a Geneon license typically does.

I am absolutely estatic about this release. Definitely my favorite series in 2006. Can't wait to get my hands on the DVDs.

Since this thread popped up, I feel like posting the new version of the Hare Hare Yukai dance. This time, Kyoto Animation studios went out their way to animate the entire dance sequence (the TV size version, but still) and put it exclusively on the extras of the last DVD. Of course, fans got a hold of it and it's now on YouTube and for download. The animation is so crisp and nice.

DVD quality (I recommend!)
YouTube version

I'm hoping the novel series will be released over here too, because I find them just as entertaining.

I like this show a great deal. I like how Kyon seems like if we'd only get to see him from the outside he'd be a really low key character but since we get to see everything through the lense of his perspective and with him narrating everything he's actually quite lively. Oh yeah, and Kyon and Haruhi totally dig each other.

Spoiler- Ok, so aliens, time travellers and espers exist because Haruhi has reality shifting powers and she made them exist, right? I was thinking that maybe Kyon came into existence for similar reasons. He seems made for Haruhi. He has similar interests as her, and he's strong willed enough that she can't just steamroll over him like she does with everyone else. He's also a surprisingly patient audience for her antics and Haruhi loves an audience. Finally Haruhi's other friends are kind of sychophantic due to the whole "world ends if Haruhi is too bored or annoyed" thing, and Kyon treats her more normally and I think that Haruhi subconsciously responds positvely to that.

I spent a long time avoiding this show. I had heard about its utter insanity, and as generally I don't go for the anime comedies, I didn't see the point.

One day, I did check it out to finally see what all the hubbub was about though and I'm so glad I did. I absolutely adore this show. Kyon's snarky, cynical commentary, Haruhi's forceful, lively personality, the excellent and clever writing and direction, the excellently developed supporting class - simply hearing the theme song puts a smile on my face. I can't wait for May 29th.

mrow - While I do think it is suggested that Kyon was created just as the others were due to Haruhi's subconcious desires and needs (she's mentioned before that she thinks about guys and she did feel the need to date anyone who'd ask), I hope he isn't. It just seems to me a very sad idea that even the person she most cares about is just there because she wanted him to, is only interested in her perhaps because he is supposed to be.

Not that it wouldn't make for interesting story development, should this second series actually happen. In fact, bring it on. But as a hardcore shipper for those two, it would make me sad.

ETA: Does anyone think this show will play on Adult Swim? It's not their typical anime, certainly, but it fits in well alongside their comedy offerings and given the popularity, I would think AS would give it a shot.

By anime standards, Haruhi isn't really insane at all. Now something like Excel Saga or Nerima Daikon Brothers is insane, but this is just quirky.

While Adult Swim might pick it up, I'm not sure that they'd pay to get the rights to a 14-episode series. Have they ever done that with an anime before?

Yes: FLCL had six episodes, and Paranoia Agent had thirteen.

Man, having this show on adult swim would rock. The adult swim fans would really connect with this show, in my opinion.

The very greatest thing about this show is Kyon's narration. You know, in addition to all the other great things about the show.

DumbBrunette-Yep, I agree the shipper in me would be saddened if Kyon was made by Haruhi. What makes me like him paired with her is that he's sort of seperate from all the crazyness, it kinda makes him special. But paradoxically, isn't he exactly the kind of guy that would be conjured up if Haruhi were to conjure up her perfect guy? And does it even matter whether or not their meeting was coincidence or a result of Haruhi's power? It all makes my brain hurt, the whole "Haruhi is basically a god" thing hurts my brain.

True. It's slightly insane for me, who doesn't usually go for that. For example, I don't think I would be able to make it through a single episode of Nerima. However, there are far weirder shows.

I don't know. In some ways yes, and in some ways no. Subconsciously, I believe she does want someone exactly like Kyon, someone who could understand her overwhelming desire for the supernatural to exist and could be a calming, cool presence all the same. Despite that, I think it'll take a while for her to let go of wanting to date the supernatural itself, which she thinks she wants more. So if she had made an active effort of it that resulted in Kyon, it's interesting that he came out of it without a single ability thus far. Aside from his Snarktastic Powers of Narration, of course.

And I suppose it doesn't matter if their meeting was a coincidence or not. It just personally bothers me, so unless it provides for interesting story, I'd rather it not. Again, it just seems sad to me. Everything in Haruhi's life is very likely a result of her ability. Her good grades, her atleticism, her ability to draw guys to take a shot even when they know the end result, even her friends -- for Kyon to simply be another wish fulfillment would in some ways make her all alone in the world. It also does falsify their relationship somewhat, at least in my opinion, and one of the largest appeals for me has always been how natural and true it was, both in progression as well as in itself.

I watched this back in the summer thanks to youtube and was totally hooked into it. Can't wait for May.

I never thought of the theory before that Kyon might've been another person/thing to exist because Haruhi willed it. But I think Kyon was fated to meet Haruhi either way. Can't wait to see who they get as VAS for this.

I will never understand the slavish, obsessive following this show has garnered on the internet. Granted, I've only watched the first two eps (and have been told repeatedly "You cannot understand its genius until you've watched the whole series--and if you don't then, you're retarded"), but I was completely bored by it. I laughed exactly once.

I may try it again when I'm very, very, very drunk, though.

TMoHS, for all its fans, has its share of detractors though. Having seen 5 or 6 of the episodes so far, I can't conclude which way I feel about the series, but I find both Haruhi and Kyon intriguing personalities, whether on their own or how they react to those around them.

I've heard that Haruhi has never been at a loss for animation throughout the series. In other words, she's always in motion while on screen. Can anyone confirm this?

She's almost always in motion, but I've seen her pause before, usually in her quieter moments.

Did you watch it broadcast order or chronologically? I got a lot more out of it with the latter, although if you don't like the humor style, I think it would be extremely difficult to get through the series.

We have casting information!

Yay, Crispin Freeman and Wendee Lee!

Wow, I'm really looking forward to the dub. I think it's going to be great!

There are a few snatches here and there from the dub featured on Bang Zoom's new video podcast. You have to sit through quite a bit of chatter from the group to see all of the clips, but everyone gets featured. It's not really enough to judge, but overall it's sounding great, even if Wendee Lee went a wee bit too far in the voice.

Weird, Haruhi sounds kinda like Babs Bunny to me in those clips. It makes Haruhi sound nicer, not enough attitude to my liking. Oh well, I'll form a better opinion on it when I get the DVD. Thanks for posting the link.

Meanwhile, I agree about the attitude but I think she sounds overly bratty. I've decided though that if she chooses to modulate that to reflect Haruhi's growth (because Haruhi really is a brat at the beginning) I won't mind nearly as much.

The series definitely has its good points, but Haruhi herself comes off as a self absorbed psychopath IMO...

Which is not a good type of person to have as your God... O_O


Actually she sounds a lot like the way Wendee does Tatsuki in Bleach, but a little slyer and with a bit of a higher pitch...

The english trailer is up. I'm still very wary of Lee's Haruhi, although there's nothing really wrong with the acting.

Well, life isn't perfect. ;)

I really don't like Wendee Lee as Haruhi. Maybe it's because the Japanese voice actor was so good?

I often find myself saying: 'Day-to ja nai!' for no apparent reason.

I'm a fan of the show in general, but I was almost put off by the first episode it seems a bit much to introduce the characters while they're playing roles. It's only funny if you know how they are normally.

I watched the rest of the series in chronological order, which had it's problems (It... climaxed too early. Or something that doesn't sound so dirty) but was a lot better less confusing.

Anyone currently at Sakura Con so I know to envy you greatly?

Also, anyone planning on taking advantage of the sale at Right Stuf to preorder that shiny box might want to do so, although DeepDiscount's price isn't anything to sneeze at.

That's really the only reason I can think of to dislike Lee's performance, if one really can based on the little we've heard. I can get used to Lee's voice, and the acting is fine, but Hirano absolutely nailed Haruhi.

Update time! The show's making another dub premiere at Anime Boston, which I just so happen to be attending. I'll be sure to report back for anyone who's curious.

Interesting.

Anyone else think that Emi, Kagome's friend with the yellow headband from Inuyasha, would be considered a Haruhi clone if Haruhi Suzumiya came first?

Heh. They do share some similarities, from what I remember (which isn't much).

I watched the dub! Maybe I merely got used to Lee's voice, but I thought she sounded considerably less annoying in context. There were a few iffy scenes, and she can never really hope to outperform the Japanese actress, but she was suitable. Crispin Freeman positively owned as Kyon though. I never doubted it, but he surpassed even my extremely high expectations and proved worthy of being my first choice.

Michelle Ruff does a nice Yuki as well, and while I had to skip out before Itsuki and Mikuru really became important, Bosch and Sheh both did fantastic work in episode 00.

Interestingly enough, they changed the voice for the cat in episode 00. It was briefly mentioned on the site, but I figured it was just a joke. The current one is closer to the original Japanese, and the script in general didn't really stray too far. There were a couple of minor changes, but nothing dramatic as I recall, save for the exclusion of sliders in Haruhi's speech which they definitely dropped the ball on if a second series gets done.

As far as I know no sliders have showed up in the novels yet even up to the current point, so I doubt it'll become important in the second series if they plan to continue following them.

Don't they question once why sliders never show up though, as Haruhi asked for them? That's a whole bit of dialogue that, in a sequel series, would have to get done away with entirely in the dub if they wanted to keep continuity, assuming they don't throw it in now during some random episode.

Possible News: the site has gone offline. Now, they did mention switching servers, but typically they do this when they're about to make an announcement or put up a new video, and they did say last that there was one.

Forgive if I don't know what you're talking about, but isn't Mikuru a slider? Since she's a time traveler?

A slider is a bit different since it's supposed to be someone who travels between dimensions, not times.

This was too hilarious to not post.

Hee!

Speaking of fun links, has everyone seen the flash mob by now?

Series Two of Haruhi Announced.

From Newtype. Official site announcement coming July 7th.

WOOT.

Yay, I get to fill my external with even more Haruhi! Wonder if this series is also going to be shown out of chronological order. Or if it'll have an ED as entrancing as Hare Hare Yukai. Maybe they'll just reuse it instead.

Well, translations suggest that the series will begin with "Bamboo Leaf Rhapsody" from the third novel, and then end with the fourth novel..

I think that there will therefore be some messing with the order, with a few short stories to pad it out, but not as dramatically as with the first one. Hopefully.

Sounds good, I was hoping to see those animated someday...

BTW, I've seen the second dubbed DVD of Haruhi now.

I've got to say I liked Asakura's dub voice, even though I was expecting it the way her little speech drifted so casually to "I'm going to kill you" in that sweet voice of her's actually caught me by surprise.

I am extremely fond of the dub, Nemo. Hoffman is just one example of an extremely well-chosen cast. My favorite has to be either Crispin Freeman as Kyon or Kari Wahlgren as Kyon's little sister, who is better than the Japanese in my opinion. Just the cutest voice ever.

Bridget Hoffman has seemingly become a bit of a rare sight these days in anime since she started going fully union.

She was in Eureka Seven, wasn't she? A small bit, but a bit.

She has generally been doing less work though. It's nice to hear her here.

She was, but I didn't notice until after I read the credits.

I hope she doesn't go all Tara Strong and start doing only majorly funded gigs, for lack of better term.

I'm not quite sure how to handle discussions with possible spoilers when the series has only been released on DVD. I blackbarred it, even though it's totally conjecture. Was that right?

This comment was what got me thinking...


Haruhi is such a Mary Sue character, I got to thinking that maybe Kyon is daydreaming...i.e. HE made up everything INCLUDING Haruhi. Think about it, HE'S the narrator, and nothing happens (at least on the first disk) that he isn't either part of or aware of. Everybody seems to love Haruhi. She's pretty, smart, good at every kind of sport, wanted by every club. The others in the class "worry" about her and seem to like her, even though she's odd and prone to say strange things, something that would normally make her a laughingstock, or shunned.

But even though Haruhi could be considered popular, she's not interested in anyone but Kyon. (She's doesn't exactly seem interested in dating him, either, but she includes him in all her plans and drags him around.) His interaction with Haruhi also brings him more status in his class, and the other SOS Brigade members consider him "normal" but contributing in some way to the whole chaos that is Haruhi. Plus, she's interested in all the things he decided not to be interested in anymore, AND even though he complains about her, he's not bored by her.

I had fun with this disk. I don't usually like anime comedies, but lately I've gotten into the Ouran High Host Club manga, and people who liked that were recommending this one. Sort of turning the anime comedy cliches on their heads, although it is quite a change after watching Last Exile (the last series I rented.)

Huh, rimfire, that's an interesting idea. That get's into really weird territory, though. If that idea is correct, then Kyon is the one who really has reality warping powers, and Haruhi is just his creation. But if Kyon has reality warping powers then Haruhi wouldn't just be an illusion, she'd be real, with real powers. Thus, my original idea that Haruhi created Kyon could still hold water. In affect Haruhi and Kyon could have created, and been created by, each other at the same time.

Which I actually like even better since there just as much narrative information that supports one theory as supports the other...and it is kind of a warped show. Thus, obviously, they were made for each other, but just haven't cottoned on to it yet.

And who knows what Haruhi is doing when Kyon isn't with her. Maybe the three other members of the SOS Brigade are having the same conversations with HER as with Kyon, telling her not to let on.

It does kind of make my head hurt, though.

Edited because quotes and spoiler bars are not quite the same thing...

Huh. An interesting theory, although given the novels I doubt Haruhi knows if Kyon also has these powers or that they created one another. I do think however, there is some weight to the idea that Kyon created Haruhi as an extension of his own subconscious will and that because he so firmly believes himself to be normal he has made himself so. Therefore, it's a win-win situation. His common sense still wins, while his hopes and dreams are realized.

I love this series. I once made (or attempted to make) a horror film with my friends for fun, so Episode 1's extraordinarily badly made student film snared me from the get-go. There are certain points which make me laugh really, /really/ hard: Mikuru trying to shield herself from the fireworks (and the teacher storming out of the building, followed by a quick cut), Shamisen threatening to slide off Yuki's shoulder, and, of course, Kyon cataloguing all the inconsistencies and plot holes. The cat starting to talk, Kyon frantically shushing him, and Yuki saying "That was ventriloquism" makes me laugh every single time.

I went into this series expecting to hate Haruhi, having heard what a megalomaniacal, dictatorial brat she was (Kyon compares her to an evil feudal lord, which is a hysterical simile): instead, I found her oddly endearing. It might be because like Kyon, when I was younger, I was interested in all sorts of occult phenomena, and I lamented the realization that I would never see anything interesting happen. It might also be that even though the order of the episodes doesn't exactly show it off to full effect, Haruhi's personality gets toned down a lot over the course of the series. (Granted, given where she started from, she'll still completely insane.) There's also an odd pathos to her continually frustrated search for "interesting things" and her attempts to avoid boredom at all costs, especially while all these crazy, amazingly interesting things are happening around her about which she's being kept in the dark.

I love that the fact that Haruhi is a Mary Sue, and that this is essentially tied to the premise of the series. She's an excellent student because her powers allow her to intuit what questions will be on the test. She's amazing at everything she tries because she wills it. She's popular even though she's a strange person because that is what she wishes. It explains exactly why everything goes her way: if she wants to perform, then the lead singer of a band will come down with tonsillitis and the remaining members will get into an argument with the concert's organizer within earshot.

As for the theory mentioned above, the opening paragraphs of the first novel--abbreviated but included at the beginning of Episode 2--keep coming back to me: the fact that Kyon used to dream of being included in all these happenings as a bystander but eventually gave it up. I have to wonder about it, just as I wonder about the fact that Haruhi's SOS brigade enables him to participate in these events in a way that she can't--because no one will tell her anything for fear of the effect on the universe--and the fact that the SOS Brigade provides Kyon with his mini-harem: Yuki as the badass who only listens or really responds to him, Mikuru as the demure lust object and eye candy (who is inaccessible to him because she can't get involved with people outside her time stream), and Haruhi as his violent, overbearing dream girl whom he /has/ to kiss in Episode 14 (to save the world, riiight). Even Itsuki is not sexually interested in any of the girls. Also, Kyon admits to himself in one of the novels that he doesn't want Yuki or Mikuru to date anyone else: conveniently, of course, they don't. Another point that interests me is that Kyon is repulsed so much by the "closed spaces" because they are so grey and desolate: interestingly, though, Haruhi is the opposite of grey and desolate, as her quest to make everything "interesting" lends nothing if not colour to Kyon's existence.

I'm digressing here, but much, much later in the novels, Sasaki is introduced as a foil for Haruhi. Sasaki has Haruhi's power, but her closed spaces, unlike Haruhi's, are stable and peaceful, without the rampaging blue giants. Sasaki doesn't intend to use her power and is predictable, as opposed to Haruhi, whose whims change fairly frequently. Based on said predictability and stability, Sasaki's equivalent of the SOS Brigade plead for Kyon to help them transfer Haruhi's power to Sasaki. So it seems like a contrast is being set up, with Sasaki=boring stability and Haruhi=chaos and change. I think, though, this might be a catalyst for Kyon realizing he likes all the craziness that Haruhi brings, just as the initial closed-space episode with Haruhi made him realize how much he liked the old world and the way things were.

I don't know what all of this means, except that the current situation seems to align rather neatly with what I expect Kyon wills to happen, even if his conscious self would deny that he wants any of these things: he does admit during the course of the series--and the novels, I think--that in spite of all of his bitching and complaining, he enjoys hanging out with SOS Brigade. Often, Haruhi's imperious orders involve doing things he was already interested in doing. (Maybe I just like the idea that Kyon has some agency in Haruhi's world, as opposed to being a kind of puppet. I have trouble believing Haruhi would will someone into being who would give her so much trouble and oppose her plans, but again, maybe what Haruhi really wills and what she consciously desires can diverge considerably. This is suggested in a later novel, where Kyon thinks that maybe rather than willing to /find/ anything weird or interesting, what Haruhi really wills is the experience of searching for the thing with her friends and doing interesting things with them.)

If Haruhi and Kyon somehow created each other simultaneously, I think my brain would explode. I feel like poor Kyon trying to work through all the predestination paradoxes and hard sci-fi concepts he encounters.

Wow. I've read the early parts of the manga, but I had no idea it was made into an anime.

I'm a little confused about what I've read regarding the order of the episodes, though. Was the broadcast order the way the director/writers wanted them aired (as opposed to some t.v. exec mixing up the ep orders like in some cartoons I can think of), or for a first time viewer is it better to view them chronologically?