I agree with all that you said :)
Great show :)
The Melancholy of Suzumiya Haruhi tv Review
Haruhi Suzumiya is a beautiful first year high school student who is smart, athletic, and won't turn down any guy who asks her out. The problem is that she isn't interested in anyone or anything who isn't an alien, time traveler, slider, or ESPer - as such no guy has lasted for more than a week with her.
When she realizes that none of the clubs at school cater to her highly eccentric tastes, she drafts her classmate, Kyon (the narrator and voice of reason) and forms the "Suzumiya Haruhi's Save our World by Overloading it with Fun" Brigade (the S.O.S. Brigade for short). Nobody quite knows what the club does other than to satisfy the whims of Haruhi, but it is becoming evident that there is more to Haruhi than it seems, and that there may be more truth to her delusional beliefs than reason would leave most to believe.
Story & Characters
This is my first time typing out a review, so please bear with me.
'Haruhiism'. I found that word on the net. That led me to a novel series, and eventually a anime in YouTube.
A very unique story, I must say. It just pulls me into it like a black hole and wouldn't let me out no matter what. Perhaps that's because I don't want to get out.
Mixing various genres in one single story and yet maintain organisation is very impressive. Wikipedia states that it has 6 genres. Now that's very surprising.
The characters are, by no means, very special at first glance; Haruhi is the typical eccentric, Nagato the typical silent character, Mikuru the lolita with pwning kawaiiness, Itsuki the 'intelligent smiler'. Kyon was quite original, as he reflected the viewer's normal thoughts, and believe me, you don't usually get that kind of character in even 1/4 of all the animes out there.
And then, when you watch 'til Episode 5, you finally know that Haruhi isn't any ordinary eccentric, Nagato isn't any ordinary silent character, Mikuru isn't any ordinary lolita, and Itsuki isn't an ordinary 'intelligent smiler'. That was the trigger that made me a Haruhiist.
The plot is not just a High School comedy. It involves the fate of the world. The comedy is just from Haruhi's insane personality and acts, and Kyon's innermost thoughts, if you look at it seriously... let's not forget Mikuru and her being used-to-get-a-computer (as to how, watch and find our yourself!), and how Kyon dislikes Itsuki and his perpetually smiling face. The only non-comedy character must be Nagato, although she kinda walks funny.... (She's my personal favourite character)
As to how it involves the fate of the world.... please watch and you'll see what I mean.
The plot /is/ random. Each episode can be counted as stand alone episodes, discounting Episode 6 since there are two parts to it. Other than that, the rest are 'very random'... although you discover otherwise in the novels. Let's just say that the random stuff that keeps happening is because of Haruhi.
As for why Mikuru, Nagato and Itsuki are there, it's because they are supposed to observe Haruhi, as ordered by their superiors.
Although it seems like a cheap excuse, as you watch, you find the 'excuses' more valid.
For the story, although not very epic in a sense, it's enough to make me give it an almost full score, the 2 marks missing because it (The fact that Nagato Mikuru and Itsuki are observing Haruhi as ordered by their superiors because it involves the fate of the world) still doesn't seem like a reason enough.
Rating:
Art
I have to take my hat off to Kyoto Animation. Really.
Every last minor detail was included, and every character's movements, even the background characters', were done very meticulously. I really have to give full praise for the background characters' superb animation quality, as this is the first series I've ever seen to pay so much attention on even the background characters. Also, minor details like MINOR SPOILER: the squabbling of the ENOZ club with the student council in the background with a bunny girl Haruhi eavesdropping was not ignored, even if the main scene was Kyon talking to his friends.
The fluid movements each character makes the animation section almost flawless, particularly in the Ending dance and the Concert in Episode 12. Ah, yes, the concert! I must say that I'm very amazed as the animators even bothered to animated everything in synch, even the guitar chords the characters were playing. And the fact that Haruhi was sweating just makes KyoAni's attention to the most minor of details deserve even more praise.
The animation made my jaw drop, and I really can't give it any lower than a 10. Although not the best animation in the world, it certainly fits the series.
Rating:
Sound
The sound is just almost as flawless as the animation. Each character's voice actor suited each character completely, notably Kyon and Mikuru's... especially Mikuru!!! Besides pwning uber kawaiiness, it is really hard to pretend that you're really bad at singing while sound as if you're making an effort to sing well (Episode 1)! Nagato's seiyuu too, was good, as it's very hard to sound completely deadpan and still deliver a very long and tongue twisting monologue without stopping (Episode 5). Itsuki's sounded quite....'normal', so I do not have as many comments there, but the seiyuu portrayed Itsuki well, that I have to admit. Haruhi's was spot on; maintaining a cheerful tone while sounding domineering. I've also noticed the unique....ring that accompanies Haruhi's voice and sets it apart from anyone else's. Very good.
For the OST and ED, the songs chosen were very fitting although I have to admit that they aren't that special when viewed as a stand-alone solo. However, you'd be able to recognise the theme songs when I play it anywhere, so that's a point added for a unique tune.
The sound effects were, like the animation, meticulous and finely detailed. I have to take a second hat off to KyoAni for paying such attention to minor background sounds, for example, in the classroom, instead of indecipherable chatter, we can actually hear people talking in actual conversations, although not very noticeable. Also, in Episode 1, we can actually tell when Kyon is narrating and when he's talking during filming. Also, echoing was present, notably in the concert. the sound effects were... very realistic. That's that. I can't give anything lower than a 9.
Rating:
Presentation
A great roller coaster ride. The humour present made me laugh myself off my chair many times, especially in the computer blackmailing incident. Although the scientific explanations Nagato, Itsuki and Mikuru provides kills a few brain cells, one could tell that the producers were already trying their best to simplify it for us viewers, so it's not their fault, hahas.
I thoroughly enjoyed every momeny I spent watching Haruhi Suzumiya no Yuutsu. Yet another charm of the series was the fact that it's aired in anachronological order, so it gives the viewers a type of suspense and thrill. When I watched episode 4, and found that the scene wasn't continuing the scene in Nagato's apartment, I was confused, and I even thought that I'd missed a few episodes when I saw Itsuki, a stranger to me then. Even more confusing was the fact that Mikuru and Itsuki knew about what Nagato really was and freely talking to Kyon about it, even though Kyon wasn't aware of Nagato's origins as the only thing Nagato told Kyon in the previous episode was that she was an *SPOILER* alien *END SPOILER*, and yet suddenly everyone was very knowledgable about her. What intrigued me was also a flashback when the camera shown Nagato chanting something while facing another girl in combat, as it seems. That was the first time I noticed that it was aired in anachronological order. And the anachronological order just makes me all the more interested.
Weird camera angles may also be observed, such as in Episode 12, where, as mentioned above, Kyon was talking to his friends and the ENOZ arguing with student council incident occurred. The camera was in a pretty funny angle then. Just remember, whenever you see weird camera angles in SHnY, there's always a reason for it!!
Because I just can't find any flaws in the presentations section, I'll just have to give it a 10.
Rating:
Final Verdict
9.1667 (very good)
Reviewed by arcturian627, Apr 05, 2007
Comments
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info-0 Apr 05, 2007
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GloriaChan Apr 06, 2007
This is one of the best anime in 2006/2007 so I agree with what u said ^^
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ASH-Hikari Apr 07, 2007
Awesome review, and what you say is true! It's an awesome series!
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shoujoboy Apr 10, 2007
I certainly don't agree with your scoring that high for this quite average show, but thats what opinions are for eh? Anyway, not bad but it kind of lacks a good flow. It seems like you just wanted to make a lot of points but in doing that it just seemed as if you jumped around a lot. We shall see what you offer in the future.
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skyflier0 Apr 10, 2007
this anime was the best show i have ever seen
i havent seen anything like this show ^_^ -
riku-chan May 22, 2007
Nice writing for a first time review. Haruhi might be taken as a mediocre anime by some and an awesome one by others. I'm in the latter camp, but only because of two personalities that came from the show, Haruhi and Kyon. I can really imagine wanting to know them in life.
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ShadowN1NJ4 May 30, 2007
I agree completely. But only two things I have to nit pick about, isn't it Koizuma not Itsuki and SOS Brigade not ENOZ. I watched the Japanese subed eps I downloaded so it might be different from you tube. But whatever, It's a great anime.
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Kanna14 Jun 25, 2007
A really good review and a really good anime! Super funny and I like the ending song Hare Hare Yukai and the dance along with it. I might also plan to get it on DVD as well... Hm... ~_~
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Lory-DMG Dec 19, 2007
Yup, great review :D, I really like this Anime, but overall, Haruhi was my favorite character in the serie, and the prettiest girl was Asahina Mikuru-chan! I love that cute little girl :D. Great review of yours :).
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Lollie04 Dec 03, 2008
Good review
I really enjoyed this anime, and agree with you. I had heard about it and out of curiosity began to search, watch and read. Along with many, many others I became a Haruhiist (my first time admitting it actually...) and found myself staring at the DVD boxset in stores, and then my eyes would hover over to the $60 price tag, but it did not deter me from this.
The characters were quite typical, though later developed (my personal favourite is Koizumi Itsuki)
The originality is great to see, and I found the story to be interesting and quite technical. -
ShadowRunner3000 Dec 22, 2008
PERFECT REVIEW, PERFECT SHOW, PERFECT...PERFECT...PERFECT................(...) HAIL HARUHI XD
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Osaka01 May 05, 2009
Great Review ^_^
I just can agree with everything that you wrote xD
(well, beside the point with Nagato as favourite Chara, Koizumi's my fav XD) -
rukasu04 Mute Member Nov 30, 2009
NIce review
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SchRita Jan 15, 2010
Thanks for the review!
merged: 01-15-2010 ~ 10:17pm
Thanks for the review! -
Sanisa Feb 24, 2010
Thanks for the review! Nice ^__^
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