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The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya is an anime that left quite the impression on me. Partially for the characters, many of whom fall into anime fantasy/sci-fi stereotypes, but placing these stereotypes in the rather mundane setting of high school is a twist that I appreciated. Then there's the somewhat insane titular character who is something else: a headstrong, almost amoral, girl with ridiculous amounts of talent and a secret that she's not aware of.
The set-up for the series is a bit of a mind-trip. Essentially Suzumiya, unbeknown to herself, is a sort of super-powerful being, capable of god-like feats of creation and destruction, as she can destroy and rebuild reality to her whim. Our narrator and primary character is Kyon, a high schooler whose sympathy/curiosity for Haruhi appears to cause her to drag him, against his will, into a club she's starting to spice up her life, because she's bored with the normal life. Searching for adventure, she claims three more unusual members, each with secrets and they all end up being dragged into her crazy schemes.
There is a bit of crazy, but enjoyable, philosophic consideration early on as we debate whether the world is merely Haruhi's creation as she gets bored of the old one and whether our characters exist to serve her or serve her to continue to exist or whether they could exist without her. It's a bit of a conundrum, but an enjoyable one all the same. While sci-fi/fantasy scenarios do occasionally occur in the series, I think the joy of the series lies in how normal things are, while there remains this tension in knowing that if things are too boring, Haruhi might destroy the world in hopes of making it more interesting.
The art is clean and in line with what I've come to expect from the anime that typically gets imported to the US; I like the character designs and while there isn't a whole lot of action in the series, I think it sits better that way. The series is narrated from the mind of Kyon and he doesn't play an omniscient narrator but only comments on what he knows and what he feels. He's has a lot going on in his head, but he doesn't actually speak a whole lot so it's good that we get to hear it.
The voice acting in the English dub is acceptable enough, but I prefer the Japanese acting over it. There are some stranger aspects to the series, some of which both parodies and traffics in fanboy-ism, which I found amusing. For the first season, I have to admit that there's a lack of closure, as the series doesn't really have an larger story arc, but seems to take things one at a time, so it's an easy series to pick up and put down, although I think that because of its rather entertaining qualities, it's still quite hard to put down. It's also based on a series of light novels and the author was directly involved in the writing of the series.
Even though it's based on the novels, I still wish that the over series had stronger story arcs, but I love how naturally we get to watch these characters develop and how well the series can play out the quiet moments as well as the crazier ones. Seeing Haruhi grow herself was quite a treat as well as watching the relationships develop between the SOS Brigade (Haruhi's club).
It's not for everyone, due to its mind-twisting premise and "extra-ordinary beings in a mundane world" setting. It probably won't sate fanboys who are into action/sci-fi/fantasy and might be a little too off-kilter for the more relationship-oriented drama lovers, but for those willing to try out something a little different, or that like strangely quirky series like this, I think The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya is a rather refreshingly unique and enjoyable series. More please. 9/10.


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