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Brief thoughts on "The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya."
So, two Saturdays ago, I went and finally finished watching The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya, which I was introduced to thanks to ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
shinkuu (Thanks again for the subs, dude!).
I have to say, while I'm not fangirling it as much as other folks seem to be (maybe because it's over right when you're really starting to get into things), it was indeed pretty good! Brief thoughts:
- I really like Kyon. He's a bit like a snarky, slightly perverted old man in the way he reacts to most situations, which makes him pretty fun, especially when he winds up being genuinely surprised by the things that happen due to Haruhi's influence on the world.
- Speaking of Kyon, his obvious boner for Mikuru (especially in her different cosplays) is amusing and cute, even though it's pretty much stated by the final ep (aka ep 6 in "chronological" order) that his true interests lie in Haruhi (No matter how much all the weirdness about her tends to exasperate him, it's pretty clear he IS interested in her - why else would he put up with all the craziness, after all?).
- Also, it's pretty amusing that, despite Haruhi being the "omnipotent" one, Kyon's the one who's having most of the adventures, heh.
- As for the other characters, I think they're just fine, though I haven't developed any real attachments to any of them yet (Really, Kyon and Haruhi are the ones taking center stage thus far.). Maybe in a rewatch, but then again, the show IS short as it currently stands, so maybe I'd be better off reading the novels. (Maybe then I could figure out why people like Tsuruya-san so much... I mean, she's nice and friendly and all, but there really isn't much to her in the anime...)
- I also rather liked how, in most situations, Haruhi's god-powers to alter reality do not usually manifest in particularly remarkable ways (which made the final ep all the more dramatic), yet Yuki's and Koizumi's abilities do get shown as such. (I don't count Mikuru much due to the fact that, aside from being able to time-travel, she doesn't seem to have any other abilities, and we only get to meet her future-self once, and on that occassion she doesn't show up in a particularly "showy" way - she's just kind of in the club room waiting for Kyon and that's it.)
- Additionally, I get the feeling that, depending on what order you watch the episodes, you come away with a slightly different feeling - in broadcast order, things feel pretty self-contained and "complete," and the "climatic" part of the series is at the "proper" place; while if watched in chronolgical order (which puts the "climatic" scene right in the "halfway point" instead of at the 'end"), you come away with the feeling that the series is still a "work in progress," which is also correct, seeing as the creator of the series hasn't finished writing all the novels.
- Also, if anyone's wondering about pairings, I actually don't consider this to be a particularly "shippy" series. I mean, Kyon's light crush on Mikuru is cute, and - as stated earlier - he does have an interest in Haruhi, but other than that, there's not much else - this is a series that's more about enjoying the crazy things that happen due to an apparently all-powerful being like Haruhi being bored, after all.
- Oh, and I can't be the only person who, during the first episode where the SOS Brigade's making a movie, and it's at the scene where Tsuruya-san and the two other guys are pretending to be mind-controlled puppets by Yuki and they grab Mikuru by her arms and legs (to then throw her in the water), thought: "Wait, is this going to turn hentai?" Seriously, I can't be the only one who thought the wrong thing then, right? ^^;;
- And while we're at it, aside from the "final" episode and the movie-making ep, I also really liked the "murder mystery!" episodes (Loved the little visual ref to Ace Attorney by Haruhi there too, hee! XD) and the culture festival ep (Especially the "concert" scene! I really liked the song they played in that.) - those were highlights for me. The small RPG ref they made in the ep where the computer club president had "mysteriously" disappeared and the whole "strategy game vs. the computer club" ep were cute touches, too.
And... that's pretty much all I can remember to mention off the top of my head. (Uh, I know it wasn't much, but it's been over a week since I finished watching the show, so it's not as fresh as it could've been, and I probably forgot something along the way. ^^;)
Anyway, because he was so kind to introduce me to the series in the first place, and because of the simple fact that I thought it was pretty damn good for his first try at making such a thing and thus I think more people should check it out, I'm gonna pimpshinkuu's Haruhi music video: Kyon Doesn't Look A Thing Like Jesus (@ AMV.org) YouTube version (lower quality)
Enjoy! :D
shinkuu (Thanks again for the subs, dude!).I have to say, while I'm not fangirling it as much as other folks seem to be (maybe because it's over right when you're really starting to get into things), it was indeed pretty good! Brief thoughts:
- I really like Kyon. He's a bit like a snarky, slightly perverted old man in the way he reacts to most situations, which makes him pretty fun, especially when he winds up being genuinely surprised by the things that happen due to Haruhi's influence on the world.
- Speaking of Kyon, his obvious boner for Mikuru (especially in her different cosplays) is amusing and cute, even though it's pretty much stated by the final ep (aka ep 6 in "chronological" order) that his true interests lie in Haruhi (No matter how much all the weirdness about her tends to exasperate him, it's pretty clear he IS interested in her - why else would he put up with all the craziness, after all?).
- Also, it's pretty amusing that, despite Haruhi being the "omnipotent" one, Kyon's the one who's having most of the adventures, heh.
- As for the other characters, I think they're just fine, though I haven't developed any real attachments to any of them yet (Really, Kyon and Haruhi are the ones taking center stage thus far.). Maybe in a rewatch, but then again, the show IS short as it currently stands, so maybe I'd be better off reading the novels. (Maybe then I could figure out why people like Tsuruya-san so much... I mean, she's nice and friendly and all, but there really isn't much to her in the anime...)
- I also rather liked how, in most situations, Haruhi's god-powers to alter reality do not usually manifest in particularly remarkable ways (which made the final ep all the more dramatic), yet Yuki's and Koizumi's abilities do get shown as such. (I don't count Mikuru much due to the fact that, aside from being able to time-travel, she doesn't seem to have any other abilities, and we only get to meet her future-self once, and on that occassion she doesn't show up in a particularly "showy" way - she's just kind of in the club room waiting for Kyon and that's it.)
- Additionally, I get the feeling that, depending on what order you watch the episodes, you come away with a slightly different feeling - in broadcast order, things feel pretty self-contained and "complete," and the "climatic" part of the series is at the "proper" place; while if watched in chronolgical order (which puts the "climatic" scene right in the "halfway point" instead of at the 'end"), you come away with the feeling that the series is still a "work in progress," which is also correct, seeing as the creator of the series hasn't finished writing all the novels.
- Also, if anyone's wondering about pairings, I actually don't consider this to be a particularly "shippy" series. I mean, Kyon's light crush on Mikuru is cute, and - as stated earlier - he does have an interest in Haruhi, but other than that, there's not much else - this is a series that's more about enjoying the crazy things that happen due to an apparently all-powerful being like Haruhi being bored, after all.
- Oh, and I can't be the only person who, during the first episode where the SOS Brigade's making a movie, and it's at the scene where Tsuruya-san and the two other guys are pretending to be mind-controlled puppets by Yuki and they grab Mikuru by her arms and legs (to then throw her in the water), thought: "Wait, is this going to turn hentai?" Seriously, I can't be the only one who thought the wrong thing then, right? ^^;;
- And while we're at it, aside from the "final" episode and the movie-making ep, I also really liked the "murder mystery!" episodes (Loved the little visual ref to Ace Attorney by Haruhi there too, hee! XD) and the culture festival ep (Especially the "concert" scene! I really liked the song they played in that.) - those were highlights for me. The small RPG ref they made in the ep where the computer club president had "mysteriously" disappeared and the whole "strategy game vs. the computer club" ep were cute touches, too.
And... that's pretty much all I can remember to mention off the top of my head. (Uh, I know it wasn't much, but it's been over a week since I finished watching the show, so it's not as fresh as it could've been, and I probably forgot something along the way. ^^;)
Anyway, because he was so kind to introduce me to the series in the first place, and because of the simple fact that I thought it was pretty damn good for his first try at making such a thing and thus I think more people should check it out, I'm gonna pimp
shinkuu's Haruhi music video: Kyon Doesn't Look A Thing Like Jesus (@ AMV.org) YouTube version (lower quality)Enjoy! :D