The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya: Complete Collection Review

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(More customer reviews)There is certain shows developed in Japan that sort of slip under the radar and upon discovering it, you kind of wonder why you didn't hear of it in the first place (Fate/Stay Night, while admittedly a show with a distinct formula and some character moments cut from the story, instantly became a favorite). Then we have something like The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya, a 14 episode show that quickly became a hit and could be accurately be described as a sensation. But all that hype and praise brings with it the inevitable "overrated" remarks and people not seeing the brilliance against other projects. Can Haruhi Suzumiya become a victim of its hype or is it a brilliant show regardless? I say brilliant.
In high school, it's hard to develop an identity and stand out without being an outsider but for Haruhi Suzumiya, she enjoys her offbeat sensibilities. Declaring in school that she's not interested in anyone unless they're time travellers, aliens or espers (psychics in other words), Haruhi soon is introduced to Kyon, a sardonic high school student who enjoys just not doing anything. But their world gets changed when in comes Itzuki, Yuki and Mikuru, an esper, alien and time traveller, respectively. Turns out Haruhi is seen as a sort of god-like figure who can bend the universe and possibly even destroy it and start over lest she get bored. Luckily Haruhi is quite...eccentric.
One of the more well-known factors consider the show was that the show's episodes were not presented in chronological order. While this worked in some cases such as episode 6 having all the makings of a "finale" and episode 11 which consists of Kyon narrating over a supremely amateurish movie Haruhi made makes for a unique and also bizarre premiere but then on the other hand, a 2 parter on an island vista is separated by a different episode so the cliffhanger isn't resolved until the following episode. My suggestion is to just watch the chronological order but exchange episode 14 (Kyon's trip for a heater) and 6's place and all will be well.
As for the episodes themselves, they're frequently hilarious from dialogue to Kyon's narration or Yuki's quiet badassness/bookish tendencies and just scenes played straight for comedy or using the moe conventions of nurse/maid/catgirl outfits for humor. But the main plot is also interesting and while Yuki's explanation of Haruhi's existence from her perceptive is Evangelion-level confusing complete with screen-filling text, it's quite intriguing and the idea that the world can literally revolve around you makes for good storytelling. Some episodes are generally good with at least one cool scene while others such as an arts festival, a computer battle or the hilarious baseball episode are definate highlights.
Will everyone like it? Maybe. Some people prefer the romance hilarity found in Love Hina while others are into more lighthearted affairs like Fruits Basket but I loved the show and can't wait for an inevitable second season and I heartily recommend you try the show out.

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I thought that when I entered high school, my days of believing in aliens, time travelers and ESPers were going to be over. That is until she introduced herself. Claiming to be interested in only aliens, time travelers, and ESPers, Haruhi Suzumiya was the strangest girl I ve met in a long time. Before I knew what s going on, I ve been dragged into her weird club, and it looks like I m not the only one who has been drafted into this SOS Brigade of hers, because there are three other students who don t seem to be so ordinary themselves. Either way we ve all found ourselves caught up in Haruhi s quest to search for all things extraordinary. And what s this I hear about us making a movie?

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Ouran High School Host Club: Season 1, Part 1 Review

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(More customer reviews)To try and explain Ouran with a basic synopsis does this anime little justice. There's always so much going on, and with a diverse cast of character's including the princely, yet sometimes idiotic, drama-king, Tamaki, or the mischievous, trouble-making Hitachiin twins, there's no end to the variety of often strange activities the club members get into at Ouran Academy, a high school for the rich and prestigious. Add to this, Haruhi, a scholarship student and "commoner" who was drafted into the Host Club after she accidentally broke an $80,000 vase. The twist is, Haruhi is actually a girl and only the club members know it. Being very plain spoken, Haruhi nicely complements the strange behaviors of her rich counterparts and is often the inspiration for many of their adventures, much to her annoyance.
Probably the biggest concern of Ouran fans about this dvd collection is the transition over from Japanese to English. As many fans will argue (myself included), the Japanese voice acting is flawless, making an English dub no easy task. But after getting a recent peek at episode one, I feel Funimation has met the challenge with great success. While I'm not as hard core of a critic as some, I did carry some doubts as to how well they could pull off a decent dub. Let me just say, I'm sorry I ever doubted them. Usually it takes me a little while to adjust when I switch from the sub to the dub, but that wasn't the case for me here. While there is the occasional rough patch, I think each voice actor did an excellent job matching his or her character's personality. I found nothing distracting or out of place about any of them.
My biggest beef, if any, is with the English opening and ending songs. They aren't horrible, but they are a bit weak compared to the originals. Not a big deal, though, as I'm sure you can still listen to the originals on the dvd.
Overall, I'd say this is a must buy, whether you're already a fan or a newcomer. The acting in both versions each have their own charm and you're bound to enjoy a few laughs every step of the way. This anime also has the ability to keep you coming back again and again. I never get tired of watching it, and the ability to have it in two languages just makes for double the fun. Subtract a star from my rating if absolute randomness bothers you. The Host Club members thrive on the out of the ordinary. They are a bunch of rich kids looking for entertainment after all (well, except poor Haruhi).

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Ouran High School. An institution of extravagance and prestige where learning is secondary to luxury.
Bookish Haruhi can't afford to slack, being on a scholarship and out of place among the moneyed. No matter… The Host Club is now open! A group of handsome boys dedicated to selling their charms to their bored female classmates, Haruhi is suddenly in debt to the club after breakingan expensive vase in their lair. The only way to pay for the damage? Haruhi will work as a Host! The only problem? Haruhi is a she! Between the wildly inflated ego of the expert escorts and the potential calamities of constant cross dressing, Haruhi's freshman year looks like it will be one to remember.Wallpaper forOuran High School Host Club (Click to download and save)

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The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya, Volume 1 (Limited Edition) Review

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(More customer reviews)This is a very orginal and creative title. When I watched the imports, it gave me a fresh interest in old steriotypes. You got the logical alien, the sexy timetraveler, the omipotent being who can destroy the universe, and the annoying esper who knows everything that you want to punch in the face. All this amazing adventures takes place in a high school drama setting.
Basically a guy nicknamed as Kyon just recently matured enough to relise there is nothing special about his life, a completely normal boy who goes to school. This all changes when he meets Haruhi Suzumiya, who is obessed with the paranormal and everything else you find in a Otaku(crazy fan), and utterly bored with her life in general. Because of certain series of events, Kyon is conscripted in start a club with Suzumiya called the SOS brigade. The club is has no real purpose except to solve mysteries and discover paranormal activities. Ironiclly an alien, timetravler, and a esper join the group in disguise revealling there nature and motive to Kyon; the only normal person in the club. All three of them inform Kyon that Suzumiay unknowingly is the a powerful being that can reshape reality to her will. Their mission to keep Suzumiya occupied with fun activities, with the alternative being the destruction of autoevolution/time line/universe.
The main story arc actally takes a back seat, with mainly just drama/comedy antics you find in many anime. there was no real action for the most part, but I couldn't stop watching until I finished it in one day. The main character Kyon with is pessimistic outlook on life, and is tentency to notice plot holes, and maintain a dry sense of humor; made me identiy with him easilly. The animation is high quality in my opinion, and the music.....is abolutely amazing! I spent half the day just listening to the ending credits!
So in short the Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya is a good well rounded title that has everything a anime newbie would like, but still give someing new for those long time otakus.

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The annual school culture festival has begun and with it comes the debut of Haruhi's surreal film! Who did she threaten this time to have her movie shown? More importantly what other event has she schemed up and what impact will it have on the rest of the SOS Brigade? At least I've got Mikuru and the cosplay cafe to look forward to, but perhaps someone should explain to Yuki that fortune-telling isn't about eerie accuracy! The computer club counter-attacks! After Haruhi extorted the club's president for their best computer challenge the SOS Brigade to a not so friendly strategy game. How are we going to win when our chief's strategy doesn't exist? We should just raise the white flag and give up. Can we win without the help of Yuki's bogus magic or will defeat drive Haruhi into a world-ending rampage? It is a slow day for us in the club room, that is until Haruhi arrives. She's somehow managed to swindle a heater from one of our movie's sponsors. I hope Mikuru's okay while I'm forced to make the exhausting trek in the rain to retrieve it. What bizarre activity while I'm gone? Limited Edition includes Haruhi iron-on, SOS pillow case, pencil board, Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya CD Haruhi No Tsumewawase, Vol. 1, and Limited Edition Box.Also includes a bonus DVD that contains episodes 11-14 in original TV broadcast order! Genre: Comedy/ Action.

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The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya Season 2 Review

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(More customer reviews)After the enormous success of the 1st season of Haruhi Suzumiya many including myself couldn't wait for the second season. But unfortunately fans would be waiting for 3 years for the second season. Was it worth the wait? That's up to you to decide.
If you are not familiar with the series or read the novels you must keep in mind that the 2nd season is intertwined with the 1st season. So some of the story lines in the 2nd season will shed light on a few things that happened in the 1st season.
By now many have heard about the infamous Endless Eight arc in the second season but let's put that aside for now. The season starts off with Bamboo Leaf Rhapsody, which is a very important episode and storyline in the Haruhi Saga. It's the first time we get to see Mikuru use her time traveling powers as she and Kyon must travel back in time 3 years. After they accomplish their mission the duo find that they are stranded and must find a way back home, which they do in a very interesting way.
Next is the Endless Eight storyline. Love it or hate it, E8 is a very important arc in the series. The SoS Brigade get stuck in a timeloop during their summer vacation and Kyon must figure out why Haruhi doesn't want their summer vacation to end.
The E8 arc is told in 8 episodes that are essentially the same but slightly different in tone, acting & mood. E8 also sees the growth of two characters, Nagato seems to be developing emotions & Kyon takes a step forward to being an active member of the SoS Brigade instead of a bystander.
The remaining episodes are dedicated to the Sigh arc, which is the making of the movie from the 1st season. You will find out why Nagato tackled Mikuru, why the cat started talking, what's the deal with Mikuru's different colored eyes & ultimately who put it all together!!
It is during these last few episodes that provide the darkest moments in the series to date. Kyon & Haruhi have a epic confrontation over, "creative differences" that threatens the world. Of course it is up to Kyon once again to find a way to tame Haruhi and put things back in order.
The animation is top notch once again, especially during the darker moments of the series. There is great dramatic lighting during the Bamboo Leaf Rhapsody, the night scenes of E8 and during the confrontation in Sigh.
The music is not as memorable as 1st season but Superdriver (the opening song) and Tomare (the ending song which means Stop) are energetic & catchy enough to be heard & watched over and over. I found the best score part to be at the resolution of the E8 arc.
I look forward to the English dub of the 2nd season. I am very curious as to how Wendee Lee, Crispin Freeman & Michelle Ruff will handle the E8 arc and the confrontation. Of course the Japanese va's are excellent as well.
In the end I wanted to really love the 2nd season of Haruhi, but I was found wanting a better effort from the stories. Personally, I felt the E8 arc should've been two episodes. I would've like to have seen a more fleshed out Sigh arc because it felt rushed. Then I really would've liked to have seen a set up of the Disappearance storyline.

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Haruhi continues her search for exciting ways to keep her world from being boring. Unfortunately, for Kyon and the rest of the SOS Brigade, they are forced to go along for the ride. On the night of the Tanabata Star Festival, Kyon is transported back in time by Mikuru Asahina to what may be the source of what led Haruhi to search for aliens, time travelers and espers.In the last two weeks of summer vacation, Haruhi leads the brigade on a dizzying list of summer time activities that leads the brigade into experiencing what they think is dejavu but they're actually re-living the same two weeks of summer over and over again. It's up to Kyon to figure out what's missing to get them out of this endless loop.As fall rolls around, everyone prepares for the school arts festival, but Haruhi isn't content with their class's survey project. She, instead, hatches her own plan for the SOS Brigade to film and screen their own. Step behind the camera to see what went on to create the cinematic 'masterpiece' that is The Adventures of Mikuru Asahina Episode 00.

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