This week's pick is Suzumiya Haruhi no Yuutsu (The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya)
There will be no spoilers in this weeks Memory Monday.
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| No Spoilers! |
Number of Seasons: 2 + 1 movie
Number of Episodes Per Season: 14
Run Time: 23 minutes per episode
Personal Rating: 8/10 overall
Unfortunately can't find any official uploads of the series. Sorry :(
I decided to do this week's Memory Monday on Haruhi since I've already posted about the upcoming spinoff anime, Nagato Yuki-Chan no Shoushitsu (The Disappearance of Nagato Yuki-Chan). I thought it'd be a good idea to catch people up on the phenomenon that was and is Haruhi. Suzumiya Haruhi no Yuutsu began as a hit light novel series in 2003 and is ongoing to this very day with 11 novels and several spin off series. Haruhi's biggest spike in popularity though was definitely achieved due to its very successful anime debut with animation studio Kyoto Animation. The first season of Haruhi is most likely known by many for its unconventional episode order which led people to have to look up what was the actual order of the episodes if they wanted to watch in chronological order. I'm sure most people by now have watched the series both in its aired order as well as its chronological order so they will probably tell you the same thing that I'm about to say, it really doesn't make a difference. If you prefer to watch things in a chronological order you can watch Haruhi like that, if you're too lazy or just indifferent then you can watch it in its original aired order. Either way you watch it does not change just how fantastic the first season was and how it began a new standard of good anime and fandom dubbed Haruhiism.
What It's About
If you thought that the "gather people to make a club" trope is getting old then let me tell you that Haruhi was one of the earlier anime to do that and make it seem very natural. Haruhi revolves around a male protagonist named Kyon (no last name) who is roped into starting a club with a girl in his class, Suzumiya Haruhi. Haruhi is basically a school idol- smart, good at sports, artistic, flawless at everything she does. The only thing that was potentially a flaw of her was her personality. She did not want to associate with anyone or anything she considered normal. Because of that, she had no friends and even if people asked her out she would reject them mercilessly. Kyon speaks to this Haruhi asking her about her daily changing hair style. One thing leads to another and they make a club that searches out mysteries since she is only interested in the abnormal. They gather 3 other club members and make their club official. From there it's basically just a story about the strange situations they find themselves in. It might sound really generic and uninteresting, but this is because I'm leaving out some things that are revealed Just like most of the things I recommend, Haruhi is a good anime mostly because of what happens during the anime rather than just the overall plot.
Iconic
If there was one word I'd describe Haruhi with, it'd be "iconic." There were so many things that the anime did that have been repeated, parodied, copied, etc. I would go to the extent that in some way, everyone who has watched anime has experienced Haruhi in some way. Whether it was a reference, directly watching it, or hearing about it from a friend, you've probably heard of Haruhi in some way. This is because Haruhi is one of the most iconic anime to have ever been made. While I wouldn't say it's one of the best anime I have ever seen (though it's definitely a good anime), I'd definitely say it's more iconic and loved than most of my top anime. For example, you have most likely seen Hare Hare Yukai in some form or shape.
Haruhiism
So Haruhiism is something that was spawned due to several reasons. One is a reference to the anime and the other is just because the anime was such a huge hit that everyone was trying to show the anime to other people to "convert" them. Regardless, people who are fans of Haruhi are part of Haruhiism, an undying fandom of our lord and savior Haruhi Suzumiya. Of course, I'm exaggerating a bit when I say this, but I am not exaggerating when I say that Haruhi is one of the biggest, most influential anime to have ever aired. I will maybe do more research eventually, but I am sure that the characters have been reused in many other series as well as the basis for the series (i.e. forming a club with a girl especially one that is famous in the school). Additionally, I already mentioned how iconic Haruhi has become and would like to add that it has a dedicated fan base that exists to this day for the very fact that Haruhi is such a great show. I can guarantee that if another "real" Haruhi anime aired, there would be more people watching it than any other anime airing (except for maybe Fate MAYBE). Though the Haruhi hype has died down a bit since the release of its movie, it is far from being dead. While Haruhiism might sound like an overexaggeration for a simple following of an anime that originally aired 9 years ago the fact that Haruhi is one of the most influential, beloved anime to have aired is undeniable.
Endless 8
When the second season of Haruhi was announced, it was as if Haruhi herself answered our prayers because or so long, people wanted another season of the anime. Roughly 3 years later after the end of the first season, the second season was released. It began after 6 episodes of recap and 2 specials but regardless, everyone was hyped. So the first episode went by and everything seemed good. The second episode came and it was almost exactly the same as the first episode, just there were a few tweaks here and there. The third episode came and it was the same thing as the previous two, just with a few teaks. The same pattern continued for 8 episodes until it finally ended. About 3 or 4 episodes into this Endless Eight arc (an arc from the Light Novel where time went in an infinite loop) fans started complaining to the production saying that they were being ridiculous. Granted, the animation studio, Kyoto Animation, drew out each new episode rather, than just reusing frames from the previous episodes, so it was great that they were putting in the work but that was not enough to satisfy fans.
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| Reference to Endless 8 in Space Dandy |
For a 14 episode anime, having 8 of the episodes be the same exact thing over and over again is a horrible idea. Even the animators admitted that they were frustrated that they had to do the same thing over and over again. What was initially a clever idea to portray an infinite time loop became punishment not only for the viewers but the production staff as well. Many were also very discontent with the character design which was extremely visually similar to the previously released K-on.
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| An image from the second season |
This in tandem with Endless 8 led to viewership dropping, fans becoming furious, and the producer having to continuously apologize for his decision because the backlash was just that great. When people remember Haruhi's second season, they remember Endless 8 over anything else that happened. The rest of the season was perfectly fine, but the fact that they decided to repeat an episode eight times when they could have just easily shortened it to 2 or 3 episodes is ridiculous. I'm one of the people who did not care too much about it and enjoyed finding the subtle differences but nonetheless, I feel as if they did not have to continue the arc for 8 whole episodes.
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| Hey! Listen! Hello? Hey! |
Redemption in Movie Form
The mistakes from the second season were mostly forgiven with the Haruhi movie, Suzumiya Haruhi no Shoushitsu. Out of any Haruhi anime, this is by far the best out of all of them. When this movie was released, it was as if Endless 8 never happened. The feedback was great, people were reacting to it as they did to the first season. Finally, the Haruhi that the fans wanted was back if only in movie form. Though I rated the first season a high 8, I'd give the movie somewhere close to a high 9. The movie was incredibly well done and encompassed not only everything that makes an anime good, but made people love Haruhi. The art style which was highly criticized from the second season was also changed to something much more acceptable. Overall, the movie was a huge saving grace for the Haruhi franchise as well as a sigh of relief for the producers and fans.
Small Cast Bigger Personalities
Compared to many anime, Haruhi has a fairly small cast. In the first season there were only 9 recurring characters with 5 of those being the main cast. Even then, the remaining 4 barely got any screen time but even so, it was really easy to accept and like them. For instance, my favorite character from the series is Tsuruya who you might recognize from my Top 10 Favorite Anime Characters list. Eve though she only has maybe a total of 10-15 minutes of screen time in the first season but she is just such an amazing character that I liked her more than the main cast. The other side characters also have great personalities making them interesting characters but not to the extent of Tsuruya in my opinion. The main characters are of course very interesting and fun. It's because of them that the show is as great as it is. I talk about character chemistry a lot, but Haruhi is one of those anime that I'd rate has the best chemistry between characters. Though I like the main character, Kyon, more than the rest, I still like the remaining 4 and find them unique and entertaining. Each character has their own special characteristic that makes them unique and their own little interactions with Kyon that makes them so memorable. It's these little things that makes them such great characters along with how they interact with the world and one another.
Should You Watch It?
Yes.
I absolutely recommend Haruhi to anyone who wants to watch something good. Though I think skipping Endless 8 would be a good idea, I think everything else is a great watch. Haruhi is one of the anime that will never be forgotten not just because it is good but because t is iconic and beloved by fans. If you've yet to watch it, I'd suggest doing so. Unfortunately, I can't find any official streaming sites with the episodes right now, but if I do, I'll come back and update this post
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