02.06
When I was younger, I used to be obsessed with the Power Rangers, a show which until recently I was completely unaware was based on the Japanese Super Sentai series. As I grew older, and as American companies adjusted their tastes to even more Japanese shows, I ended up picking up on shows like Pokemon and Sailor Moon, both which played back to back on the WB at the time. As anime began to take over the minds of the kiddies everywhere, Toonami decided to get into the mix of things as well. And while I missed out on the Freeza and Cell Sagas the first time through, I tuned in just in time to catch a majority of the Boo Saga (you know, the parts actually pertaining to the plot). It is now 2009 and anime has become just as integral a part of our US pop culture as any other genre of TV. I am a hardcore Dragon Ball fan and admit to keeping up with the Naruto and Bleach manga. But all the while, as I transitioned from mind-numbing epic battle to mind-numbing epic battle, was I missing out on something else entirely?
The week of finals, me and a couple of the neighbors were being introduced to some anime my roomie had. His collection consisted of the occasional Miyazaki film, as well as some mainstream anime series and some that I could barely pronounce, less watch without flinching. It eventually reached the point where I would just sit at my desk typing away on the laptop at something or other while the rest of the gang would watch in whatever new drivel the roomie had to offer (shark punching was involved..?). Anyway, the roomie decides to introduce us to yet another series, as per the request of our neighbor, who was something of a fan of it. The title was quite the mouthful, whether you went by the English translation or original Japanese version and the title is far from an accurate representation of what I was about to watch.
Title: The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya
Before even popping the disc in, the roomie and neighbor went through a short dispute as to which order they should be playing the episodes. Woah, an anime series that has no particular order? That was news to me. We started off with “episode 00” in which I was fooled for a good ten or so minutes before picking up that the episode was being told through the crappy filming skills of one of the characters. Assuming that this would only be done for the first episode, I thought it was quite the interesting move. And no JJ Abrams in sight, to boot!
Eager for more (or at least I was) we ended up watching the following two episodes. The plot seemed basic enough: High-schooler Kyon begins his freshman year (or whatever equivalent that is in Japan) wanting nothing but an ordinary life. Unlike his classmates that want to use the new year to start fresh, Kyon just wants… well, that’s just the thing—he doesn’t want anything. Enter Haruhi Suzumiya, the class eccentric/cutie whose introduction to the class is more of an announcement telling everyone that if they are an alien, time-traveler, or ESPer, that they should contact her ASAP. Regardless of their conflicting personalities, the two gravitate to each other eventually, playing off each other in an Odd Couple sort of way. Or maybe it’s more of a Dharma and Greg sort of way… or So Little Time sort of way. Heck, considering the amount of narration, I could even go as far as comparing it to The Wonder Years. See, with Kyon playing the straight man and Haruhi the loose cannon cop chic that doesn’t play by the rules, viewers are bound to do a little shipping, anticipating the two getting together at least by the final episode. I can neither confirm nor deny this, for the uninitiated.
After finals and moving out, I was bored one day and hunted down the rest of the episodes, marathoning through the remaining 11 episodes in one day. Woah, was the series that good? Yes, yes it was.
Although the series is clearly an anime, it does not make a clear distinction as to whether it is aimed primarily at guys (shounen) or girls (shoujo). It’s not exactly an action series with there being only two (maybe three, if you really want) episodes where a full-on action sequence defined the episode. But on the other hand, the romance factor was at a minimum if even that much. Even the more fantasy elements of the series can’t truly define the series as a whole. Just what kind of series is Haruhi.
Wanting to learn more and figuring it’s about time I had a new obsession, I did a quick Wikipedia search on the series. Skimming through the guides, it looks like it had quite the respectable release, even in the states. Not only have the episodes been released dubbed with an accurate translation as well as subbed, but the DVDs have been released multiple times. Half that time, there were these “special edition” type releases packed to the brim with nice promo art as well as a CD from the series.
Geez.
Furthermore, it looks like the states have been treating the property itself rather well, keeping up with the Japanese releases and releasing most of the CDs here. I know I remember seeing the series before.
Combine that with the crapton of Euro mixes and dance tributes out there in the vast YouTube-verse and you can pretty much base your fandom on the series’ music alone.
Finding out the anime has existed for three plus years already, I was rather surprised that I didn’t pick up the series sooner. Then again, three years ago, I’m pretty sure I was engulfed during the peak of the Naruto and Bleach storylines. Figures.
And to further distance myself from my shounen comfort space, it turns out the anime was based on a manga, which was in turn (get this) based on a novel. Wanting to learn absolutely everything I could about the series, I hunted down the light novels, finding that the anime episodes directly correspond with a novel chapter under the exact same name. Furthermore, reading through some of the chapters, it looks like the anime stays very faithful in terms of the plot. Sure, you get anal people saying Haruhi’s hair is supposed to be black, but whatever. In a world where seasons of filler exist, I think I can safely say that this is one of the better adaptations out there.
Alright, so I’ve got a 14 episode anime series along with a crapton of CDs not to mention some secondary sources in the form of the anime. Even considering that the series has ended, that should keep me busy during a bulk of my summer, right?
Well in complete Haruhi fashion, it turns out that I’m getting even more than I bargained for. As of late, the series has finally been picked up for a second season. The first season episodes are being re-aired in Japan in their intended chronological order, meshing the season 2 episodes in there accordingly. So far, there have been three new episodes and I am continuing to love every single bit of it!
Now, I think the question at hand now is whether I should spoil future anime episodes by hunting down the light novel translations. One can only wait so long!
Originally posted on Wednesday, July 1, 2009.