Haruhi

More anime. It's always easy to go back to this when I haven't written for awhile.

The full title is "The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya" (Haruhi Suzumiya no Yuutsu or something in Japanese) and the first volume (eps. 1-4 out of 14) is being domestically released this week. I've ordered my copy of the first volume even though I've already seen the full series a couple times already. This is a good one.

Mike Mosley is a good friend of mine in the band (296th as well as Bourbon) and he's even nuttier about anime than most. He downloads and/or netflixes many, many titles. Every once in a while he'll recommend something to me. I usually make mental notes and then promptly forget to follow up, but about a year ago there was one series he didn't let up on. He even went as far as to burn me a DVD of all the episodes and shove it into my hand. When I didn't watch it right away, he physically held me down in a chair until I watched the whole thing*. I was actually surprised how much I ended up liking it. I watched it again and liked it more. It's one of those things where I would watch certain scenes and sections over and over. It was just...done right. So refreshing when somebody gets it right.

Since I first watched it, the show has gained a LOT of momentum and is now as popular as any anime series I've ever known. We're talking Neon Genesis Evangelion and Cowboy Bebop levels of publicity (I know, I know, I can hear the crickets from here. That means very popular, just take my word for it.). And overall I think this series merits it.

The basic story is kind of a high school comedy/drama, but there are some odd sci-fi undertones to the whole thing, but the story and genre are not central. What is important here are the characters and how they interact. Haruhi is the lead female and is an absolute force of nature in how she deals with situations and people. Kyon is the male lead and is our surrogate. He's basically along for the ride and can't really keep up. Around these two are 3 others, all unique and out of place in some form or another. And this is basically it. You have lots of humor that is way over the top and in varying degrees of good taste and plausibility, but again, it's not really about the writing and comedy. You quickly find out that you're not in charge of what you think. Haruhi's character is so overpowering that whatever she's doing, whatever she's feeling, and whatever she's saying affects the viewer directly. That immediate connection is uncommon, especially for a TV show.

To this they add an episode structure that is presented out of order. Episode 1 is actually episode 11, episode 2 is 1, the last episode happens somewhere in the middle, etc. Is it a gimmick? No. It is used responsibly and in such a way as to reveal and shape the story arc in a more satisfying way than simple chronology would allow. If you rewatch the series "in order" it is a different experience that brings out different aspects of characters and situations and elicits a new reaction in the viewer. That's the right answer. If something tries to do a wacky order and this doesn't happen, that's a gimmick.

The technical side is good. Clean and fluid animation. Not the best, but there are a few moments that really shine. The band concert toward the end is an animation highlight. Speaking of bands, the music throughout is pretty good. Some catchy, some a little sappy, but all very listenable. Haruhi's voice actor is also the singer for most of the music in the show. I don't think she's actually a pro singer or anything, but she is a convincing j-pop soloist.

The public reaction has been nothing short of amazing. I can confirm that it is good and not just hype because I was in on this before the hype, but golly. Now there are 9 CDs of music (One for each of the "main" characters (some of those mains are quite minor)), some additional CDs of "radio dramas", plenty of mangas, and another TV series in the works (possibly). There are fans coming out of the woodwork, lots of parodies to be found, and...oh yeah...the dance.

The ending credits are quite normal, but upon DVD release in Japan there was a different kind of "clean" version released. For those of you not familiar with them, anime DVDs usually offer versions of the intro and end credit sequences without the actual credits. It lets the animation/artwork be seen without any clutter. This particular clean version focuses entirely on the dance that Haruhi and the 4 other mains do together. This was intercut in the standard version, but now it stands alone. This particular video is an edit, but you can see the dance going on for the whole time.

Haruhi-Extended Dance

You might know where this is going, but if you give people a project...you end up with something like this.

Haruhi-Akihabara

And even this.

Haruhi-MM

You don't see this kind of dedication very often and when I do, I have to salute it no matter how trifling or ridiculous it may be. But seriously, it's a good show and worth checking out (make sure you make it through the first 4 before you pass judgment), or at least ignoring until I actually force you to watch it. Either way is fine with me. Now if you'll excuse me, I've got some moves to work out.

*-Not actually true