The Final Thoughts & Overall Series Impressions of Haruhi Suzumiya

[Aiya Kasai]

I am really sad that it ended...they didn't answer alot of characters and such. They really need more episodes to explain unanswered questions....

or maybe i just need to read the novel.

[Kaoru Chujo]

Great comments. I loved episode 1. The humor just tore me apart: both funny and wise.

I understand perfectly why dkellis wouldn't like to see people embarrassed. I usually can't watch such shows myself. But I felt that was just a surface thing here, and it didn't bother me. I felt somehow as if the dignity of all concerned was being deeply respected, and that Mikuru was everyman, suffering the inexorability of god's will. I laughed as a way of exorcising fate.

Thanks also to dkellis for reminding me of the joy of Haruhism: strange, exciting, interesting things are happening all around us. Life can be fun.

And a.f.k rocks. First Karin and now this. Speed and excellence combined.

And thanks to arias for his/her comments about "acting cute" （装可爱）. I don't think this is how it works in Chinese culture, but in Japanese culture I get a feeling that the high artificial voice might be, besides being for men's sake, a kind of self-protection: so clearly artificial that your real self is protected behind it. I'd love to hear about this from someone Japanese.

[FatPianoBoy]

Originally Posted by dkellis

- SHnY is, I think, one of the ultimate in wish-fulfilment anime: the hope that somehow, in some manner, life will be interesting. Whether by being surrounded by attractive members of the opposite , by encountering aliens/time-travellers/ESPers, by winning a tournament, by being involved in a mystery, by battling a monster, by living an exciting life... I've found myself comparing my usual worldview to Haruhiism: the belief that strange and exciting things happen, and as Kyon tries to tell Haruhi, they are all around us.

Haruhiism is about not being cynical and jaded, but believing that maybe, just maybe, tomorrow, the great unknown tomorrow, will be interesting and fun.

That, more than anything else, is the final impression I got from SHnY. It's a lesson that I find very useful, and a philosophy worth following.

Wow. Get out of my head

I really don't think anyone could have summed it up better. I can't think of much to add other than a resounding "what you said."

I am a bit embarrassed to say it, but my juvenile hopes that maybe something interesting will happen eventually has been rekindled by this show. Major props to everyone involved for returning some lost innocence of youth

[Kaioshin Sama]

Originally Posted by Aiya Kasai

I am really sad that it ended...they didn't answer alot of characters and such. They really need more episodes to explain unanswered questions....

or maybe i just need to read the novel.

You just answered your own question, read the novel and the chapters that were covered because they go into a lot more detail and cut through a lot of the crap.

[rpgman1]

Just watch the series recently for the first time and say it is one of the best series I have ever seen in my whole life. At first, I thought it was trying to be funny but as the episodes progress it took a serious turn. I would never have thought Haruhi Suzumiya wanted to make life much more interesting by meeting the alien, time traveller, and esper. Kyon was just an ordinary high school student who was caught up in all of this and really turns out to be a wonderful protagonist. Never thought it parodies several anime I can think of: Neon Genesis Evangelion, Rahxephon, Haruhi's pose from Gakudan Sybokudan, the phrases from Full Metal Panic: Fumoffu and the Second Raid, and the mosaic of probably a famous Gundam launched out at a catapult. Truly this is a creative and innovative series that should not go unnoticed! Hail to Haruhism, the fulfiller of extraordinary wishes!

[Kaioshin Sama]

Originally Posted by rpgman1

Just watch the series recently for the first time and say it is one of the best series I have ever seen in my whole life. At first, I thought it was trying to be funny but as the episodes progress it took a serious turn. I would never have thought Haruhi Suzumiya wanted to make life much more interesting by meeting the alien, time traveller, and esper. Kyon was just an ordinary high school student who was caught up in all of this and really turns out to be a wonderful protagonist. Never thought it parodies several anime I can think of: Neon Genesis Evangelion, Rahxephon, Haruhi's pose from Gakudan Sybokudan, the phrases from Full Metal Panic: Fumoffu and the Second Raid, and the mosaic of probably a famous Gundam launched out at a catapult. Truly this is a creative and innovative series that should not go unnoticed! Hail to Haruhism, the fulfiller of extraordinary wishes!

Actually it was the original Gundam.

[Ardee]

What do you say to a "Your Top 5 Moments" debate?

5. Ep. 6 - Haruhi's/Kyon's rapid-fire "I've figured it out" lines leading to Mikuru's yelp of fright at being the victim.

4. Ep. 4 - Yuki fielding baseballs with great enthusiasm.

3. Ep. 11 - Yuki locking on target as the culmination of her great... er... gameplay.

2. Ep. 11 - Haruhi's flying kick

and

Spoiler for my #1:

1. Ep. 1 - Tsuruya shuddering, giggling, and eventually bursting out laughing at the ridiculousness of the thought of Mikuru being a time traveller on a mission to save the world.

[Kaioshin Sama]

I'll tell you all what the most interesting moment of the series was for me, bear with me through this. It was right around episode 13 when I realized that Haruhi is essentially a female version of me, right down to every personality trait and quirk, flaw, virtue and talent. I mean "EVERYTHING" right down to the tiniest detail, you name it I'll tell you how it fits in with my personality. I don't want to go into too much detail because otherwise I'll be here all night listing things off. Let's just say its like the author followed me around all throughout my high school life and then started to right a book about the events he witnessed (It even works out that the first novel was written the year I graduated). It's really weird to sit there and watch what is basically yourself, only a girl, in a TV show. That's probably the subconcious reason I stuck with this series throughout all the broohaha.

[C.A.]

That happens lol, I find 3/4's of myself in Haruhi, 1/2 in Kyon, its part of Tanigawa Nagaru's tactics to capture and relate to the readers. And its how he made these characters so life-like and even though extreme, we can relate to them.

I found Basara so much like myself I had his hairstyle for sometime when my hair was still long lol

[Kaioshin Sama]

Originally Posted by C.A.

That happens lol, I find 3/4's of myself in Haruhi, 1/2 in Kyon, its part of Tanigawa Nagaru's tactics to capture and relate to the readers. And its how he made these characters so life-like and even though extreme, we can relate to them.

I found Basara so much like myself I had his hairstyle for sometime when my hair was still long lol

No you don't seem to understand we're like 99.999999% the same person (the 0.000001 comes from the fact that Haruhi is an abysmal strategist worse than my friend, while I am an ace at Strategy games of all kind). I'm not making this up either but there was this group of Japanese businessmen in my school for about 3 months in 2001 and I would see them all the time by the Library where I hung out and they would go inside when I went inside and leave when I left, and I thought they were constantly following me, I go into a class in one wing and walk out to the foyer and BOOM they they are watching me. Brings back some weird memories, thinking about all this. I'm sure it was all just a coincidence and they were there to look at the school for an exchange program, but still. I seriously am not making any of this up.

[aldw]

From seeing the series, my impression of the relation between Haruhi and Kyon is similar to Dr. Haber and George Orr in terms of serving as a control mechanism for a reality altering power, although far more positive in the case of Haruhi and Kyon. Beings such as Haruhi and George would best be described as a 'material nexus', in that reality can be changed materially by shifts in perception, particularly in dreams, rather than as demi-gods or gods, that would require something more along the lines of omniscience in addition to omnipotence, of which the integrated data entity behind Yuki would be closer in that regard.

The best elements of the series I would consider to be the animation quality and VA skill, especially with the musical portions, which are musically excellent in their own right. The Macross series was the last one I consider to have music this well incorporated. Characterization was quite good as well. The one thing that bugs me though is that having seen so many different story elements from elsewhere before makes me somewhat jaded about these sorts of presentations.

As a side note, I do think that the giants in closed space resemble creatures from Miyazaki films, particularly the giant weapons from Nausicaa.

[Austin1]

I got to say this series is in my top 5 anime of all time. I thought they did a great job with the series animation, music, plot, and all. Kyon will prolly be one of my favorite male characters in anime. The thing I loved most about it was that it had everything you would want in an anime action, comedy, drama, good plot.

I got a question though how far is this into the Novels? Did it cover all the volumes or just a couple of them?

[C.A.]

The anime only showed 1/4 or less of the 8 novels.

[Animexcel]

Originally Posted by Kaoru Chujo

Great comments. I loved episode 1. The humor just tore me apart: both funny and wise.

I still don't know why Yuki attacked Mikuru after she did a "Mikuru Beam". I mean she went up to her and knocked her down as she shoved her face in the ground or something lol
Can anyone tell me?

[The Sphinx]

Originally Posted by Animexcel

I still don't know why Yuki attacked Mikuru after she did a "Mikuru Beam". I mean she went up to her and knocked her down as she shoved her face in the ground or something lol
Can anyone tell me?

Spoiler for Volume 2:

The "Mikuru Beam" happened because Haruhi wanted it to happen (Mikuru doesn't normally have those kinds of powers of course). In other words, she spontaneously fired off a real beam of some sort that would have taken Kyon's head clean off if Yuki hadn't blocked it. Having charged particles shooting out of your eye is very painful and would have blinded Mikuru permanently. Yuki ran to her, pushed her down so Haruhi couldn't see what was going on, and put specially-made nanomachines into Mikuru's eye that healed the damage.

Yuki wasn't attacking Mikuru, she was saving her.

[Animexcel]

Originally Posted by The Sphinx

Spoiler for Volume 2:

The "Mikuru Beam" happened because Haruhi wanted it to happen (Mikuru doesn't normally have those kinds of powers of course). In other words, she spontaneously fired off a real beam of some sort that would have taken Kyon's head clean off if Yuki hadn't blocked it. Having charged particles shooting out of your eye is very painful and would have blinded Mikuru permanently. Yuki ran to her, pushed her down so Haruhi couldn't see what was going on, and put specially-made nanomachines into Mikuru's eye that healed the damage.

Yuki wasn't attacking Mikuru, she was saving her.

Thanks for the explanation ^_^

[stfu]

An entertaining and fresh approach to a rather uninspired coming of age/romantic story. The well-written humor carries the show, along with the cast of characters who are all pretty likeable. Even if the "big picture" is unimpressive, the great individual moments throughout the show make it enjoyable enough to outweigh its flaws. Not saying much, but definitely one of the better shows of the season.

[Sorrow-K]

Since I intend to review this anime in the near future, I'm using this thread to get my thoughts in order.

Personally, I think Suzumiya Haruhi proves that it's possible for an anime to push the boundaries of the medium, but still remain very popular. It reinvigorates my faith not just in the medium, but also in the industry as a whole, that such titles can be made and aimed at the mainstream.

The thing that has always impressed me most about Suzumiya Haruhi are its visuals. Not just Kyoto Animation's near spotless animation, but also the cinematography, which always chose the right scenes to barrage the audience with unconventional angles and effects. The directing was always amazing. Isihara Tatsuya is, for mine, the second most unsung director in anime, only beaten by Shinbo Akiyuki in that respect, IMO. But, let's no underestimate the impact of the animation. All the characters moved with a vibrancy and energy that perfectly matched their respective personalities, and it portrayed with crystal clarity the mindsets of all the characters in every scene. I continue to be so impressed with Kyoto Animation. I really can't see how anyone could argue that they're not currently at the absolute pinnacle of television animation.

The comedy was brilliant. The first episode in particular was scathingly witty, and a very sharp commentary, not only on anime, but the fans who try to emulate it. The rest of the episodes had a near impeccible hit-to-joke ratio. What really put Suzumiya Haruhi in the top flight of comedies, though, is that the really great jokes were so memorable (and rewatchable): Mikuru's introduction, Itsuki's "SECOND RAID", and the brilliant Phoenix Wright homage. There was just so much cleverness in the comedy, and it really worked to make a very entertaining show.

Discussing the characters is pretty much discussing Haruhi. With the exception of Kyon, the rest of the cast were probably comedic devices... which isn't something to complain about, since they were funny. I really would have appreciated it if Yuki got more attention... but that may be something for the possible second season. Kyon was good, and the way his sarcastic narration was used was great, not just as a comedic device, but also as a window into his mind. But, there's no question that this show was all about Haruhi. And the way the developed her is extremely commendable. No forced background, no sudden changes from a single event. She was shown to be a very complex character, and her changes were highlighted purely through excellent storytelling and subtle gestures. I really cannot applaud the way they developed her character enough. It was fantastic, unconventional and subtle.

What I didn't like about Haruhi: the last episode that aired. I thought it was rather uncharacteristic of Haruhi that the final episode that aired would focus on a plot-centric conflict (and one that really didn't impress), when the best of Haruhi had been the episodes that had focused on her as a character (particularly the school festival episode, which I thought was amazing). I thought the true chronological ending was a far superior episode, and an infinitely more fitting and profound ending for Haruhi.

Overall, if it weren't for the disappointing ending (which lingered, simply due to the fact that it was the last ep to air), this anime would be in the absolute top tier of the medium. It isn't, IMO, but it's an excellent and unforgettable series, nonetheless. I have no qualms with saying that there were moments that came as close to perfection as anime will ever get... but, the reality is that these were fleeting.

[panzerfan]

Suzumiya Haruhi as the fifth revolution to me is not an understatement... it speaks for this current generation, this generation of youth that are in a perpetual state of boredom as we're lost in the sea of wealth all around us. I daresay that it is as powerful as the call of the American Dream during the start of the last century.

Suzumiya Haruhi becomes a landmark because it moves the audience into its ludicrous preconditions in its thought experiment and makes the audience want to duplicate it. Moreover, we're able to resonate well with the ordinary Kyon that embodies the attitude of the target social group without being a stereotype. The cinematography and the execution are supurb (KyoAni used its lessons from AIR and improve on the screenplay with Haruhi) seizes us, attention deficient and spoiled quickly and takes us through the wonderland around us with just enough information for us to stumble through.

The narriation of Kyon stands out. He has the last word on everything that happens to Haruhi (other than us) and takes us through this world like George Orwell in Down and out in Paris and London. His account of this incredable experiment shines brightly in the midst of macabre narriation in recent history. Many times throughout the story, Kyon speaks as Tonigawa the author and holds nothing back with his comments and the audience is able to paint the clearest round character view from Kyon despite his role as an observer and a support. In doing so, the guide's grumbles become our notes from the grand experiment.

Suzumiya Haruhi herself has such an aura and she rises from mediocrity by being herself, not as tsundere, not a kawaii high-school girl, not even a stereotypical teen. She feels likes a Shakespherian tragic lead put into a comedy. Her flaws seem to be at times fatal and might lead to her end yet the motley crew around her work diligently to prevent that. Her own strength serves to drive the crew and the story forth as she seeks her way out of mediocrity and boredom. We look at her and the motives resonate to us. We're bored out of our minds despite an overwhelming amount of things-to-do and we're lost as no matter what we do thousands of others are already doing it. Thus, we're forced to answer the question of how to make boredom interesting through her.

Evangelion, the forth revolution ushers forth mystery and an intricate plot but its spiral becomes out of control. Haruhi did not enter that and instead shows the anti-climax as the experiment continues. It does what Eva does with appealing to the fanbase from the beginning and it keeps compounding till the very end using metaphysic interpolations of their reality that rivals the 1995 sensation. With most animes stuck with the Eva mindset audience and presentation wise, generation Y has been saturated with these spectacular drama that's moving away from the ethoes of this era. Haruhi addresses to this apathy and builds on that premise, to paraphrase dkellis, giving the audience the ultimate wish fulfillment. I believe that Haruhi does to generation Y and the igeneration as Evangelion does to generation X.

The metaphysics of Haruhi takes a life of its own as ontological discussion rages throughout (and that's not even blatently discussed in the anime, more or less just a presentation of 1 model on their world). Suddenly the boredom of classical mechanics comes to live as we refer to quantum mechanics in attempt to answer the experiment... in the spirit of The Blue Bird of Happiness. The thought of relative amount of 'space' that exists even with solid matter had me excited on something that I've no doubt would've fallen asleep if read from a book... yet many of us that posted are dumbfounded by these undercurrent reality surrounding us throughout Haruhi's run. (Well concluding that we live in an odd universe is a good thing... maybe)


I won't go into Asahina Mikuru, Nagato Yuki and Koizumi Itsuki's melancholy as that's not in the full scope of the anime. They are yet to be tapped to their fullest which makes me want to see what will behold in season 2 should that materialize.

As such, I believe that Haruhi is as claimed, the fifth revolution. It takes and draws from the strength of releases in this era and it connects to the fanbase through the discussion on escape from apathy and offers a dream of making boredom interesting at an age where things move literally at the speed of light. The grand experiment thus continues. (I will keep developing this but this is what I come to think of S. Haruhi)


I am personally a little sad with the conclusion of season 1 but my own thirst can be quenched a little from the novel. The rabbit hole continues. (just as summer does...) I eagerly await Kanon and by then I hope to be reduced to a sniffiling shell come winter.

[SnakeLegend]

i agreed with what panzer said in the first paragraph, it speaks for this current generation, this generation of youth that are in a perpetual state of boredom as we're lost in the sea of wealth all around us.

thats was so true, i salute you.

i agreed so much that... i'm rather speechless when i read all the comments from various people, they all give serious or rather other thoughts about it. Boredom, i suppose, is the most irritating thing that teenagers happened to come by everyday, everytime. why the gangsters or "homie" monsters are hanging outside and scolding F everytime they talk? Boredom. Why people use Uzi to bang down shops or steal from an old auntie's bag? Boredom. Why doing nonsensical things all of a sudden? Boredom+Attention seeking.
In the current century, its all about boredom. Money speaks all, and those without money gets bored like hell since they can't buy anything. There isn't a thing thats left interesting to do in this world. The tradition's been lost long ago. People don't know how to act humorously or know how to be him or herself. Everyone now is wearing a mask, hiding true faces all the time.
No one walked in the streets with their true selves, they hide it all the time. no one seeks for adventures anymore since they think its childish and kids-only. Meh. i bet someone out there, is thinking the same thing as me now.