Is the Haruhi Suzumiya franchise still popular on a worldwide level today?

[JamesMayFan]

well as I used to know Haruhi Suzumiya was quite popular back in my middle school days(around 2011-2012 ofcourse…) but as the time moves on, today it seems like Chuunibiyou & Nisekoi had taken over the internet popularity for the anime fandom lately for school anime genre(atleast to me), so all i want to ask, with these two animes has gained a immense amount of popularity among the anime fans all around the anime community in the world, has Haruhi fandom been faded away?

[Tenzen12]

I don't really think so. Sure new Moe show are more popular if you look as contemporary numbers, but they don't really have any to make lasting impact. New moe/harem shows will shows up and it will Nisekoi/chuunibyou will be one to be forgoten (actualy I think it already happened to later).

Haruhi already reached point it can be called classic and even people new to anime will eventually find it's way to it. But if you ask if it ever will have whole Otaku world dancing on "Hare Hare Yukai" again and buy figures in stock ,answer is obviously no.

[Qikz]

I don't think Nisekoi will be going anywhere from peoples minds any time soon. It's a mainstay at this point in Jump and the manga is amazing. I've still not seen the anime though.

[Shana]

You can't compare them. Is Naruto (2002) more popular than One Piece (1999)? I think it's more of an impact thing. For example, I watched Haruhi back in '06 and I will always prefer it, but someone who's just got into anime and bumped into Chunibyo first will probably like it better.

I think Haruhi is considered a cult classic. Most shows are the same, as much as I'd like to defend my favorites. The only thing telling them apart is their execution and originality. "New and shiny" fades away but originality stays etched on your brain.

[SeijiSensei]

From my time spent on MAL's recommendations thread, I'd venture that not many contemporary anime fans know about Haruhi. I'll suggest it from time to time, as do some other members, but it's not commonly mentioned.

It is nine years old now after all; that's a long time in anime.

[Ithekro]

Considering there is a Haruhi spin-off/parody running on TV presently, I don't think its gone from peoples minds just yet.

[blakstealth]

I don't think so. I think Attack on Titan took it.

[Triple_R]

Shana's right. The Haruhi Suzumiya anime is a cult classic now. Well-remembered amongst many older anime fans, but not really a hot topic of discussion and many newer fans might not be aware of it at all (or only vaguely aware of it).

This could change in the future, but it'll take more than a spin-off anime to do it, imo.

[JamesMayFan]

Originally Posted by Tenzen12

I don't really think so. Sure new Moe show are more popular if you look as contemporary numbers, but they don't really have any to make lasting impact. New moe/harem shows will shows up and it will Nisekoi/chuunibyou will be one to be forgoten (actualy I think it already happened to later).

Haruhi already reached point it can be called classic and even people new to anime will eventually find it's way to it. But if you ask if it ever will have whole Otaku world dancing on "Hare Hare Yukai" again and buy figures in stock ,answer is obviously no.

i thought you we're right… but I'm sure Nisekoi & Chuunibiyou will be considered classic among contemporary anime fans somewhere around the future, just as was Haruhi today. The spin-off we're actually kind of interesting setting though, despite it's being another Moe romcom show(atleast it's not a crappy dub thanks to Funi to reuniting the original cast from the Haruhi crews from Bang Zoom), it actually helpful to bring Haruhi universe to newer anime fans so it's just matter of time when a trend will fading away and being replaced by another…

[DragoonKain3]

Originally Posted by blakstealth

I don't think so. I think Attack on Titan took it.

To expand on this, this is what I felt what was the most popular for general anime, at least outside of Japan...

Haruhi 2006 --> K-on 2009 --> K-on II 2010 --> Sword Art Online 2012 --> Attack on Titan 2013 (--> SAO II 2014 possibly? it gave AoT a run for its money at least, but I think the fujoshi backing pulled AoT ahead till this day)

Haruhi from I remember really held on the top spot for so long despite not having a sequel. It helped in that Lucky Star helped maintain it due to Hirano craze, and that Bandai (its distributor) didn't really jump on the bandwagon until the year after it was released IIRC. So even a couple years after it aired it was still going strong in the west from my POV.

This comes with the disclaimer that fujoshi interest don't necessarily align, as it went something like Ouran 2006, Black Butler 2008, Hetalia 2010 for a long ass time, Attack on Titan 2013, then finally Black Butler 2014 again. A real fujoshi can contradict me on this, but this was the general feeling I had at least here in my area outside Japan




But school anime genre like James said, though? Damn, that's hard to say, as school anime isn't like it's a genre itself. I know K-on pretty much succeeded Haruhi, but school anime just hasn't been big from what I see in anime cons, merchandise, cosplayers, etc.

I mean, along with Chuuni that has been said, Haganai, Free, and OreGairu are supposedly big guns of school anime, but they so pale in comparison to the 'general anime' heavy hitters that I listed above. So it's very hard to say which ones are really popular, because it's like comparing different peanuts when there's a big ass apple right next to them.

Nisekoi (add Kuroko to that list) I feel is more popular as a school manga, just like Mahouka never really gained traction as a school anime but has a huge following LN-wise.

[Westlo]

You really think K-ON was more popular than Geass outside of Japan?

[IceHism]

i think death note was more popular than suzumiya haruhi. especially here in Cali

[Akito Kinomoto]

Death Note and Code Geass seemed to be the thing back in the day for reaching a wider audience. Haruhi was only big among 'anime' fans, if that makes any sense.

[JamesMayFan]

but in English dub wise i found Haruhi tend to be one of the most critically acclaimed dubs ever among the some of the best dubs like let's just say Black Lagoon, Cowboy Bebop, Code Geass, Death Note, etc. to the eyes of core fans while most of the Moe Romcom stuff like Chuunibiyou, Nisekoi, Oreimo, etc. tends either have a medicore/badly acclaimed dubs or even not being dubbed at all…

[SeijiSensei]

Dubs rarely if ever influence the popularity of shows among people posting here or among much of the contemporary audience for anime outside Japan. Peoples' reactions to Haruhi were largely based on the story and the performances by the Japanese seiyuu. By the time shows have been licensed, dubbed and released in R1, much of the audience for anime has already moved on to the current season's offerings.

[Triple_R]

Originally Posted by SeijiSensei

Dubs rarely if ever influence the popularity of shows among people posting here or among much of the contemporary audience for anime outside Japan.

Generally speaking, yes.

But James may have a point when it comes to the Haruhi dub. I also recall the Haruhi dub being relatively well-received amongst anime fans who watch a large number of dubs. I myself felt that the Haruhi dub was one of the better dubs, and I was introduced to Haruhi in dub format.

Haruhi might have penetrated the western market a little bit deeper due to the relatively good quality of its dub.

[DragoonKain3]

Yeah, Haruhi dubs is a big reason why a lot of my more casual friends decided to remain dub only. They're not interested by most anime, and they think that most of the things they would be interested in would be dubbed anyway, so why bother with subs.

Originally Posted by Westlo

You really think K-ON was more popular than Geass outside of Japan?

Geass was first released 2006, the same year Haruhi was released. I'd say Haruhi overshadowed it as it was so big and so long-lived, so I'm not sure why you are comparing against K-On to be honest.

[Westlo]

Originally Posted by DragoonKain3

Geass was first released 2006, the same year Haruhi was released. I'd say Haruhi overshadowed it as it was so big and so long-lived, so I'm not sure why you are comparing against K-On to be honest.

Because R2 was released in 08 and it was way bigger than K-ON..... heck Death note and Code Geass themselves were bigger than Haruhi outside of Japan in 06....

If anything it's.... Death Note > Code Geass R2 > FMA: Brotherhood > SAO > AoT > ???

And the Code Geass franchise is just as long lived as the Haruhi one.... check what's the current best selling Bluray....

[SeijiSensei]

In terms of global impact, I stil recall the photograph from 2006 of a little girl protesting in the Gaza Strip carrying a sign beseeching the Israelis not to kill children with a picture of Haruhi on it.



I doubt the English dub mattered to her.

[DragoonKain3]

Originally Posted by Westlo

Because R2 was released in 08 and it was way bigger than K-ON..... heck Death note and Code Geass themselves were bigger than Haruhi outside of Japan in 06....

If we can't even agree on Haruhi being the #1 most popular show when it aired, the show that inspired many dance competitions and filled an entire stage to standing room where the dub was 'previewed', then let's just agree to disagree.