The Order of Haruhi Suzumiya (In what order should this be watched?)

[CrowKenobi]

Now that the re-airing has more or less concluded, here is the "re-aired" order of episodes for "season 1:"

Blue=2006 DVD release, Red=2009 original airing

01: The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya I
02: The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya II
03: The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya III
04: The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya IV
05: The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya V
06: The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya VI
07: The Boredom of Haruhi Suzumiya
08: Bamboo Leaf Rhapsody
09: Mysterique Sign
10: Lone Island Syndrome I
11: Lone Island Syndrome II
12: Endless Eight
13: Endless Eight
14: Endless Eight
15: Endless Eight
16: Endless Eight
17: Endless Eight
18: Endless Eight
19: Endless Eight
20: The Sigh of Haruhi Suzumiya I
21: The Sigh of Haruhi Suzumiya II
22: The Sigh of Haruhi Suzumiya III
23: The Sigh of Haruhi Suzumiya IV
24: The Sigh of Haruhi Suzumiya V
25: The Adventures of Mikuru Asahina Episode 00
26: Live A Live
27: Day of Sagittarius
28: Someday in the Rain

Bring on season 2! (after the movie!!)

[Heminga13]

And it's even in color!

[CoolKidsClub]

random orders....

[Sparvid]

Having first watched it in broadcast order, my recommendation would be to first watch the first season in chronological order (possibly with Ep 00 first), then the second season episodes.

Kyon and Itsuki's discussion in Boredom doesn't make much sense without having seen Melancholy, part 6. I almost forgot all about it until I happened to go back and watch it again.

However, watching the making of the movie in Sigh before Ep 00 would spoil some of the jokes. I'd say that it's best to see Ep 00 first, then Sigh (getting explanations for such things as Shamisen), and then Ep 00 again (with the knowledge of what was going on in between the filmed scenes)

[WhiteWaterWood]

I would suggest watching episode 0 first, then completely skipping over episode 1. Continue watching them in chronological order. I would suggest watching episode 1 at the end of the first season.

While the airing order may seem clever and full of meaning in retrospect; when watching in the aired order it just feels like you're missing out on a very unfunny and irritating joke. The story doesn't lose much in chronological order, not compared to the irritation the airing order causes. If it does lose anything, it's subtle, so much that I certainly didn't catch it.

However, when you're not watching the shows back to back, the story is almost destroyed from a casual viewing perspective. It's confusing, it leaves you hanging (in a bad way) and it just makes you wish you were watching something else. If you're not really into the weirdness of the show and you're just looking for some entertainment, it's not something worth screwing up the timeline for. Diehard fans of the show forget that not everyone is willing to sit down and watch an entire anime if it doesn't grip them from the start. The order is confusing. The' home-movie' 1st episode is horrendously boring and not in the least bit entertaining without knowledge of the characters or at least a nice explanation of what on earth is going on. I wouldn't want to watch normal people making stupid movies. Why would I want to watch anime characters do the same? But just as when it's you and your friend making a movie, it's different when you have characters you're familiar with doing it. It then becomes almost charming.

I really could never, in good faith, suggest anyone watch it as aired. Maybe I could to people really really into anime and willing to stick with the madness and eventually appreciate it, but not to someone who is just looking for a fun show to watch. I love anime to death, but I think watching it in the airing order caused me to have some resentment for a good show.

[TheRealTRXD]

I didn't enjoy watching it in air order, it was kind of lame, I would definetley suggest watching episode 0 and then chronological order, since I kind of enjoyed the episode 0 flashforward.

[baltakatei]

Originally Posted by WhiteWaterWood

I would suggest watching episode 0 first, then completely skipping over episode 1. Continue watching them in chronological order. I would suggest watching episode 1 at the end of the first season.

While the airing order may seem clever and full of meaning in retrospect; when watching in the aired order it just feels like you're missing out on a very unfunny and irritating joke. The story doesn't lose much in chronological order, not compared to the irritation the airing order causes. If it does lose anything, it's subtle, so much that I certainly didn't catch it.

However, when you're not watching the shows back to back, the story is almost destroyed from a casual viewing perspective. It's confusing, it leaves you hanging (in a bad way) and it just makes you wish you were watching something else. If you're not really into the weirdness of the show and you're just looking for some entertainment, it's not something worth screwing up the timeline for. Diehard fans of the show forget that not everyone is willing to sit down and watch an entire anime if it doesn't grip them from the start. The order is confusing. The' home-movie' 1st episode is horrendously boring and not in the least bit entertaining without knowledge of the characters or at least a nice explanation of what on earth is going on. I wouldn't want to watch normal people making stupid movies. Why would I want to watch anime characters do the same? But just as when it's you and your friend making a movie, it's different when you have characters you're familiar with doing it. It then becomes almost charming.

I really could never, in good faith, suggest anyone watch it as aired. Maybe I could to people really really into anime and willing to stick with the madness and eventually appreciate it, but not to someone who is just looking for a fun show to watch. I love anime to death, but I think watching it in the airing order caused me to have some resentment for a good show.

In my opinion, I would say watching the Baseball episode before any and all episodes is the best way to introduce the series to anyone who is just looking for an interesting anime.

• Haruhi's willingness to sign-up, practice, and compete in a tournament within the same 4-day span shows her eccentricity.
• Koizumi's mysterious phone call and serious conversation about how the world may end due to Haruhi's bad mood tells the audience that this isn't an ordinary baseball anime episode.
• Nagato's "data manipulation" will intrigue any sci-fi fan.

However, all of those elements could have been eliminated and the resulting normal anime ep would still have been a familiar underdog-vs-elite situation that most folks I know could sit through if I invited them to show them one of my favorite TV episodes on some bored Saturday.

Also, if memory serves me correctly, the written version of the baseball story was the first of all Haruhi stories that Nagaru Tanigawa had published in magazine format.

If someone isn't interested by these elements, then they probably won't bother to ever finish the series unless you really insist. If they *are* genuinely interested, they'll probably survive through any other Haruhi episode (with perhaps the exception of "Someday in the Rain").

[WhiteWaterWood]

I disagree somewhat. I really think introducing someone to the middle of a show first doesn't really make sense. Not to mention there's some MAJOR spoilers. Part of the fun is wondering if Yuki is just pulling Kyon's leg about being an alien at first, and then being surprised when other members of the club come forward with their own weird stories. Knowing Haruhi is warping reality from the get-go pretty much spoils the entire reveal, and all the suspense that goes with it.

I think the goal of having someone watch a TV show isn't just to know what happens, but to let them experience the suspense, the timeline, and the way the story moves forward.

Like in star wars, when the new 3 movies came out, it was fun to say 'I know what's happening next!' and 'Oh cool! I know him!' but there was still the suspense of not knowing exactly how it was going to come about. In Haruhi, you know EXACTLY what's going to happen and how it's going to happen.

So, while I can totally appreciate what you're saying, I still think chronological is best.

[Gamer_2k4]

Chronological order is best, if only because the first six episodes work really well together (naturally) and require only a movie's worth of time to watch. To me, those six episodes ARE the series, and everything else is just supplementary material.

I have a friend who doesn't know anything about the series, but she can't imagine what the big deal is, having only seen the tidal wave of merchandise and art that followed the anime. You know, the stuff that's purely fan-service and completely misses the point of the series. I told her to watch the first six episodes before making any judgment; after that, she's completely free to drop the anime if she likes. I still don't know if she's done it yet, though.

[HaruhiISMdongo]

I was doomed to not seeing it in the original order from the start, seeing as i could only obtain them from netfix (not even able to watch instantly). However, my thoughts are as follows:
-you see, if your watching the series as it comes out, obviosly you would watch it in the order it comes out in. the order it comes out in is important so that you retain a wanting to see the next episodes after a weeks wait.

-If you buy a box set or use netflix, it would probably b better to watch it chronologically seeing as you bought this fricken thing, your gonna have to watch it anyway. The creator doesnt have the risk of you losing interest because your watching them all at once (or when you can) like 1 cd a day. Also, you already bought it so it doesnt matter.

- Haruhi stating one episode and Kyon stating another just shows that the creator meant for it to be viewed either way

-Either way you view it, as long as you stick with it, this show will be amazing and leave an imprint on your SOUL!

Anyways, if you have a different point of view or agree w/ me, feel free to quote me or tell me a way to veiw it in the right way. (sadly i already finished disc 2 so it wouldnt do much though....

[Berlin]

First I watched it as aired then I watched it in this order the second time around and it made it easier to see things I missed the first time watching it.......
1# The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya I
2# The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya II
3# The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya III
4# The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya IV
5# The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya V
6# The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya VI
7# The Boredom of Haruhi Suzumiya
8# Bamboo Leaf Rhapsody
9# Mysterique Sign
10# Lone Island Syndrome I
11# Lone Island Syndrome II
12# Endless Eight
13# Endless Eight
14# Endless Eight
15# Endless Eight
16# Endless Eight
17# Endless Eight
18# Endless Eight
19# Endless Eight
20# The Sigh of Haruhi Suzumiya I
21# The Sigh of Haruhi Suzumiya II
22# The Sigh of Haruhi Suzumiya III
23# The Sigh of Haruhi Suzumiya IV
24# The Sigh of Haruhi Suzumiya V
25# Mikuru Asahina's Adventure - Episode 00
26# Live A Live
27# The Day of Sagittarius
28# Someday in the Rain