Search - The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya: Complete Collection on DVD

Humor and crazyness all at once

Cloud | Canada | 07/23/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"There is certain shows developed in Japan that sort of slip under the radar and upon discovering it, you kind of wonder why you didn't hear of it in the first place (Fate/Stay Night, while admittedly a show with a distinct formula and some character moments cut from the story, instantly became a favorite). Then we have something like The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya, a 14 episode show that quickly became a hit and could be accurately be described as a sensation. But all that hype and praise brings with it the inevitable "overrated" remarks and people not seeing the brilliance against other projects. Can Haruhi Suzumiya become a victim of its hype or is it a brilliant show regardless? I say brilliant.

In high school, it's hard to develop an identity and stand out without being an outsider but for Haruhi Suzumiya, she enjoys her offbeat sensibilities. Declaring in school that she's not interested in anyone unless they're time travellers, aliens or espers (psychics in other words), Haruhi soon is introduced to Kyon, a sardonic high school student who enjoys just not doing anything. But their world gets changed when in comes Itzuki, Yuki and Mikuru, an esper, alien and time traveller, respectively. Turns out Haruhi is seen as a sort of god-like figure who can bend the universe and possibly even destroy it and start over lest she get bored. Luckily Haruhi is quite...eccentric.

One of the more well-known factors consider the show was that the show's episodes were not presented in chronological order. While this worked in some cases such as episode 6 having all the makings of a "finale" and episode 11 which consists of Kyon narrating over a supremely amateurish movie Haruhi made makes for a unique and also bizarre premiere but then on the other hand, a 2 parter on an island vista is separated by a different episode so the cliffhanger isn't resolved until the following episode. My suggestion is to just watch the chronological order but exchange episode 14 (Kyon's trip for a heater) and 6's place and all will be well.

As for the episodes themselves, they're frequently hilarious from dialogue to Kyon's narration or Yuki's quiet badassness/bookish tendencies and just scenes played straight for comedy or using the moe conventions of nurse/maid/catgirl outfits for humor. But the main plot is also interesting and while Yuki's explanation of Haruhi's existence from her perceptive is Evangelion-level confusing complete with screen-filling text, it's quite intriguing and the idea that the world can literally revolve around you makes for good storytelling. Some episodes are generally good with at least one cool scene while others such as an arts festival, a computer battle or the hilarious baseball episode are definate highlights.

Will everyone like it? Maybe. Some people prefer the romance hilarity found in Love Hina while others are into more lighthearted affairs like Fruits Basket but I loved the show and can't wait for an inevitable second season and I heartily recommend you try the show out."

Short, but leaves a great impression.

Underground Reborn | ny | 08/02/2008

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Some of us dream of living in a world that is a little less ordinary. Usually we end up meeting someone that wants to live in that kind of a world a little more. Still, no one wanting that kind of life comes close to an eccentric girl named Haruhi Suzumiya.

This short lived 14 episode favorite is narrated by 14 year old Kyon and boy entering high school ready to adjust to the normal world. All he has to do is forget about his fantasies of the paranomal and fantastic. All of a sudden the girl that sits behind him in class is not ready to let that world go and before he knows it Kyon is dragged into starting the S.O.S. Brigade a club bent on uncovering the secrets of the world we just can't find or explain. All of a sudden the members begin to sign up and they each turn out to be something unexpected. Yuki Nagato is a silent genius with her nose in the books, Mikuru Asahina is a cute and extremly shy Junior with a few key 'assets' and Istuki Koizumi is an exchange student always with a smile on his face ready for the next S.O.S. Brigade adventure. Haruhi seems be enjoying herself, but Kyon knows something she doesn't Haruhi recruited an Alien Android a Time Traveler from the future and an ESPer that belongs to an entire organization whose mission is to keep the world in balance. Oh and apparently they are all keeping their eye on Haruhi because she has the ability to create new worlds and destroy old ones in the process. So why is she so bored with life...she doesn't know she can do that. So much for an ordinary life Kyon.

Strangly I discovered this show by stumbling onto a youtube music video of the three female leads dancing to an ultra poppy sweedish trance song. When I read about the show it seemed like a Breakfast Club meets X-Files kinda of show. Me being a fan of the anime comedy genre, I decided to give it a watch. The story is completly origional the chracters at least the normal ones are very relatable and the adventures they go on can be a bit Scooby Doo at times, but never the less alot of fun. Like your typical sci-fi anime there are alot of gaps to complete after the show ends. There is defintely a lot more to this story and I am hoping that I get to see it since there are rumors of a second season in the works."

Anime's Bermuda Triangle

Stephanie | Indiana, USA | 02/17/2010

(4 out of 5 stars)

"**At Netflix this anime is listed as a 5 disc series. Disc 5 being labeled as "Bonus Material." I looked for info on disc 5 but all I could find was information concerning an extra music cd that comes with the Limited Edition box set (I believe). Please let me know if the bonus cd futhers the story in any way and I will revise this review.**

There are a lot of anime with unsatisfying endings, and ones that have decent endings but still leave tons of unanswered questions. However, I personally haven't seen many that have no ending whatsoever. MoHS would be the second, School Rumble was (if memory serves) the first.

It starts off perfectly fine. The idea that Haruhi creates and destroys just because she becomes unhappy, bored, depressed, etc, is interesting, but even more so because she has no idea that she is doing so. One starts to wonder if she will ever find out she's doing these things, or if her friends will ever tell her about what she's doing, or if they can find a way to...keep her from destroying the world without actually letting her know what's going on.

Sounds like a great, intriguing mystery right? Well, don't get too excited. About the time things start to get really good, the filler episodes start coming and don't stop. It's kind of like the creator got serious writer's block, and took the easy way out. Out of nowhere Haruhi starts acting like a (fairly) typical high school girl, and all the mysterious goings-on just...vanish.

I gave this series 4 stars though because it is actually entertaining. The animation is really nice, the characters are likable, and over all MoHS is a good series. Crispin Freeman and Wendy Lee are pro V/As. I have noticed quite a few people recommend watching in a certain order concerning episode numbers. Apparently, that way it seems like there is some semblance of an ending, but looking back, I don't think that would make much of a difference. It is what it is, as they say. With that in mind, I recommend renting instead of buying.

Bandai did a heck of a marketing campaign for this series. DVD extras include behind the scenes production shorts in Japan and America, as well as "The Adventures of the ASOS Brigade" featuring Patricia Lee (a.k.a the Pink Power Ranger) as Haruhi in a series of live action promo videos. The fact they spent so much time and money doing this for a series with no ending is, in my opinion, mystifying.

(This review is also posted at Netflix)"

Good show, but its not a "complete" collection

Saperia911 | Seattle, WA USA | 11/28/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"To tell the truth i bought this out of impluse, but im glad I did because its one of my favorite shows now. The story is great and can be very funny at times. the plot develops slowly which is a nice change compared to the fast passed plot shows i usually watch.
Although i love the show and highly recommond you buy this you should know one thing first, even though it says complete collection it is not complete. the box set only inculdes season 1. There is a secound season of the show but it is not avaiable in america... yet. There has been many rumors goingg around of the release of the second season. If you are one of those people who love to stay up all night and watch a whole series non stop, that would be kinda hard with this. I think that they should change this missleading title to "The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya: Season 1"

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