The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya (light novel)
| I've gotten increasingly pissed over the years whenever I read or watch reviews by people who enjoy Haruhi, and when I see one thing popping up consistently across most of them, usually influenced by the advent of the movie, the cause of this misconception. Most critics praise the movie for doing something [unique] with an "oversaturated" franchise; that offered very little "humanity" or "development" to their characters, thus having enhanced the experience, and made them fans. A few years ago, I would have said the same thing, "The TV series was great, but the movie made me fall head over heels for the franchise!", but when you look in deeper, you realize just how hypocritical this mindset is in relation to the given series. Perhaps I'm using too many big words? Let me briefly summarize then: The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya TV series and The Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya movie, HAVE THE SAME QUALITY WRITING. Does this boggle your mind? Does the advent of one of the best franchise films in existence, can actually be the same quality of the TV series, for which is becoming increasingly pandered, REALLY be that difficult to understand? Let me just give you some insight, that they are adapted from the same novel series and have the same author, meaning that anything that the original did, that might have not flown across well with certain audiences, was INTENTIONAL to build off in the future. THIS INFURIATES ME, because NO ONE WILL EVER ADD ANYTHING NEW TO THE CONVERSATION IF ALL THEY EVER LOOK AT IS ONE TOPIC. I LOVE the movie and novel of Disappearance, it has fundamentally changed how I look at other anime, BUT SO HAS THE REST OF THE SERIES!: In exploring concepts, in exploring anime's roots, its own appeal in the grander metaphysical realm of awesomeness and fun! Suzumiya Haruhi is a meta commentary for EVERYTHING we've come to know in anime, the ENTIRE APPEAL of anime, and how that relates back to us, the viewer. It isn't JUST to poke fun at tropes. I don't want to turn this into a review, but here's a great example of how Nagaru Tanigawa writes Haruhi: Haruhi Suzumiya is the main character. She holds THE ENTIRE WEIGHT of the story, BECAUSE she is the main character. The very reason why there's so many theories on her either being GOD, or some kind of advancement for evolution is because that is EXACTLY the role she plays in the story. This allows everything the series deals with, to be either justifiable by Haruhi's whim, (in other words, if Haruhi wants it to happen, the world will bend in nuanced ways so it can occur), OR that all the occurences fit exactly with the lore and mechanics of the story, and Haruhi is just at the right place at the right time, which is exactly the same thing, BECAUSE THAT MAKES HER THE MAIN CHARACTER EITHER WAY. At the same time, she is just a girl. Nothing extreme about her, but the very fact that she puts herself out there, that she wants to make a difference, is what makes herself so charming and the series she inhabits. But that isn't all to the writing, when you look at everyone else, you can see the same thing happening with each and every one of the characters. Kyon, another example, is normal, or so the meme goes. He doesn't need a name, because he plays the role as the stand-in for the audience, even though he has a personality-- has a sarcastic, jaded and apathetic outlook to life, which is what nearly every teen, or even adult can thoroughly relate to. These paradoxical descriptions can even be seen in how the situations are written. Why is Kyon going on these fantastical adventures without Haruhi, even though she is apparently the main character? That's because Haruhi is the vehicle in which the plot is progressing, not the one doing the progressing. We are. The very idea of a main female character giving "color" to the world of the main character is on FULL DISPLAY HERE, and it serves as the perfect gateway for us to experience it as well. But not only that, but this is how Haruhi managed to relate back to so many otaku worldwide: the very idea of you being the main character of your own story, only you don't know it. That everything you do has a direct consequence to someone else's life, that you are someone SPECIAL. Haruhi Suzumiya is the ultimate escapist fantasy series, and ESCAPISM is the very reason why most of us watch anime, read manga/ novels, ANY FORM OF LITERATURE. Existentialism is something everyone can relate to, "as man is the only creature whose own existence is a problem that needs to be solved". I hope some of this is starting to click with you, because this is the best way I can describe this series: a meta-commentary on everything anime and literature in the most exciting way possible. It is the ultimate fanservice, because HELL ITS FUN. The balance between the surface level enjoyment and the deeper meaning is perfectly kept, and your perspective varies greatly depending on how you view it. If you view Haruhi as NOTHING but indulgent fanservice, and dumb, up-its-own-ass comedy, THAT'S ALL ITS GOING TO EVER APPEAR TO YOU AS. However, if you're like me, you will dig in deeper and deeper and find yourself right back where you started, stuck in the awe and realization that Haruhi only ever wants to escape from reality, and the series will bend over backwards to justify and explain it. So, STOP underestimating this series, because everything that it does has a purpose, and how it sets up everything in the beginning, ALWAYS has implications for the future. Nagato Yuki in Disappearance wanted to escape from her reality and her suffering, and it managed to move millions across the globe, but just as that event will always be remembered, remember that the seeds of it started here, and that there will be further implications in the future. THEY ARE ALL THE SAME ENTITY. But I suppose, what really pisses me off, way more than it just being ignored and nonchalantly pushed to the side IS THE REASON WHY. Why is this happening, is it just because there hasn't been any content progression for anything Haruhi related in years? No new anime for 7 years, no new light novels for 6 years, no new manga for 4 years, but NO, that's not it. It's because of how complacent and commercialized the anime community has become in recent years. We praise anime for being one of, if not the most diverse storytelling mediums in pop-culture; we are able to connect to so many personal stories that anime has exposed us to, and we are dedicated to exploring how this makes us feel. We criticize other shows in the same vein, and the gold standard has changed, but THAT is why this is happening. Our ideas of what makes a conventionally "good" anime has changed drastically, because we want to help the medium grow, but we forget that the very reason why we started watching anime isn't because it is a "diverse storytelling medium", or anything deep like that. We didn't click on that link to that popular show everyone is talking about, because we are expecting to be changed forever by its experience, we clicked on it FOR ENTERTAINMENT. Everyone is so HUNG UP on what makes their series stand up above the crowd, so that someone somewhere will understand why they like what they are watching, we forget why we are watching it in the first place! We forgot our own roots, what made an anime popular back then wasn't some incredible writing, that was the rarity, it was what made it entertaining, and now it has flipped nearly completely on its head. What makes something popular now is how it is different it from everything else that airs that season. And now we have the explanation to why this infuriates me: The Suzumiya Haruhi series is one that imbues the nonsensical with sense and makes the 2 inseparable. It takes the most meaningless, convoluted mess of an idea and imbues it with meaning and context, and it gets less attention now than something that doesn't take that step. Something that merely stands out in concept, but doesn't DO anything with it. Haruhi is all about doing what she says, and anime and literature is all about doing what it sets out to do. The anime community has been bred to look out for stand-out concepts, but if it doesn't stick out to them, if its hidden deeper in the subtext of something, and isn't easily accessible, and if it isn't something everyone else is talking about, and if someone else doesn't have a similar idea to them, or one they can build off of, they will ignore and forget it existed and move on. Ironically, and paradoxically, Haruhi is special and extraordinary, just as much as it is normal and mundane, they are one and the same. It is intelligent and dumb. Wanting to escape, yet willing to charge in head first. Fantastical and realistic. Love it or hate it, it deserves to be debated. "A contradictory set of theories cannot explain its own contradictions." We're all hypocrites anyways, so let's change the conversation. Click here for shameless self-promotion (or if you want to find out why the novels are on hiatus), or here if you want to know why there hasn't been an anime for 7 years; or at least explainable perspectives for both of these topics if you wish to debate. |
Draconix814Nov 7, 2017 8:38 AM
| Anime with a disgusting tsunbitch like haruhi is automatically a 1/10 |
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Her character defines really well who she actually is and how she lives. But okay, whatever. |
| Lol, you really are obsessed with Haruhi, aka the most annoying female character of all time. The movie was a bit better than the TV series, but only one bit, from 1 to 2 out of 10. |
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| I haven't watch the movie. so I can't comment on the movie. But the TV anime of Haruhi is definitely one of the most important anime in anime history, its influence can still be seen in anime today. I believe it is the second best-selling light novel anime of all time behind the monogatari series, and it's big worldwide, not only in Japan too. I'm living in Hong Kong and Haruhi Suzumiya (涼宮春日) is a name that every 20-30 years old would have heard of even if they never watch anime. Copies of its light novels are found in every public library here. That's how big this series is. Haruhi is about when people realize that initial character design is extremely important for the commercial success of an anime. |
| Give it up OP, Haruhi is a shit tier anime series :^) |
I second that. Haruhi is the worst and if I was granted the wish by a tooth fairy to meet any one anime character, I just as may meet her and beat the shit out of her. |
 Without change,we end up becoming the very person we hate. I was dead until the moment I met you. I was a powerless corpse pretending to be alive. Living without power, without the ability to change my course, was bound to lead me to a slow death. |
| Yes, I'd say what makes the movie a masterpiece is the fact that in the series are complete caricatures and in the movie they become normal people and ìt's incredible, honestly (as you said) Tanegawa calculated exactly the build up and the pay off |
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| Goddamn some of these people have really shit opinions. I don’t understand why people don’t like it. It’s infuriating. Saying Haruhi is a 1/10 series? Don’t make me laugh. Haruhi has very tropy characters? Fuck you, the novel came out in 2003 so of course it’s going to have certain tropes that were popularized over time. No character development? Uh, have you watched Disappearance?! People like that are bound to shit on anything that isn’t some kind of action show. Haruhi is 10/10 |
under”Mebius” is my salvation  |
Spicelit said: Haruhi has very tropy characters? Fuck you, the novel came out in 2003 so of course it’s going to have certain tropes that were popularized over time. Those character tropes were popular since 90s light novels/visual novels. It's not like they were original nor Haruhi popularised them. Spicelit said: No character development? Uh, have you watched Disappearance?! People like that are bound to shit on anything that isn’t some kind of action show. Haruhi is 10/10 Wait, you're expecting people to sit through 28 episodes of 90% pointless slice-of-life and comedy events with little to no plot progression, character development, theme exploration, or worldbuilding just to see the movie sequel? |
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| Didn't read the whole thing but I get the point nevertheless. And I agree, Melancholy and Disappearance are about on-par on quality so there's no reason to value the former less than the latter. |
| Based post OP, Haruhi is the best pleb filter |
pls play jet set radio future for the microsoft xbox. thanks |
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