The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya; Massive potential, frustrating final product.
Let me just start this review/enraged rant by saying that I went into watching this show mostly blind. I didn't know anything about it other than a basic synopsis of its plot, and had otherwise only heard of it while on the internet or seen images of its characters in passing. Despite being told that Melancholy was a "staple anime", and being aware of its immense popularity, I never got around to watching it; that was, until I saw a meme of Haruhi's dance she and the others perform in the end credits of the first
...
season. I thought to myself, "Wow, that actually looks rather fun." I was intrigued, as I'm partial to such things, and after reading what it was actually about I began to watch. I watched both seasons without even realizing the show had two seasons.
I have never had such a cheery anime based entirely around wacky fun leave me with such a sour taste in my mouth.
The Premise (and plot, I guess):
The premise of the show is awesome. I mean, it really is. It's fun, unique, and interesting in a way that made me curious even from just hearing about it in passing. A group of supernatural high-schoolers have adventures with an eccentric Genki Girl, who just happens to be... um... God. Yeah. It's nuts- but in the best way. Or, at least, it should've been. In practice, the show's plot is episodic in nature, and while a majority of the episodes are pretty well-written when it comes to the story, some of them are... not so much. In the first season, the episodes could be boring at times, but not much worse than that. Like, one time Nagato and Koizumi fought a really shitty CG cricket. That's as action-packed as it got. In the second season though, the episodes became not only boring, but frustrating. And that's not even counting the... *shudder*... Endless Eight. But we'll get to that fiasco later.
Art and Sound:
The art for this show was good. Very classic anime style, but for an anime... well, that's to be expected. The animation was fine too. I liked it. Also, I enjoyed the opening/ending sequence songs for both seasons. Oh, and the little end-credits dance they do. I'll give the show some points here. Moving on.
The Characters:
This show's cast is very small, almost entirely relegated to the members of the S.O.S Brigade. Most of the characters are actually pretty likeable, even if they didn't blow me out of the water.
Kyon is the Brigade's token "normal guy", and a balance for the rest of the show's crazy. I liked him the most, I think. He had a real personality and a fitting snarkiness that was entertaining. He was also the only one in the show to ever criticize Haruhi (outside of the B-List members of the cast). However, a lot of this biting commentary was said only his head, so it really had no great effect.
Koizumi is an esper used primarily as an exposition dump by the writers. He helps battle the chaos monsters subconsciously created by Haruhi's negative emotions. Also smiles pretty much constantly. Overall he was fine, but even after two seasons, there's not a lot to say about him.
Nagato is possibly the most confusing character in the show. She's an alien and a (I think???) detached piece of a space god called the "Data Integrated Thought Entity". What the in the absolute hell that is, we may never know. Her powers are pretty vague too. She's pretty much in god-mode at all times, but doesn't really use her immeasurable powers outside the confines of saving Kyon's lame ass or a couple comedic bits.
Asahina is a time traveler. A really, really shitty one. Why the time travel agency sent her to check on a potentially unstable god is beyond me. Her entire purpose is to be cute and shy, which is even plainly stated in the show. She spends much of her time crying, being used and abused by Haruhi, being literally molested by Haruhi, and being put into embarrassing sexual costumes by Haruhi. Because it's "funny" to see a kind, timid girl being casually abused by the most powerful character in the show. I guess.
The Endless Eight:
Remember when I promised to talk about this... thing? Well here it is. The Endless Eight is a string of episodes when the SOS gang gets trapped in a time loop via Haruhi. This concept, while tried-and-true, is interesting for two or three episodes. And then you realize that it goes on for eight. Eight episodes. Of pretty much the exact same thing, over and over. To say I was bored by this "arc" is an understatement. I was appalled by it. Admittedly, I skipped past most of them and just watched its completion, but even the relatively little time I spent in the time loop was hell. Just completely and utterly pointless and boring and oh my god I still cannot believe this was an actual thing in the show someone please kill me.
Oh. And they only break the time loop because Kyon does his homework. So there's that.
Beelzebub's Bitchier Cousin (Haruhi):
You might've noticed I didn't put Haruhi with the rest of the characters. And that's because I thought she deserves her own special place. Because the other characters don't really deserve to be near the seething hatred that I feel when I'm describing Haruhi. The rest of S.O.S are a bunch of fun sci-fi tropes; Haruhi... she's something else entirely. The show claims that she's "eccentric", and the show's fans would have you believe she's "quirky". She's both of those things, I suppose. And yet, she's so, so much more. She's obnoxious and awful to literally everyone she talks to. She's bratty, whiny, and mean. She's so self-centered and egotistical that everything she wants HAS to be hers and she fully believes that she deserves it. She treats her friends like toys. She is literally the only source of conflict in the show, either due to her random obsessions, her bullying of her friends, or her god-tier emotional tantrums that constantly destroy the world. She bullies and manipulates to get her way, she's unnecessarily violent and has no problems walking all over people. She's most certainly a sociopath and a narcissist. I'd even say she's a rotten, arrogant piece of shit. And worst of all, she's literally God. She never loses, and everything goes her way, because it HAS to. Everyone in the show is FORCED to attend to her every whim and be constantly bullied and belittled by her because if they don't, if she feels any negative emotion at all, the world fucking ends.
FUCK I hate this character so much.
Though... I wonder what would happen to the universe if somebody hit her with a bus...
To sum it up, Melancholy's titular character and protagonist is also the main villain and a real asshole at that. Haruhi's pure shittiness completely ruins a really fun and imaginative concept, and that truly saddens me.
It's been two hours since i finished the show and I'm still pissed. I nearly tore my hair out in frustration and shit myself with rage. This show fucking broke me. I'm literally fucking insane now.
Can't see how anyone could tolerate this.
Would not recommend to literally anyone.
Nov 3, 2018
Suzumiya Haruhi no Yuuutsu
(Anime)
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The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya; Massive potential, frustrating final product.
Let me just start this review/enraged rant by saying that I went into watching this show mostly blind. I didn't know anything about it other than a basic synopsis of its plot, and had otherwise only heard of it while on the internet or seen images of its characters in passing. Despite being told that Melancholy was a "staple anime", and being aware of its immense popularity, I never got around to watching it; that was, until I saw a meme of Haruhi's dance she and the others perform in the end credits of the first ... |
