The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya? What is it?!

ZephyrStar · Post by **ZephyrStar** » Mon Aug 13, 2007 7:29 am

qyll wrote:It's good. Make sure you watch it in aired order.

x2

If you watch it in chrono order, it's not as good.

Gepetto · Post by **Gepetto** » Mon Aug 13, 2007 10:58 am

ZephyrStar wrote:
qyll wrote:It's good. Make sure you watch it in aired order.
x2

If you watch it in chrono order, it's not as good.

My second watch-through was in chrono order, I caught a lot of jokes I had missed because of that. But I agree that the first time around is best in air order (kyon's order)

Org Profile · Post by **Otohiko** » Mon Aug 13, 2007 12:21 pm

I'd put it more into school comedy genre but with a HEAVY amount of mostly-humorous crossover from other genres.

Really a shameless entertainment series, with a pretty neat central concept that I just don't want to spoil! You know those pretentious series that have a big world-level mindbending idea hidden in (at first) ordinary-seeming kids (see: Evangelion, Lain) - and then the series spends episode upon episode convincing that it's REALLY SERIOUS and that there is actually a worldwide conspiracy that these kids are at the centre of and you really need to take everything SERIOUSLY? Well, Haruhi is the total reverse of that! It's a series with just as huge a central idea, and it'll spend the entire season trying to convince you that it is, in fact, all utter nonsense

It also has a remarkable amount of "WTF" and an equal dose of "omg that just kicked a lot of ass" for something that's mostly-school-comedy.

Also, the protagonist/narrator Kyon is hilarious. A lot of the series appeal comes from the combination of Haruhi's sheer hyperactive insanity with his dry, skeptical response.

Gepetto · Post by **Gepetto** » Mon Aug 13, 2007 12:24 pm

Not to mention his passive-agressive narration. I love his rants during the movie shooting.

Org Profile · Post by **Otohiko** » Mon Aug 13, 2007 12:27 pm

Gepetto wrote:Not to mention his passive-agressive narration. I love his rants during the movie shooting.

Yea. In general, this series hits a jackpot by introducing such an island of staunch skepticism and sanity in a completely insane environment

Kyon is an excellent portrait of what would probably happen to a real normal person that suddenly ended up in an over-the-top anime.

BasharOfTheAges · Post by **BasharOfTheAges** » Mon Aug 13, 2007 12:50 pm

ZephyrStar wrote:
qyll wrote:It's good. Make sure you watch it in aired order.
x2

If you watch it in chrono order, it's not as good.

That mentality is why I never watched it to begin with (I still haven't seen more then half yet). IMHO, If a story has to rely on a gimmick like that to be good it's not really worth it.

Gepetto · Post by **Gepetto** » Mon Aug 13, 2007 12:52 pm

Then you misread it. It's still good in chrono order, just not as good. The main problem I see in watching it in chrono is that it's a little too straightforward. Besides, many good movies have relied on that gimmick and every single production that has ever made use of the "flashback".

angelx03 · Post by **angelx03** » Mon Aug 13, 2007 1:16 pm

Interesting thing is that I introduced this series to my sister through the chronological order (she REALLY prefers English dubs if they're available and if they're good), and she really enjoyed it so far. Of course the kicker is how will she react to that last chronological episode.