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| |  | Anime Plush | Home » » The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya: Complete Collection | | | | | | | Product Promotions: | | | | | Description: | | I thought that when I entered high school, my days of believing in aliens, time travelers and ESPers were going to be over. That is until she introduced herself. Claiming to be interested in only aliens, time travelers, and ESPers, Haruhi Suzumiya was the strangest girl I ve met in a long time. Before I knew what s going on, I ve been dragged into her weird club, and it looks like I m not the only one who has been drafted into this SOS Brigade of hers, because there are three other students who don t seem to be so ordinary themselves. Either way we ve all found ourselves caught up in Haruhi s quest to search for all things extraordinary. And what s this I hear about us making a movie? | | | Product Details: | | | Director:
| Tatsuya Ishihara | | Format:
| Animated, Box set, Color, DVD, NTSC, Subtitled | | Language:
| Japanese, English | | Number of Discs:
| 4 | | Studio:
| Bandai Entertainment | | Run Time:
| 350 minutes | | DVD Release Date:
| July 29, 2008 | | Average Customer Rating:
|  based on 38 reviews |
| | | | Customer Reviews: | |
Average Customer Review:
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 A wonderful show, but I wish it was longer!...Jul 08, 2010
This is a review by a teenager, me.
At first glance, The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya looks like your normal average "slice of life" anime. Well, it totally isn't!
The series is told from the perspective of Kyon. Kyon is a (somewhat) normal teenage boy who is entering high school. Though at one point he did sort of believe in aliens, time-travelers, demons, ghosts, espers, evil organizations and superheros (though he never once believed in Santa Claus) he does not anymore. He firmly acknowledges that aliens, time-travelers and espers do not exist in the world of reality. But then, on the first day of high school, he meets HER : Haruhi Suzumiya.
Unlike Kyon, Haruhi firmly acknowledges that aliens, time-travelers and espers DO exist. She even tells everyone that if any of them are any of these things that they are to come see her. Haruhi delights in the extraordinary and dislikes and is bored by the ordinary. She is obnoxious, quirky, eccentric, has a bit of an attitude, and is determined to get what she wants, no matter what it takes. And some of her methods are...not pretty. Haruhi excels at about everything that is put in front of her, from grades to sports to music. But, like I said before, she is bored with her school. So, with some unintentional inspiration from Kyon, she starts her own club, the S.O.S Brigade (this stands for Save our World by Overloading it with Fun Haruhi Suzumiya Brigade) and forces Kyon to join. Soon after, she recruits other members, Yuki, Mikuru, and Itsuki. Before long, all the new members come to Kyon and each tells him that they are an alien (Yuki), a time-traveler (Mikuru), and an esper (Itsuki). They also all say the same thing: Haruhi has powers that can destroy the world, and Haruhi has also, subconsciously, "chosen" Kyon. Kyon's "sci-fi free" world begins to crumble apart as he finds out that they all speak the truth. One after another, hilarious (and some not so hilarious) adventures happen as Haruhi leads her group. The brigade members (except Kyon, because he does not like "cheating" and insists that Haruhi learns the hard way) try to keep her happy so she won't cause the end of the world.
This series is truly outrageously funny. Some scenes, episodes, and content I did not like, and even some of the content was confusing, thought in general this is not a confusing series. But, when watching this anime, keep in mind that this is a spoof, particularly a spoof of science fiction. This is a great series. It is basically a mix of school life and science fiction. Some moments are really funny, goofy, crazy, and did I say FUNNY? Especially hilarious are Kyon's view and opinions about whatever subjects pop up, and some of Haruhi's antics. I really recommend this series. It is interesting, enjoyable, entertaining, and great fun!
4 of 5 found the following review helpful:
 Anime's Bermuda TriangleFeb 17, 2010
**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)
2 of 5 found the following review helpful:
 The plot dies earlyFeb 07, 2010
I know there is a lot of hype on the series, but its beyond me why it deserves it. Episodes 2-5 do show some potential, but after that the series fizzles out in a string of sub-plots that have nothing to do with what was supposed to be the premise of the series.
SOSFeb 01, 2010
Amazing series. My only 'complaint' is that it isn't longer (yes, I know there's another season(sorta)). Worth noting that the episodes were originally broadcast in a different order, various fan-sites can provide you with the list.
4 of 13 found the following review helpful:
 Time I will not get back...Jan 31, 2010
The BLAH-factor:
This is one of those anime flicks I believe everyone "loves" because someone else 'loved' it before them. The notion of a goddess creating a universe of girls crazed for one average guy just doesn't interest me. The notion of the series appears 'complex' on the surface but is really the same ol' same ol': cute girls want one average guy. Save your money and RENT this before buying it. You'll either love it or you'll hate it. For me, I shouldn't have to waste my time watching MORE than one disk of the series to become *remotely* interested.
Good points:
To be fair? The character design (visually...not substance) is neat, the animation is fantastic, it does have its moments of humor, and it's a decent source for some pop culture. I was sucked into buying this when I watched the promo-- who doesn't love an opening para-para with some cute characters?
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