Do you have some vacation days or free evenings coming? Maybe you’re in the mood for a different kind of story. One that is based on imagination and science fiction, with characters who say insightful or philosophical things one minute, and get themselves into intense or silly situations the next. Whether you've watched anime before or this is your first, I'd like to recommend what has become a high profile sensation in present day Japanese culture: “The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya.” It's entertaining, funny at times, full of twists and turns. It will draw you in and get you thinking.This story takes place at a high school in a modern day metropolitan area and focuses on a girl named Haruhi Suzumiya. She has the power to change reality and anything about the world that she wants to just by applying her will. The thing is, she doesn't know she possesses these powers and thinks she is normal. Haruhi is outgoing and fearless most of the time. She gets into moods too, bored one minute, bright and bursting with energy the next. 
The story is told through the point of view of Haruhi’s friend, Kyon. Kyon joins the high school club that Haruhi creates, the SOS Brigade Club, after meeting Haruhi in class one day and suggesting it to her. He is a shy, likeable guy with a sense of humor and a flair for sarcasm. He is also fascinated by Haruhi and over time seems to be developing feelings for her.
Haruhi is bored with the world and wishes that she could meet aliens, time travelers and espers - people with psychic abilities. The whole point of the club is to attract people with these strange and amazing abilities, and then seek out other mysteries of the world.
Soon three other "students" join Haruhi and Kyon in the SOS Brigade. The twist? Eac
h of them secretly has one of the attributes Haruhi is interested in. There is the perceptive, quiet, highly intelligent alien, Yuki Nagato, the psychic Itsuki Koizumi, and the time traveler Mikuru Asahina. These five become close friends, but at the same time the three all want something with Haruhi. Nagato wants to observe and find out how Haruhi gets her power to manipulate reality. Itsuki wants Haruhi to never find out that she has the power she has, because it could potentially mean the end of the world. And Mikuru the time traveler wants to find out why people from the future can’t travel back in time earlier than three years from the present.
Be prepared to take a trip down a rabbit hole with this story! There’s lots going on that will have you replaying scenes just to take another look and catch subtle words, looks, and camera angles that convey meaning and highlight sophisticated storyline details. Here are some viewers’ comments that I found in an online forum:
“The meaning behind all this? Someone said that the real world was the world of ideas because it will not fade or collapse, unlike the physical world. Physical structures of things will be destroyed in a matter of time.”
“'Maybe this is the revival of a super weapon created by an ancient race'…I'm beginning to notice that me and Haruhi have very similar imaginations...”
“What if we're all as powerful as Haruhi is, and we just aren't fully aware of it yet?”
“Yuki is supposed to be emotionless and logical. Still, sometimes it looks like she is kind of attracted to Kyon, but that's just a guess. She is obviously loyal to him and respects him.”
Watch how the story unfolds and develop your own questions or conclusions! This anime is available for purchase on DVD at Best Buy or online. You can also watch "Haruhi" on the Internet, for free or for a fee, depending where you go. This series is available to watch two ways depending on the service provider or DVD: Japanese language with English subtitles, and dubbed in English. I would guess the DVD offers both versions. Crunchyroll, the site I used to watch this series, offers English subtitles. I was glad for that, as I like the work of Japanese voice actors - especially in "Haruhi."
Crunchyroll This is the easiest way to watch this anime. Sign up for a free account, and watch all episodes in the correct order without any fee. Or, you have th
e option to pay a monthly fee to watch this and all kinds of Japanese anime and movies in a higher resolution and free of commercial banners.
YouTube The problem with watching on YT is that for some reason all the episodes are numbered differently and you will end up watching the episodes out of sequence. If YT is still your first choice, find an online wiki or forum to get a list for viewing episodes in the correct order. I believe Hulu, Netflix and other services also make this anime available.
“Haruhi Suzumiya” was originally a series of light novels written by Nagaru Tanigawa. It was adapted into an anime production that aired in Japan in 2006. The voice of Haruhi is performed by popular Japanese singer and voice actor Aya Hirano.
In the cosplay world, many are inspired to recreate the SOS Brigade club members. Search the Internet and you can find lots more cosplayers who dress up in the characters of Haruhi, Nag
ato, and Mikuru (shown at left), Kyon and Itsuki.
Popular songs also spinned off of the series. The 2006 anime has two opening themes: "The Mikuru Legend of Love" (恋のミクル伝説 "Koi no Mikuru Densetsu"), performed by Yuko Goto and used as the opening of episode one (sometimes called episode zero), and "It's an Adventure, Right? Right?" (冒険でしょでしょ? "Bōken Desho Desho?") performed by Aya Hirano and used in episodes two through fourteen. The main ending theme of the series was "Sunny Sunny Happiness" (ハレ晴レユカイ "Hare Hare Yukai") performed by Aya Hirano, Minori Chihara (singer and voice actor of Nagato) and Yuko Goto (voice actor of Mikuru). This last song has a set of dance moves to go along with it.
Select is a music video with English subtitles sung by Minori Chihara. It's about the character she plays, Yuki Nagato. This is a really nice song by a talented singer.
My blog partner has pointed out something that might be really interesting to Haruhi fans - an entire website with video clips, maps and photos that show where in the city various scenes took place. Fans can plot out a Haruhi Pilgrimage ("Suzumiya Haruhi no seichi junrei") and go visit the actual places where the scenes happened. The site is here. It is in Japanese only. Below are two links embedded in the website to give you an idea of what the video clips look like.
Video clip example 1: Scenes from "Haruhi"
Video clip example 2: Scenes from "Haruhi"
I like this website! Another well done Haruhi Pilgrimage video clip on You Tube that also takes animated scenes and transforms the image to the actual place is right here.
Here are some areas to do some research if you’d like to read more:
Advanced Wiki - You just might have Haruhi questions! This site will help answer them but there are spoilers, so save this for after you have watched all the episodes.
Before a year or two ago, I never watched anime because it seemed they were for kids, teens and 20-something audiences. That's not true at all, though. In Japan, there are anime for every age group, covering all kinds of topics and genres.
"Haruhi" surprised me in a good way. With its clever writing, engaging characters, fanciful animation, and thought-provoking storyline, this sci-fi series is right up there with some of the great “X Files” episodes! Because of "Haruhi", my first anime, I developed an appreciation for these kinds of productions and now look for others to add to my Must Watch list.
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