The Melancholy of
Haruhi Suzumiya (Volume 1) is your classic Japanese Anime series
with its overthetop characterization, bunny girl outfits and classic
storytelling revolving around a high school with not only humans but
also strange aliens. The title itself revolves around the
sickeningly cute Haruhi with her strange friends who have formed the
ASOS Brigade club. Unbeknown to Haruhi, her friends also have a
strange past that involve an alien (Yuki), a time traveller (Mikuri),
an escaper (Itsuki) and Kyon, the human narrator of the show
who is the straight man.
It should also be
noted that the first episode of this series is actually from the
middle of the series which will leave the viewer thinking what on
earth is going on, however from episode two, things become a little
more clearer. As the series progresses, the powers and backgrounds
of all the characters are made known. What's their not love about a
heroine who dresses like a sexy Playboy bunny in order to recruit
new club members? Even so, the storytelling albeit clever is a
little tricky in understanding but that's the beauty of anime.
The creators also
have a unique eye for taking the Mickey out of Japanese anime
culture with some extremely entertaining references that matched
with some great action scenes, adult innuendo and great storytelling
and it's easy to see why this series is such a hit.
The animation of the
series is brilliant which features some of the best anime animation
to date with vibrant colours and spectacular choreographed scenes
compared to what was available at around the time of the original
release. Match that with
Dolby Digital 5.1 audio and you have one good looking and sounding
anime series.
The series also some
contains a variety of entertaining extras such as the
individual original episode previews and original trailers from
Japan for the series. Also included on the volume are behind the
scenes clips of the making of this series as well as some adventures
of the ASOS Brigade which is certainly something that is definitely
targeted for the male viewers.
In conclusion The Melancholy of
Haruhi Suzumiya (Volume 1) is oozing with pure anime with its quirky
characters, strange storylines and in the end, a satisfying anime
experience.
Special Features:
