DVD Review - The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya Vol 1

Initial Impressions - 10/10

Few shows have had as much hype as this one going into is North American release, ever since its release in Japan The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya has and almost cult like following [if you don't believe me, look the title up on YouTube] so I had a good idea going in what to expect. The DVD is nicely packaged and from its front cover alone you can tell that the show is going to be something special indeed. 4 Episodes [5 if you count "Episode 0"] are included on the disk with the usual Japanese language with subtitles, and English Dub.

Story - 9/10

Wow, where to begin, it seems like a simple premise, the main character is a freshman highschool student, Haruhi Suzumiya, who on the first day of class stands up and announces that she wants to only deal with "Interesting people" Time Travellers, Aliens, Espers. Her classmates seem to think she is basically insane, and ignore her, only one Kyon, has the guts to engage her. He finds a somewhat cute, spunky, girl that gets no enjoyment out of any of the school clubs, since she already joined them all and left almost immeadiately.

It is fr0m this that Haruhi litterally kidnaps Kyon into forming their own club, the S.O.S brigade [Save our world by Overloading it with fun Suzumiya Haruhi's Brigade], which's mission statement is "To find Aliens, Time Travellers, and Espers and PLAY WITH THEM!" needless to say hijinks ensue a plenty. She recruits [kidnaps in one case] others into the club and through a rash of autocratic, morally questionable decisons, manages to form some semblance of a club.

A couple of things stand out about the show, Kyon is the one telling the story from his perspective which makes for a lot of laughs mostly due to his sardonic humor, seeing how he views Haruhi through his own eyes is amusing in of itself. Also the show takes so many Anime sterotypes, the Moe [Cute girl] fetish along with so many others and pulls them all together into what could be termed either an Otaku's nightmare, or greatest joy, the fan service, is rarely sexual and makes fun of itself when it is, its nice to see the standards flipped on their head once in awhile and this show delivers that in spades.

In addition to those who might have seen this fansubbed, be aware the episodes run chronologically in the DVD realease as opposed to the scrambled order of the original TV release, this makes for a more organized [maybe a little less unique] viewing experience.

WARNING SPOILERS: What Haruhi doesn't realize is that all of her club members other than Kyon are actually what she is seeking, Alien, Time Traveller, and Esper. They have been sent by their various organizations because there are a lot theories that Haruhi could be a threat to space and time itself. Kyon handles all this with a remarkable amount of resolve and understanding, while simultaneously trying to make sure that Haruhi doesn't get them all suspended or expelled with her antics.

Art - 9/10

For a show that has a pretty normal setting, the art is wonderful, the characters are each unique, from the cheerfully demonic Haruhi, through the wide eyed Mikuru to the sardonic Kyon they each have their own wonderful mannerisms and traits that brings the whole series to life.

The colors here are bright and cheerful, I was especially thrilled with the clarity on my Plasma TV with the DVD transfer, the series is an absolute joy to watch indeed.

Extras - 8/10

Textless openings and closings, along with the infamous "Episode 0" highlight the bonus materials on the disc.

While the former are pretty obvious "Episode 0" is something quite different, its done in a documentary style about the life of Asahina Mikuru [Haruhi's usual abuse target] and was done as a sci-fi entry into their schools film festival. I would advise NOT watching this until you have seen the other episodes on the disk as a lot of the material is more humorous after seeing the inital set of episodes, a great additon to be sure though.

Final Conclusions overall - 9/10

I haven't anticpated getting my hands on a series in quite some time, and I can tell you that I wasn't disappointed, it is a lovely light hearted show, with remarkable depth, that is absolutely Japanese in its tone and structure. I loved every minute of it, and cannot wait to get the rest of the volumes, for enjoyment and review.

+ Wonferful characters and story

Great artwork

- Would have loved more than 4[5] episodes.

Studio: Bandai Entertainment

Price: $9.99 [Got it on special at FYE, usually retails in the $24.95 range]
Rating: 13+